Benton County, Iowa

 

Founding: 1846 (declared in 1837)
Parent county: Dubuque

Namesake: Thomas Benton, Missouri politician
Seat: Vinton (1846–)

Land area: 716 square miles

Population (2020): 25,575

Population (historic): 672 (1850); 22,454 (1870); 24,178 (1890); 23,156 (1910); 22,851 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1880; 1890s; 1910s; 1950s; 1970s; 1990–2010

Subdivisions: 14 cities; 20 townships

National Register listings: 17

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 3,769 (33.8%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 64.4%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 5%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 2.5%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 6.1%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $2,523
Average outbuilding value (1930): $3,557
Average farmhouse size (1940): 7.1 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 2,562
Average farm size (1920): 147.1 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Germany, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, and Ireland
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Vinton

Namesake: Uncertain—perhaps Samuel Vinton, Ohio politician

Founding: 1846 (platting as Northport); 1846 (post office); 1869 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 4,938

Population (historic): 2,460 (1870); 2,865 (1890); 3,336 (1910); 3,372 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1870–1880; 1890s; 1910s; 1930–1990; 2000s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 686 (30.8%)
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