Monona County, Iowa

Founding: 1854 (declared in 1851)
Parent county: Unorganized territory
Namesake: A Chippewa word translated as "beautiful"
Seat: Ashton (1854–1858); Onawa (1858–)
Land area: 694 square miles
Population (2020): 8,751
Population (historic): 832 (1860); 9,055 (1880); 17,980 (1900); 18,213 (1930)
Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1900; 1910–1940
Subdivisions: Ten cities; 19 townships
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,170 (46%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 43.3%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 4%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 4.6%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $2,138
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,541
Average farmhouse size (1940): 6 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 2,166
Average farm size (1920): 147.7 acres
Sources of settlement: Iowa, Illinois, Germany, Ohio, Norway, and Denmark
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Onawa

 
Namesake: A Sioux given name used in Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha
Founding: 1857 (platting); 1858 (post office); 1859 (incorporation)
Population (2020): 2,906
Population (historic): 478 (1870); 1,358 (1890); 2,026 (1910); 2,538 (1930)
Periods of population growth: 1857–1950; 1970s; 1990s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 681 (44.2%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. House (c. 1895). 11977 Aspen Road. Fairview. Queen Anne.
2. Edmund Aldrich Farm (c. 1880). 11167 Orange Road. Grant. Italianate.
3. William McCandless Farm (c. 1915). 17997 110th Road. Lake. Classical Revival/Prairie.
4. George Moorhead Farm (c. 1870). 29978 County Road L16. Spring Valley.
5. Woodlawn / Charles Whiting Farm (c. 1880). 14152 County Road K64. West Fork. Italianate.

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