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
National Register listings: 11
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.