Montgomery County, Iowa

Montgomery County
County
Montgomery County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°01′45″N 95°09′05″W / 41.029166666667°N 95.151388888889°W / 41.029166666667; -95.151388888889
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1851
Named for	Richard Montgomery
Seat	Red Oak
Largest city	Red Oak
Area
• Total	425 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Land	424 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,330
• Density	24/sq mi (9.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	montgomerycountyia.gov

Montgomery County is a county located in the southwestern area of the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,330.^[1] Its population has declined since a peak in 1900, since urbanization and decline of family farms. The county seat is Red Oak.^[2] The county was founded by European-American migrants from eastern areas in 1851.^[3] It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while trying to capture Quebec City, Canada.

The county has been largely rural and devoted to agriculture. The county was first surveyed in 1852. It is famous as the location of the unsolved Villisca axe murders committed in 1912. Clyde Cessna, the founder of the Cessna Aircraft Company was born here.