Monona

Formed December 15, 1851 (73^rd county)

Monona County (8,757), Onawa (2,909)

The dark red brick and stone 1892 facility is located on Iowa, 6^th, Pearl, and 7^th streets.  Iowa State Highway 175 is Iowa Street in the town.  S. E. Maxon was the Romanesque Revival and Victorian building architect.  The building was enlarged in 1992 and features a tower.  The county was created on December 15, 1851 from Harrison County as the 73^rd county.  Ashton was the county seat until 1858 when Onawa assumed the role.  Its name is Native American for “beautiful valley.”  The county seat name came from Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha. 

Monona County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Supervisors.  Twenty District Court Judges and Fourteen Magistrates serve Monona, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Ida, Lyon, Kossuth, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury counties.  Monona County is on the western border with Nebraska.  The Missouri River forms its western border.  Sioux City, Iowa is northwest and Council Bluffs, Iowa is southeast of the county.  The county center is 8.9 miles East-Northeast of Onawa nearer Castana.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Woodbury, Ida, Crawford, and Harrison counties and Nebraska. 

The county has an area of 693 square miles.  It is 16 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 84 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 12.6 persons per square mile making it 94 out of 99 in the state.  Monona County has 68.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 29 travels north to south through the county from Woodbury County to Harrison County.  The county is shaped like a plow turned upside down.  Onawa is located near the western border of the county.  Onawa is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 33.2% of the county population.  The county is pronounced MOE-NOE-NA.  The county seat is pronounced ON-A-WA.

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