Keokuk County was formed in 1837. It was named for the eponymous chief of the Sac Indians, who advocated peace with the white settlers. In May 1843, the county opened for public settlement and was self-governed from 1844. Previously it was governed by Washington County. After a debate lasting a few years for the location for the county seat, the right went to Sigourney in 1856. Keokuk County is unusual in that it has two county fairs. The Keokuk County Fair is held in What Cheer and immediately followed by the Keokuk County Expo which is held in Sigourney. The Keokuk County Courthouse in Sigourney was built in 1911. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The 2010 census recorded a population of 10,511 in the county, with a population density of. There were 4,931 housing units, of which 4,408 were occupied.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,400 people, 4,586 households, and 3,155 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile. There were 5,013 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 99.00% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. 0.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,586 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couplesliving together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 20.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,025, and the median income for a family was $41,818. Males had a median income of $28,306 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,120. About 7.50% of families and 10.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Keokuk County. †county seat
Rank
City/Town/etc.
Municipal type
Population
1
†Sigourney
City
2,059
2
North English
City
1,041
3
Keota
City
1,009
4
Hedrick
City
764
5
What Cheer
City
646
6
Richland
City
584
7
Keswick
City
246
8
Ollie
City
215
9
South English
City
212
10
Harper
City
114
11
Martinsburg
City
112
12
Webster
City
88
13
Kinross
City
73
14
Thornburg
City
67
15
Hayesville
City
50
Politics
For most of its history, Keokuk County has backed Republican Party candidates in presidential elections, with Democratic Party candidates only winning the county in eight presidential elections from 1896 on. Bill Clinton is the most recent Democrat presidential candidate to win the county in 1996, while in 2016 his wife had the worst performance by a Democrat since 1924, only winning 26.9 percent of the vote in a county Donald Trump made a significant gain compared to Mitt Romney in 2012.
