History
Montgomery County was formed in 1851 from Pottawattamie County, which in turn was formed from the Pottawattamie Purchase in 1846. It was named after Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War General who died in the assault of Quebec.
The first courthouse was built in 1857 in the community of Frankfort, located in Frankfort Township. The county seat was later moved to Red Oak in 1865. The current courthouse was built in 1890. The sandstone and red brick structure is on National Historic Preservation Register.
Montgomery County is primarily an agricultural county. The topography is rolling and is in the Nishnabotna and Tarkio watersheds. Major streams that run through the county from north to south include Indian Creek, Walnut Creek, East Nishnabotna River, West Tarkio Creek and Tarkio River.
Early settlers came from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, the south and the middle west. Swedes settled in the area around Stanton. The first settlers of Red Oak came in the 1850’s. In 1869, the Chicago, Burlington and Pacific Railroad was completed through the town. This triggered an enormous growth to the town during the next decade. The town became a regional trading center. Early industries included meat-packing, a brewery, cannery, flour mills and a brick and tile works. The wealth of the town generated between 1870 and 1916 is evident by the splendor of many turn-of-the-century homes built on the east side of downtown Red Oak. Several of these structures are also on the National Historic Preservation Register.
Boundaries
Montgomery County is
located near the southwest corner of Iowa. It is bordered by the following
counties: West: Mills Co.; North: Pottawattamie and Cass Counties; East: Adams
Co.; SE: Taylor Co., South: Page Co.; and SW: Fremont Co.
Current towns and communities (Zip codes given for towns having Post Offices)
1890 1990
Coburg 51635 Grant 60 58
Elliott 51532 Sherman 317 399
Grant 50847 Douglas 100 123
Red Oak 51566 Red Oak 3,321 6,264
Stanton 51573 Scott 399 692
Villisca
50864 East Jackson
1,744 1,332
Abandoned towns
Town Township
Town Township
Arlington Oro
Biddick Red Oak Junction became Red Oak
Carr’s Point Ross Grove
Climax Rossville Jackson
Coe’s Grove Sherman Center
Flora Stennett Sherman
Grant Douglas Sciota Washington
Gomer Lincoln Tenville Washington
Frankfort Frankfort The Forks
Hawthorne Garfield (was Walnut) Wallace
Holmstadt Wales Lincoln
Milford Douglas Wallin Frankfort
Morton Mill Douglas Wilson
McPherson Garfield
Section II: Resource Centers
Courthouse:
· [MCCH] Montgomery County Courthouse
105 Coolbaugh Street
Red Oak, Iowa 51566
Libraries with Genealogical or Historical Collections
· [ECPL] Elliott City Public Library
403 Main Street
Elliott, Iowa 51532
· [ROPL] Red Oak Public Library
400 North 2nd Street
Red Oak, Iowa 51566
· [SPL] Stanton Public Library
301 Broad Avenue
Stanton, Iowa 51573
· [VPL] Villisca Public Library
204 South 3rd Avenue
Villisca, Iowa 50864
· [IGSL] Iowa Genealogical Society Library
628 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
· [ISHL] Iowa State Historical Library
600 East Locust Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
Museums, Historic Sites and Visitor Centers
East 4th Street
Villisca, Iowa 50864
Census
· Federal: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, microfilm: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· Federal Indices: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· State: 1854, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1910, 1915, 1925, microfilm: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· 1854 Census Index: [IGSL]
· Coulter: Montgomery County 1854 census, transcript: [IGSL]
· Montgomery Co Gen Soc: 1856 Census, transcript: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· Montgomery Co Gen Soc: 1860 Census, transcript: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
·
Montgomery Co Gen Soc.:
Montgomery Co. Census, City of Villisca, 1891, (1997):
[IGSL]
,
[ISHL]
Vital Records
· Births: from 1880, originals: [MCCH] ; 1879-1941, microfilm: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· Marriages: from 1855, originals: [MCCH] ; 1880-1925, microfilm: [IGSL] ; 1855-1925, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Montgomery County Marriages prior to 1860, transcripts: [IGSL]
· McClelland: Marriages from The Villisca Review, 1870-1879, n.d.: [IGSL]
· Deaths: from 1880, originals: [MCCH] ; 1880-1939, microfilm: [IGSL] , [ISHL]
Probate and related records
· Probate records, from 1858, originals: [MCCH]
· Bonds, oaths and letters, administrations, 1876-1889, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Record of estates, 1858-1886, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Probate records, 1858-1931, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Wills, 1856-1930, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Inheritance tax records, 1898-1926, microfilm: [ISHL]
Land and related records
· Land records, from 1854, originals: [MCCH]
· Land Grants, volume 3, transcript: [ISHL]
· Land transfers, town lot transfers, 1855-1920, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Land deed records, 1854-1903, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Town lot deed records, 1854-1903, microfilm: [ISHL]
Maps, atlases and gazetteers
· Plat Books of Montgomery Co., Iowa, 1945, 1968: [IGSL]
· Anderson: Atlas of Montgomery Co., Iowa, (c1919): [ISHL]
Court records
· Court records, from 1873, originals: [MCCH]
· Divorce records, from 1873, originals: [MCCH]
· Circuit Court calendar, 1869-1893, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Circuit Court records, 1866-1882, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Naturalization records, 1873-1930, microfilm: [ISHL]
· Court Affidavits, 1909-1944, microfilm: [ISHL]
Cemetery
· Area cemetery records: [IGSL]
· Walnut Creek, Hascall Cemetery records: [IGSL]
· Works Progress Administration: graves registrations, (1938-1941): [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· Findley, Walnut Creek cemeteries: [IGSL]
· Montgomery Co Gen Soc: Cemetery records for townships of Douglas, Washington and East: [ISHL]
· Cemetery deed records, 1872-1954, microfilm: [ISHL]
Funeral homes (current)
· Red Oak
· Sellergren Lindell De Marce
509 North 6th Street, Red Oak, Iowa 51566
· Nelson – Boylan LeRette Funeral Home
410 North 6th Street, Red Oak, Iowa 51566
· Villisca
· Wolfe Funeral Home
201 East 4th Street, Villisca, Iowa 50864
Obituaries
· McClelland: Deaths from The Villisca Review, 1870-1879, n.d.: [IGSL]
Church, Bible
· History of Center Ridge Presbyterian Church, (1988): [IGSL]
· Artlip: Rural Churches of Montgomery County, (1996): [ISHL]
Military
· Red Oak Express: U.S. Government records: Soldiers living in Montgomery Co. in 1884: [IGSL]
· Memorial to the World War II Dead from Montgomery County, Iowa (1945): [ISHL]
Newspapers: (on microfilm) Dates given for each newspaper represents the time span the paper was published. There may be gaps during the dates when the papers were not published.
· Elliott
· The Elliott Enterprise, (1880): [ISHL]
· The Elliott Graphic, (1893-1942): [ISHL]
· Grant
· The Grant Chief, (1911-1921): [ISHL]
· Red Oak
· The Red Oak Express, (1874-1996): [ISHL]
· The Red Oak Record, (1876): [ISHL]
· The Red Oak Daily Record, (1882): [ISHL]
· The People’s Telephone, (1880): [ISHL]
· The Montgomery Co. Independent, (1887-1890): [ISHL]
· The Red Oak Independent, (1890-1894): [ISHL]
· The Red Oak Republican, (1900-1904): [ISHL]
· The Sun, (1915-1955): [ISHL]
· Stanton
· The Stanton Call, (1911-1937): [ISHL]
· Stanton Zephyr, (1949): [ISHL]
· Villisca Review and Stanton Viking, (1977-1985): [ISHL]
· Villisca
· The Weekly Iowa Mercury, (1871): [ISHL]
· Villisca Weekly Review, (1872-1878): [ISHL]
· Villisca Review, (1878-1915), (1949-1996): [ISHL]
· The Villisca Review and Villisca Letter, (1915-1949): [ISHL]
· Villisca Review and Stanton Viking, (1977-1985): [ISHL]
Educational, business and other: (school annuals for this county)
· School Days, Grant, Iowa 1888-1947, n.d.: [IGSL]
· American Assn of University Women: Women of Montgomery Co., Iowa, (1982): [IGSL]
· Business and Professional Women’s Club, Red Oak, (1953): [ISHL]
· Artlip: Rural School Houses of Montgomery Co., Iowa, (1999): [ISHL]
· Red Oak Commercial Club: Just a Glance at Red Oak (1913): [ISHL]
Miscellaneous
· 1881 Delinquent tax list for Montgomery: [IGSL]
· Family Associations and reunions, (1959): [IGSL]
· Historical Records Survey: Inventory of the County Archives of Montgomery Co. (1941): [ISHL]
County & Local Histories:
· Iowa Hist and Bio Co.: History of Montgomery Co., Iowa (1881): [IGSL] , [ISHL]
· Red Oak Pub Library: Index of Persons in the 1881 Montgomery Co. History (1963): [ISHL]
· Shaw: Montgomery County, Iowa, Illustrated (1889): [ISHL]
· Lewis Pub Co.: History of Montgomery and Adams Counties, Iowa, (1892): [ISHL]
· Merritt: A History of the County of Montgomery …, (1906): [ISHL]
· Red Oak Public Library: Index to the 1906 Montgomery Co History, (1963): [ISHL]
· History of Climax, Iowa, n.d.: [IGSL]
· Artlip: A Diary of Sciola, Montgomery Co., Iowa, (1979): [IGSL]
· The Way it Was, Tenville, Iowa, 1900, n.d.: [IGSL]
· Wookey: Live on a Montgomery County Farm, (2000): [ISHL]
· Elliott Centennial Committee: The History of the Elliot Community, (1979): [IGSL]
· Artlip: Good Times in Montgomery County, 143 Years of Celebration (1996): [ISHL]
Publications
· Iowa Genealogical Society: Hawkeye Heritage articles through 1993, [IGSL] (Entries indicate year, issue number and page number.)
· 1881 Montgomery County Delinquent Tax List, (1983), 2:69
· Deaths from the Villisca Review, 1900, (1993), 4:211
· Findley Cemetery, East Township, (1976), 3:132
· Montgomery County marriages before 1860, (1981), 4:206
· Soldiers Drawing Pensions, from The Red Oak Express, 1884, (1984), 4:201; (1985), 4:227
· Veterans Who were Residents During 1885, (1984), 2:79
· Will Decorate Their Graves, from the Red Oak Sun, 1926, (1993), 2:93
· The following Montgomery County Publications are for sale through the Iowa Genealogical Society. See the Iowa Genealogical Society Website for a detailed listing and availability.
· Cemetery records for Douglas, East (Jackson) and Washington townships
· Montgomery County Census, 1856, 1860
· 1891 Census for the town of Villisca
We wish to acknowledge the contributions made by members of the Montgomery County Genealogical Society, the Montgomery County Courthouse, the Iowa State Historical Society and volunteers at the Iowa Genealogical Society in providing data contained in this research guide. Their efforts have been of immeasurable help in gathering this information.