Tama County, Iowa
county in Iowa, United States
Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. The county seat is Toledo and the largest city is Tama.
History
Tama county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki people.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 722 square miles (1,870 km2), of which 721 square miles (1,870 km2) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) (0.1%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 30
U.S. Highway 63
Iowa Highway 8
Iowa Highway 21
Iowa Highway 96
Iowa Highway 146
Adjacent counties
Grundy County (northwest)
Black Hawk County (northeast)
Benton County (east)
Poweshiek County (south)
Marshall County (west)
Iowa County (southeast)
Jasper County (southwest)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 17,135 and a population density of 23.7/sq mi (9.2/km2).
The median age was 42.0 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.
There were 6,784 households in the county, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tama County, Iowa” is county in Iowa, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tama, County and Iowa, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “county in Iowa, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q119372. VIAF identifies the subject as 127856053. The Library of Congress control number is n81129707. Authority coordinates are 42.079, -92.531. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 1843.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tama County, Iowa”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tama County, Iowa primary sources, Tama County, Iowa archive and Tama research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tama County, Iowa”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tama County, Iowa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.