A few weeks back I cruised around Montgomery on a solo town sign harvesting trip. Montgomery County was the second county I harvested on that day.

Here are some facts about Montgomery County:

+ Population is 10,330. That makes it the 72nd most populous county in Iowa. Below Mitchell County and above Keokuk County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Red Oak.
+ Named after Revolutionary War general Richard Mongtomery.
+ Birthplace of Clyde Cessna of aviation fame.
+ Location of the infamous unsolved Villisca Axe Murders that knocked the Titanic off the front pages of the nation’s newspapers.
+ Major highways are US-34, US-71, and IA-48.
+ Adjacent counties are Pottawattamie, Cass, Adams, Page, and Mills.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 17,803.

Montgomery County has a beautiful courthouse:

The Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak, Iowa.

The Montgomery County Freedom Rock is located in Red Oak, Iowa:

With Montgomery County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

39 counties completed. 39.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Montgomery County:

Red Oak, Iowa
Welcome to RED OAK
Population: 5,596 (-146)

Villisca, Iowa
VILLISCA
Population: 1,132 (-120)

Stanton, Iowa
STANTON
Population: 678 (-11)

Elliott, Iowa
WELCOME TO ELLIOTT
Est. 1879
Population: 338 (-12)

Grant, Iowa
Grant
Population: 86 (-6)

Coburg, Iowa
Coburg
Population: 26 (-16)

Tenville, Iowa – Unincorporated
POP 30
TENVILLE

Montgomery County might have the worst collection of signs to date. But even in a collection of mediocre, it is pretty easy to pick out the worst. Coburg only has a DOT sign. So they have the worst town sign in Montgomery County.

Best in Show is also pretty easy. It goes to Grant, even though their town sign is sitting on the ground in the courtyard of the town bar. I do believe that they are getting ready to put up a new town sign, so maybe I’ll have to check that out again on my future travels, but until then, Grant wins Best in Show.

Grant – Best in Show – Montgomery County

A couple towns do have alternate town signs:

Stanton – Alternate

Red Oak – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Fremont County.