Town Sign Project: Mills County

A few weeks back I made a solo town harvesting trip to Mills County.

Here are some facts about Mills County:

+ The population of Mills County is 14,484, making it the 54th most populous county in Iowa. Below Harrison County and above Butler County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Glenwood.
+ Was formed in 1851 and named for Major Frederick Mills of Burlington, Iowa who was killed at the Battle of Churubusco during the Mexican-American War.
+ The first settlement was founded in 1846 by persecuted members of The Church of Latter-day Saints.
+ Major highways are I-29, US-34, US-59, US-275, and IA-370.
+ Adjacent counties are: Pottawattamie, Montgomery, and Fremont.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 16,764.

Mills County has a pretty ugly courthouse:

The Mills County Courthouse in Glenwood, Iowa.

The Mills County Freedom Rock is located in Emerson, Iowa:

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

46 counties completed. 46.5% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Mills County:

Glenwood, Iowa
Welcome to GLENWOOD
Population: 5,073 (-196)

Malvern, Iowa
MALVERN
Population: 1,046 (-96)

Emerson, Iowa
Emerson
NEXT LEFT
EMERSON DAYS SEP 11
Population: 403 (-35)

Silver City, Iowa
Welcome to Silver City
ESTABLISHED 1879
Where “This is Home”
Population: 245 (0)

Mineola, Iowa (Unincorporated)
MINEOLA
EST. 1880
Population: 154 (-12)

Hastings, Iowa
THE CITY OF HASTINGS WELCOMES YOU
EST. 1877
FOUNDED 1869
Population: 152 (0)

Henderson, Iowa
WELCOME TO HENDERSON
Population: 144 (-41)

Pacific Junction, Iowa
Welcome to Pacific Junction
Rise Above the Water
Population: 96 (-375)

Mills County has a pretty solid set of signs. There isn’t really a bad sign in the county. But if I had to pick the worst, I would go with Glenwood. Just boring corporate art.

I might actually surprise some people (even persons that might have to begrudgingly admit that I’m pretty much always right about the town sign each week) with my pick for my favorite town sign in Mills County. It is a little more corporate art looking than I usually pick and if the sign was standalone, I wouldn’t even give it a second look. However, they augment the sign with an incredible tree sculpture and that puts it over the top for me.

Malvern – Best in Show – Mills County

There is one alternate town sign in Mills County: