[5] Montezuma was first established in 1848, when local veterans of the Mexican–American War named the city after Monteuczomah, the last Aztec emperor of Mexico.

Once a hub of regional railroad transport, Montezuma has continued to evolve and grow in a variety of ways.

Montezuma was also a major stop on the stagecoach line between Iowa City and Des Moines on the original Diamond Trail.

7, also known as the Fitzsimmons School was moved from the original country landscape to the campus of the Poweshiek County Historical Society.

During the summer of 1934, Pentecostal evangelist Morris Plotts[6] held tent revivals throughout south central Iowa, establishing churches in Oskaloosa, New Sharon, Grinnell, Montezuma, and Lynnville.

Girls State Basketball Champions: 1969, 1970 Boys State Basketball Champions: 1971, 1990, 2021[11] Montezuma's agricultural heritage is celebrated in barn quilt art and renewed interest in local preservation has inspired many to continue living out that history.

Montezuma is the inaugural home to the first town square Bill of Rights monument in the United States.

[citation needed] Green spaces and wildlife areas like Fox Forest offer hiking and equestrian trails, as well as observation of native vegetation and wildflowers.

[citation needed] Nearby Fleming Woods State Preserve offers sanctuary to several species of other indigenous plant life and animals.

[citation needed] It is believed that Chief Poweshiek and other Native Americans once lived in these areas.

[citation needed] Montezuma is served by The Record, a weekly newspaper that started in Deep River, Iowa, in 1899.

[12][13][14][15] Several of these congregations offer Sunday and mid-week services as well as weekly Bible study groups, children's education programs, youth group activities, and missions work opportunities.

In February 2024, Montezuma was selected as the nation's first microgrid community,[17] in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy and Iowa State University.

Montezuma is located approximately 8 miles south of the exit 191 on Interstate 80 on U.S. Route 63.