Chariton County, Missouri

Chariton County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 16, 1820
Named for	the Chariton River
Seat	Keytesville
Largest city	Salisbury
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	768.25 sq mi (1,990 km²) 755.87 sq mi (1,958 km²) 12.38 sq mi (32 km²), 1.61
Population  - (2000)  - Density	8,438 11/sq mi (4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Chariton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2000, the population was 8,438. Its county seat is Keytesville^[1]. The county was organized in 1820 from part of Howard County and was named from the Chariton River.

History

Chariton County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper South states, especially Kentucky and Tennessee. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. Chariton was one of several counties settled mostly by southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie and Chariton was at its heart.^[2]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 768.25 square miles (1,989.8 km²), of which 755.87 square miles (1,957.7 km²) (or 98.39%) is land and 12.38 square miles (32.1 km²) (or 1.61%) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties

• Linn County (north)
• Macon County (northeast)
• Randolph County (east)
• Howard County (southeast)
• Saline County (southwest)
• Carroll County (west)
• Livingston County (northwest)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 24
• Route 5
• Route 11
• Route 129
• Route 139

National protected area

• Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	26,826		—
1910	23,503		−12.4%
1920	21,769		−7.4%
1930	19,588		−10.0%
1940	18,084		−7.7%
1950	14,944		−17.4%
1960	12,720		−14.9%
1970	11,084		−12.9%
1980	10,489		−5.4%
1990	9,202		−12.3%
2000	8,438		−8.3%

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 8,438 people, 3,469 households, and 2,345 families residing in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 4,250 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.99% White, 3.19% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.8% were of German, 25.5% American, 9.7% English and 7.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,469 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 23.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 22.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,285, and the median income for a family was $39,176. Males had a median income of $25,263 versus $19,068 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,515. About 8.80% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Brunswick Bynumville Dalton

Forest Green Keytesville Marceline

Mendon Prairie Hill Rothville

Salisbury Snyder Sumner

Triplett

Notable natives

• Maxwell D. Taylor - U.S. Army general and diplomat, born in Keytesville.

See also

• Mormon War (1838)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Chariton County, Missouri

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "The Story of Little Dixie, Missouri", Missouri Division - Sons of Confederate Veterans, accessed 3 June 2008
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Chariton County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books

Coordinates: 39°31′N 92°58′W / 39.52°N 92.96°W / 39.52; -92.96