- Chillicothe, Missouri
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Chillicothe, Missouri — City — Livingston County Courthouse with mural depicting the community being the home of sliced bread. The district around the courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nickname(s): Chilli ; Home of Sliced Bread; The Highway City Location of Chillicothe, Missouri
Coordinates: 39°47′35″N 93°33′7″W / 39.79306°N 93.55194°WCoordinates: 39°47′35″N 93°33′7″W / 39.79306°N 93.55194°W Country United States State Missouri County Livingston Town (Large) March 1st, 1855 Government - Type Township Area - Total 6.6 sq mi (17.0 km2) - Land 6.5 sq mi (16.9 km2) - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) Elevation 797 ft (243 m) Population (2010) - Total 9,515 - Density 1,370.9/sq mi (529.3/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 64601 Area code(s) 660 FIPS code 29-13690[1] GNIS feature ID 0715783[2] Website www.chillicothecity.org Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States.[3] The population was 9,515 at the 2010 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their Chillicothe, located since 1774 about a mile from the present-day city.
Chillicothe is one of only two cities named in the world-famous song "Hooray for Hollywood" that opens the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards (The Oscars).
The 1937 song (lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Richard A. Whiting) contains in the second verse: "Hooray for Hollywood! That phony, super Coney, Hollywood. They come from Chilicothes and Padukahs..." Both cities were misspelled in the original lyrics. The correct spellings are "Chillicothe" and "Paducah".
Contents
History of Chillicothe and Livingston County
Locust Street in c. 1908
This territory was originally settled by indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Osage and Missouri were in the territory at the time of earliest European contact, which was mostly by French explorers and traders. By 1800 the Shawnee and Iowa had migrated here. The Shawnee came from the Ohio Country, where they had been under pressure before the American Revolution from aggressive Iroquois and later encroaching European Americans. Displacing the Osage, the Shawnee had a major village known as Chillicothe about a mile from the present-day city. Chillicothe was also the name of a major band of the tribe. Other Native American tribes in the area were the Sac and Fox, and Pottawatomi, all of whom hunted in the area.[4]
In the early 19th century, European-American migration to Missouri increased. The original survey of Chillicothe by United States citizens was filed for record August 31, 1837, and a resurvey of the same was filed August 5, 1859.[5] Chillicothe was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly, approved March 1, 1855. It was selected as the County seat by commissioners and the first term of the county court began on May 7, 1838. In August of that year an order was made to erect the first Court House, to cost not to exceed $5,000, in the Public Square; The first circuit court for the trial of civil and criminal causes was held on the 3d of July 1887.[6]
Livingston was settled by emigrants from the older counties and others from the Upper South states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as Ohio and other "Old Northwest" states, as the westward migration continued. Prior to completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad in 1859, the city was minimally developed with cheap frame houses, with little pretense of architectural beauty or design. The building materials being hewed and sawed from the oak and walnut timber surrounding the town, as timber originally covered the site.[7]
The railroad gave an impetus for town improvements. Soon two and three-story brick business buildings were constructed in place of the former frame structures. From 1865 to 1870, the city improved rapidly, then a lull lasted until 1875, when the erection of the beautiful three-story, $36,000 school building was started, now known as "Central School." From that time on Chillicothe made a slow, steady growth up to 1886, when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was built through here. That year also was the introduction of the "Water Works" and electric lights. The city continued to modernize in the early 20th century.[8]
Geography
Chillicothe is located at 39°47′35″N 93°33′07″W / 39.793045°N 93.551957°W.[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17 km2), of which 6.5 square miles (17 km2) is land and 0.15% is water. Chillicothe lies near the Grand River.
The city is crossed by U.S. Route 36, U.S. Route 65 and Missouri Route 190.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2010, there were 9,515 people, 3,608 households, and 2,197 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,370.9 people per square mile (529.4/km²). There were 4,060 housing units at an average density of 620.7 per square mile (239.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.86% White, 3.69% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.
There were 3,608 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 75.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,053, and the median income for a family was $40,163. Males had a median income of $29,070 versus $19,745 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,172. About 9.6% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
- Chillicothe High School
- Chillicothe Middle School
- Garrison School - headquarters for Title I Preschool, Even Start Family Literacy, Parents as Teachers, adult GED classes, and Early Intervention Assistance
- Dewey School (K-1st)
- Field Elementary School (2nd-3rd grade)
- Central Accelerated School (4th-5th grade)
- Bishop Hogan Memorial School
- Grand River Technical School
- Litton Agri-Science Learning Center
Media
- Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, established in 1889
In popular culture
- City of Chillicothe, a.k.a. "Chili", is the name of a spaceship in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Methuselah's Children.[10][dead link]
- Chillicothe is known as "The Home of Sliced Bread". On July 7, 1928, the Chillicothe Baking Company began selling pre-sliced bread "at quality grocers in the area", marking the first time sliced bread was available commercially in the world. They used the Rohwedder Bread Slicer, a machine created by Iowa inventor, Otto Rohwedder.[11]
Notable residents
- Bower Slack Broaddus, judge
- Courtney W. Campbell, congressman
- Ray and Faye Copeland, serial killers
- Claude B. Hutchison, botanist and politician
- Jerry Litton, congressman
- Charles H. Mansur, congressman
- Shirley Collie Nelson, country music artist/actress
- Henry Moses Pollard, congressman
- John Quinn, politician
- William Y. Slack, brigadier general and politician
- Clarence Edwin Watkins, publisher
- Mike Lair, politician and former teacher
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "History of Livingston County", from The History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri, 1886; posted by Livingston County Library, accessed 23 Dec 2009
- ^ Graham, Harry W. (1916-06-24). "Chillicothe, Old and New". The Chillicothe Constitution. http://www.livingstoncountylibrary.org/history_1916.htm.
- ^ HARRY W. GRAHAM, " 'THE HIGHWAY CITY': CHILLICOTHE, MISSOURI", "CHILLICOTHE AND LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MISSOURI", Compiled by J.D. Smith, The Chillicothe Constitution, 24 Jun 1916, accessed 23 Dec 2009
- ^ HARRY W. GRAHAM, " 'THE HIGHWAY CITY': CHILLICOTHE, MISSOURI", "CHILLICOTHE AND LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MISSOURI", Compiled by J.D. Smith, The Chillicothe Constitution, 24 Jun 1916, accessed 23 Dec 2009
- ^ HARRY W. GRAHAM, " 'THE HIGHWAY CITY': CHILLICOTHE, MISSOURI", "CHILLICOTHE AND LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MISSOURI", Compiled by J.D. Smith, The Chillicothe Constitution, 24 Jun 1916, accessed 23 Dec 2009
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "Missouri References by Heinlein". SciFi/Fantasy Wiki. http://www.infoshop.org/sf/index.php/Missouri_References_by_Heinlein.
- ^ "The Home of Sliced Bread". Chillicothe History. http://www.chillicothecity.org/bread.html.
External links
- City of Chillicothe, Missouri, Official Website
- "Livingston County History", Livingston County Library
- Grand River Historical Society Museum, Official Website
- Chillicothe, Missouri profile
- Historic maps of Chillicothe in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri
Municipalities and communities of Livingston County, Missouri County seat: ChillicotheCities 
Villages Ludlow | Mooresville | Utica
Unincorporated
communitiesCategories:- Cities in Livingston County, Missouri
- County seats in Missouri
- Native American history
- Populated places established in 1855
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