Nevada, Missouri

Nevada, Missouri
—  City  —
Location of Nevada, Missouri
Coordinates: 37°50′27″N 94°21′20″W / 37.84083°N 94.35556°W / 37.84083; -94.35556Coordinates: 37°50′27″N 94°21′20″W / 37.84083°N 94.35556°W / 37.84083; -94.35556
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Vernon
Area
– Total	9.0 sq mi (23.3 km2)
– Land	8.9 sq mi (23.1 km2)
– Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	873 ft (266 m)
Population (2011)
– Total	8,327
– Density	964.1/sq mi (372.2/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	64772
Area code(s)	417
FIPS code	29-51644[1]
GNIS feature ID	0729934[2]

Nevada is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2011 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County.^[3] Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood.

Origin of name

Before its incorporation in 1855, the small community was known as both Fair View and Hog-Eye. The latter name was considered crude, and the former had already been taken as a post office name. The town's name was changed to Nevada after Nevada City, California by circuit and county clerk DeWitt C. Hunter, who had tried his luck in the California Gold Rush of 1849. The first "a" rhymes with hay, making the pronunciation "Nuh-VAY-duh" /nəˈveɪdə/.

History

Vernon County suffered greatly during the American Civil War, and the entire town of Nevada was burned to the ground by a large group from nearby Cedar County on May 23, 1863. Men from Cedar County stormed the Nevada Courthouse, and were killed. Their bodies were left on the town square until they were taken to the undertaker. When the men didn't return home to Cedar County after a few days, a large group made its way to Nevada. They told every household that they had 15 minutes to gather any items they wanted to save before their house would be set on fire. Only the jail and a few other houses survived the fire.

For many years Nevada has been a home for the Moore's Opera House, built by Colonel Harry Moore and located on the corner of Cherry and Washington Streets.^[4] It was built in May 1882 and burned after just five days. It was rebuilt in 10 months. It hosted plays, moving pictures and various traveling shows. The second Opera House building also burned down in April 1907.

Geography

Nevada is located at 37°50′27″N 94°21′20″W / 37.84083°N 94.35556°W / 37.84083; -94.35556 (37.840930, -94.355576)^[5]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.3 km²), of which 8.9 square miles (23.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) (0.67%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 8,607 people, 3,463 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 964.1 people per square mile (372.1/km²). There were 3,857 housing units at an average density of 432.0 per square mile (166.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.79% White, 1.03% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 3,463 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,774, and the median income for a family was $36,639. Males had a median income of $28,939 versus $17,424 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,118. About 13.7% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Eva Bowring – United States Senator for Nebraska
• Patricia Breckenridge – current Associate Justice of Supreme Court of Missouri
• Frank Buckles – America's last surviving World War I veteran when he died in 2011. Buckles attended elementary and high school in Nevada.
• Forrest DeBernardi – member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• John Huston – actor, director, and producer (born there)
• Frank James – guerrilla and outlaw, brother of Jesse James
• Joshua Person – subject of the novel Generation Kill and the HBO mini-series based on the book
• Bill Phelps – former lieutenant governor of Missouri
• Sue Thompson – Country and pop singer, born Eva Sue McKee

Patrick Brophy 1934 - July 8, 2010

Known far and wide as the town historian, Patrick Brophy was considered to be the keeper of Vernon County history. He was the editor of the Bushwhacker Musings, an award-winning newsletter, and very well know for his his writings. He wrote a weekly newspaper column, many history books and even a novel. All of his writings were on behalf of the Bushwhacker Historical Society and brought many people into contact with him. He was the curator and corresponding secretary of the historical society, and was the editor of the Bushwhacker Musings for more than 40 years.

A life-long resident of Nevada Missouri Brophy was born in 1934 to Joseph Patrick Brophy and Dixie Virginia Thomas Brophy. He was an active member of Vernon County Historical Society, and the Colonel John T. Coffey Camp 1934 Son's of Confederate Veterans.

References

{Nevada Daily Mail Newspaper}

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
4. ^ Template:Url=http://cotteyphile.com/nevada/operahouse
5. ^ "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. 

External links

• City of Nevada
• Chamber of Commerce
• Nevada Daily Mail
• Nevada Public Library
• Nevada R-5 School District
• Historic maps of Nevada in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri