Cuba, Missouri

Cuba, Missouri
—  City  —
Nickname(s): Route 66 Mural City as designated by the Missouri legislature
Motto: Where History Meets Art
Location of Cuba, Missouri
Coordinates: 38°3′47″N 91°24′12″W / 38.06306°N 91.40333°W / 38.06306; -91.40333Coordinates: 38°3′47″N 91°24′12″W / 38.06306°N 91.40333°W / 38.06306; -91.40333
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Crawford
Area
– Total	2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2)
– Land	2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,001 ft (305 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	3,230
– Density	1,095.4/sq mi (422.9/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	65453
Area code(s)	573
FIPS code	29-17668[1]
GNIS feature ID	0736292[2]
Website	http://www.cubamomurals.com/

Cuba is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States, and it is known as "Route 66 Mural City,"in recognition of Viva Cuba's Outdoor Mural Project. The population was 3,230 at the 2000 census.

Cuba was once visited by Harry Truman during a tour of U.S. Route 66. He surveyed the property that would eventually become Indian Hills Lake and was thoroughly impressed with the prospect of it. Besides Harry Truman, Bette Davis and Amelia Earhart also visited the town. Their visits are commemorated in the Viva Cuba Mural Project.

Indian Hills Lake was originally known as "Indian Head Lake" because the skull of a Native American was found during excavation.

Cuba, MO was designated as the Route 66 Mural City by the Missouri legislature in recognition of Viva Cuba's Outdoor Mural Project. The beautification group commissioned 12 outdoor murals along the Route 66 Corridor. As a result, businesses have also commissioned indoor and outdoor murals of their own, thus drawing many visitors to the area. Many enjoy the town's Cuba Fest, the third weekend of October or the county fair in July.

The Wagon Wheel Motel is a Historic Landmark and has been a presence on Route 66 since the 1930s. The guest cottages and old Wagon Wheel Cafe building underwent renovations beginning in 2009.

Cuba is proud of the Crawford County History Museum that boasts "three floors of history." The Veterans Memorial with almost 1000 names of Veterans sits in front of the museum on Smith Street.

Four miles west of Cuba on Route 66 is the Guinness World's Largest Rocking Chair. The chair is 42' high and draws many Route 66 travelers to take photos.

Cuba was the site of the first Adopt-A-Highway Program in the State.

Cuba is a progressive community with Enterprise zones and Industrial Parks.

Geography

Cuba is located at 38°03′47″N 91°24′12″W / 38.063093°N 91.403297°W / 38.063093; -91.403297.^[3]

The city has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²).2.9 sq mi of it is land and 0.1 sq mi (0.26 km²) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,230 people, 1,295 households, and 831 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,095.4 people per square mile (422.7/km²). There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 479.5 per square mile (185.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.68% White, 0.50% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.21% of the population.

There were 1,295 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,127, and the median income for a family was $30,069. Males had a median income of $24,348 versus $17,958 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,665. About 16.3% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

• Cuba was founded in 1857 by George Jamison and Wesley Smith. It was named after the island of Cuba, which at that time was in the news quite often due to the Spanish rule over its people.
• Wagon Wheel Motel is on the National Register of Historic Places

Education

The Crawford County R-II school district in 2000 had 1,426 students. The high school had 451 students, the middle school had 454, and the elementary school had 521. Renovation of the elementary and middle school facilities and the construction of a new high school, all of which cost more than $4 million, was recently completed. The school district has received full accreditation of the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.

The Holy Cross Catholic School teaches grades PK through 8. In 2000 it had 54 students.

References

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. ^ "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

• Cuba Mural Project The Viva Cuba Organization's official website for Cuba's public art and beautification
• Cuba along Route 66
• Virtually Cuba
• Historic maps of Cuba in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri