Andrew County, Missouri

Andrew County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1841
Named for	Andrew Jackson Davis
Seat	Savannah
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	436.50 sq mi (1,131 km²) 435.18 sq mi (1,127 km²) 1.32 sq mi (3 km²), 0.30%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	17,291 40/sq mi (15.34/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.andrewcounty.org

Andrew County Courthouse

Andrew County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population is 17,291. Its county seat is Savannah. The county was organized in 1841 and named for lawyer Andrew Jackson Davis. The county along with Buchanan and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas, is included in the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 122,306 in 2006. It is currently part of the 12th district of the Missouri State Senate, currently represented by Brad Lager, and the 28th district of the Missouri House of Representatives, currently represented by Robert Schaaf.

History

(The following material is on a plaque erected by the State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission in 1960 and now located by the Andrew County Courthouse.)

Andrew county, organized 1841, is one of 6 counties in the Indian Platte Purchase Territory annexed to Missouri, 1837. named for Andrew Jackson Davis, St. Louis editor, the county was first settled in the middle 1830's. Pioneers were from Ohio, Ind., Tenn., Ky., VA., and other parts of Missouri.

Savannah, the county seat, was laid out in 1841. First briefly called Union, it was renamed for Savannah, Ga. The Platte Co. R. R. (C. B. & Q.) reached there in 1860, and today's Chicago., Great Western in the late 1880s. In the post Civil War years, the town grew as shipping point and trading center.

A divided county during the Civil War, Andrew sent troops to both sides. In Aug., 1861 come 1500 from Andrew and other counties joined the pro-Southern Mo. State Guard at Camp Highly in eastern Andrew County while others joined a large Union cap in adjacent Gentry County. In 1861, Union troops seized "Northwest Democrat," a pro-Southern newspaper, in Savannah and troops from Camp Highly seized the "Plain Dealer," Union newspaper. Raiding Guerrilla bands overran the county through 1863.

Andrew County's glacial plains support fertile livestock, grain, and fruit farms. In the county are One Hundred and Two and Platte rivers and forming its west border are the Nodaway and Missouri. In 1804 the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on an island the mouth of Nodaway and members of fur trader Wilson P. Hunt's 1811 Astorian expedition wintered near the river’s mouth.

Among the county towns are Amazonia, once on the Missouri River, now inland, laid out in 1857 near the site of Nodaway City, early river port; Fillmore 1845; Whitesville, 1848; Rochester, 1848; Bolckow, 1868; Rosendale, 1869; Rea, 1877; Helena, 1878; and Cosby, 1882.

Andrew County is the Birthplace of Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman Gov. of Wyo., 1925–27, first woman Dir. U.S. Mint; Joseph K. Toole (1851–1929) first Gov. of Mont., 1935; W. Elmer Holt, Gov. Mont., 1935 Edwin W. Toole (1839–1905) noted Mont. Lawyer; Eugene W. Caldwell (1870–1918) noted roentgenologist. In Savannah lived John P Altgeld, Gov. of Ill., 1893–97; Henry S, Kelley (1832–1911) legal textbook writer; James P. Somerville, one of founders of Sertoma Clubs International.

Notable natives

See also: Savannah, Missouri#Notable natives/residents

• Thomas Creekmore McCurry (1850–1939), Barack Obama's great-great grandfather (grandfather of his grandmother Madelyn Lee Payne).
• Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman governor (of Wyoming)

Museum and Historical Society

The Andrew County Museum and Historical Society celebrate the history of Andrew County through exhibits, programs, publications, and special events. The Museum and Society collect, preserve, research, and interpret documents and artifacts to promote the appreciation and preservation of the county's history and bring history to life in Andrew County.[1]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 436.50 square miles (1,130.5 km²), of which 435.18 square miles (1,127.1 km²) (or 99.70%) is land and 1.32 square miles (3.4 km²) (or 0.30%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Nodaway County (north)
• Gentry County (northeast)
• DeKalb County (east)
• Buchanan County (south)
• Doniphan County, Kansas (southwest)
• Holt County (west)

Major highways

• Interstate 29
• Interstate 229
• U.S. Route 59
• U.S. Route 71
• U.S. Route 169
• Route 48

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	17,332		—
1910	15,282		−11.8%
1920	14,075		−7.9%
1930	13,469		−4.3%
1940	13,015		−3.4%
1950	11,727		−9.9%
1960	11,062		−5.7%
1970	11,913		7.7%
1980	13,908		16.7%
1990	14,632		5.2%
2000	16,492		12.7%
2010	17,291		4.8%

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,492 people, 6,273 households, and 4,635 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 6,662 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.38% White, 0.42% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 0.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,273 households out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,688, and the median income for a family was $46,067. Males had a median income of $32,955 versus $22,586 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,375. About 6.40% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cities

• Bolckow
• Fillmore
• Rea
• Rosendale
• Savannah

Villages

• Amazonia
• Cosby
• Country Club

Other places

• Helena
• Nodaway, Missouri

Townships

Andrew County is divided into ten townships:

Benton Clay Empire Jackson Jefferson

Lincoln Monroe Nodaway Platte Rochester

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Andrew County, Missouri

External links

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