Carter County, Missouri

Carter County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1859
Named for	Zimri A. Carter, a pioneer settler who came to Missouri from South Carolina in 1812
Seat	Van Buren
Largest city	Van Buren
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	509.02 sq mi (1,318 km²) 507.58 sq mi (1,315 km²) 1.44 sq mi (4 km²), 0.28%
PopulationEst.  - (2008)  - Density	5,890 12/sq mi (5/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Carter County is a county located in the central western portion of the Ozark Foothills Region in Southeast Missouri in the United States. The county was officially organized on March 10, 1859, and is named after Zimri A. Carter, a pioneer settler who came to Missouri from South Carolina in 1812. It was created from portions of Ripley, Shannon and Wayne counties. On the first Monday of April 1859 three men (Adam Lane, of Ripley County, John Bulford, of Reynolds County and D. C. Reed, of Shannon County) met at the home of James Brown to select a seat for the newly created Carter County. They selected Van Buren which, until 1847, had been the county seat of Ripley County. At the time of its creation Carter County was attached to Ripley County for the purpose of representation in the General Assembly.

The 1860 U.S. Census shows the newly created Carter County with a population of 1197 free persons and 20 slaves held by 8 slave owners. The 1920 US Census shows a peak population for Carter County of 7482. The population then declined until it reached a low of 3878 in the 1970 U.S. Census. The population has since risen steadily. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 6,265.

The largest city and county seat is Van Buren.

Education

Of adults 25 years of age and older in Carter County, 66.6% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 10.8% holds a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.

Public Schools

• East Carter County R-II School District - Ellsinore
  • East Carter County Elementary School (PK-05)
  • East Carter County Middle School (06-08)
  • East Carter County High School (09-12)
• Van Buren R-I School District - Van Buren
  • Van Buren Elementary School (PK-05)
  • Van Buren High School (06-12)

Religion

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Carter County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Carter County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (58.20%), Pentecostals (13.74%), and Roman Catholics (6.59%).

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 509.02 square miles (1,318.4 km²), of which 507.58 square miles (1,314.6 km²) (or 99.72%) is land and 1.44 square miles (3.7 km²) (or 0.28%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Reynolds County (north)
• Wayne County (northeast)
• Butler County (southeast)
• Ripley County (south)
• Oregon County (southwest)
• Shannon County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 60
• Route 21

National protected areas

• Mark Twain National Forest (part)
• Ozark National Scenic Riverways (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,941 people, 2,378 households, and 1,674 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 3,028 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.60% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 1.35% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Approximately 1.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among the major first ancestries reported in Carter County were 28.1% American, 15.5% Irish, 15.0% German, and 12.7% English, according to Census 2000.

There were 2,378 households out of which 30.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,608, and the median income for a family was $33,349. Males had a median income of $25,568 versus $16,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,178. About 19.60% of families and 25.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.10% of those under age 18 and 20.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Ellsinore Fremont Hunter

Grandin Van Buren

Politics

Local

Politics at the local level in Carter County is predominantly controlled by the Democratic Party.

Carter County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	George Meyers			Democratic
Circuit Clerk	Cathy Duncan Terry			Republican
County Clerk	Rebecca Simpson-Gibbs			Democratic
Collector	Jennifer Clark-Williams			Democratic
Commissioner (Presiding)	John Bailiff			Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Eddie Ballard			Democratic
Commissioner (District 2)	Lynn Murdick			Democratic
Coroner	Dennis McSpadden			Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney	Rocky Kingree			Republican
Public Administrator	Mary Jo Sanders			Democratic
Recorder	Pauline Peterman			Democratic
Treasurer	Margie Duncan			Democratic

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	43.30% 1,232	53.29% 1,516	3.41% 97
2004	59.82% 1,563	39.11% 1,022	1.07% 28
2000	52.69% 1,441	42.16% 1,153	5.15% 141
1996	42.35% 1,112	56.09% 1,473	1.56% 41

In the Missouri House of Representatives, all of Carter County is a part of Missouri’s 153rd District and is currently represented by Mike Dethrow (R-Alton). Dethrow is term limited and is finishing out his last term. He will be succeeded by fellow Republican Steve Cookson in the next legislative session in January 2011. Carter County, however, backed the Democratic nominee.

Missouri House of Representatives - District 153 - Carter County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George Meyers	1,131	52.51	+52.51
	Republican	Steve Cookson	945	43.87	-56.13
	Constitution	Rory Calhoun	78	3.62	+3.62

In the Missouri Senate, all of Carter County is a part of Missouri's 3rd District and is currently represented by State Senator Kevin Engler (R-Farmington). In 2008, Engler defeated Dennis Riche (D) 58.72-41.28 percent in the district. The 3rd Senatorial District consists of Carter, Iron, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington counties as well as parts of Jefferson County.

Missouri Senate - District 3 - Carter County (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kevin Engler	1,781	64.46
	Democratic	Dennis Riche	982	35.54

Federal

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Carter County is represented by Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) who represents all of Southeast Missouri as part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District.

U.S. House of Representatives - District 8 - Carter County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jo Ann Emerson	1,424	67.14	-7.42
	Democratic	Tommy Sowers	624	29.42	+5.91
	Independent	Larry Bill	47	2.22	+2.22
	Libertarian	Rick Vandeven	26	1.23	+0.19

Political Culture

Past Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	63.49% 1,840	33.95% 984	2.56% 74
2004	64.66% 1,797	34.69% 964	0.65% 18
2000	61.61% 1,730	35.51% 997	2.88% 81
1996	44.08% 1,180	43.78% 1,172	12.14% 325

At the presidential level, Carter County is fairly independent-leaning; however, like many rural counties, it does have a slight Republican lean. While George W. Bush carried Carter County by two-to-one margins in 2000 and 2004, Bill Clinton won the county in 1992 but narrowly lost it by just eight votes to Bob Dole in 1996. Like most of the rural counties in Missouri, Carter County favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.

Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Carter County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Carter County with 86.59 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Carter County with 56.45 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Carter County’s longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Carter County with 73.01 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.

Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

In the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary, voters in Carter County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.

• Carter County gave former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) her third strongest showing in the Missouri Democratic Primary of 2008 (she only did better in Dunklin and Wayne counties). Clinton also received more votes, a total of 541, than any candidate from either party in Carter County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Primaries.

Carter County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain	202 (28.37%)
Mike Huckabee	373 (52.39%)
Mitt Romney	107 (15.03%)
Ron Paul	24 (3.37%)

Carter County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Rodham Clinton	541 (75.24%)
Barack Obama	137 (19.05%)
John Edwards (withdrawn)	32 (4.45%)

Tourism & Attractions

A variety of recreational activities, including Current River Cavern, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Peck Ranch Wildlife Refuge, Watercress Park, Big Spring National Park, and the beautiful Current River are also available in Carter County.

See also

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

Further reading

• Harrison, R.W. and R.C. McDowell. (2003). Geologic map of the Wilderness and Handy quadrangles, Oregon, Carter, and Ripley counties, Missouri [Scientific Investigations Map 2801]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
• Harrison, R.W., R.C. Orndorff, and D.J. Weary. (2002). Geology of the Stegall Mountain 7.5-minute quadrangle, Shannon and Carter counties, south-central Missouri [Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2767]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
• Weary, D.J. and R.C. McDowell. (2006). Geologic map of the Big Spring quadrangle, Carter County, Missouri [Scientific Investigations Map 2804]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
• Weary, D.J. and J.S. Schindler. (2004). Geologic map of the Van Buren South quadrangle, Carter County, Missouri [Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2803]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
• Weary, D.J. and R.E. Weems. (2004). Geologic map of the Van Buren North quadrangle, Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon counties, Missouri [Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2802]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

External links

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