Crawford County, Missouri

Crawford County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 23, 1829
Named for	William H. Crawford, U.S. Senator from Georgia
Seat	Steelville
Largest city	Cuba
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	743.79 sq mi (1,926 km²) 742.52 sq mi (1,923 km²) 1.27 sq mi (3 km²), 0.17
PopulationEst.  - (2008)  - Density	23,970 31/sq mi (12/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Crawford County Courthouse

Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri and determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1990. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 24,696. Its county seat is Steelville. The county was organized in 1829 and is named after Georgia U.S. Senator William H. Crawford.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 743.79 square miles (1,926.4 km²), of which 742.52 square miles (1,923.1 km²) (or 99.83%) is land and 1.27 square miles (3.3 km²) (or 0.17%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Franklin County (north)
• Washington County (east)
• Iron County (southeast)
• Dent County (south)
• Phelps County (west)
• Gasconade County (northwest)

Major highways

• Interstate 44
• U.S. Route 66 (1926-1979)
• Route 8
• Route 19
• Route 49

National protected area

• Mark Twain National Forest (part)

Education

Public Schools

• Crawford County R-I School District - Bourbon
  • Bourbon Elementary School (PK-04)
  • Bourbon Middle School (05-08)
  • Bourbon High School (09-12)

• Crawford County R-II School District - Cuba
  • Cuba Elementary School (K-04)
  • Cuba Middle School (05-08)
  • Cuba High School (09-12)

• Steelville R-III School District - Steelville
  • Steelville Elementary School (PK-04)
  • Steelville Middle School (05-08)
  • Steelville High School (09-12)

Private Schools

• Meramec Valley Christian School - Sullivan - Baptist - (PK-12)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,804 people, 8,858 households, and 6,351 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 10,850 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.26% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Approximately 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,858 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,554, and the median income for a family was $45,059. Males had a median income of $28,005 versus $18,736 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,203. About 12.70% of families and 16.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.30% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Berryman Bourbon Cherryville

Cook Station Cuba Davisville

Dillard Fanning Huzzah

Leasburg St. Cloud Steelville

Wesco West Sullivan

Politics

Local

All but four of Crawford County’s elected officials are Republicans.

Crawford County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	Kerry Summers			Republican
Circuit Clerk	Rhonda Jurgens			Republican
County Clerk	Connie Smith			Republican
Collector	Linda Branson			Democratic
Commissioner (Presiding)	Ed Worley			Democratic
Commissioner (District 1)	Richard Martin			Democratic
Commissioner (District 2)	John Hewkin			Republican
Coroner	Paul Hutson			Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	Sid Pearson			Democratic
Public Administrator	Franky Todd			Republican
Recorder	Sandra Cook			Republican
Sheriff	Randy Martin			Republican
Surveyor	Mark Mueller			Republican
Treasurer	Jessica Easler			Republican

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	46.18% 4,627	51.94% 5,204	1.88% 188
2004	57.70% 5,422	40.92% 3,845	1.38% 130
2000	52.53% 4,352	43.74% 3,624	3.73% 309
1996	44.72% 3,425	52.87% 4,049	2.42% 185

In the Missouri House of Representatives, most of Crawford County is included within the 150th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Jason T. Smith (R-Salem). In 2008, Smith defeated Democratic challenger James D. Ellis 69.97-30.03 percent; the Crawford County precincts backed Smith with 63.98% while Ellis received 36.02% in the county. Some of the county is also included within the 111th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Charles Schlottach (R-Owensville). In 2008, Schlottach defeated Democratic challenger Tod C. DeVeydt 56.48-43.52 percent; the Crawford County precincts in his district, however, backed DeVeydt with 51.02 percent of the vote to Schlottach's 48.98 in the county.

Crawford County is also a part of Missouri’s 16th Senatorial District and is currently represented by State Senator Frank A. Barnitz (D-Lake Spring). In 2006, Barnitz defeated Republican challenger Susie Snyders with 52.44% of the vote to her 47.56%; Crawford County gave Barnitz 61.01% of the vote and Snyders 38.99%. The 16th District includes Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Montgomery, Osage, Phelps, and Pulaski counties.

In Missouri's gubernatorial election of 2008, Democratic Governor Governor Jay Nixon solidly defeated Republican U.S. Representative Kenny Hulshof with 58.40 percent of the total statewide vote. Nixon performed extremely well and won many of the rural counties in the state, including Crawford County. Nixon received 51.94% of the vote in Crawford County to Hulshof's 46.18%.

Federal

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Crawford County is a part of Missouri's 9th Congressional District and is currently represented by Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Columbia).

Political Culture

Past Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	59.56% 6,007	38.78% 3,911	1.66% 167
2004	60.61% 5,686	38.72% 3,632	0.67% 63
2000	57.26% 4,754	40.35% 3,350	2.39% 198
1996	39.05% 2,990	43.75% 3,349	17.20% 1,317

At the presidential level, Crawford County is fairly independent-leaning but like many rural counties does have a conservative/Republican lean to it. While Bill Clinton did manage to narrowly carry the county both times in 1992 and 1996, George W. Bush strongly carried Crawford County in 2000 and 2004 and like many of the rural counties in Missouri, Crawford County solidly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.

Like most rural areas, voters in Crawford County generally strongly support socially and culturally conservative principles and therefore tend to vote Republican. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Crawford County with 79.48 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 Crawford County with 56.13 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County with 76.78 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.

2008 Missouri Presidential Primary

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

Republican

Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) slightly won Crawford County by just one vote with 32.71 percent of the vote. U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) finished in second place in Crawford County with 32.66 percent. Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) came in third place, receiving 27.76 percent of the vote while libertarian-leaning U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) finished fourth with 5.15 percent in Bollinger County.

Huckabee slightly led Missouri throughout much of the evening until the precincts began reporting from St. Louis which McCain won and put him over the top of Huckabee. In the end, McCain received 32.95 percent of the vote to Huckabee’s 31.53 percent—a 1.42 percent difference. McCain received all of Missouri’s 58 delegates as the Republican Party utilizes the winner-take-all system.

Democratic

Then-U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) won a decisive victory in Crawford County with 66.36 percent of the vote. Then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) received 30.07 percent of the vote from Crawford County Democrats. Although he withdrew from the race, former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) still received 2.61 percent of the vote in Crawford County.

Clinton had a large initial lead in Missouri at the beginning of the evening as the rural precincts began to report, leading several news organizations to call the state for her; however, Obama rallied from behind as the heavily African American precincts from St. Louis began to report and eventually put him over the top. In the end, Obama received 49.32 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 47.90 percent—a 1.42 percent difference. Both candidates split Missouri’s 72 delegates as the Democratic Party utilizes proportional representation.

• Hillary Rodham Clinton received more votes, a total of 1,523, than any candidate from either party in Crawford County during the 2008 presidential primary.

See also

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

External links

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