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Howell County, Missouri

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Howell County, Missouri
Map of Missouri highlighting Howell County
Location in the state of Missouri
Map of the U.S. highlighting Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded March 2, 1857 [1]
Named for Josiah Howell, pioneer settler
Seat West Plains
Largest city West Plains
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
928.33 sq mi (2,404 km²)
927.74 sq mi (2,403 km²)
0.59 sq mi (2 km²), 0.06
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density
40,400
40/sq mi (16/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.howellcounty.net

Howell County is a county located in South Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 40,400. The largest city and county seat is West Plains[2]. The county was officially organized on March 2, 1851, and is named after Josiah Howell, a pioneer settler in the Howell Valley.

Contents

[edit] History

Howell County was organized on March 2, 1857, from Oregon County, and named for Josiah Howell, who made the first settlement in Howell Valley.

The first Circuit Court met in a log cabin one mile east of West Plains, according to an 1876 account. A small, wooden courthouse was built on the square in West Plains in 1859. It was damaged during the Civil War in 1862. The county was reorganized three years later, but all of the county records were destroyed in an 1866 fire. A second courthouse was built in West Plains in 1869. It was a small, three-room, frame building, about 24 by 30 feet.

[edit] Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 928.33 square miles (2,404.4 km2), of which 927.74 square miles (2,402.8 km2) (or 99.94%) is land and 0.59 square miles (1.5 km2) (or 0.06%) is water.[3]

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Major highways

[edit] National protected area

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 37,238 people, 14,762 households, and 10,613 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 16,340 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.41% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.97% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.63% 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 Howell County were 28.3% American, 16.4% German, 12.2% Irish, and 12.1% English, according to Census 2000.

There were 14,762 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,761, and the median income for a family was $38,047. Males had a median income of $22,960 versus $16,968 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,184. About 14.00% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Religion

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Howell County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Howell County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (47.70%), Churches of Christ (8.81%), and Roman Catholics (6.99%).

[edit] Education

Of adults 25 years of age and older in Howell County, 73.4% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 10.9% holds a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.

[edit] Public schools

[edit] Private schools

[edit] Alternative and vocational schools

  • Ozark Horizon State School - West Plains - (K-12) - A school for handicapped students and those with other special needs.
  • South Central Career Center - West Plains - (09-12) - Vocational/technical

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Cities and towns

[edit] Politics

[edit] Local

Politics at the local level in Howell County is completely controlled by the Republican Party. All of Howell County's elected officeholders are Republicans.

Office Incumbent Party
Assessor Daniel Franks Republican
Circuit Clerk & Ex Officio Recorder Cindy Weeks Republican
Clerk Dennis K. Von Allmen Republican
Collector Wayne Scharnhorst Republican
Commissioner – Northern District Bill Lovelace Republican
Commissioner – Southern District Mark B. Collins Republican
Coroner James T. "Tim" Cherry Republican
Presiding Commissioner Larry Spence Republican
Prosecuting Attorney Michael P. Hutchings Republican
Public Administrator Charm L. Eagleman Republican
Sheriff Mike Shannon Republican
Surveyor Ralph Riggs Republican
Treasurer Ernestine F. Doss Republican

[edit] State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2008 45.33% 7,659 52.11% 8,804 2.56% 432
2004 64.89% 10,595 33.48% 5,466 1.63% 267
2000 53.51% 7,537 44.77% 6,306 1.72% 242
1996 51.71% 7,030 44.78% 6,087 3.51% 477

Howell County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, both represented by Republicans.

  • District 143 - Currently represented by Maynard Wallace (R-Thornfield) and consists of some of the northern portions of the county. Wallace is term limited and is finishing out his last term. He will be succeeded by fellow Republican Lyle Rowland in the next legislative session in January 2011.
Missouri House of Representatives - District 143 - Howell County (2010)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lyle Rowland 631 72.36 +8.66
Independent Michael Chipman 241 27.64 +27.64
  • District 151 – Currently represented by Ward Franz (R-West Plains) and consists of most of the entire rest of the county and includes all of the cities of West Plains, Mountain View and Willow Springs. In 2010, Franz ran unopposed and was reelected with 100 percent of the vote.
Missouri House of Representatives - District 151 - Howell County (2010)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ward Franz* 9,338 100.00 +30.61

In the Missouri Senate, all of Howell County is a part of Missouri's 33rd District and is currently represented by State Senator Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield). In 2008, Purgason defeated Eric Reeve (D) 67.31-32.69 percent in the district. The 33rd Senatorial District consists of Camden, Howell, Laclede, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, and Wright counties.

Missouri Senate - District 33 - Howell County (2008)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Chuck Purgason 12,289 74.13
Democratic Eric Reeve 4,288 25.87

[edit] Federal

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Howell 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 - Howell County (2010)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jo Ann Emerson 7,978 67.59 -7.63
Democratic Tommy Sowers 3,199 27.10 +5.42
Independent Larry Bill 333 2.82 +2.82
Libertarian Rick Vandeven 294 2.49 +0.71

[edit] Political culture

Past Presidential Elections Results
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2008 64.49% 10,982 33.68% 5,736 1.83% 311
2004 67.75% 11,097 31.25% 5,118 1.00% 164
2000 64.07% 9,018 32.97% 4,641 2.96% 416
1996 44.30% 5,991 38.90% 5,261 16.80% 2,272

At the presidential level, Howell County is Republican-leaning. George W. Bush carried the county by margins of more than two to one in 2000 and 2004. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Howell County in 1992, and like many of the rural counties throughout Missouri, Howell County strongly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.

Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Howell 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 won in Howell County with 83.36 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Howell County with 57.97 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 Howell 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 Howell County with 67.79 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 percent voting in favor. (During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.)

[edit] Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

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

  • Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) received more votes, a total of 2,882, than any candidate from either party in Howell County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary.
Howell County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain 1,347 (24.76%)
Mike Huckabee 2,882 (52.97%)
Mitt Romney 793 (14.57%)
Ron Paul 356 (6.54%)
Howell County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Rodham Clinton 2,307 (64.07%)
Barack Obama 1,168 (32.44%)
John Edwards (withdrawn) 99 (2.75%)
Uncommitted 14 (1.06%)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Untitled Document
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

[edit] External links

Municipalities and communities of Howell County, Missouri, United States
Cities
Unincorporated
communities
Topics
Society
Regions
Metro areas
Largest cities
Counties and
independent cities

Coordinates: 36°46′N 91°53′W / 36.77°N 91.89°W / 36.77; -91.89

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