Lawson, Missouri
| Lawson, Missouri | |
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| — City — | |
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| Coordinates: 39°26′16″N 94°12′29″W / 39.43778°N 94.20806°WCoordinates: 39°26′16″N 94°12′29″W / 39.43778°N 94.20806°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| Counties | Ray, Clay |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.8 sq mi (7.4 km2) |
| • Land | 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,066 ft (325 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,473 |
| • Density | 880/sq mi (330/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 64062 |
| Area code(s) | 816 |
| FIPS code | 29-40988[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0720846[2] |
Lawson is a city in Clay and Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,473 at the 2010 census.[3]
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[edit] Geography
Lawson is located at 39°26′16″N 94°12′29″W / 39.43778°N 94.20806°W (39.437848, -94.207973)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), of which 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), or 2.11%, is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,336 people, 818 households, and 624 families residing in the city. The population density was 838.3 people per square mile (323.3/km²). There were 852 housing units at an average density of 305.7 per square mile (117.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.65% White, 0.30% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population.
There were 818 households out of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,875, and the median income for a family was $49,018. Males had a median income of $38,875 versus $22,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,438. About 6.8% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Lawson is home to Ray County's oldest bank, Lawson Bank, founded in 1883. The bank recovered from a devastating fire in 1914[5] and still stands at 4th & Penn today. Other sites in Lawson include the historic Watkins Mill (now a Missouri state park and National Historic Landmark) and Ray County's longest continuously in-print newspaper, The Lawson Review. KC-10L, a Nike missile base, is located a mile east of Lawson (Nov 1959 - Feb 1964). Tactical Airsoft Base (TAB) uses the base to host airsoft and paintball games.
[edit] Community and government
The community has been labeled by some as a hotbed of corruption after City Clerk Rhonda Minnick was charged in August 2006 and convicted in April 2007 for theft and forgery over the previous three years in excess of $89,000 from city funds.[6][7] During the investigations several other issues were uncovered and publicly recognized, such as an annual financial audit not having been completed for several years. To complicate the situation, over-spending and financial mismanagement when added to the theft left the city approximately $500,000 short of funds, prompting citizens to initiate a petition audit with the state of Missouri to review the city's procedures in more depth. Audit findings were released to citizens in a special town hall meeting in September 2007.
In the April 2007 election, several new faces ran for city council, taking seat at the next regular council meeting. Promptly, workshops began to collect and organize information of, about, and affecting the city's operations, procedures, and finances. The transition of the new city council occurred in the midst of the state's auditing activities in the city. Shortly following the auditors' completion of research on-site within the city, but before the results of the state's audit could be presented to the citizens, both the mayor, George Green, and City Administrator, John Tracy, resigned within a week of each other. Green cited health reasons for stepping down. While the exact details of Tracy's resignation have not been made a part of public record, as it occurred during a closed-session special meeting of the council, it has been reported that he was required to clean out his office and is not allowed to return to city hall. The council already has additional workshops scheduled to continue their progress in directing the city toward more open communication with the public. In November 2007, the council hired a new city administrator with the assistance of the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC).
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Lawson city, Missouri". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Welcome to Lawson Bank". Lawson Bank. http://lawsonbank.com/history.html. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Crime Scene KC". Kansas City Star. http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2006/09/trusted_clerk_a.html. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Lawson Police: News and Events". Lawson Police Department. http://www.lawsonpolice.com/News_Events.html. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
[edit] External links
- Lawson Police Department
- Lawson Chamber of Commerce
- The Lawson Review
- Lawson R-XIV School District
- Historic maps of Lawson in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri
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