Lincoln County, Missouri

Lincoln County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 14, 1818
Named for	Benjamin Lincoln, a Major General during the American Revolutionary War.
Seat	Troy
Largest city	Troy
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	640.41 sq mi (1,659 km²) 630.49 sq mi (1,633 km²) 9.92 sq mi (26 km²), 1.55%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	52,566 79.6/sq mi (30.7/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.lcmo.us

An old barn in rural Lincoln County

Lincoln County is a county located in east central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 52,566. Its county seat is Troy. The county was founded December 14, 1818, and named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the American Revolutionary War.

Lincoln County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area.

History

According to Goodspeed's History of Lincoln County, Missouri (1888), Lincoln County was named by Major Christopher Clark, the first permanent white settler, when he addressed the Territorial Legislature saying, "I was born, sir, in Link-Horn County, N.C., I lived for many years in Link-Horn County in old Kain-tuck. I wish to die in Link-Horn County, in Missouri; and I move, therefore, that the blank in the bill be filled with the name Link-Horn." The motion was carried unanimously and the clerk, not adopting the frontier parlance of the Major, wrote "Lincoln" in the blank space of the bill. Others say it was named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Notable residents

• Oliver Winfield Killam - Oil industrialist and former Oklahoma state legislator

Geography

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the county has a total area of 640.41 square miles (1,658.7 km²), of which 630.49 square miles (1,633.0 km²) (or 98.45%) is land and 9.92 square miles (25.7 km²) (or 1.55%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Pike County (north)
• Calhoun County, Illinois (east) across the Mississippi River
• St. Charles County (southeast)
• Warren County (southwest)
• Montgomery County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 61
• Route 47
• Route 79

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,662		—
1830	4,059		144.2%
1840	7,449		83.5%
1850	9,421		26.5%
1860	14,210		50.8%
1870	15,960		12.3%
1880	17,426		9.2%
1890	18,346		5.3%
1900	18,352		0%
1910	17,003		−7.4%
1920	15,956		−6.2%
1930	13,929		−12.7%
1940	14,395		3.3%
1950	13,478		−6.4%
1960	14,783		9.7%
1970	18,041		22.0%
1980	22,193		23.0%
1990	28,892		30.2%
2000	38,944		34.8%
2010	52,566		35.0%
Est. 2012	53,354		1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 2012 Estimate

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,944 people, 13,851 households, and 10,554 families residing in the county. The population density was 62 people per square mile (24/km²). There were 15,511 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.13% White, 1.74% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Approximately 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.7% were of German, 17.0% American, 10.9% Irish and 7.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 13,851 households out of which 40.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.80% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,592, and the median income for a family was $47,747. Males had a median income of $35,564 versus $23,270 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,149. About 6.20% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.60% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cave Chain of Rocks Corso Elsberry

Foley Fountain N' Lakes Hawk Point Moscow Mills

Old Monroe Olney Silex Troy

Truxton Whiteside Winfield

Education

Public Schools

• Elsberry R-II School District – Elsberry
  • Clarence Cannon Elementary School (PK-04)
  • Ida Cannon Middle School (05-08)
  • Elsberry High School (09-12)

• Silex R-I School District – Silex
  • Silex Elementary School (K-06)
  • Silex High School (07-12)

• Troy R-III School District – Troy
  • Culvre Park Elementary School (K-05)
  • William R. Cappel Elementary School (K-05)
  • Lincoln Elementary School (K-05)
  • Boone Elementary School (K-05)
  • Main Street Elementary School (K-05)
  • Hawk Point Elementary School (K-05)
  • Claude Brown Intermediate School (05-06)
  • Troy Middle School (06-08)
  • Ninth Grade Center (09)
  • Troy Buchanan High School (10-12)

• Winfield R-IV School District – Winfield
  • Winfield Elementary School (PK-02)
  • Winfield Intermediate School (03-05)
  • Winfield Middle School (06-08)
  • Winfield High School (09-12)

Private Schools

• Calvary Christian School – Winfield (01-12) – Pentecostal

• Troy Holiness School – Troy (K-12) – Methodist

• Sacred Heart School – Troy (K-08) – Roman Catholic

• St. Alphonsus School – Silex (PK-08) – Roman Catholic

• Immaculate Conception School – Old Monroe (K-08) – Roman Catholic

Politics

Local

The Democratic Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Lincoln County. Democrats hold all but five of the elected positions in the county.

Lincoln County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	Kevin L. Bishop			Republican
Circuit Clerk	Grace Sinclair			Democratic
County Clerk	Rick Wilcockson			Republican
Collector	Jerry Fox			Democratic
Commissioner (Presiding)	Daniel H. Colbert			Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Jim Mayes			Democratic
Commissioner (District 2)	Matt Bass			Republican
Coroner	Robert L. Shramek, Sr.			Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney	Leah Askey			Democratic
Public Administrator	Betty Cox			Democratic
Recorder	Dottie D. Crenshaw			Democratic
Sheriff	Mike Krigbaum			Democratic
Surveyor	Donald “Tec” Parr			Democratic
Treasurer	Krysti Henke			Republican

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	45.43% 10,589	52.33% 12,197	2.23% 521
2004	53.75% 10,626	44.64% 8,824	1.61% 318
2000	52.12% 8,282	44.26% 7,034	3.62% 575
1996	43.69% 5,507	53.93% 6,797	2.38% 300

Lincoln County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives with split representation.

• District 10 – John D. Houghton (R-Martinsburg). Consists of the community of Elsberry.

Missouri House of Representatives – District 10 - Lincoln County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John D. Houghton	679	50.15
	Democratic	Linda Witte	614	45.35
	Constitution	Josh Allum	61	4.50

• District 11 – Ed Schieffer (D-Troy). Consists of most of the entire county and includes the communities of Cave, Chain of Rocks, Foley, Fountain N’ Lakes, Hawk Point, Moscow Mills, Old Monroe, Silex, Troy, Truxton, Whiteside, and Winfield.

Missouri House of Representatives – District 11 - Lincoln County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ed Schieffer	8,259	55.86
	Republican	Mike Clynch	6,527	44.14

All of Lincoln County is a part of Missouri’s 2nd District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville.

Missouri Senate - District 2 - Lincoln County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Scott T. Rupp	10,932	68.44
	Democratic	Don Crozier	5,041	31.52

Federal

All of Lincoln County is included in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District and is currently represented by W. Todd Akin (R-Town & Country) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives – Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District - Lincoln County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	W. Todd Akin	10,787	66.95
	Democratic	Arthur Lieber	4,594	28.51
	Libertarian	Steve Mosbacher	732	4.54

Political Culture

Past Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	54.72% 12,924	43.33% 10,234	1.95% 461
2004	57.04% 11,316	42.18% 8,368	0.78% 155
2000	53.72% 8,549	43.74% 6,961	2.53% 403
1996	38.83% 4,897	44.75 5,644	16.41% 2,070

Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

• Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 3,490, than any candidate from either party in Lincoln County during the 2008 presidential primary.

Lincoln County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain	1,412 (30.82%)
Mike Huckabee	1,484 (32.39%)
Mitt Romney	1,400 (30.55%)
Ron Paul	216 (4.71%)

Lincoln County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Rodham Clinton	3,490 (61.35%)
Barack Obama	1,963 (34.51%)
John Edwards (withdrawn)	190 (3.34%)

See also

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

External links

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