Ralls County, Missouri

Ralls County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1820
Named for	Daniel Ralls
Seat	New London
Largest city	Monroe City
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	483.82 sq mi (1,253 km²) 471.00 sq mi (1,220 km²) 12.82 sq mi (33 km²), 2.65%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	10,167 20/sq mi (8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Ralls County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 10,167. Its county seat is New London. The county was organized in 1820 and named for Daniel Ralls, Missouri state legislator.

Ralls County is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Ralls County was one of several along the Mississippi River settled by migrants from the Upper South, especially Kentucky and Tennessee. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. They also brought characteristic antebellum architecture and culture. Ralls was considered at the heart of what was called Little Dixie.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 483.82 square miles (1,253.1 km²), of which 471.00 square miles (1,219.9 km²) (or 97.35%) is land and 12.82 square miles (33.2 km²) (or 2.65%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Marion County (north)
• Pike County, Illinois (northeast)
• Pike County (southeast)
• Audrain County (south)
• Monroe County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 24
• U.S. Route 36
• U.S. Route 54
• U.S. Route 61
• Route 19
• Route 79
• Route 154

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	12,287		—
1910	12,913		5.1%
1920	10,412		−19.4%
1930	10,704		2.8%
1940	10,040		−6.2%
1950	8,686		−13.5%
1960	8,078		−7.0%
1970	7,764		−3.9%
1980	8,984		15.7%
1990	8,476		−5.7%
2000	9,626		13.6%
2010	10,167		5.6%

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,167 people, 3,736 households, and 2,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 4,564 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.93% White, 1.11% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.04% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 0.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 30.1% were of American, 27.3% German, 10.5% English and 10.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,736 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,094, and the median income for a family was $41,955. Males had a median income of $28,139 versus $20,238 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,456. About 6.60% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Center Hannibal

Monroe City New London

Perry Rensselaer

Saverton Vandalia

See also

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

External links

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