Scotland County, Missouri

Scotland County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1841
Named for	Scotland
Seat	Memphis
Largest city	Memphis
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	439.25 sq mi (1,138 km²) 438.47 sq mi (1,136 km²) 0.79 sq mi (2 km²), 0.18%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	4,843 11/sq mi (4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	[http://www.scotlandcounty.net www.scotlandcounty.net]

Scotland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 4,843. Its county seat is Memphis. The county was organized in 1841 and named for Scotland.

History

Surveyor S. W. B. Carnegy suggested that the county be named after his native country of Scotland. He also gave several settlements in the area Scottish names.

In the 1880s, a group called the "The Tax-payers' Association of Scotland County" formed to resist paying local taxes and to intimidate any potential bidders on horses and mules that had been seized to cover those taxes. The handling of county debt collection went to the Supreme Court in Findlay v. McAllister.

Notable residents

• Tom Horn -- American Old West lawman, scout, outlaw and assassin. Born near Granger, Mo. 1860.
• Ella Ewing -- Worlds tallest woman (in her era). Lived much of her life (and died) near Gorin, Mo.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 439.25 square miles (1,137.7 km²), of which 438.47 square miles (1,135.6 km²) (or 99.82%) is land and 0.79 square miles (2.0 km²) (or 0.18%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Davis County, Iowa (northwest)
• Van Buren County, Iowa (northeast)
• Clark County (east)
• Knox County (south)
• Adair County (southwest)
• Schuyler County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 136
• Route 15

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	13,232		—
1910	11,869		−10.3%
1920	10,700		−9.8%
1930	8,853		−17.3%
1940	8,557		−3.3%
1950	7,332		−14.3%
1960	6,484		−11.6%
1970	5,499		−15.2%
1980	5,415		−1.5%
1990	4,822		−11.0%
2000	4,983		3.3%
2010	4,843		−2.8%

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,843 people, 1,902 households, and 1,302 families residing in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 2,292 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.82% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 5.72% report speaking Pennsylvania German, Dutch, or German at home, while 1.58% speak Spanish.[1]

There were 1,902 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.30% 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 3.16.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,409, and the median income for a family was $33,529. Males had a median income of $23,836 versus $16,866 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,474. About 13.40% of families and 16.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 13.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Arbela
• Etna
• Granger
• Memphis
• Rutledge
• South Gorin

See also

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

External links

• Rootsweb for Scotland County, Missouri
• Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce
• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Scotland County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books