O'Fallon, Missouri
O'Fallon, Missouri | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Tradition With Vision | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | St. Charles |
| First Settled | 1856 |
| Incorporated | September 25, 1912 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Donna Morrow |
| Elevation | 541 ft (165 m) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 67,009 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Website | http://www.ofallon.mo.us/ |
O'Fallon is a city along Interstate 70 between Wentzville and St. Charles in Saint Charles County, Missouri. It is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 46,169; the 2004 population is estimated to be 67,009[1]. O'Fallon is also home of the River City Rascals minor league baseball team.
History
After the War of 1812, there was a westward flow of migration through the present-day St. Charles county on the Booneslick Trail, which would later have parts of the trail become modern-day I-70. During the 1830s, many German settlers came to the O'Fallon area inspired by Gottfried Duden's Republic of the Western States of North America. The report was based on his account of living in St. Charles. O'Fallon's history as a city starts in the 1850s. Arnold Krekel was a German immigrant who held a number of offices including U.S. District Court Judge and Missouri state legislator, he founded a German language newspaper, and he invested in the North Missouri Railroad along with many other things. Krekel never lived in O'Fallon. In 1854, Judge Krekel granted the North Missouri Railroad permission to build a depot on his property along with a right-of-way on his "Krekel Addition". In 1856, Judge Krekel named the depot O'Fallon Station after his friend John O'Fallon, the railroad's president and a noted philanthropist. In 1860, the "Krekel Addition" was renamed O'Fallon, and in 1912, it was incorporated. For many years, O'Fallon was a quiet, small community in central St. Charles County, until the early 1980s, when the population boom began. The population for O'Fallon rose to over 17,000 by 1990, and is now close to 70,000 residents as of 2006. The River City Rascals of the independent Frontier League play at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, which was built in 1999, and is located on Tom Ginnever Boulevard and T.R. Hughes Boulevard, near the downtown sector.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 46,169 people in the city, organized into 15,389 households and 12,603 families. The population density is 793.3/km² (2,054.9/mi²). There are 15,920 housing units at an average density of 273.6/km² (708.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 95.32% White, 2.24% African American, 0.74% Asian, 0.23% Native American, 00.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 1.45% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 15,389 households out of which 50.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.8% are married couples living together, 8.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% are non-families. 14.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.98 and the average family size is 3.30.
In the city the population is spread out with 33.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 38.8% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $60,179, and the median income for a family is $64,627. Males have a median income of $45,295 versus $29,129 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,774. 3.3% of the population and 2.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.3% of those under the age of 18 and 6.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Economy
O'Fallon is home to MasterCard’s headquarters for Global Technology and Operations center, where MasterCard’s credit-card transactions from around the world are settled. Attracting that center cost the city, county, and state:
- $27.4 million in highway improvements;
- $10 million in tax credits funded through the state and an additional $1.2 million in business facility tax credits;
- $3 million in state job training programs for its employees;
- refinanced loans and community development grants worth more than $1.6 million; and
- a $785,000 rate discount on electricity service from Ameren.
O'Fallon was the former headquarters of Venture Stores.
Education
O'Fallon is home to satellite campuses of Webster University and Lindenwood University. The private Catholic school St. Dominic is located in O'Fallon, as is Christian High School, a non-denominational Christian secondary school. For public schools, O'Fallon is served mostly by the Fort Zumwalt R-II School District, and the westernmost part is served by the Wentzville R-IV School District.
References
- ^ Official Manual State of Missouri; 65 ed, pg 866
External links
- O'Fallon Sesquicentennial
- O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce
- Renaud Spirit Center, O'Fallon's 66,000 square-foot recreation facility
- MasterCard, WingHaven Fuel Growth Spurt for O'Fallon, from the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Webster University at WingHaven
- WingHaven, the planned community home to over 2500 of O'Fallon's residents
- O'Fallon Journal, from the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch website
