Crocker, Missouri

Crocker, Missouri
City
Location of Crocker, Missouri
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Pulaski
Area
• Total	1.24 sq mi (3.21 km2)
• Land	1.24 sq mi (3.21 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	1,129 ft (344 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,110
• Estimate  (2012)	1,121
• Density	895.2/sq mi (345.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	65452
Area code	573
FIPS code	29-17344
GNIS feature ID	0716505

Crocker is a city in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,110 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Crocker is located at 37°56′58″N 92°15′56″W (37.949542, -92.265660).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.24 square miles (3.21 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	506		—
1930	522		3.2%
1940	453		−13.2%
1950	712		57.2%
1960	821		15.3%
1970	814		−0.9%
1980	979		20.3%
1990	1,077		10.0%
2000	1,033		−4.1%
2010	1,110		7.5%
2014 (est.)	1,081		−2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,110 people, 433 households, and 278 families residing in the city. The population density was 895.2 inhabitants per square mile (345.6/km²). There were 525 housing units at an average density of 423.4 per square mile (163.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.9% White, 0.5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population.

There were 433 households of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% 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 3.21.

The median age in the city was 33.5 years. 29.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 13.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,033 people, 425 households, and 277 families residing in the city. The population density was 868.4 people per square mile (335.2/km²). There were 517 housing units at an average density of 434.6 per square mile (167.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.29% White, 0.29% African American, 1.36% Native American, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.68% of the population.

There were 425 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,583, and the median income for a family was $35,750. Males had a median income of $26,964 versus $16,141 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,401. About 13.9% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.1% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field serves the community with air service; even though it's on Fort Leonard Wood, it is jointly run by the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert and is available for civilian use by private pilots and scheduled commercial passenger service.

The major east-west route is Interstate 44; before that, the main highway was U.S. Route 66, which still exists as a scenic route through the area and passes through Devil's Elbow, St. Robert, Waynesville, Buckhorn, and Hazelgreen. Names for U.S. Route 66 vary - at different places, it's called Teardrop Road, Highway Z, Old Route 66, Historic Route 66, and Highway 17. State-posted signs mark most of the alignment of the road.

Major north-south routes near Crocker include:

• Route 133 runs north from Interstate 44 exit 145 about two miles east of Hazelgreen to Richland, Swedeborg, Crocker, and about two miles west of Dixon, then north out of the county.
• Route 17 crosses Interstate 44 at exit 153 at Buckhorn, runs east through Waynesville, turns north to Crocker, and then runs north out of the county to Iberia. South of Interstate 44, Highway 17 hugs the western edge of Fort Leonard Wood, passes near Laquey, and circles south of the post until it runs out of the county and eventually joins Highway 32 in Roby.
• Highway T runs north from Highway 17 at Waynesville to Swedeborg, where it meets and ends at Highway 133 about halfway between Richland and Crocker.

School Districts

Fort Leonard Wood is in Pulaski County and a high percentage of military personnel live off post in surrounding communities, especially St. Robert and Waynesville but also the farther-out cities of Richland, Crocker, and Dixon, and the unincorporated communities of Laquey, Swedeborg and Devil's Elbow, all of which have a lower housing cost than nearer housing in St. Robert and Waynesville. Military personnel assigned to training areas on the south end of the post sometimes choose to live in the unincorporated areas of Big Piney and Palace in Pulaski County, or the northern Texas County communities of Plato and Roby.

Seven main school districts are fully or partly within the borders of Pulaski County, not counting two small districts which are mostly within other counties and only have only a few dozen residents within Pulaski County. All seven school districts have a high percentage of Fort Leonard Wood military dependents, and over two-thirds of Waynesville students fall into that category.

The city of Crocker, along with the surrounding rural areas, is served by the Crocker R-II School District [1].

Other school districts serving Pulaski County are the Laquey R-V School District, Richland R-IV School District, Swedeborg R-III School District, and Dixon R-I School District. While located in northern Texas County, the Plato R-V School District serves Pulaski County residents living south of the post.

Politics

The Crocker area has four elected governing bodies, each of which is independent of each other: the city of Crocker, the Crocker R-II School District, the Crocker Rural Fire Protection District, and Pulaski County Water Supply District No. 2.

State law requires cities to hold elections each year regardless of how many people file for office; other boards such as school boards, fire boards and water boards only hold elections if the number of candidates running is not the same as the number to be elected, so water and fire boards often do not hold elections and school boards sometimes do not hold elections.

Crocker has a five-member city council with two wards; all members serve for two-year terms. The mayor is elected in odd-numbered years and the two aldermen from each ward are elected in alternate years. In the April 2011 city election, incumbent Mayor Linda Wilson chose not to run for re-election and was replaced by former Mayor James Morgan, who Wilson defeated two years earlier. Morgan won with 91 votes or 43.6 percent, compared to 71 votes or 34.1 percent for former Alderman Jim Patton and 46 votes or 22 percent for a third candidate, Anita Zimmerman. Ward I Alderman Lorie Layman ran unopposed for re-election and received 81 votes. In Ward II, former alderman Charles Stroburg, who lost his bid for re-election the previous year, was elected with 69 votes or 58 percent, beating Mike Smith with 50 votes or 42 percent.

Office	Incumbent
Mayor	Jim Morgan
Ward I - term ends 2012	Jeff Curry
Ward I - term ends 2013	Lorie Layman
Ward II - term ends 2012	Denise York
Ward II - term ends 2013	Charles Stroburg

The Crocker R-II School District has a seven-member board with two members elected most years and three members elected in the third year; the 2011 election was the third year. Two of the three school board incumbents, Tracey Layman Smith and Dawn Kubinski, lost by wide margins, gathering 153 and 222 votes, respectively. The only incumbent to win re-election, Robert Goodrich, came in third with 279 votes, not far ahead of challenger Mark Fancher, who tied with Kubinski to earn 222 votes. The highest vote-getter was Bob Boulware, who retired as superintendent of the Laquey R-V School District but had previously served for many years as district administrator of Crocker’s neighboring school, the Swedeborg R-III School District. Boulware received 368 votes, not far ahead of Donald Mayhew with 358 votes, the former Pulaski County Surveyor who served as school board president until he lost a bid for re-election last year.

Term Ends	Incumbents
2012	Rebecca Posten, John Riffe
2013	Kris York, Mark Sasfy
2014	Bob Boulware, Don Mayhew, Robert Goodrich

External links

• Crocker Missouri Website
• Historic maps of Crocker in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri