Madison County, Missouri

Madison County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1818
Named for	Former President of the United States James Madison
Seat	Fredericktown
Largest city	Fredericktown
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	497.60 sq mi (1,289 km²) 496.73 sq mi (1,287 km²) 0.87 sq mi (2 km²), 0.17%
PopulationEst.  - (2008)  - Density	12,276 24/sq mi (9/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Madison County is a county located in the Lead Belt region in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 11,800. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 12,276. Its county seat and largest city is Fredericktown^[1]. The county was officially organized on December 14, 1818, and was named after President James Madison.

Mining has been a key industry in this area with Madison County recorded as having the oldest lead mine west of the Mississippi River.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 497.60 square miles (1,288.8 km²), of which 496.73 square miles (1,286.5 km²) (or 99.83%) is land and 0.87 square miles (2.3 km²) (or 0.17%) is water.^[2]

Adjacent counties

• St. Francois County (north)
• Perry County (northeast)
• Bollinger County (east)
• Wayne County (south)
• Iron County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 67
• Route 72

National protected area

• Mark Twain National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 11,800 people, 4,711 households, and 3,330 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,656 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.30% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Approximately 0.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,711 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,421, and the median income for a family was $37,474. Males had a median income of $27,670 versus $15,909 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,825. About 12.80% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.60% of those under age 18 and 16.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Religion

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Madison County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Madison County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (37.87%), Independent/Non-Charismatic Churches (17.42%), and National Association of Free Will Baptists (12.10%).

Education

Of adults 25 years of age and older in Madison County, 68.6% possesses a high school diploma while 7.8% holds a bachelor's degree as their highest educational attainment.

Public Schools

• Fredericktown R-I School District - Fredericktown
  • Fredericktown Elementary School (PK-02)
  • Fredericktown Intermediate School (03-05)
  • Fredericktown Middle School (06-08)
  • Fredericktown High School (09-12)
• Marquand-Zion R-VI School District - Marquand
  • Marquand-Zion Elementary School (K-06)
  • Marquand-Zion High School (07-12)

Private Schools

• Faith Christian Academy - Fredericktown - Baptist

Politics

Local

Politics at the local level in Madison County is mostly controlled by the Democratic Party. In fact, all but five of Madison County's elected officeholders are Democrats.

State

In the Missouri House of Representatives, all of Madison County is a part of Missouri’s 156th District and is currently represented by Shelley Keeney (R-Marble Hill). In 2010, Keeney ran unopposed and was reelected with 100 percent of the vote. The 156th District includes all of Bollinger and Madison counties as well as most of Wayne County.

In the Missouri Senate, all of Madison County is a part of Missouri's 27th District and is currently represented by State Senator Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau). Crowell defeated Linda Sanders (D-Jackson) by almost a two-to-one margin, 64.24-35.76 percent in the district. The 27th Senatorial District includes all of BollingerCape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.

Federal

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Madison County is represented by Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) who represents all of Southeast Missouri as part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District.

Political Culture

At the presidential level, Madison County is a fairly independent county or battleground. Unlike many rural counties which tend to be Republican strongholds, voters in Madison County have seldom been lockstep in their voting tendencies. While George W. Bush carried Madison County both times in 2000 and 2004, Bill Clinton also carried the county both times in 1992 and 1996. Like many rural counties in Missouri in 2008, voters in Madison County favored John McCain over Barack Obama, although not as strongly as most of the other rural counties throughout the state.

Like most rural areas, voters in Madison County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Madison County with 84.78 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Madison County with 57.60 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Madison County’s longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Madison County with 74.43 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.

Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

In the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary, voters in Madison County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.

• Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) received more votes (a total of 971) in Madison County during the 2008 primaries than any candidate from either party.

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

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

		St. Francois County	Perry County
	Iron County		Bollinger County
		Madison County, Missouri
		Wayne County

v d e Municipalities and communities of Madison County, Missouri, United States County seat: Fredericktown Cities Fredericktown Marquand Villages Cobalt Junction City Unincorporated communities Castor Station Cherokee Pass Millcreek Mine La Motte Oak Grove Saco Zion

v d e  State of Missouri Jefferson City (capital) Topics Government Delegations Geography Transportation History People Visitor Attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Regions Bootheel Crowley's Ridge Dissected Till Plains Four State Area Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor Honey Lands Lead Belt Lincoln Hills Little Dixie Loess Hills Mid-Missouri Mississippi Embayment Missouri Rhineland Northern Plains Osage Plains Ozark Plateau Platte Purchase Pony Express St. Francois Mountains Westplex Metro areas Columbia Jefferson City Joplin Kansas City Springfield St. Joseph St. Louis Largest cities Kansas City St. Louis Springfield Independence Columbia Lee's Summit O'Fallon St. Joseph St. Charles St. Peters Blue Springs Florissant Joplin Chesterfield Jefferson City Cape Girardeau Wildwood University City Ballwin Raytown Liberty Wentzville Kirkwood Maryland Heights Hazelwood Counties and independent cities Adair Andrew Atchison Audrain Barry Barton Bates Benton Bollinger Boone Buchanan Butler Caldwell Callaway Camden Cape Girardeau Carroll Carter Cass Cedar Chariton Christian Clark Clay Clinton Cole Cooper Crawford Dade Dallas Daviess DeKalb Dent Douglas Dunklin Franklin Gasconade Gentry Greene Grundy Harrison Henry Hickory Holt Howard Howell Iron Jackson Jasper Jefferson Johnson Knox Laclede Lafayette Lawrence Lewis Lincoln Linn Livingston Macon Madison Maries Marion McDonald Mercer Miller Mississippi Moniteau Monroe Montgomery Morgan New Madrid Newton Nodaway Oregon Osage Ozark Pemiscot Perry Pettis Phelps Pike Platte Polk Pulaski Putnam Ralls Randolph Ray Reynolds Ripley St. Charles St. Clair St. Francois St. Louis (City) St. Louis (County) Ste. Genevieve Saline Schuyler Scotland Scott Shannon Shelby Stoddard Stone Sullivan Taney Texas Vernon Warren Washington Wayne Webster Worth Wright

Coordinates: 37°29′N 90°20′W / 37.48°N 90.34°W / 37.48; -90.34