New Madrid, Missouri

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A picture of New Madrid, Mississippi. Taken November 13, 2006. The Mississippi River is behind the photographer.

New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, 42 miles (68 km) south by west of Cairo, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. New Madrid was founded in 1788 by American frontiersmen. In 1900, 1,489 people lived in New Madrid, Missouri; in 1910, 1,882. The population was 3,334 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of New Madrid County^GR6.

Note: "Madrid" in this name is usually pronounced with the stress on the first syllable (MAD-rid), unlike the Spanish capital Madrid (muh-DRID).

The area is famous for being the site of a series of major earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, believed to be the most powerful earthquakes recorded in the contiguous United States. New Madrid, Missouri lies far away from any major plate boundaries, although it lies on what is called the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The earthquakes were felt as far away as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The city also remembered as being the nearby location for the Mississippi River military engagement the Battle of Island Number Ten.

[edit] Geography

New Madrid is located at 36°35′16″N, 89°32′9″W (36.587815, -89.535818)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,334 people, 1,275 households, and 882 families residing in the city. The population density was 284.8/km² (738.3/mi²). There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 120.8/km² (313.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.56% White, 26.48% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.

There were 1,275 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,422, and the median income for a family was $34,464. Males had a median income of $30,705 versus $21,045 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,639. About 22.6% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.9% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.