Leadwood, Missouri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadwood is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,160 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1910 and is named after the element lead, which is mined in the area.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Leadwood is located at 37°51′52″N, 90°35′26″W (37.864469, -90.590428)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.0 km² (1.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,160 people, 422 households, and 327 families residing in the city. The population density was 386.1/km² (1,002.5/mi²). There were 506 housing units at an average density of 168.4/km² (437.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.76% White, 0.09% African American, 0.86% Native American, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.

There were 422 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,391, and the median income for a family was $28,534. Males had a median income of $24,722 versus $16,103 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,402. About 14.9% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Leadwood was founded as Owl Creek in the 1903. Leadwood was settled by the St. Joesph Lead Company. Up until the late 1970's, Leadwood was lead capitol of the world.

The town was prosperous until the lead mines closed in the '70s. For years, there weren't many, if any, businesses. Many failed, but some have been successful over the past few years, including the first "Bank of the Leadbelt" location and several small family-owned stores. Leadwood's lone gas station and bar have paved the way for new businesses. Missouri's largest Dollar General store opened in April 2005. A car wash was built next to it, soon after. A couple of residents run body shops from their homes.