| Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | |
Location in the state of Missouri |
|
Missouri's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | 1812 |
|---|---|
| Named for | Ensign Sieur Jean Baptiste de Girardot (also spelled Girardeau or Girardat) and a rock |
| Seat | Jackson |
| Largest city | Cape Girardeau |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
586.29 sq mi (1,518 km²) 578.62 sq mi (1,499 km²) 7.67 sq mi (20 km²), 1.31 |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
75,764 129/sq mi (50/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.capecounty.us/ |
Cape Girardeau County is a county located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 75,764. While the largest city in the county is Cape Girardeau, the county seat is actually Jackson, which was the first city named in honor of President Andrew Jackson [1]. The county was officially organized on October 1, 1812.
Cape Girardeau County is the central hub of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county is the site of the oldest cold case in the state of Missouri. Bonnie Huffman, a 20-year-old schoolteacher, was found murdered in a ditch just outside of Delta on July 2, 1954.
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Cape Girardeau County was organized on October 1, 1812, as one of five original counties and is named after Ensign Sieur Jean Baptiste de Girardot (also spelled Girardeau or Girardat), a French officer originally stationed at Kaskaskia, Illinois from 1704-1720 who later developed a trading post on the site on the present-day city of Cape Girardeau around 1733. The "cape" in the county name was a rock promontory overlooking the Mississippi River and Claire's house the original cape rock was destroyed by railroad construction. The county's name derives from a district located in the area when the Spanish controlled the region.
The first Cape Girardeau County Courthouse was constructed in 1818 by John Davis. This courthouse burned in 1870. The present courthouse in Jackson was completed in 1908 and was designed by P.H. Weathers.
Of adults 25 years of age and older in Cape Girardeau County, 81.1% possess a high school diploma or higher while 24.2% hold a bachelor's degree as their highest educational attainment.
Cape Girardeau County is home to two public post-secondary educational facilities.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Cape Girardeau County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Cape Girardeau County who adhere to a religion are Roman Catholics (25.06%), Southern Baptists (23.60%), and Lutherans (18.31%).
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 586.29 square miles (1,518.5 km2), of which 578.62 square miles (1,498.6 km2) (or 98.69%) is land and 7.67 square miles (19.9 km2) (or 1.31%) is water.[2]
The geography of Cape Girardeau County varies greatly. The areas around the towns of Delta and Dutchtown are flood plains, while western and northern areas are hilly and forested.
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 68,693 people, 26,980 households, and 17,941 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile (46/km²). There were 29,434 housing units at an average density of 51 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.13% White, 5.28% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Approximately 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 26,980 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 13.40% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,862, and the median income for a family was $58,037. Males had a median income of $32,371 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,303. About 6.70% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.
Politics at the local level in Cape Girardeau County is predominantly controlled by the Republican Party. In fact, all but one of Cape Girardeau County’s elected officials are Republicans.
| Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected countywide officials | ||||
| Assessor | Jerry L. Reynolds | Democratic | ||
| Circuit Clerk | Patti Wibbenmeyer | Republican | ||
| County Clerk | Kara Clark Summers | Republican | ||
| Collector | Diane Diebold | Republican | ||
| Commissioner (Presiding) |
Clinton Tracy | Republican | ||
| Commissioner (District 1) |
Paul Koeper | Republican | ||
| Commissioner (District 2) |
Jay C. Purcell | |||
| Coroner | John Clifton | Republican | ||
| Prosecuting Attorney | Morley Swingle | Republican | ||
| Public Administrator | Phyllis V. Schwab | Republican | ||
| Recorder | Scott R. Clark | Republican | ||
| Sheriff | John D. Jordan | Republican | ||
| Treasurer | Roger Hudson | Republican | ||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 56.23% 20,672 | 41.75% 15,348 | 2.02% 744 |
| 2004 | 65.26% 22,433 | 33.49% 11,511 | 1.25% 429 |
| 2000 | 62.50% 18,543 | 35.36% 10,491 | 2.14% 635 |
| 1996 | 49.68% 13,781 | 48.38% 13,422 | 1.94% 538 |
Cape Girardeau County is divided among four legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. All four seats are held by Republicans.
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 157 - Cape Girardeau County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Donna Lichtenegger | 8,510 | 81.08 | -3.14 | |
| Constitution | Jennifer A. Friedrich | 1,986 | 18.92 | +3.14 | |
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 158 - Cape Girardeau County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Wayne Wallingford | 8,742 | 79.66 | +3.37 | |
| Libertarian | Robert Lee Roland | 2,232 | 20.34 | -3.37 | |
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 159 - Cape Girardeau County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Billy Pat Wright* | 2,571 | 69.15 | +7.43 | |
| Democratic | Bill Burlison | 1,147 | 30.85 | -7.43 | |
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 160 - Cape Girardeau County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Ellen Brandom | 567 | 100.00 | 0 | |
In the Missouri Senate, all of Cape Girardeau 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) in the November 4, 2008 general election. The 27th Senatorial District includes all of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.
| Missouri Senate - District 27 - Cape Girardeau County (2008) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Jason Crowell | 24,291 | 67.82 | ||
| Democratic | Linda Sanders | 11,528 | 32.18 | ||
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Cape Girardeau County is represented by Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) who also represents all of Southeast Missouri as part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District.
| U.S. House of Representatives - District 8 - Cape Girardeau County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Jo Ann Emerson | 17,984 | 65.95 | -8.33 | |
| Democratic | Tommy Sowers | 6,225 | 22.83 | -0.16 | |
| Independent | Larry Bill | 2,531 | 9.28 | +9.28 | |
| Libertarian | Rick Vandeven | 531 | 1.95 | -0.31 | |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 66.30% 24,768 | 32.68% 12,208 | 1.02% 379 |
| 2004 | 68.90% 23,814 | 30.57% 10,568 | 0.53% 183 |
| 2000 | 66.42% 19,832 | 31.26% 9,334 | 2.32% 693 |
| 1996 | 56.32% 15,557 | 36.05% 9,957 | 7.63% 2,108 |
At the presidential level, Cape Girardeau County is one of, if not the, most reliably Republican strongholds in Southeast Missouri. Although a predominantly urban and relatively affluent, upper-middle class county with a college/university subplot, Cape Girardeau County is situated in the Bible Belt and is also the home of conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win Cape Girardeau County was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Since then, voters in the county have solidly backed the Republican presidential nominees by convincing margins. George W. Bush carried Cape Girardeau County by more than two-to-one margins in 2000 and 2004. Like most other counties in Southeast Missouri, voters in Cape Girardeau County favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.
Like most areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Cape Girardeau County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to 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 Cape Girardeau County with 83.19 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 Cape Girardeau County with 63.12 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 Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County with 60.04 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.
| Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Republican primary in Missouri | ||
| John McCain | 3,528 (31.77%) | |
| Mike Huckabee | 3,068 (27.63%) | |
| Mitt Romney | 3,922 (35.32%) | |
| Ron Paul | 361 (3.25%) | |
| Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Democratic primary in Missouri | ||
| Hillary Rodham Clinton | 4,510 (56.55%) | |
| Barack Obama | 3,145 (39.44%) | |
| John Edwards (withdrawn) | 247 (3.10%) | |
| Perry County | Union County, Illinois | |||
| Bollinger County | Alexander County, Illinois | |||
| Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | ||||
| Stoddard County | Scott County |
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