| Scott County, Missouri | |
Location in the state of Missouri |
|
Missouri's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1821 |
|---|---|
| Named for | John Scott, the first Congressman from Missouri |
| Seat | Benton |
| Largest city | Sikeston |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
426.04 sq mi (1,103 km²) 421.01 sq mi (1,090 km²) 5.03 sq mi (13 km²), 1.18 |
| PopulationEst. - (2008) - Density |
40,673 96/sq mi (37/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.scottcountymo.com/ |
Scott County is a county located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 40,422; a 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 40,673. Its county seat is Benton[1]. The county was organized in 1821 and named for John Scott, the first Congressman from Missouri.
The Sikeston Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of all of Scott County.
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The second county formed in Missouri’s Southeast Lowland Region, Scott County was created by the Missouri state legislature on December 28, 1821. The county was named in honor of John Scott (1785-1861), the first congressman from Missouri.
Southerners were the first settlers on Spanish land grants in the late 1790s. The King’s Highway (El Camino Real), laid out in 1789, crossed the county which lies in territory claimed by Osage Native American tribes until 1808. The Delaware and Shawnee tribes roamed into the area around the 1820s.
Benton, the county seat, was laid out in 1822 and is named after Thomas Hart Benton, one of Missouri’s first U.S. Senators. From 1864-1878, the county seat was located at Commerce, a town laid out in 1823 on the Mississippi River. Long known as Tywappity, the town started out as a trading post and became a river landing by 1803. Rezin Bowie, brother of James, was syndic of Tywappity Settlement before 1800. The first Baptist Church was formed here in Missouri in 1805. New Hamburg, the third town founded in the county, was settled by German immigrants in the 1840s. The first log church was St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Sikeston, the largest city in the county and the fourth settlement to be founded, was settled in 1800 and was laid out in 1860 by John Sikes on the Cairo & Fulton Railroad.
The county, devastated by guerilla raids during the U.S. Civil War, grew rapidly from the 1870s to the early 1900s as its dense forests were limbered off and numerous railroads were constructed. Towns founded during this period included Diehlstadt, Morley, Oran, Perkins, Blodgett, Crowder, Vanduser, Illmo, Fornfelt (Scott City), Chaffee, Ancell, and Kelso. The Thebes-Mississippi River Railroad Bridge at Illmo dates back to 1905. Located nearby is Cape St. Croix, a rock island in the river where Father De Montigny erected a cross in 1699.
Located near Morley is the gravesite of Nathaniel W. Watkins, a state legislator and a general in the Missouri State Guards who was also the half-brother of Henry Clay. In the county for a short period of time lived Wilson Brown, the ninth lieutenant governor of Missouri and noted early legislators such as Joseph Hunter II and Abraham Hunton.
Cotton, soybeans, melon and grains were all common crops in Scott County. Between the Mississippi River and Little River District drainage ditches lies one of the oldest drainage systems in the United States, Crowley’s Ridge, established in 1905, is a remnant of an old coastal plain that crosses the country.
On January 28, 2004, the Scott County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Of adults 25 years of age and older in Scott County, 72.9% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 10.6% holds a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Scott County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Scott County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (40.54%), Roman Catholics (27.12%), and Methodists (9.28%).
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 426.04 square miles (1,103.4 km2), of which 421.01 square miles (1,090.4 km2) (or 98.82%) is land and 5.03 square miles (13.0 km2) (or 1.18%) is water.[2]
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 40,422 people, 15,626 households, and 11,219 families residing in the county. The population density was 37/km² (96/mi²). There were 16,951 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (40/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.68% White, 10.50% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Approximately 1.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 15,626 households out of which 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% 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 3.03.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,735, and the median income for a family was $48,847. Males had a median income of $30,169 versus $19,269 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,363. About 12.30% of families and 16.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.50% of those under age 18 and 13.60% of those age 65 or over.
Politics at the local level in Scott County is completely controlled by the Democratic Party. All of Scott County's elected officeholders are Democrats.
| Office | Incumbent | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Assessor | Teresa M. Houchin | Democratic |
| Circuit Clerk | Christy Hency | Democratic |
| Clerk | Rita Milam | Democratic |
| Collector | Mark Hensley | Democratic |
| Commissioner – District 1 | Dennis E. Ziegenhorn | Democratic |
| Commissioner – District 2 | Donnie Kiefer | Democratic |
| Coroner | Scott C. Amick | Democratic |
| Presiding Commissioner | Jamie Burger | Democratic |
| Prosecuting Attorney | Paul R. Boyd | Democratic |
| Public Administrator | Pam Dirnberger | Democratic |
| Recorder | Tom Dirnberger | Democratic |
| Sheriff | Rick Walter | Democratic |
| Treasurer | Glenda Enderle | Democratic |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 53.12% 9,494 | 45.55% 8,142 | 1.33% 238 |
| 2004 | 58.69% 10,198 | 40.31% 7,004 | 1.00% 174 |
| 2000 | 52.12% 8,159 | 46.59% 7,293 | 1.29% 202 |
| 1996 | 38.71% 5,878 | 59.76% 9,074 | 1.53% 233 |
Scott County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 160 - Scott County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Ellen Brandom* | 7,446 | 100.00 | 0 | |
| Missouri House of Representatives - District 161 - Scott County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Ron McCormick | 1,627 | 63.11 | +63.11 | |
| Democratic | Steve Hodges* | 951 | 36.89 | -63.11 | |
In the Missouri Senate, all of Scott County is a part of Missouri's 27th District and is currently represented by State Senator Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau). In 2008, Crowell defeated Linda Sanders (D-Jackson) 64.2%-35.8% in the district. The 27th Senatorial District consists of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry, and Scott counties.
| Missouri Senate - District 27 - Scott County (2008) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Jason Crowell | 10,304 | 60.10 | ||
| Democratic | Linda Sanders | 6,842 | 39.90 | ||
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Scott County is represented by Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) who represents all of Southeast Missouri as part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District.
| U.S. House of Representatives - District 8 - Scott County (2010) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Jo Ann Emerson | 7,691 | 67.67 | -4.19 | |
| Democratic | Tommy Sowers | 2,929 | 25.77 | -0.44 | |
| Independent | Larry Bill | 494 | 4.35 | +4.35 | |
| Libertarian | Rick Vandeven | 251 | 2.21 | +0.71 | |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 63.95% 11,563 | 34.61% 6,258 | 1.44% 261 |
| 2004 | 64.94% 11,330 | 34.71% 6,057 | 0.35% 61 |
| 2000 | 57.30% 8,999 | 41.09% 6,452 | 1.61% 253 |
| 1996 | 43.54% 6,641 | 45.97% 7,011 | 10.49% 1,600 |
At the presidential level, Scott County is fairly independent-leaning. While George W. Bush carried Scott County in 2000 and 2004, Bill Clinton won the county both times in 1992 and 1996. Like most of the rural counties in Missouri, Scott County favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.
Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Scott County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Scott County with 85.32 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 Scott County with 64.85 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 Scott 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 Scott County with 67.99 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.
In the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary, voters in Scott County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.
| Scott County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Republican primary in Missouri | ||
| John McCain | 1,389 (32.99%) | |
| Mike Huckabee | 1,549 (36.79%) | |
| Mitt Romney | 1,076 (25.56%) | |
| Ron Paul | 113 (2.68%) | |
| Scott County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Democratic primary in Missouri | ||
| Hillary Rodham Clinton | 2,931 (63.43%) | |
| Barack Obama | 1,443 (31.23%) | |
| John Edwards (withdrawn) | 191 (4.13%) | |
| Cape Girardeau County | Alexander County, Illinois | |||
| Scott County, Missouri | ||||
| Stoddard County | New Madrid County | Mississippi County |
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