Howard County, Missouri

Howard County is a county in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its southern border is the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,151. Its county seat is Fayette. The county was organized January 23, 1816 and named for Benjamin Howard, the first Governor of the Missouri Territory.

Howard County
County
The Howard County Courthouse in Fayette
Nickname:  Mother of Counties
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°08′N 92°42′W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	January 23, 1816
Named for	Benjamin Howard
Seat	Fayette
Largest city	Fayette
Area
• Total	472 sq mi (1,220 km2)
• Land	464 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Water	7.7 sq mi (20 km2)  1.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,151
• Density	22/sq mi (8.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)

History

Howard County was settled mainly from the upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them and grew hemp and tobacco. Howard was one of several counties settled mainly by Southerners along the Missouri River in the center of the state. Because of this, this area became known as Little Dixie, and Howard County was at its heart. Following the 1848 revolutions in germany, many German immigrants also came to this region.

Because of the reliance on slave labor, by 1860 African American slaves made up at least 25 percent of the county's population. Many Howard County residents supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws and racial segregation were enforced in the county. Five African Americans were lynched in Howard County between 1891 and 1914. These were Olli Truxton, Frank Embree, Thomas Hayden, Arthur McNeal, and Dallas Shields.

The county continued to be developed for agriculture and is still mostly rural. However, Howard has lost population since reaching its peak in 1900. The mechanization of farming reduced the demand for labor, and many people left for jobs in the cities. In 2000 African-Americans in the county had declined to less than 7 percent of the total. Nearly one-third of the residents now identify themselves as of German ancestry.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 472 square miles (1,220 km²), of which 464 square miles (1,200 km²) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km²) (1.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Chariton County (northwest)
• Randolph County (northeast)
• Boone County (southeast)
• Cooper County (south)
• Saline County (west)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 40
• Route 3
• Route 5
• Route 87
• Route 124
• Route 240

National protected area

• Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	13,426		—
1830	10,854		−19.2%
1840	13,108		20.8%
1850	13,969		6.6%
1860	15,946		14.2%
1870	17,233		8.1%
1880	18,428		6.9%
1890	17,371		−5.7%
1900	18,337		5.6%
1910	15,653		−14.6%
1920	13,997		−10.6%
1930	13,490		−3.6%
1940	13,026		−3.4%
1950	11,857		−9.0%
1960	10,859		−8.4%
1970	10,561		−2.7%
1980	10,008		−5.2%
1990	9,631		−3.8%
2000	10,212		6.0%
2010	10,144		−0.7%
2020	10,151		0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

At the 2020 census, 10,151 people lived in the county. There were 3,873 households and 841 people who did not live in households. The population density was 21.9 people per square mile (8.5/km²). The median age was 38.8 years (38.1 for males, 39.3 for females).

Of the total population, 22.1% were under 18 years old, 59.1% were 18 to 64, and 18.8% were 65 or over. Males made up 50.1% and females made up 49.9% of the people. The population was 86.9% White (non-Latino), 5.3% Black (non-Latino), 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, and 4.6% Two or more races (non-Latino). Other races each made up less than 1% of the population.

Of the 3,873 households, 2,539 (65.6%) were families, 1,133 (29.3%) had children under 18, 1,916 (49.5%) had a married couple, and 1,100 (28.4%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.4 people. There were 4,368 housing units, and 88.7% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 75.2% were owner-occupied, while 24.8% were renters.

As of 2022, the median (middle) yearly income for a household was about $59,023, and the median income for a family was about $71,759. The per capita income was about $27,474. About 7.8% of families and 12.8% of all people in Howard County lived below the poverty line. This includes 15.9% of children under 18 years old and 9.8% of people over 65 years old.

Education

Public schools

• Fayette R-III School District – Fayette
  • Laurence J. Daly Elementary School (PK-05)
  • William N. Clark Middle School (06-08)
  • Fayette High School (09-12)
• Glasgow School District – Glasgow
  • Howard County Elementary School (PK-06)
  • Glasgow High School (07-12)
• New Franklin R-I School District – New Franklin
  • New Franklin Elementary School (PK-05)
  • New Franklin Middle/High School (06-12)

Private schools

• St. Mary’s Catholic School – Glasgow (K-08) – Roman Catholic
• Grace & Glory Christian Academy – New Franklin (K-12) – Baptist

Post-secondary

• Central Methodist University – Fayette – A private, four-year Methodist university.

Cities and towns

• Armstrong
• Boonesboro
• Fayette (county seat)
• Estill
• Franklin
• Glasgow
• New Franklin
• Roanoke

Notable people

• Frank P. Briggs - former United States Senator and Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
• Sara Evans - American country music singer.
• Spottswood Rice - Union Soldier in the Civil War and African Methodist Episcopal Church minister.

Other websites

• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Howard County Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
• History of Howard and Chariton Counties, Missouri (1883), full text