Nixa, Missouri
Nixa is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 23,257.[3] It is part of the Springfield, Missouri metropolitan area.
Nixa, Missouri | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: The Progressive Choice of the Ozarks | |
 Location of Nixa, Missouri | |
| Coordinates: 37°2′43″N 93°17′56″W / 37.04528°N 93.29889°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | Christian |
| Incorporated | 1946 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.30 sq mi (24.09 km2) |
| • Land | 9.30 sq mi (24.08 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,296 ft (395 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 23,257 |
| • Density | 2,501.56/sq mi (965.83/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 65714 |
| Area code | 417 |
| FIPS code | 29-52616[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0723380[2] |
| Website | www |
History
changeThe area was first settled by farmers who located their farms along the wooded streams near present day Nixa.[5] Many people traveled through Nixa, because it was a half-day ride with a team of horses from Springfield.[5] Wagon drivers found it a convenient stopover site when hauling freight between Springfield and Arkansas.[5] The community was first known as "Faughts".[6] An early resident, Nicholas A. Inman, was a blacksmith from Tennessee who set up a shop in 1852.[5] When a post office was opened, a town meeting was held to decide on a name for the community. Because of his years of service to the community it was suggested the town be named for him.[5] Another suggestion was to call it "nix" because the community was "nothing but a crossroads".[5] It was finally decided to take the name Nix and add the first letter of Inman's middle name, "a", to get the unique name Nixa.[5] The village of Nixa incorporated on June 10, 1902.[5]
Geography
changeNixa is located at 37°2′43″N 93°17′56″W / 37.04528°N 93.29889°W (37.045253, -93.298755).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.30 square miles (24.09 km2), all of it land.[1] The modern day city rests on and around seven hills.
Education
changeAll the schools in Nixa are public. Currently, the Nixa R-2 School District operates four elementary schools for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. These are Matthews, Espy, Century, and the newest, High Pointe Elementary (named so because it sits on the highest elevation in Christian County), opened in August 2007. There are also two intermediate schools for students in the fifth and sixth grades—Inman and Summit. There is one junior high school and one high school. There is also a magnet school for Kindergarten through 6th grade- John Thomas School of Discovery (JTSD). The old Main Street Elementary School building has become an administration building, named Faught Administration Center.[8] The district is widely considered one of the best school districts in Missouri.[5] The district has received the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Distinction in Performance Award for each of the last five years. Its Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores surpassed state averages in all 10 assessments.[5] Nixa High School is ranked one of the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.[9]
Movie and TV references
changeIn the Robert Ludlum novels and movies (fiction), Nixa, Missouri is the birthplace of the character Jason Bourne. It was revealed in The Bourne Supremacy that Bourne's real name was David Webb and that he was born in Nixa, Missouri.[10]
Several streets in a neighborhood northeast of downtown are named for performers on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, including Nixa native Slim Wilson. They include Slim Wilson Boulevard, Red Foley Court, Zed Tennis Street, Bill Ring Court, (Speedy) Haworth Court and Ozark Jubilee Drive.[11]
A 2013 episode of the Investigation Discovery television series Beauty Queen Murder featured a murder in Nixa—the 1985 death of Jackie Johns. The murder was not solved until 2007, when DNA evidence proved that fellow Nixa resident Gerald Carnahan had raped and murdered the young lady.[12]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nixa, Missouri
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "QuickFacts: Nixa city, Missouri". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 "History of Nixa". City of Nixa, Missouri. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ by Michelle Korgis-Fitzpatrick (July 2002). "A Trip Back into the History of Time". Michelle Korgis-Fitzpatrick. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ↑ "Nixa Public Schools Central Office (Faught Administration Center)". Foursquare. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "Nixa High Overview". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "Bourne in Missouri". The Pitch/KC Communications, LLC. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "Google Maps". Google, Inc. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ↑ Kathee Baird. "Gerald Carnahan Found Guilty In Murder Of Jacquie Johns". The Crime Scene. Retrieved 12 February 2016.