- New Madrid County, Missouri
-
New Madrid County, Missouri 
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.Founded October 1, 1812 Named for Madrid, Spain Seat New Madrid Largest city New Madrid Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
698.02 sq mi (1,808 km²)
678.01 sq mi (1,756 km²)
20.01 sq mi (52 km²), 2.87%PopulationEst.
- (2008)
- Density
17,589
13/sq mi (5/km²)Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 New Madrid County (pronounced New MAD-rid, short as in "mad") is a county located in the Bootheel of southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the county's population was 19,760. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 17,589. The largest city and county seat is New Madrid[1]. The county was officially organized on October 1, 1812, and is named after a district located in the region that was once under Spanish rule, Nuevo Madrid, after Madrid, Spain.
The county takes in a large part of the New Madrid Fault that produced the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquake and has the potential to produce more earthquakes in the future.
Contents
History
French Canadians landed in New Madrid County in 1781, and established the first settlement in the present county at New Madrid.[2]
New Madrid County was organized on October 1, 1812 as an act of the First General Assembly of the Missouri Territory.[3]
A series of over one thousand earthquakes struck in the area in 1811 and 1812. The New Madrid Earthquake was the strongest non-subduction zone earthquake in the United States, and may have registered 9.0 on the moment magnitude scale. A request dated January 13, 1814, by the Territorial Governor, William Clark, asked for Federal relief for the "inhabitants of New Madrid County".[citation needed]
Education
Of adults 25 years of age and older in New Madrid County, 63.6% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 9.6% holds a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
Public schools:
- Gideon School District 37 - Gideon
- Gideon Elementary School (K-6)
- Gideon High School (7-12)
- New Madrid County Central R-I School District - New Madrid
- Portageville School District - Portageville
- Portageville Elementary School (PK-5)
- Portageville Middle School (6-8)
- Portageville High School (9-12)
- Risco R-II School District - Risco
- Risco Elementary School (K-6)
- Risco High School (7-12)
Private schools:
- St. Eustachius Elementary School - Portageville - (PK-8) - Roman Catholic
- Immaculate Conception School - New Madrid - (PK-8) - Roman Catholic
Alternative/vocational schools:
- New Madrid Bend Youth Center - New Madrid - (6-12) - Alternative
- New Madrid R-I Technical Skills Center - New Madrid - (9-12) - Vocational/Technical
Religion
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), New Madrid County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in New Madrid County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (62.86%), Roman Catholics (8.80%), and Methodists (7.36%).
Geography
According to the 2000 Census, the county has a total area of 698.02 square miles (1,807.9 km2), of which 678.01 square miles (1,756.0 km2) (or 97.13%) is land and 20.01 square miles (51.8 km2) (or 2.87%) is water.[4]
Adjacent counties
- Scott County (north)
- Mississippi County (northeast)
- Fulton County, Kentucky (east)
- Lake County, Tennessee (southeast)
- Pemiscot County (south)
- Dunklin County (southwest)
- Stoddard County (northwest)
Major highways
Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 19,760 people, 7,824 households, and 5,508 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 8,600 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.21% White, 15.36% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Approximately 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among the major first ancestries reported in New Madrid County were 32.4% American, 10.3% Irish, 8.8% English, and 8.7% German, according to Census 2000.
There were 7,824 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 14.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,758, and the median income for a family was $39,411. Males had a median income of $28,408 versus $19,186 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,227. About 18.60% of families and 22.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.40% of those under age 18 and 19.20% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
Politics
Local
Politics at the local level in New Madrid County are completely controlled by the Democratic Party, as all of New Madrid County's elected officeholders are Democrats.
New Madrid County, Missouri Elected countywide officials Assessor Ronnie Simmons Democratic Circuit Clerk Marsha Meatte Holiman Democratic County Clerk Clement Cravens Democratic Collector Dewayne Nowlin Democratic Commissioner
(Presiding)Clyde M. Hawes Democratic Commissioner
(District 1)Mark Baker Democratic Commissioner
(District 2)Don Day Democratic Coroner Jimmy McSpadden Democratic Prosecuting Attorney Lewis H. Recker Democratic Public Administrator Riley Bock Democratic Recorder Ann Evans Copeland Democratic Sheriff Terry M. Stevens Democratic Surveyor NA Democratic Treasurer Tom Bradley Democratic State
Past Gubernatorial Elections Results Year Republican Democratic Third Parties 2008 44.64% 3,574 53.87% 4,313 1.49% 120 2004 47.57% 3,737 51.38% 4,036 1.05% 82 2000 41.28% 2,978 57.50% 4,148 1.22% 88 1996 28.14% 2,106 70.43% 5,270 1.43% 107 New Madrid County is divided among three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
- District 160 - Currently represented by Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) and consists of Miner and the area around Sikeston. In 2010, Brandom ran unopposed and was reelected with 100 percent of the vote.
Missouri House of Representatives - District 160 - New Madrid County (2010) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Republican Ellen Brandom* 437 100.00 0 - District 161 - Currently represented by Steve Hodges (D-East Prairie) and consists of most of the northern and eastern parts of the county and includes the city of New Madrid as well as the towns of Canalou, Catron, Howardville, Lilbourn, Marston, Matthews, Morehouse, and North Lilbourn.
Missouri House of Representatives - District 161 - New Madrid County (2010) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Steve Hodges* 1,369 57.74 -42.26 Republican Ron McCormick 1,002 42.26 +42.26 - District 162 - Currently represented by Terry Swinger (D-Caruthersville) and consists of most of the western and southern parts of the county and includes the city of Portageville as well as the towns of Gideon, Parma, Risco, and Tallapoosa. In 2010, Swinger ran unopposed and was reelected with 100 percent of the vote.
Missouri House of Representatives - District 162 - New Madrid County (2010) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Terry Swinger* 1,381 100.00 0 In the Missouri Senate, all of Mississippi County is a part of Missouri's 25th District and is currently represented by State Senator Rob Mayer (R-Dexter). In 2008, Mayer defeated M. Shane Stoelting (D) 65.32-34.68 percent in the district. The 25th Senatorial District consists of Butler, Dunklin, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Stoddard, and Wayne counties.
Missouri Senate - District 25 - New Madrid County (2008) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Republican Rob Mayer 4,217 54.53 Democratic M. Shane Stoelting 3,517 45.47 Federal
In the U.S. House of Representatives, New Madrid 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 - New Madrid County (2010) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Republican Jo Ann Emerson 2,908 61.77 -2.39 Democratic Tommy Sowers 1,628 34.58 +0.60 Independent Larry Bill 101 2.15 +2.15 Libertarian Rick Vandeven 71 1.51 +0.17 Political Culture
Past Presidential Elections Results Year Republican Democratic Third Parties 2008 56.76% 4,593 41.65% 3,370 1.59% 129 2004 52.54% 4,154 47.00% 3,716 0.46% 37 2000 47.01% 3,416 51.45% 3,738 1.54% 112 1996 31.93% 2,417 58.80% 4,451 9.27% 702 At the presidential level, New Madrid County is a fairly independent-leaning or battleground county although, like many counties in the impoverished Bootheel with a significant African American population, it does has a slight tendency to lean Democratic. While George W. Bush carried New Madrid County in 2004, Al Gore won the county in 2000, although both times the margins of victory were significantly closer than in many of the other rural areas. Bill Clinton also carried New Madrid County both times in 1992 and 1996 by convincing double-digit margins. And like many of the other rural counties in Missouri, New Madrid County favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008, although the margin of victory was smaller than in most rural areas.
Like most rural areas throughout Missouri, voters in New Madrid County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles but are more moderate or populist on economic issues, typical of the Dixiecrat philosophy. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed New Madrid County with 83.82 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 New Madrid County with 56.09 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 New Madrid 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 New Madrid County with 75.66 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 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.
Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)
In the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary, voters in New Madrid County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.
- Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 1,801, than any candidate from either party in New Madrid County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary. She also received more votes than the total number of votes cast in the entire Republican Primary in New Madrid County.
New Madrid County, Missouri 2008 Republican primary in Missouri John McCain 386 (28.68%) Mike Huckabee 656 (48.74%) Mitt Romney 250 (18.57%) Ron Paul 43 (3.19%) New Madrid County, Missouri 2008 Democratic primary in Missouri Hillary Rodham Clinton 1,801 (71.19%) Barack Obama 610 (24.11%) John Edwards (withdrawn) 101 (3.99%) See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in New Madrid County, Missouri
- New Madrid Floodway Project
- New Madrid Seismic Zone
References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofgrundyc00kans/historyofgrundyc00kans_djvu.txt
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=HR0UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335&sig=61dc7FW9ViEhOlWsnuiIvRkMgcs&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- Digitized 1930 Plat Book of New Madrid County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Stoddard County Scott County Mississippi County 
Fulton County, Kentucky 
New Madrid County, Missouri 
Dunklin County Pemiscot County Lake County, Tennessee Municipalities and communities of New Madrid County, Missouri Cities Canalou | Catron | Gideon | Howardville | Lilbourn | Marston | Matthews | Morehouse | New Madrid | Parma | Portageville‡ | Risco | Sikeston‡ | Tallapoosa
Village Unincorporated
communitiesFootnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Categories:- Missouri counties
- 1812 establishments in the United States
- Populated places established in 1812
- New Madrid County, Missouri
- Missouri counties on the Mississippi River
- Gideon School District 37 - Gideon
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