Boone County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Centrally located the state's Mid-Missouri region, its county seat is in Columbia, which is Missouri's fourth-largest city and location of the University of Missouri. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the county's population was listed as 183,610,[1] making it the state's eighth-most populous county. The county was organized November 16, 1820, removed from the former larger Howard County (now to the northwest) of the old federal Missouri Territory of 1812-1821, and named for the famous Western explorer and settler of Kentucky, then recently deceased Daniel Boone (1734-1820), whose kin largely populated the Boonslick area, having arrived in the 1810s on the Boone's Lick Road.[2]
Boone County was settled primarily from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Tennessee and further east of Virginia. The settlers brought slaves and idea of slave-holding with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and the bluegrass state of Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. Boone was one of several counties to the north and south of the diagonal flowing southwestward Missouri River that was settled by mostly Southerners. Because of its culture and traditions, the area became known as Little Dixie, and Boone County was at its heart.[3] In 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's population, Boone County was strongly pro-Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-1865).[4]
Shortly after the assassination / murder in April 1865, of 16th President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865, served 1861-1865), the leading citizens of the county and its county seat town denounced the killing. They also directed that all public buildings including the county courthouse and the nearby state university be draped in black mourning for thirty days.[5]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 691 square miles (1,790km2), of which 685 square miles (1,770km2) is land and 5.6 square miles (15km2) (0.8%) is water.[6] The Missouri River makes up the southern border of the county.
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1]
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 135,454 people, 53,094 households, and 31,378 families residing in the county. The population density was 198 inhabitants per square mile (76/km2). There were 56,678 housing units at an average density of 83 unitsper square mile (32/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 85.43% White, 8.54% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 2.96% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Approximately 1.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.6% claimed German, 12.3% American, 11.2% English and 9.8% Irish ancestry.
There were 53,094 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.50% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.90% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.80% under the age of 18, 19.90% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 18.80% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,485, and the median income for a family was $51,210. Males had a median income of $33,304 versus $25,990 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,844. About 7.60% of families and 14.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.
There are 127,433 registered voters as of 2022.[12]
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Boone County is sometimes regarded as being on the northern edge of the so-called Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the most predominant religious faith represented. The most predominant denominations among residents in Boone County who adhere to a religion are the Baptists with the largest being from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention (20.81%), Roman Catholics (16.71%), and smaller / minor nondenominational or evangelical groups (13.23%).
Township boundaries have changed over time. See links at end of article for maps of Boone County showing boundaries of different dates. As a rule, older townships were split, with newer townships created from their subdivisions. This is significant for historical and genealogical research. Note that maps show changes in township boundaries between 1898 and 1930 were minimal.
As a county anchored by a college town, Boone holds a Democratic tendency at the local, state, and federal levels. It is the only Democratic stronghold in Missouri outside of Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Boone County is also very progressive on ballot measures, voting for Medicaid expansion in 2020 and legal abortion in 2024, unlike all of its neighboring counties. Both amendments only narrowly passed statewide, making Boone County's votes crucial.
Like nearly all other U.S. counties housing a major university, the Democratic Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Boone County. Democrats currently hold all of the elected county-wide positions.
Boone County is split between five legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. Three are held by Republicans, with two held by Democrats.
District 44 — Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville). Consists of the communities of Centralia, Hallsville, Sturgeon, and northeastern Columbia.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 44 — Boone County (2020)
All of Boone County is a part of Missouri's 19th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia), who is the Majority Floor Leader. However, Democrats have carried Boone County in recent elections.
Missouri Senate — District 19 — Boone County (2020)
Northern Boone County is included in Missouri's 4th Congressional District and is currently represented by Mark Alford (R-Lake Winnebago, Missouri) in the U.S. House of Representatives. On October 27, 2021, Alford Sr. announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Missouri's 4th congressional district as a Republican in the 2022 elections. He won the Republican nomination in the August 2 primary election and won the November 8 general election.
Boone County, along with the rest of the state of Missouri, is represented in the U.S. Senate by Josh Hawley (R-Columbia) and Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale). However, their Democratic opponents carried Boone County in each of their respective most recent elections.
The 2020 presidential primaries for both the Democratic and Republican parties were held in Missouri on March 10. On the Democratic side, former Vice PresidentJoe Biden (D-Delaware) both won statewide by a wide margin and carried a majority in Boone County. Biden went on to defeat PresidentDonald Trump in the general election.
Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary – Boone County (2020)
The 2016 presidential primaries for both the Republican and Democratic parties were held in Missouri on March 15. Businessman Donald Trump (R-New York) narrowly won the state overall, but SenatorTed Cruz (R-Texas) carried a plurality of the vote in Boone County. Trump went on to win the nomination and the presidency.
Missouri Republican Presidential Primary – Boone County (2016)
The 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary's results were nonbinding on the state's national convention delegates. Voters in Boone County supported former U.S. SenatorRick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), who finished first in the state at large, but eventually lost the nomination to former GovernorMitt Romney (R-Massachusetts). Delegates to the congressional district and state conventions were chosen at a county caucus, which selected a delegation favoring CongressmanRon Paul (R-Texas). Incumbent PresidentBarack Obama easily won the Missouri Democratic Primary and renomination. He defeated Romney in the general election.
2008
In 2008, the Missouri Republican Presidential Primary was closely contested, with SenatorJohn McCain (R-Arizona) prevailing and eventually winning the nomination. Former GovernorMitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) won a plurality in Boone County.
Missouri Republican Presidential Primary – Boone County (2008)
Then-SenatorBarack Obama (D-Illinois) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Boone County during the 2008 presidential primary. Despite initial reports that Hillary Clinton (D-New York), also a senator at the time, had won Missouri, Obama narrowly defeated her statewide and later became that year's Democratic nominee, going on to win the presidency.
Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary – Boone County (2008)
The Boone County Fire Protection District responding to a working structure fire.
The Boone County Sheriff has jurisdiction over the whole county. The Boone County Fire Protection District (BCFPD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for a large portion of Boone County, Missouri.[19] The BCFPD is the largest volunteer fire department and third largest fire service organization in the state, protecting 492 square miles (1,270km2) of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural property and over 50,000 people.[19] The Boone County Fire District maintains 15 fire stations, a training center, and a headquarters facility.[20]
History
Prior to 1964, there was no organized fire protection in Boone County. This changed after an elderly handicapped woman died in a house fire just west of the city limits of Columbia. A small group of CB radio enthusiasts, known as the Central Missouri Radio Squad, banded together to develop a fire protection system for Boone County.[21]
↑ T. J. Stiles, Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War, New York: Vintage Books, 2003, pp.10–11
↑ PAPERS RELATING TO FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ACCOMPANYING THE ANNUAL MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE SECOND SESSION THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, PART IV, APPENDIX TO DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE OF 1865; THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF WILLIAM H. SEWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE, AND FREDERICK W. SEWARD, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, ON THE EVENING OF April 14, 1865; EXPRESSIONS OF CONDOLENCE AND SYMPATHY INSPIRED BY THESE EVENTS; Foreign Relations of the United States; Washington DC, 1866, Document 1090
History of Boone County, Missouri: Written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources; including a history of its townships, towns, and villages. Together with ... biographical sketches and portraits of prominent citizens (1882) online
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