Vineyards and wineries were first established in the area by German immigrants in the mid-19th century. Among the first mentioned in county histories are those around the southeastern Callaway settlement of Heilburn, a community neighboring Portland, on the Missouri River.[5] Since the 1960s, there has been a revival of winemaking there and throughout Missouri.
This area was historically occupied by the Osage and other Native American peoples, some of whom migrated from east of the Ohio River Valley. Others emerged as cultures in this area, following thousands of years of settlement by indigenous peoples.[citation needed]
The early European-American settlement of Callaway County was largely by migrants from the Upper South states of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with an influx of German immigrants starting in the 1830s,[6] as was the case with other counties along the Missouri River. Some of them brought black slaves and enslavement practices with them, and quickly started cultivating hemp and tobacco, the same crops as were grown in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie.[7] By 1860, enslaved people made up at least 25 percent of the county's population,[8] higher than in most parts of the state.
On October 27, 1860, a woman known as "Slave Teney" was lynched by whites near Fulton after she confessed to killing the daughter of her owner.[9][10]
Some pioneer families from Callaway and Lewis County, Missouri, moved to the West and became influential early settlers of the nascent state of California. Callaway families helped settle areas of California near the Oregon border, as they entered the state via the Oregon Trail, then southward toward San Francisco. Lewis County relatives helped build Sacramento and develop viticulture in the California Central Valley and areas north of San Francisco Bay. Some of these Missouri families, later key U.S./Unionist advocates and military personnel during the U.S. Civil War, held early local and statewide political offices in California.[11]
The minutes of the U.S. Congressional hearing on the legitimacy of U.S. Civil-war-era elections in Callaway County include reports of substantial election meddling and voter harassment and intimidation, summarized in the 1867-68 Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives. It described the Confederate support in the county, citing prominent citizens, but the report also demonstrated that there was substantial county support for Union/U.S. government among citizens who were often intimidated into silence. Historians therefore cannot ascertain exact percentages of Union or Confederate sympathies in the county.[12]
The Battle of Moore's Mill was the only significant Civil War battle that took place in Callaway County. One historian said it was known as "Kingdom of Callaway". A truce with U.S./Union forces during the war effectively allowed Confederate advocates to continue to operate under surveillance, in proximity to the Missouri government offices in Jefferson City. There may have been more than twice as many Confederate as U.S./Union troops in Callaway. A so-called "Confederate government of Missouri" set up offices in southwest Missouri near the Arkansas border, while a line almost straight south along the Arkansas-Oklahoma border connected it to a known Texas-affiliate (and possibly controlling) office set up across from the southwest corner of Arkansas in Marshall, Texas.[13][14]
According to "A Short History of Callaway County" by Ovid Bell, the publisher of the (county seat) Fulton Daily Sun Gazette, "Fulton was occupied during the greater part of the war by Union soldiers and militia, and Southern (i.e. Confederate) sympathizers were in constant fear of imprisonment and death." U.S. forces loyal to the Union were raised by Captains William T Snell, Henry Thomas, and JJP Johnson. They were reinforced by troops under General John B. Henderson from the town of Louisiana in Pike County, Missouri.[15]
After the late-1860s Reconstruction era, an element of white residents in the state and county worked to restore white supremacy. Violence against Black people reached a peak around the turn of the 20th century, when whites lynched a total of four African Americans in the county.[16] The victims included Ham Peterson in May 1884, killed because his brother spoke disrespectfully to whites; an unnamed African-American man killed by a mob in October 1884, after being accused of raping a young girl; and Emmett Divens, lynched August 15, 1895.[9][17]
Other settlers in the Missouri River valley included German immigrants from the mid-19th century following the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states; they established a strong wine industry in the area and built towns with German-influenced architecture, concentrated substantially in counties south of Callaway and across the Missouri River, celebrated annually in the Maifest events in the Gasconade county seat, Hermann. Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state nationally until Prohibition. Since the 1960s, numerous vineyards and wineries have been established again in the river valley, including Summit Lake Winery in Holts Summit. One definition of the Missouri Rhineland can be found in a Chicago Tribune article of September 2018.[18]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 847 square miles (2,190km2), of which 835 square miles (2,160km2) is land and 13 square miles (34km2) (1.5%) is water.[19]
The northern part of the county is relatively flat and devoid of large tracts of forests. The southern border of the county is the Missouri River, and the area is heavily forested over large hills and valleys. Cedar Creek makes up the bulk of the county's western border. Jefferson City lies across the Missouri River from the southwestern corner of the county.[20][21]
U.S. Decennial Census[23] 1790-1960[24] 1900-1990[25] 1990-2000[26] 2010-2020[1]
As of the census[27] of 2000, there were 40,766 people, 14,416 households, and 10,336 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 inhabitants per square mile (19/km2). There were 16,167 housing units at an average density of 19 unitsper square mile (7.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was self-identified as 91.79% White, 5.66% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Approximately 0.92% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.9% identified as of German ancestry, 22.0% as American, 9.1% as Irish (including Scots-Irish) and 9.1% as English ancestry.
There were 14,416 households, out of which 35.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 11.10% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,110, and the median income for a family was $44,474. Males had a median income of $29,574 versus $22,317 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,005. About 6.00% of families and 8.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Callaway County is sometimes regarded as being on the northern edge of the Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the most predominant religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Callaway County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (41.60%), Roman Catholics (14.00%), and United Methodists (9.41%).
Administrative Townships in Callaway County were created February 12, 1821, when there only two. Cote Sans Dessein Township generally included areas west of a line along the Auxvasse River (now called Auxvasse Creek) until it met about 91W45 longitude, where the boundary then continued straight north. Auxvasse Township (which never included the city of Auxvasse) included all areas east of that line, but that changed within about 3 months. On May 14, 1821, a new larger-than-today Round Prairie Township originally covered NW Callaway County, and the next day an Elizabeth (later renamed Fulton) Township was created in the center of the county, along with a later-subdivided Nine Mile Prairie Township that included NE Callaway County. More changes took place only a few years afterward with the creation of a larger-than-today Cedar Township November 13, 1824, that initially covered the SW corner of the county; then a new Bourbon Township (from northern Round Prairie) was created February 21, 1825; a later-subdivided Liberty Township February 24, 1838, and Jackson Township December 25, 1875, in north county; Calwood Township February 23, 1876; Caldwell Township June 5, 1883. These were followed between 1883 and 1897 by the creation of St. Aubert, Summit, and Guthrie townships in SW Callaway; and McCredie and Shamrock townships in northern Callaway. In the 2000s, West Fulton split from Fulton Township (later renamed East Fulton). More details on the boundaries, included cities and towns, and impact on previous boundaries are included in the articles below:
District 49 — Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit). Consists of the communities of Fulton, Holts Summit, Kingdom City, Lake Mykee Town, Mokane, New Bloomfield, and Tebbetts.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 49 — Callaway County (2020)
At the presidential level, Callaway County has become solidly Republican in recent years despite being a Democratic stronghold for much of its history. Callaway County strongly favored Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Callaway County in 1996 with a plurality of the vote, and a Democrat hasn't won majority support from the county's voters in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Like most rural areas throughout Missouri, voters in Callaway County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings. Despite Callaway County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes. In 2018, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition A) concerning right to work, the outcome of which ultimately reversed the right to work legislation passed in the state the previous year. 62.63% of Callaway County voters cast their ballots to overturn the law.
Missouri presidential preference primaries
2020
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 and carried Callaway County by a wide margin. Biden went on to defeat PresidentDonald Trump in the general election.
Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary – Callaway 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 in Callaway County. Trump went on to win the nomination and the presidency.
Missouri Republican Presidential Primary – Callaway County (2016)
The 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary's results were nonbinding on the state's national convention delegates. Voters in Callaway 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 Romney. 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. However, former GovernorMike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) won a plurality in Callaway County.
Missouri Republican Presidential Primary – Callaway County (2008)
Then-SenatorHillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Callaway County during the 2008 presidential primary. Despite initial reports that Clinton had won Missouri, Barack Obama (D-Illinois), also a Senator at the time, narrowly defeated her statewide and later became that year's Democratic nominee, going on to win the presidency.
Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary – Callaway County (2008)
Ralls County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,355. Its county seat is New London. The county was organized November 16, 1820, and named for Daniel Ralls, Missouri state legislator.
Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri, with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,577. The largest city and county seat is Charleston. The county was officially organized on February 14, 1845, and was named after the Mississippi River.
Cole County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 77,279. Its county seat and largest city is Jefferson City, the state capital. The county was organized November 16, 1820, and named after pioneer William Temple Cole who built Cole's Fort in Boonville.
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, making it the state's eighth-most populous county. The county was organized November 16, 1820, removed from the former larger Howard County 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.
Audrain County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,962. Its county seat is Mexico. The county was organized December 13, 1836, and named for Colonel James Hunter Audrain of the War of 1812 and who later was elected to the state legislature.
Fulton County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Kentucky, with the Mississippi River forming its western boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,515. Its county seat is Hickman and its largest city is Fulton. The county was formed in 1845 from Hickman County, Kentucky and named for Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat.
Mokane is a small city in southern Callaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 185 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area.
New Bloomfield is a city in Cedar Township, Callaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 669 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Little Dixie is a historic 13- to 17-county region along the Missouri River in central Missouri, United States. Its early Anglo-American settlers were largely migrants from the hemp and tobacco districts of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They brought enslaved African Americans with them or purchased them as workers in the region. Because Southerners settled there first, the pre-Civil War culture of the region was similar to that of the Upper South. The area was also known as Boonslick country.
The Jefferson City metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties – Cole, Callaway, Moniteau, and Osage – in central Missouri anchored by the city of Jefferson City. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 150,316. The Jefferson City MSA consists of four counties, and borders the Columbia metropolitan area to the north.
Hams Prairie is an unincorporated community in Callaway County, Missouri, United States. The town is located 5.5 miles south-southeast of Fulton on Missouri Route C. Mokane on the north edge of the Missouri River floodplain is six miles further south along Route C.
Auxvasse Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,000.
NOTE: Cedar Township in Callaway County no longer contains the town of Cedar City since boundary changes creating Summit Township from its former southern sector sometime between 1883 and 1897. This has caused some confusion in historical, geographic, and genealogical research—see "History" section below.
Cote Sans Dessein Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,122.
East Fulton Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,231.
Jackson Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,150.
Nine Mile Prairie Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 790.
Round Prairie Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1038.
Saint Aubert Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,969.
Shamrock is an unincorporated community in Shamrock Township in the northeast corner of Callaway County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The community is on Missouri Route B two miles west of the Loutre River. Auxvasse is ten miles to the west, Montgomery City is about nine miles east and Williamsburg is five miles south.
↑ Provines, John G: 'History of Callaway County' article in the 'Illustrated Historical Atlas of Callaway County'. Philadelphia PA: Edwards Brothers, 1876.
↑ Provines, John G: 'History of Callaway County' in 'Illustrated Historical Atlas of Callaway County', 1876.
↑ Geise, William R. (1962). "Missouri's Confederate Capital in Marshall, Texas". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 66 (2): 193–207. JSTOR30236239.
↑ Bell, Ovid. "A Short History of Callaway County" (Fulton, MO: Ovid Bell Press, 1875)
Saeger, Andrew M. "The Kingdom Of Callaway: Callaway County, Missouri during the Civil War." (MA thesis, Northwest Missouri State University, 2013). bibliography pp 75–81 online
Smith, Harriet E. "Autobiography of Mark Twain" (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010).
Williams, Walter, ed. "A History of Northeast Missouri" (Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Company, 1913).
Callaway County in 1876 (w township boundaries) (page2) (Note that in 1850, the US Census referred to numbered districts in the county rather than the townships which were created around the time of Missouri statehood and described, in text, in the Missouri State Library's "History of Callaway County", listed above in the bibliography section.)
Map of Slave-holder percentages in US southeastern states, per 1860 census, published by a University of Central Florida scholar, showing Callaway County not among the more slave-populated counties among the southeastern US states in general, or even of Missouri. Note that other maps on the same topic show substantially different indicators. All data should be checked for sources, and compared to census records, with attention to the difference between the number of slaves in a county and the percentage of slave population in a county.
Map Showing Distribution of Slave Population, per 1860 census. A second similar map published in 1861 shows substantially different indicators, especially in Missouri. Census data for 1860 may need to be reviewed to see which of the two maps is more accurate. Note that percentage of slave population is not the same as percentage of slave-owning population.
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