Christian County, Missouri

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Christian County, Missouri
Map of Missouri highlighting Christian County
Location in the U.S. state of Missouri
Map of the United States highlighting Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded March 8, 1859[1]
Named for William Christian
Seat Ozark
Largest city Nixa
Area
 • Total 564 sq mi (1,461 km2)
 • Land 563 sq mi (1,458 km2)
 • Water 1.2 sq mi (3 km2), 0.2%
Population
 • (2010) 77,422
 • Density 138/sq mi (53/km²)
Congressional district 7th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website christiancountymo.gov

Christian County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,422.[2] Its county seat is Ozark.[3] The county was organized in 1859 and is named after William Christian, a Kentucky soldier of the American Revolutionary War.[4]

Christian County is part of the Springfield, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Between 2000 and 2010, it was the fastest growing county in Missouri and one of the fastest growing in the nation as the county became more suburban due to the booming growth in Springfield.[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 564 square miles (1,460 km2), of which 563 square miles (1,460 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.[6] The county is drained by James River and branches of the White River. The surface is undulating or hilly.[7]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1860 5,491 —
1870 6,707 22.1%
1880 9,628 43.6%
1890 14,017 45.6%
1900 16,939 20.8%
1910 15,832 −6.5%
1920 15,252 −3.7%
1930 13,169 −13.7%
1940 13,538 2.8%
1950 12,412 −8.3%
1960 12,359 −0.4%
1970 15,124 22.4%
1980 22,402 48.1%
1990 32,644 45.7%
2000 54,285 66.3%
2010 77,422 42.6%
Est. 2014 82,101 [8] 6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11]
1990-2000[12] 2010-2013[2]

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 54,285 people, 20,425 households, and 15,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 96 people per square mile (37/km²). There were 21,827 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.31% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Approximately 1.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.7% were of American, 21.1% German, 12.3% English and 11.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 20,425 households out of which 38.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.00% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 19.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,200, and the median income for a family was $58,806. Males had a median income of $31,929 versus $21,852 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,873. About 7.10% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

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Local

The Republican Party controls politics at the local level in Christian County. The Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.

On May 20, 2015, Sheriff Joey Kyle plead guilty to embezzling county funds and participating in an illegal fraud scheme. As a part of a plea agreement, he immediately resigned as sheriff, was sentenced to one year plus one day in federal prison, and must repay more than $50,000 in restitution to Christian County.[14]

Christian County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor Danny Gray Republican
Circuit Clerk Barbie Barnett-Stillings Republican
County Clerk Kay Brown Republican
Collector Ted Nichols Republican
Commissioner
(Presiding)		 Lou Lapaglia Republican
Commissioner
(District 1)		 Tom Huff Republican
Commissioner
(District 2)		 Bill Barnett Republican
Coroner Brad Cole Republican
Prosecuting Attorney Amy Fite Republican
Public Administrator Ken Davis Republican
Recorder Kelly Hall Republican
Sheriff Brad Cole, interim Republican
Surveyor Loyd E. Todd Republican
Treasurer Karen Matthews Republican

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2008 49.65% 18,556 47.73% 17,840 2.61% 977
2004 68.61% 21,400 30.27% 9,443 1.12% 348
2000 58.90% 13,646 39.49% 9,148 1.61% 373
1996 56.69% 10,559 40.22% 7,491 3.10% 577

Christian County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, both of which are represented by Republicans.

  • District 141 - Rep. Kevin Elmer (R-Nixa). In 2008, Wasson defeated Democratic challenger Ron Shawgo with 72.77% of the vote in the district to Shawgo's 27.23%; the Christian County precincts backed Wasson with 71.77% and gave 28.23% to Shawgo.
  • District 142 – Rep. Raymond Weter (R-Nixa). In 2008, Weter ran unopposed and was reelected with 99.78% of the total vote in the district, with the remainder of the vote going to Richard Green, a write-in candidate.

All of Christian County is a part of Missouri's 20th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by State Senator Jay Wasson (R-Nixa). The 20th Senatorial District consists of Christian, Douglas, Webster and parts of Greene counties in Southwest Missouri.

Federal

All of Christian County is included in Missouri's 7th Congressional District and is currently represented by Billy Long (R-Springfield) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political culture

Past Presidential Elections Results
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2008 67.08% 25,382 31.41% 11,883 1.51% 572
2004 70.51% 22,102 28.90% 9,059 0.60% 187
2000 63.82% 14,824 33.99% 7,896 2.19% 508
1996 50.97% 9,477 35.64% 6,627 13.40% 2,491

Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Christian County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried Christian County in 2000 and 2004 by more than two-to-one margins, and like many other rural and exurban counties throughout Missouri, Christian County strongly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Christian County in over 50 years.

Like most areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Christian County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Christian County with 80.46 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 Christian County with 58.98 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 Christian 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 Christian County with 73.01 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)

Voters in Christian County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.

  • Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) received more votes, a total of 5,852, than any candidate from either party in Christian County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary.
Christian County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain 2,943 (24.37%)
Mike Huckabee 5,852 (48.46%)
Mitt Romney 2,748 (22.75%)
Ron Paul 416 (3.44%)
Christian County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Clinton 4,308 (57.68%)
Barack Obama 2,982 (39.93%)
John Edwards (withdrawn) 145 (1.94%)

Education

Public schools

Private schools

  • Faith Christian School - Spokane - (PK-12) - Baptist

Colleges and universities

Public Safety

  • Billings Fire Protection District
  • Billings Police Department
  • Chadwick Fire Protection District - Chadwick
  • Christian County Ambulance District
  • Christian County Sheriff's Department
  • Clever Fire Protection District
  • Clever Police Department
  • Highlandville Fire Protection District
  • Highlandville Police Department
  • Nixa Fire Protection District
  • Nixa Police Department
  • Ozark Fire Protection District
  • Ozark Police Department
  • Sparta Fire Protection District
  • Sparta Police Department

Communities

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Townships

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In popular culture

The 2010 film Winter's Bone was filmed entirely in Taney County and Christian County. Many locals were cast in significant roles in the film.

See also

References

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  14. ↑ http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/christian-county/2015/05/20/joey-kyle/27652909/

External links

 Greene County Webster County
Lawrence County Douglas County
  Christian County, Missouri  
Stone County Taney County

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