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Ray County, Missouri | |
Ray County Courthouse
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Location in the state of Missouri | |
Missouri's location in the U.S. | |
Founded | November 16, 1820 |
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Named for | John Ray, Missouri state legislator |
Seat | Richmond |
Largest city | Richmond |
Area - Total - Land - Water |
574 sq mi (1,487 km²) 569 sq mi (1,474 km²) 5.1 sq mi (13 km²), 0.9 |
Population - (2020) - Density |
23,158 |
Congressional district | 5th |
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Website | http://www.raycountymo.com/ |
Ray County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,158.[1] Its county seat is Richmond.[2] The county was organized November 16, 1820 and named for John Ray, a Missouri state legislator and member of the first state Constitutional Convention.[3]
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 574 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 569 square miles (1,470 km2) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km2) (0.9%) is water.[4]
Adjacent counties[]
- Caldwell County (north)
- Carroll County (east)
- Lafayette County (south)
- Jackson County (southwest)
- Clay County (west)
- Clinton County (northwest)
Major highways[]
National protected area[]
- Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics[]
Historical populations | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1830 | 2,657 | ||
1840 | 6,553 | 146.6% | |
1850 | 10,373 | 58.3% | |
1860 | 14,092 | 35.9% | |
1870 | 18,700 | 32.7% | |
1880 | 20,190 | 8.0% | |
1890 | 24,215 | 19.9% | |
1900 | 24,805 | 2.4% | |
1910 | 21,451 | −13.5% | |
1920 | 20,508 | −4.4% | |
1930 | 19,846 | −3.2% | |
1940 | 18,584 | −6.4% | |
1950 | 15,932 | −14.3% | |
1960 | 16,075 | 0.9% | |
1970 | 17,599 | 9.5% | |
1980 | 21,378 | 21.5% | |
1990 | 21,971 | 2.8% | |
2000 | 23,354 | 6.3% | |
2010 | 23,494 | 0.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[9] |
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 23,354 people, 8,743 households, and 6,539 families residing in the county. The population density was 16/km2 (41/mi2). There were 9,371 housing units at an average density of 6/km2 (16/mi2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.50% White, 1.46% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Approximately 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.6% were of American, 23.3% German, 11.5% English and 10.3% Irish ancestry.
There were 8,743 households, out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.10% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.20% were non-families. 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% 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 3.07.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,886, and the median income for a family was $49,192. Males had a median income of $36,815 versus $21,684 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,685. About 5.30% of families and 6.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.
Education[]
Public schools[]
- Hardin-Central C-2 School District – Hardin
- Hardin-Central Elementary School (PK-06)
- Hardin-Central High School (07-12)
- Lawson R-XIV School District – Lawson
- Southwest Elementary School (PK-04)
- Lawson Middle School (05-08)
- Lawson High School (09-12)
- Orrick R-XI School District – Orrick
- Orrick Elementary School (PK-06)
- Orrick High School (07-12)
- Richmond R-XVI School District – Richmond
- Dear Elementary School (PK-01)
- Sunrise Elementary School (02-05)
- Richmond Middle School (06-08)
- Richmond High School (09-12)
Public libraries[]
- Ray County Library[11]
Politics[]
Local[]
Politics at the local level in Ray County are now evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, with Republicans making major gains in the past four election cycles, going from no representation before 2011 to now holding half of the county offices.
Ray County, Missouri | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Elected countywide officials | ||||
Assessor | Kent Wollard | Democratic | ||
Circuit Clerk | Carolyne Conner | Democratic | ||
County Clerk | Glenda Powell | Republican | ||
Collector | Julie Chowning | Democratic | ||
Commissioner (Presiding) |
Gary Wilhite | Republican | ||
Commissioner (District 1) |
Allen Dale | Democratic | ||
Commissioner (District 2) |
Jerry Bishop | Republican | ||
Coroner | Bart Willem | Republican | ||
Prosecuting Attorney | Camille Johnston | Republican | ||
Public Administrator | Shannon Wollard | Republican | ||
Recorder | Shirley O’Dell | Democratic | ||
Sheriff | Scott Childers | Republican | ||
Surveyor | Thomas Sisco | Democratic | ||
Treasurer | Melissa Holloway | Independent |
State[]
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 68.93% 7,964 | 28.38% 3,279 | 2.68% 310 |
2016 | 52.51% 5,686 | 43.58% 4,719 | 3.91% 423 |
2012 | 41.26% 4,252 | 55.53% 5,722 | 3.21% 331 |
2008 | 35.73% 3,899 | 61.13% 6,670 | 3.14% 343 |
2004 | 47.08% 5,073 | 51.33% 5,531 | 1.59% 172 |
2000 | 41.75% 4,045 | 55.81% 5,407 | 2.44% 237 |
1996 | 28.31% 2,475 | 69.26% 6,055 | 2.43% 212 |
1992 | 37.6% 3,578 | 62.4% 5,937 | N/A |
1988 | 56.26% 4,859 | 43.01% 3,714 | 0.73% 63 |
The northwest corner of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 8th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is currently represented by Jim Neely (R-Cameron).
Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2016) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | James W. (Jim) Neely | 1,294 | 100.00% | +32.60 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2014) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | James W. (Jim) Neely | 548 | 67.40% | +12.22 | |
Democratic | Ted Rights | 265 | 32.60% | -12.22 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2012) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | James W. (Jim) Neely | 788 | 55.18% | ||
Democratic | James T. (Jim) Crenshaw | 640 | 44.82% |
Most of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 39th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is currently represented by Joe Don McGaugh (R-Carrollton).
Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2016) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Joe Don McGaugh | 7,741 | 100.00% |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2014) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Joe Don McGaugh | 4,583 | 100.00% | +50.64 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2012) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Joe Don McGaugh | 4,176 | 49.36% | ||
Democratic | Will Talbert | 4,285 | 50.64% |
All of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 21st District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg).
Missouri Senate — District 21 — Ray County (2016) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Denny Hoskins | 6,408 | 61.80% | +4.37 | |
Democratic | ElGene Ver Dught | 3,346 | 32.27% | -4.99 | |
Libertarian | Bill Wayne | 615 | 5.93% | +0.62 |
Missouri Senate — District 21 — Ray County (2012) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | David Pearce | 5,679 | 57.43% | ||
Democratic | ElGene Ver Dught | 3,684 | 37.26% | ||
Libertarian | Steven Hedrick | 525 | 5.31% |
Federal[]
U.S. Senate — Missouri — Ray County (2016) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Roy Blunt | 5,415 | 50.10% | +11.60 | |
Democratic | Jason Kander | 4,725 | 43.71% | -9.16 | |
Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 390 | 3.61% | -5.02 | |
Green | Johnathan McFarland | 119 | 1.10% | +1.10 | |
Constitution | Fred Ryman | 159 | 1.47% | +1.47 |
U.S. Senate — Missouri — Ray County (2012) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Todd Akin | 3,960 | 38.50% | ||
Democratic | Claire McCaskill | 5,439 | 52.87% | ||
Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 888 | 8.63% |
All of Ray County is included in Missouri's 5th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) in the United States House of Representatives.
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2016) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Democratic | Emanuel Cleaver | 4,394 | 41.10% | +1.71 | |
Republican | Jacob Turk | 5,895 | 55.14% | -0.42 | |
Libertarian | Roy Welborn | 402 | 3.76% | -1.29 |
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2014) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Democratic | Emanuel Cleaver | 2,506 | 39.39% | -7.66 | |
Republican | Jacob Turk | 3,535 | 55.56% | +6.16 | |
Libertarian | Roy Welborn | 321 | 5.05% | +1.50 |
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri’s 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2012) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Democratic | Emanuel Cleaver | 4,778 | 47.05% | ||
Republican | Jacob Turk | 5,017 | 49.40% | ||
Libertarian | Randy Langkraehr | 361 | 3.55 |
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 8,345 | 71.48% | 3,109 | 26.63% | 221 | 1.89% |
2016 | 7,104 | 64.91% | 3,090 | 28.23% | 751 | 6.86% |
2012 | 5,815 | 56.09% | 4,275 | 41.24% | 277 | 2.67% |
2008 | 5,593 | 50.60% | 5,241 | 47.42% | 219 | 1.98% |
2004 | 5,673 | 52.59% | 5,034 | 46.66% | 81 | 0.75% |
2000 | 4,517 | 46.34% | 4,970 | 50.99% | 260 | 2.67% |
1996 | 2,884 | 32.82% | 4,714 | 53.65% | 1,189 | 13.53% |
1992 | 2,563 | 26.64% | 4,457 | 46.33% | 2,600 | 27.03% |
1988 | 3,763 | 43.44% | 4,879 | 56.33% | 20 | 0.23% |
1984 | 4,875 | 55.06% | 3,979 | 44.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 4,064 | 45.81% | 4,518 | 50.93% | 289 | 3.26% |
1976 | 2,853 | 33.72% | 5,535 | 65.42% | 73 | 0.86% |
1972 | 4,205 | 59.65% | 2,844 | 40.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 2,587 | 35.90% | 3,541 | 49.14% | 1,078 | 14.96% |
1964 | 1,734 | 25.05% | 5,189 | 74.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 3,542 | 43.69% | 4,565 | 56.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 3,041 | 39.61% | 4,636 | 60.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 3,349 | 40.64% | 4,869 | 59.09% | 22 | 0.27% |
1948 | 2,102 | 30.30% | 4,826 | 69.57% | 9 | 0.13% |
1944 | 3,094 | 40.57% | 4,521 | 59.28% | 12 | 0.16% |
1940 | 3,399 | 36.94% | 5,786 | 62.88% | 16 | 0.17% |
1936 | 2,805 | 30.74% | 6,300 | 69.05% | 19 | 0.21% |
1932 | 1,706 | 21.74% | 6,088 | 77.59% | 52 | 0.66% |
1928 | 3,280 | 41.70% | 4,570 | 58.10% | 16 | 0.20% |
1924 | 2,753 | 34.24% | 4,989 | 62.04% | 299 | 3.72% |
1920 | 3,228 | 39.53% | 4,865 | 59.58% | 72 | 0.88% |
1916 | 1,718 | 33.28% | 3,380 | 65.47% | 65 | 1.26% |
1912 | 1,192 | 24.18% | 3,042 | 61.70% | 696 | 14.12% |
1908 | 1,914 | 37.74% | 3,043 | 60.00% | 115 | 2.27% |
1904 | 1,792 | 38.86% | 2,744 | 59.51% | 75 | 1.63% |
1900 | 2,004 | 35.02% | 3,631 | 63.46% | 87 | 1.52% |
1896 | 2,003 | 33.31% | 3,945 | 65.60% | 66 | 1.10% |
1892 | 1,643 | 32.29% | 3,250 | 63.86% | 196 | 3.85% |
1888 | 1,796 | 35.17% | 3,181 | 62.29% | 130 | 2.55% |
Communities[]
Cities[]
- Camden
- Crystal Lakes
- Excelsior Springs (mostly in Clay County)
- Fleming
- Hardin
- Henrietta
- Lawson (partly in Clay County)
- Orrick
- Richmond
- Wood Heights
Villages[]
- Elmira
- Excelsior Estates (small part in Clay County)
- Homestead
Census-designated place[]
- Rayville
Other unincorporated communities[]
- Albany
- Dockery
- Elkhorn
- Floyd
- Georgeville
- Knoxville
- Lakeview
- Millville
- Morton
- New Garden
- Regal
- Rockingham
- Russellville
- Sandals
- St. Cloud
- Stet
- Swanwick
- Taitsville
- Tinney Grove
- Vibbard
Townships[]
- Camden
- Crooked River
- Fishing River
- Grape Grove
- Knoxville
- Orrick
- Polk
- Richmond
Notable people[]
- Forrest Smith, Missouri's 42nd Governor
- Robert Ford, outlaw, killer of Jesse James
- Chad Kilgore, football player
- Gordon Young, cowboy, journalist, novelist
See also[]
- Battle of Crooked River
- Mormon War (1838)
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Ray County, Missouri
References[]
- ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US29177.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
- ^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1917). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 344. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RfAuAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_29.txt.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/mo190090.txt.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/29177.html.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov.
- ^ Breeding, Marshall. "Ray County Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/20290.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
External links[]
- Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Ray County Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Clinton County | Caldwell County | |||
Clay County | Carroll County | |||
Ray County, Missouri | ||||
Jackson County | Lafayette County |
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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Ray County, Missouri. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |