Wayne County, Missouri

Wayne County is a county in the southeastern part of the state of Missouri. It had a population of 13,521 at the 2010 census. The county was organized on December 11, 1818, and named for "Mad" Anthony Wayne, a general of the American Revolutionary War. Greenville is the county seat, and Piedmont is the largest city.

History[edit]

The eastern Ozarks were originally inhabited by a series of native civilizations. One of the earliest of these was the Hopewell culture, which constructed a large number of mounds throughout the area, including several hundred in present-day Wayne County. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Osage tribe was dominant, though most of its members had left the region by 1820.

The first permanent white settlement in what is now Wayne County came in about 1802, with several families moving into the area in which the future village of Patterson was founded. Others began settling along the St. Francis River nearby. The population of the Ozarks grew only slowly, though, and it was not until 1818 that the Missouri territorial legislature organized Wayne County from the territory of Cape Girardeau and Lawrence Counties. At the time of its creation, it extended all the way to Missouri's western border, incorporating a number of future counties, and was sometimes called "the State of Wayne" on account of its great size. The community of Cedar Cabin, on the St. Francis, was chosen for the county seat and renamed "Greenville," with a two-story log cabin built to serve as the courthouse.^[1]

The first census, in 1820, showed the county as having a population of 1,443, including 204 black slaves. Its growth remained sluggish until the 1870s, when it enjoyed a boom that lasted into the early 20th century, on account of timber harvesting and the arrival of the railroad, with the first line constructed in 1894. After the lumber industry declined around 1910, however, Wayne County likewise fell into a slump, which persisted for several decades.

The county (especially the Greenville area) also suffered from periodic fires and floods. The courthouse was destroyed by a fire in 1854, as was its replacement in 1892. This last burned most of the county records, so that there are few surviving documents from the 19th century. Moreover, the St. Francis was prone to damaging floods. Greenville was flooded as early as 1826, and repeated floods in the 1920s and '30s were even more devastating. To control such flooding, Lake Wappapello was constructed by the Corps of Engineers, completed in 1941 and filling the river valley in the southern part of the county. A number of homes were permanently submerged as a result, and the town of Greenville was itself moved two miles to the north.^[2]

The population of Wayne County, after hitting a low of about 8,500 in 1970, thereafter rebounded, thanks in part to tourism and recreation in Lake Wappapello and Sam A. Baker State Park to the north.

Geography[edit]

Wayne County is located in the Ozark foothills of southeastern Missouri, bordered on the north by Madison County, on the east by Bollinger County, on the southeast by Stoddard County, on the south by Butler County, on the southwest by Carter County, on the west by Reynolds County, and on the northwest by Iron County. It has a total area of 774.06 square miles, including 759.18 of land and 14.89 of water.^[3]

Most of the county is part of the Ozark Plateau, with roughly the northwestern half belonging to the St. Francois Mountains range, which contains some of the highest peaks in the state. Clark Mountain, located just northeast of Piedmont, is the highest elevation in the county, at about 1,440 feet, and several other hills peak over 1,000 feet. The central part of the county is somewhat lower in elevation, especially along the St. Francis River south of Greenville. A small portion of southeastern Wayne County, just below Lake Wappapello, is part of the flat Mississippi Alluvial Plain, with an elevation of about 345 feet at its lowest point.^[4]

In terms of bodies of water, the St. Francis River, including Lake Wappapello, is the most prominent, entering from the north, passing near Greenville, and exiting through the southeastern corner. Several smaller streams in the county feed into the river, notably Big Creek, which empties into it just south of Sam A. Baker State Park.

The major highway in the county is U.S. Route 67, which runs from north to south, roughly paralleling the St. Francis for much of its length. Missouri State Highways 34 and 49 also pass through the county, intersecting in Piedmont.

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Wayne County had a total population of 13,521, with 5,717 households and 3,850 families. The population density was 17.5 per square mile. There were 8,083 housing units, or about 1.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 97.17% White, 0.28% African-American, 0.41% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.01% Native Hawaiian, 0.30% from some other race, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.04% of the population.

The median age in the county was 45.8 years. 20.75% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.38% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 20.64% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 29.81% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 21.41% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 50.1% male, 49.9% female.^[5]

According to the 2010 American Community Survey, the median income in the county was $30,621 for a household, and $39,826 for a family. Males had a median income of $31,766 versus $26,456 for females. The unemployment rate was 7.9%. The per capita income was $17,105. 19.8% of the population was below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under the age of 18 and 15.6% of those 65 years old or older.^[6]

Communities[edit]

There are four incorporated communities in Wayne County, including three cities and one village.

Cities[edit]

• Greenville
• Piedmont
• Williamsville

Village[edit]

• Mill Spring

Government[edit]

Local government in Wayne County is provided by the elected officials. Traditionally, these have been dominated by the Democratic Party, but the Republicans have become more competitive in recent years and now hold half the elected positions.^[7]

Countywide official	Name	Party
Assessor	Frances Huitt	Democratic
Circuit Clerk	Darren Garrison	Democratic
County Clerk	Kent Sisco	Republican
Collector	Rhonda Cates	Republican
Commissioner (presiding)	Brian Polk	Democratic
Commissioner (District 1)	James Bill Hovis	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Chad Henson	Republican
Coroner	Gary Umfleet	Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney	Michael Anderson	Democratic
Public Administrator	Donna Eads	Republican
Recorder	Cindy Stout	Republican
Sheriff	Dean Finch	Democratic
Surveyor	Bryan Ferguson	Democratic
Treasurer	Amber Sturgeon	Republican

At the state level, Wayne County is part of two separate districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. Most of the county, including the cities of Greenville and Piedmont, is part of the 144th District, which also includes Iron County and portions of Reynolds and Washington Counties. It is currently represented by Chris Dinkins (R-Annapolis), who was first elected in a special election in February 2018 and then re-elected that November without opposition.

The south-central part of the county, including the city of Williamsville, is part of the 153rd District, which also includes all of Carter and Ripley Counties and a portion of Butler County. It is currently represented by Jeff Shawan (R-Poplar Bluff), who was elected to his first term in November 2018, defeating Democrat Matt Michel.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jeff Shawan	Republican	9,717	74.471%
Matt Michel	Democratic	3,331	25.529%

Shawan overperformed within Wayne County, winning by a margin of 839 to 251.

In the Missouri State Senate, Wayne County is part of the 27th District, which also includes Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, and Scott Counties. It is currently represented by Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau), who was re-elected in November 2016, defeating Democrat Donnie Owens.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Wayne Wallingford	Republican	56,750	74.440%
Donnie Owens	Democratic	19,486	25.560%

Wallingford approximately matched his overall total in Wayne County, winning 3,956 votes to 1,419 for Owens.

At the federal level, Wayne County is part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which includes most of southeast and south-central Missouri. It is represented by Jason Smith (R-Salem), who won re-election in November 2018, defeating Democrat Kathy Ellis.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Smith	Republican	194,042	73.39%
Kathy Ellis	Democratic	66,151	25.019%
Jonathan Shell	Libertarian	4,206	1.591%

Smith somewhat overperformed his average margin in Wayne County, winning 79.493% of the vote.^[8]

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, despite its tendency to sometimes elect Democrats to local office, Wayne County is solidly Republican at the state and federal level. It is one of a number of Missouri counties that has trended toward the GOP in recent years; it voted for Bill Clinton for president in 1992 and 1996, but flipped to support George W. Bush in 2000, and since that time has leaned Republican by steadily higher margins. In the 2016 general election, the county overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, who won 80.84% of the vote.^[9]

Like much of southern Missouri, Wayne County can be included within the Bible Belt, and tends to combine social conservatism with economic populism. In 2004, it voted overwhelmingly in favor of Constitutional Amendment 2, which recognized marriage as between a man and a woman only—the measure passed in Butler County with 87.75% support. In 2006, while the state overall narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county defeated the measure with 55.15% voting against. At the same time, it frequently supports economic measures that appear to favor the working and middle class. In the November 2018 election, the county narrowly supported a proposed increase in the state minimum wage, with 52.52% voting in favor (it also passed the state at large). These results generally align with the rest of southern Missouri.

References[edit]