Cooter, Missouri

Cooter is a city in far southern Pemiscot County, Missouri. It had a population of 469 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

Cooter (initially spelled Coutre or Couter) dates back to before 1854, the first year in which there is evidence of a community on the spot, making it among the oldest surviving cities in the "Bootheel" region. The origins of the name are debated. Some argue that it came from the "coots," members of the duck family, many of the early settlers hunted in the nearby lakes and bayous. Others believe it was named in honor of Portell Coutre, a French colonist in the New Madrid area around 1800. There appears to be no conclusive evidence for either of these theories.^[1]

Cooter was incorporated as a 4th-class city in 1964; since that time, its population has fluctuated somewhat, but it remains an active community thanks to the local school and the richness of the surrounding farmland.^[2]

Geography[edit]

Cooter is located on State Route E in southern Pemiscot County, about three miles east of Holland and three miles southeast of Steele. Route E connects it with Interstate 55 to the west. Its exact coordinates are 36°02’45”N 89°48’36”W.

The city lies on the flat Mississippi Alluvial Plain, not far from Pemiscot Bayou. It has a total land area of 0.30 square miles, and an average elevation of 262 feet.^[3]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Cooter had a total of 469 inhabitants, grouped into 175 households, with a population density of 1,563.3 people per square mile. This figure represented a significant increase from the 2000 census, when Cooter had a population of 440. 97.87% of the inhabitants were White, 1.92% were African-American, and 0.21% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 0.43% of the population.

The median age in Cooter was 35.5 years, with 28.4% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 8.2% between 18 and 24 years old, 28.1% between 25 and 44, 22.9% between 45 and 64, and 12.4% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 48.4% male, 51.6% female.^[4]

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, Cooter had a median household income of $40,987, and a median family income of $42,917. The unemployment rate was 2.8%. The per capita income was $17,939. About 13.7% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 14.0% of people under the age of 18 and 33.3% of people 65 years old or older.^[5]

Education[edit]

Cooter and the surrounding area are served by the Cooter R-IV School District, a K-12 public institution with an enrollment of about 290 students. Its mascot is the Wildcats, and the school colors are red, white, and blue.^[6] Cooter High School was awarded a College Success Award in 2019, due to the high number of graduates who had enrolled and remained in college.^[7]

References[edit]