Scott County, Missouri

Scott County Courthouse, Benton, Missouri

Scott County is a county in southeastern Missouri. It lies along the Mississippi River, just north of the Missouri Bootheel. It was organized in 1821 and named for John Scott, the first man elected to the House of Representatives from Missouri.

Scott County's population was 39,191 at the 2010 census. Benton is the county seat, and Sikeston is the largest city.

History[edit]

Prior to white settlement, the Scott County area was inhabited by members of several different Native American tribes. These included the Osage, who dominated much of Missouri, as well as the Delaware and Shawnee, who moved west of the Mississippi during the early years of the American republic.

Colonization by first the French and then the Spanish began during the 18th century. In 1789, the Spanish government built El Camino Real (King's Highway), a road linking settlements along the west bank of the Mississippi, which ran north to south through what became Scott County a few miles west of the river (roughly along the future U.S. Route 61). The first permanent settlement was at Tywappity, a fur trading post on the river, in 1788, making it one of the oldest such communities west of the Mississippi; it was eventually renamed Commerce.

When the Missouri Territory was organized into counties in 1812, the region was included within New Madrid County, but its population was soon large enough for a separate jurisdiction to be created. Scott County was officially organized on December 28, 1821 and named for U.S. Congressman John Scott. Commerce served as the county seat for a time, but this status was eventually transferred to Benton, closer to the geographic center of the county.

Like much of Missouri, Scott County suffered severely from guerrilla warfare during the Civil War, though no major battles were fought within the county. M. Jeff Thompson, a Missouri general who served the Confederacy, had a presence within the county during the early days of the war. After the Civil War, Scott County grew rapidly thanks to the clearing of the swampy lowlands and their conversion to agriculture, and to the extension of railroads throughout the area. Sikeston soon became the most prominent community, thanks to the importance of cotton-growing in the south.

The elimination of some of the railroads in the 20th century, along with the mechanization of agriculture, led to an economic decline in some regions, though the proximity of Sikeston and of Cape Girardeau continues to be a boon to the county overall.

The Scott County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Geography[edit]

Scott County lies in southeastern Missouri, just north of the region commonly known as the "Bootheel." It is bordered on the east by the Mississippi River and the state of Illinois, on the south by Mississippi and New Madrid Counties, on the west by Stoddard County, and on the north by Cape Girardeau County.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 426 square miles.^[1]

Roughly speaking, the county has two main geographic features. Most of the northern half is part of Crowley's Ridge, a broken range of low hills (though it becomes more continuous to the east). The highest point in the county, Jackson Hill, with a height of just over 600 feet above sea level, is located just west of Commerce. The southern half, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, is mostly flat terrain (except for a very low north-south ridge in the Sikeston area). The average elevation here is about 300 feet.^[2]

Several major highways run through the county. These include Interstate 55, paralleled a few miles to the west by the older U.S. Route 61, both of which run from north to south through the center of the county; U.S. Route 60, which runs along its southern edge; and Interstate 57, which along with U.S. Route 62 cuts through Sikeston and the southeastern corner.

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Scott County had a total population of 39,191, with 15,538 households and 10,724 families. The population density was 92 per square mile. There were 16,987 housing units, or about 40 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 85.7% White, 11.4% African-American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.7% from some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.8% of the population.

The median age in the county was 38.9 years. 25.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.3% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 24.3% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 27.2% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 15.0% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 48.2% male, 51.8% female.^[3]

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the median income in the county was $41,628 for a household, and $50,242 for a family. Males had a median income of $38,655 versus $30,197 for females. The per capita income was $22,939. 20.1% of the population was below the poverty line, including 30.7% of those under the age of 18 and 11.5% of those 65 years old or older.^[4]

Communities[edit]

Scott County contains fifteen incorporated communities, including eight cities and seven villages.

Cities

• Benton
• Cape Girardeau (mostly in Cape Girardeau County)
• Chaffee
• Miner (small part in Mississippi County)
• Morley
• Oran
• Scott City (small part in Cape Girardeau County)
• Sikeston (small part in New Madrid County)

Villages

• Blodgett
• Commerce
• Diehlstadt
• Haywood City
• Kelso
• Lambert
• Vanduser

Government[edit]

Local government in Scott County is provided by the elected officials. Though these positions have traditionally been dominated by the Democratic Party, the Republicans have made inroads in recent years and now hold a slim majority.

At the state level, Scott County lies within parts of three separate legislative districts for the Missouri House of Representatives. Most of the county is part of the 148th District, which also includes a portion of Mississippi County. It is currently represented by Jamie Burger (R-Benton), who was elected to his first term in November 2020 without opposition.

Part of the Sikeston area falls within the 149th District, which also includes all of New Madrid and parts of Mississippi and Pemiscot Counties. It is currently represented by Don Rone (R-Portageville), who was re-elected to a fourth term in November 2020, without opposition.

The western parts of the county, including the Chaffee and Oran areas, are in the 151st District, which also includes all of Stoddard County. It is currently represented by Herman Morse (R-Dexter), who was re-elected to his second full term in November 2020 without opposition.

In the Missouri State Senate, Scott County is part of the 27th District, which also includes Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, and Wayne Counties. It is currently represented by Holly Rehder (R-Sikeston), the former representative for the 148th District, who was elected to her first term in November 2020, defeating Democrat Donnie Owens.

Rehder almost exactly matched her average margin in Scott County, winning 13,391 votes to 4,003 for Owens.

At the federal level, Scott 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 2020, defeating Democrat Kathy Ellis.

Smith slightly overperformed his average margin in Scott County, winning 77.62% of the vote.^[5]

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, despite its tendency to vote Democratic at the local level, Scott County is solidly Republican at the state and federal level. In recent elections, with the exception of Haywood City and certain neighborhoods of Sikeston (these being majority African-American), every local municipality has voted Republicans into office by a heavy margin. In the 2016 general election, the county overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, who won 75.95% of the vote; this was increased to 77.58% in the 2020 election.^[6]

Like much of southern Missouri, Scott 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 Scott County with 85.32% support. In 2006, while the state overall narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county decisively defeated the measure with 64.85% voting against. At the same time, in the November 2018 election, the county voted in favor of an increase in the state minimum wage (though by a much smaller margin than elsewhere in the state). These results generally align with the rest of Southeast Missouri.

References[edit]