Clarkson Valley, Missouri

Clarkson Valley is a city in the western portion of St. Louis County, Missouri. It had a population of 2,632 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

Clarkson Valley was first incorporated as a village in 1950. It is thought to have been named for a Major Clarkson, a native of Kentucky, who purchased a farm in what is now the neighboring city of Ellisville in the mid-19th century. Clarkson Road, an important thoroughfare in the area, is also named in his honor.^[1]

The village remained small until the 1970s, when, due to the annexation of more land and the general suburbanization of western St. Louis County, its population rose almost tenfold during the decade. In 1988, residents of the community voted to elevate it to a 4th-class city. Since the 1990s, with the expansion of nearby municipalities, its size has been relatively stable.^[2]

Geography[edit]

Clarkson Valley lies along and mostly west of Missouri State Highway 340 in western St. Louis County, bordered by Chesterfield to the north and east, Ballwin to the southeast, Ellisville to the south, and Wildwood to the west. Its exact coordinates are 38°37′02″N 90°35′18″W.

The city consists mostly of open subdivisions along the branches of Caulks Creek, a small waterway that flows north into the Missouri River. Kehrs Mill Road is the main thoroughfare within the town itself. Clarkson Valley has a total area of 2.75 square miles, and an average elevation of 591 feet.^[3]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Clarkson Valley had a total of 2,632 inhabitants, grouped into 882 households, with a population density of 974.8 people per square mile. This figure represented a slight decrease from the 2000 census, when Clarkson Valley had a population of 2,675. 92.86% of the inhabitants were White, 1.48% were African-American, 3.53% were Asian, 0.15% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.65% were from some other race, and 1.33% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 2.17% of the population.

The median age in Clarkson Valley was 46.9 years, with 27.8% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 5.6% between 18 and 24 years old, 13.0% between 25 and 44, 39.0% between 45 and 64, and 14.5% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 49.7% male, 50.3% female.^[4]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Clarkson Valley had a median household income of $170,952, and a median family income of $172,262. The unemployment rate was 4.1%. The per capita income was $90,021. About 1.3% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under the age of 18 and 0.7% of those 65 years of age or older.^[5]

A 2020 study announced that Clarkson Valley was the wealthiest community in Missouri based on household income, though there are several cities who could claim this title based on varying qualifications.^[6]

Government[edit]

Since its incorporation, Clarkson Valley has had a mayor-council form of government. The elected officials consist of a mayor and a six-member board of aldermen, two of which are elected from each of the city's three wards. Meetings are typically held the first Tuesday of each month. The current mayor of Clarkson Valley is Scott Douglass.^[7]

Clarkson Valley is included within the 101st District for the Missouri House of Representatives, represented since 2016 by Bruce DeGroot (R-Ellisville); a small part of it lies in the 15th District for the Missouri State Senate, while the rest is part of the 26th District; these have been represented since 2016 and 2014, respectively, by Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester) and Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan). It is also part of Missouri's 2nd Congressional District, represented since 2012 by Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin).

Education[edit]

All of Clarkson Valley is included within the Rockwood R-VI School District, which encompasses most of western St. Louis County. Local students are serviced by five of its facilities: Ellisville and Kehrs Mill Elementary Schools (grades K-5); Crestview Middle School (grades 6-8); and Lafayette and Marquette High Schools (grades 9-12). Marquette High School is located within the city itself, while Lafayette is in neighboring Wildwood.^[8]

References[edit]