Caruthersville, Missouri

Pemiscot County Courthouse

Caruthersville is the county seat and largest city in Pemiscot County, Missouri, and a minor port on the Mississippi River. It had a population of 6,168 at the 2010 census, making it among the larger towns in the "Bootheel" region of Southeast Missouri.

History[edit]

Despite mostly consisting of heavily wooded swamps prior to European settlement, the Caruthersville area is known to have been inhabited by Native Americans as far back as the Mississippian culture during the Middle Ages. These people built large earthen mounds near their villages, for dwellings as well as ceremonial sites. One such mound still remains, located about four miles southwest of the city, which may have been inhabited as late as the 16th century. It is now part of the Murphy Mound Archaeological Site.^[1]

The first European settlement in the area was Little Prairie (La Petite Prairie), laid out by French-Canadian fur traders on the west bank of the Mississippi in 1794. Little Prairie flourished for several years before being practically destroyed in the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12. Caruthersville itself, a few miles north of the old village, was founded in 1857 by G. W. Bushley and by Colonel John Hardeman Walker, who had been instrumental in adding the "Bootheel" region that included Caruthersville to Missouri upon its admission as a state. They chose to name it after Samuel Caruthers (1820-1860), a lawyer and politician who then represented the Southeast Missouri region in the House of Representatives.^[2]

Caruthersville was incorporated as a city in 1874. For the first decades of its existence, it grew only slowly, despite its usefulness as a river port; but it became steadily more important from the 1890s onward. In 1893, the Saint Francis Levee District was created by the Missouri legislature to expand the local levee system and drain the nearby swamps, making the land more suitable for agriculture. Then in 1898, the county seat was moved there from the nearby town of Gayoso, which was being eroded by the river. These events made Caruthersville the premier town in the county.^[3]

Like Pemiscot County in general, Caruthersville enjoyed a relative economic boom through the early 20th century; a 1912 history of the region noted that it had a good school, many churches, four cotton gins, and an ice plant.^[4] This prosperity coexisted, though, with occasional racial violence, due to the presence of a significant African-American population and the many Jim Crow laws in place. Four black men would be lynched in the city between 1900 and 1915.^[5] Because of these racial tensions, and the declining job opportunities following the mechanization of agriculture, many African-Americans would move away from the area, contributing to a broader decline in population after the mid-20th century. Caruthersville's population peaked at just over 8,600 in 1960; it has since lost about a quarter of that. The economic situation was shored up somewhat, though, with the construction of a highway bridge over the Mississippi in 1976, connecting the city to northwest Tennessee.

2006 Caruthersville Tornado

On April 2, 2006, Caruthersville was struck by an F3 tornado that had traveled out of Arkansas, as part of a broader string of tornadoes occurring across the Central United States. No residents were killed by the tornado (though two persons were killed in rural Pemiscot County), thanks to the quick action of Fire Chief Charlie Jones, who activated the alarm systems in plenty of time to get people to safety, and who would later be honored by the National Weather Service for his actions. However, some 130 people did suffer various injuries, and over half the town was severely damaged or destroyed, including both the high school and middle school, and a number of businesses, churches, and private residences. Nonetheless, the community quickly rallied, and most of the structures have since been rebuilt.^[6]

Geography[edit]

Caruthersville lies on the west bank of the Mississippi River in eastern Pemiscot County, in close proximity to Interstate 55 as well as Interstate 155, which runs through the southern edge of the city before continuing on across the Caruthersville Bridge into Tennessee. Missouri State Highway 84 also passes through the city, as West Third Street and then as Truman Boulevard, before connecting with I-155. The city's exact coordinates are 36°11’05”N 89°39’41”W.

Located on the flat Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Caruthersville has no distinctive topographical features, aside from a few man-made structures (principally the levees built along the river). It has a total area of 5.24 square miles, including 5.16 of land and 0.08 of water, and an average elevation of 276 feet.^[7]

Caruthersville, like the rest of Southeast Missouri, has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers, mild to cool winters, and a moderate to high amount of rainfall. Average temperatures range from about 35°F in January to 81°F in July, with an average precipitation of just under 50 inches, sometimes including a small amount of snow. The record high temperature, 111°F, was set in August 1918, and the record low, -15°F, in January 1930.^[8]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Caruthersville had a total of 6,168 inhabitants, grouped into 2,454 households, with a population density of 1,195.3 people per square mile. This figure represented a significant decrease from the 2000 census, when Caruthersville had a population of 6,760. 63.89% of the inhabitants were White, 33.09% were African-American, 0.28% were Native American, 0.19% were Asian, 0.11% were Pacific Islander, 0.76% were from some other race, and 1.67% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 2.35% of the population.

The median age in Caruthersville was 34.2 years, with 29.5% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 9.1% between 18 and 24 years old, 23.4% between 25 and 44, 23.9% between 45 and 64, and 14.1% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 46.6% male, 53.4% female.^[9]

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, Caruthersville had a median household income of $27,244, and a median family income of $39,488. The unemployment rate was 17.1%. The per capita income was $16,447. About 30.8% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 34.4% of people under the age of 18 and 16.5% of people 65 years old or older.^[10]

Economy[edit]

As with much of the region, agriculture has traditionally been at the center of the local economy, and it continues to provide a significant portion of the overall productivity today. Most of the labor force, however, is now employed in light manufacturing, retail trade, education, and health care. There is an industrial park in the southern part of the city, and the downtown section maintains various retail and specialty stores.

Thanks to its position on the Mississippi River, Caruthersville also has significant long-range transportation facilities. The Pemiscot County Port Authority maintains a dock on the river for barge transport, and the city is also home to the Caruthersville Municipal Airport, a full-service airfield with a 4,000-foot runway.^[11]

Additional revenue and employment is provided by Lady Luck Casino, part of the Isle of Capri chain. Operating on East Third Street, it has a staff of over 200.

Education[edit]

Regular school services in Caruthersville have been in continual existence since 1897. The city and the surrounding area are served by the Caruthersville 18 School District, a PK-12 public institution with a total enrollment of just under 1,400. It includes an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school—the latter two being damaged and rebuilt after the 2006 tornado. The mascot is the Tigers, and the school colors are red and white.^[12]

The city is also home to the Caruthersville Public Library.

Notable People[edit]

Several prominent individuals are from or have connections with the Caruthersville area. Probably the most famous is Cedric Kyles (1964-), more properly known as "Cedric the Entertainer," an actor and comedian who was born in Jefferson City but spent much of his youth in Caruthersville.

Other notable individuals include John Brooke England, a World War II flying ace (trained by Barry Goldwater) who destroyed at least 18 German aircraft in combat. Carutherville's England City Park is named in his honor and contains a memorial honoring "the highest tradition of American fighting men lost in wars fought for the preservation of our freedoms."

References[edit]