Pacific, Missouri

Pacific, Missouri
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Settled	1852
Population	7,002 (2010 census)
Area (sq mi)	5.94 mi²
Current mayor	Herbert Adams

Pacific is a city in Franklin and St. Louis Counties, Missouri. It had a population of 7,002 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

Settlement on the site of modern-day Pacific began around 1820, a process accelerated by the opening of a nearby bridge across the Meramec River in 1838. A town was not actually laid out until 1852, though, with the construction of the Atlantic and Pacific (later the Missouri Pacific) Railroad west from St. Louis. From 1853 to 1855 that was the western terminus of the railroad, and began to be known as "Franklin," since it lay just inside Franklin County. When local leaders applied for a post office, however, it was noted that a town of that name already existed farther west, in Howard County, and after some debate it was decided to rename the community "Pacific," in honor of the railroad. The town board confirmed this decision in 1859.^[1]

Regular rail service between Pacific and St. Louis began in 1861, but local life was almost immediately disrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War. In the autumn of 1864, Pacific was occupied by a Confederate army under General Sterling Price, and a short battle was fought just to the east against Union forces sent from St. Louis. The result of this engagement was a strategic victory for the Union, as Price's army subsequently turned west rather than attempt to push on towards St. Louis. Pacific was then held by the Union until the end of the war.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Pacific flourished as a major depot and trainyard for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Despite a devastating fire in 1891, and severe flooding by the Meramec in 1895 and 1915, the town's population steadily grew, and more services were added with time, including a local newspaper and a fire department. The opening of U.S. Route 66 in 1933, later supplemented by the construction of Interstate 44 just to the north, provided a boom to the city's economy with the addition of highway passenger traffic (in the process phasing out the railroad, whose service was discontinued in 1961).^[2]

Since the 1980s, Pacific's population has risen considerably, more than doubling its 1970 level by the 2010s. This is due in large part to the opening of the Missouri Eastern Correctional Facility, which was opened in 1981 and was annexed by the city in 2004. Another factor was the controversial demolition of the town of Times Beach just to the east in the 1980s, following a spill of the toxic chemical dioxin in the area (and alleged subsequent mishandling of the situation by the EPA); many of the displaced citizens settled in or near Pacific.^[3]

Geography[edit]

Pacific is located along Interstate 44/U.S. Route 50, about 30 miles southwest of St. Louis. Nearly all of it lies in extreme eastern Franklin County; a small portion of the city extends into far western St. Louis County, consisting mostly of an annexation that includes the Missouri Eastern Correctional Facility. It lies about six miles southwest of Eureka and 14 miles northeast of Union. The city's exact coordinates are 38°28′53″N 90°45′00″W.

Pacific lies along a bend on the north bank of the Meramec River, positioned between rugged uplands to the north and the river's floodplain to the south. East Osage Street (Historic U.S. 66) passes beneath a dramatic line of sandstone bluffs that drop sharply into the Meramec, just east of the city center. The town has a total area of 5.94 square miles, and an average elevation of 466 feet.^[4]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Pacific had a total of 7,002 inhabitants, grouped into 2,368 households, with a population density of 1.182.8 people per square mile. This figure represented a dramatic increase from the 2000 census, when Pacific had a population of 5,482 (due largely to the inclusion of the Missouri Eastern Correctional Facility and its inmate population). 88.43% of the inhabitants were White, 8.43% were African-American, 0.56% were Native American, 0.50% were Asian, 0.03% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.60% were from some other race, and 1.46% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.93% of the population.

The median age in Pacific was 35.9 years, with 20.0% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 11.2% between 18 and 24 years old, 32.6% between 25 and 44, 24.7% between 45 and 64, and 11.5% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 48.7% male, 51.3% female.^[5]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Pacific had a median household income of $49,451, and a median family income of $71,638. The unemployment rate was 6.3%. The per capita income was $24,602. About 13.0% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under the age of 18 and 2.7% of those 65 years of age or older.^[6]

Government[edit]

Pacific is a fourth-class city with a mayor-council form of government, its elected officials consisting of a mayor and a board of aldermen, two of whose members represent each of the city's three wards. All officials are elected for two-year terms. Members of local government appointed rather than elected include a city administrator, clerk, and prosecutor. The most recent elected mayor of Pacific was Steve Myers, last elected in 2018; he resigned in August 2021, with Ward 2 alderman Herbert Adams acting as interim mayor pending the next regular elections in 2022.^[7]

Education[edit]

Pacific and the surrounding area are served by the Meramec Valley R-III School District, which includes rural portions of Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Louis Counties. It has an enrollment of about 3,000 students and about 450 faculty and staff, divided between an early childhood program (Doris Hoffman Early Learning Center), five elementary schools (Coleman, Nike, Robertsville, Truman, and Zitzman), one intermediate school (Pacific), one middle school (Riverbend), and one high school (Pacific High). Its mascot is the Indians, and the school colors are purple and white. The district has been honored for the quality of its education in recent years, winning a National Blue Ribbon Award in 2018.^[8]

Community Life[edit]

Like many communities along the former route, Pacific has in recent years highlighted the remaining sections and relics associated with U.S. Route 66, often known as "America's Mother Road" for connecting Chicago with Los Angeles. Route 66 State Park, near the former site of Times Beach just to the east, is a recent addition and minor tourist draw, and the city itself has a "Route 66 Model Railroad Museum" on St. Louis Street, commemorating both the highway and Pacific's past as a railroad community. A few businesses which catered to travelers during the early stages of the highway's existence remain today, the best-known being the Red Cedar Inn, a bed-and-breakfast dating back to the 1930s. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it was purchased by the city in 2017 and is being refurbished to serve as a welcome center/museum.^[9]

Another notable attraction is the Shaw Nature Reserve, a 2,400-acre tract just to the west of town, formerly part of the Missouri Botanical Garden and home to a variety of fruit trees and flowering plants. The so-called "Pacific Palisades," sandstone bluffs overlooking the nearby Meramec River, are another popular outdoor-themed destination in the area.

Pacific hosts the annual "Iron Horse Rodeo," typically held on a weekend in early October and featuring bull riding and calf roping, among other contests, and served by various food and craft vendors.^[10]

References[edit]