Oregon County, Missouri

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Oregon County is a county in far southern Missouri, within the Ozark Mountains. It had a population of 10,881 at the 2010 census.

Officially organized on February 14, 1845, the county was named for the then-disputed American territory of Oregon, and is one of only three Missouri counties to share a name with another U.S. state (the others being Texas and Mississippi). Alton is the county seat, and Thayer is the largest city.

History[edit]

Although it is not entirely clear when the first American settlers reached present-day Oregon County, a few families of pioneers had definitely arrived by the late 1810s, establishing a loosely-knit community along the Eleven Point River in the vicinity of modern Thomasville. Others followed in the 1820s and '30s, mostly from the states of the Upper South; as the region was rather isolated from major transportation routes, though, its population growth was relatively slow, and by the mid-1840s had not much more than 750 residents altogether.

In spite of its low population, however, the region was detached from neighboring Ripley County in 1845 and organized as Oregon County. Its name, as well as its early creation in all likelihood, stemmed from the widespread interest in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest, which both Great Britain and the U.S. claimed at that time, and some American expansionists were demanding war to gain possession of the whole territory. (The issue would eventually be settled the following year with a division of Oregon between the two nations.)^[1]

The county grew more rapidly after its organization, reaching a population of about 3,000 in 1860; like much of Missouri, though, it suffered significant devastation during the Civil War, in which the courthouse was destroyed and civilians were at the mercy of Union and Confederate guerrillas. One notable event during the war was the destruction of a community of Irish Catholic settlers from St. Louis, founded in the late 1850s; by late 1863, harassment by Union army officers as well as guerrillas and criminal gangs led to the settlement being abandoned--ever since then, the area has been known as the "Irish Wilderness."^[2]

Like much of the state, Oregon County was slow to recover from the effects of the Civil War. Its economy boomed beginning in the 1880s and '90s, as the arrival of the railroads made lumber-cutting profitable in the Ozark forests, and much of the arable land was devoted to fruit orchards. There was also an attempt to establish summer resorts along the many natural springs in the Thayer area, though this ultimately proved unsuccessful. From the 1910s onward, with the forests mostly cleared, the local economy and thus the population declined significantly, and continued to do so until at least the 1970s. In recent decades, however, tourism and recreation, especially along the scenic Eleven Point River, has led to a bit of a comeback for the area.

Geography[edit]

Oregon County is located in the southernmost part of the state of Missouri, and lies entirely within the Ozark Mountains. It is bordered on the northeast by Carter County, on the east by Ripley County, on the south by the state of Arkansas, on the west by Howell County, and on the north by Shannon County.

The county has a total area of 791.55 square miles, including 789.80 of land and 1.75 of water.^[3] Despite its being part of the Ozarks, Oregon County is considerably less mountainous than other parts of the region, resembling a moderately elevated plateau more than anything else. The highest elevation, 1,080 feet above sea level, occurs at several points in the far west, though the most rugged terrain is found in the so-called "Irish Wilderness" in the northeast part of the county. The lowest elevation, about 360 feet, is found along the Eleven Point River in the southeastern corner as it continues into Arkansas.^[4]

The chief river in the county is the Eleven Point River, a tributary of the Spring and thence the Black Rivers farther south. The rugged valley it creates through the area east and northeast of Alton is part of the Mark Twain National Forest, and a stretch of it is further designated as a National Wild and Scenic River, the only one in Missouri to bear that designation. Other natural preserves include Grand Gulf State Park near Thayer, a canyon created by the collapse of an ancient underground cave system.

The main highways in the county are U.S. Route 63, which cuts through the southwestern corner and passes through Koshkonong and Thayer, and U.S. Route 160, which runs from west to east through Alton and the central part of the county. Other roads include Missouri State Highways 19, which passes northeast to southwest through Alton and Thayer, 99, whose southern terminus is at U.S. Route 160 west of Alton, and 142, which runs through the southernmost part of the county and crosses U.S. Route 63 at Thayer.

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Oregon County had a total population of 10,881, with 4,374 households and 2,791 families; this represented a moderate increase from its 2000 population of 10,344.^[5] The population density was 13.7 per square mile. There were 5,512 housing units, or about 7.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 96.60% White, 0.14% African-American, 1.16% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.09% from some other race, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.20% of the population.

The median age in the county was 46.7 years. 22.30% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.65% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 19.52% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 30.75% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 19.79% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 49.6% male, 50.4% female.^[6]

As of 2018, the median household income in the county was $32,534, and the median family income was $42,311. Males had a median income of $34,935 versus $25,933 for females. The unemployment rate was 3.0%. The per capita income was $18,103. About 23.9% of the population was below the poverty line, including 38.4% of those under the age of 18 and 20.4% of those 65 years old or older.^[7]

Communities[edit]

Oregon County is home to four incorporated communities, including three cities and one census-designated place (CDP).

Cities[edit]

• Alton
• Koshkonong
• Thayer

CDP[edit]

• Thomasville

Government[edit]

Local government in Oregon County is provided by the elected officials. At present, these positions are evenly divided between members of the Democratic and Republican parties.^[8]

Countywide official	Name	Party
Assessor	Charles Alford	Democratic
Circuit Clerk	Betty Grooms	Republican
County Clerk	Tracy Bridges	Democratic
Collector	Misty Hower	Democratic
Commissioner (presiding)	Patrick Ledgerwood	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Jason Kemper	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Jon Hollis	Republican
Coroner	Tom Clary	Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney	Justin Kelley	Democratic
Public Administrator	Mindy Lawrence	Republican
Recorder	Dawn Holman	Democratic
Sheriff	Eric King	Republican
Surveyor	Scott Simer	Democratic
Treasurer	Linda Parrott	Republican

At the state level, all of Oregon County is part of the 143rd District in the Missouri House of Representatives, which also includes all of Dent and Shannon Counties and a portion of Reynolds County. Following the 2020 general election, it will be represented by Ron Copeland (R-Salem), who was elected to his first term without opposition.

In the Missouri State Senate, Ripley County is part of the 33rd District, which also includes Douglas, Howell, Ozark, Ripley, Texas, Webster, and Wright Counties. Following the 2020 general election, it will be represented by Karla Eslinger (R-Wasola), who was elected to her first term, defeating Democrat Tammy Harty.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Karla Eslinger	Republican	64,891	83.813%
Tammy Harty	Democratic	12,533	16.187%

Eslinger slightly underperformed her average margin in Oregon County, winning 3,670 votes to 858 for Harty.

At the federal level, Oregon 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.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Smith	Republican	253,811	76.86%
Kathy Ellis	Democratic	70,561	21.367%
Tom Schmitz	Libertarian	5,854	1.773%

Smith somewhat overperformed his average margin in Oregon County, winning 80.472% of the vote.^[9]

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, though it sometimes continues to vote Democratic at the local level, Oregon County is solidly Republican at the state and federal level. Its voting patterns mirror those in much of the South and lower Midwest, and reflect those in the other counties of the Ozarks and across southern Missouri more broadly. In the 2020 general election, the county overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, who won 81.18% of the vote.^[10]

Like much of southern Missouri, Oregon 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 Oregon County with 87.09% support. In 2006, while the state overall narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county defeated the measure with 56.78% voting against. At the same time, it frequently supports economic measures that appear to favor the working and middle class. In the November 2018 election, the county voted in favor of an increase in the state minimum wage (though with only 53.54% support, a somewhat smaller margin than elsewhere in the state). These results generally align with the rest of southern Missouri.

References[edit]