Callaway County, Missouri

Callaway County, Missouri
The Callaway County Courthouse in Fulton
Location in the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 25, 1820
Named for	James Callaway
Seat	Fulton
Largest city	Fulton
Area
• Total	847 sq mi (2,194 km2)
• Land	835 sq mi (2,163 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (34 km2), 1.5%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	44,834
• Density	53/sq mi (20/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	callawaycounty.org

Callaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 United States Census, the county's population was 44,332. Its county seat is Fulton. The county was organized November 25, 1820, and named for Captain James Callaway, grandson of Daniel Boone. Callaway County is also referred to as "The Kingdom of Callaway" after an incident in which residents confronted Union troops during the U.S. Civil War.

Callaway County is part of the Jefferson City, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Vineyards and wineries were first established in the area by German immigrants in the 19th century. Since the 1960s, there has been a revival of winemaking throughout the state.

The Callaway Nuclear Generating Station is located in Callaway County.

This area was historically occupied by the Osage and other Native American peoples, some of whom migrated from the east of the Ohio River Valley. Others emerged as cultures in this area, following thousands of years of settlement by indigenous peoples.

The European-American settlement of Callaway County was initiated primarily by migrants from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought African-American slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating hemp and tobacco, the same crops as were grown in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Callaway County was one of several to the north and south of the Missouri River settled mostly by Southerners in the early years. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie, and Callaway was at its heart. In 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's population, a higher percentage than in most parts of the state. Residents generally supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Battle of Moore's Mill was the only significant Civil War battle that occurred in Callaway County. From the Civil War era the county earned the nickname of the Kingdom of Callaway.