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Howard County, Missouri

Howard County, Missouri
Howard County MO Courthouse 20140920-pano2.jpg
Howard County Courthouse in Fayette
Map of Missouri highlighting Howard County
Location in the U.S. state of Missouri
Map of the United States highlighting Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded January 23, 1816
Named for Benjamin Howard
Seat Fayette
Largest city Fayette
Area
 • Total 472 sq mi (1,222 km2)
 • Land 464 sq mi (1,202 km2)
 • Water 7.7 sq mi (20 km2), 1.6%
Population (est.)
 • (2015) 10,139
Congressional district 4th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Howard County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor John (Woody) McCutcheon Democratic
Circuit Clerk Charles J. Flaspohler Democratic
County Clerk Kathyrne Harper Republican
Collector Jinger Felten Republican
Commissioner
(Presiding)
Sam Stroupe Democratic
Commissioner
(District 1)
Richard Conrow Democratic
Commissioner
(District 2)
Howard McMillan Democratic
Coroner Frank Flaspohler Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Riekhof Republican
Public Administrator Lisa Asbury Democratic
Recorder Charles J. Flaspohler Democratic
Sheriff Mike Neal Republican
Surveyor Gene Bowen Democratic
Treasurer Susan Keyton Democratic
Howard County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain 283 (28.44%)
Mike Huckabee 328 (32.96%)
Mitt Romney 319 (32.06%)
Ron Paul 52 (5.23%)
Howard County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Clinton 685 (48.38%)
Barack Obama 660 (46.61%)
John Edwards (withdrawn) 50 (3.53%)
Uncommitted 14 (0.99%)

Howard County is a county in the U.S. state of Missouri, with its southern border made by the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,144. Its county seat is Fayette. The county was organized January 23, 1816 and named for Benjamin Howard, the first Governor of the Missouri Territory.

Located on the north bank of the Missouri River, Howard County was settled primarily from the Upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and cultivated hemp and tobacco. Howard was one of several counties settled mainly by Southerners along the Missouri River in the center of the state. Because of this, this area became known as Little Dixie, and Howard County was at its heart. Following the 1848 revolutions in the German nations, many German immigrants also came to this region.

Because of the reliance on slave labor, by 1860 African American slaves composed at least 25 percent of the county's population. Many Howard County residents supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws and segregation were enforced in the county. Five African Americans were lynched in Howard between 1891 and 1914: Olli Truxton, Frank Embree, Thomas Hayden, Arthur McNeal, and Dallas Shields.

The county continued to be developed for agriculture and is still largely rural. However, Howard has lost population since reaching its peak in 1900. The mechanization of farming reduced the demand for labor, and many left for jobs in the cities. In 2000 African-Americans in the county had declined to less than 7 percent of the total. Nearly one-third of the residents now identify themselves as of German ancestry.


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Wikipedia

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