Boone County is a county centrally located in the
U.S. state of Missouri
. It
is the eighth most populous county in Missouri. In 2008, the
population was 154,365.
Its county seat, Columbia
, is the fifth largest city in Missouri and the
anchor city of the Columbia Metropolitan Area
.
History
Boone
County was organized on November 16, 1820, from a portion of the
territorial Howard County
. The area was known as Boone's Lick
Country
, because of a salt lick
which sons of Daniel Boone relied on
for their stock.
Boone
County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper South states of Kentucky
, Tennessee
and Virginia
. They
brought
slaves and slaveholding traditions
with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those
in
Middle Tennessee and Kentucky:
hemp and tobacco. Boone was one of several counties settled mostly
by southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given
their culture and traditions, this area became known as
Little Dixie and Boone was at its
heart. In 1860 slaves made up 25 percent or more of the county's
population.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 135,454
people, 53,094 households, and 31,378 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 198 people per square mile (76/km²). There were 56,678 housing
units at an average density of 83 per square mile (32/km²).
The racial makeup of the county was 85.43%
White, 8.54%
Black or
African American, 0.42%
Native American, 2.96%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.69% from
other races, and 1.93%
from two or more races. 1.78% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
24.6% claimed German, 12.3% American
, 11.2%
English and 9.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 53,094 households out of which 30.30% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 45.50% were
married couples living together, 10.40% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 40.90% were
non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals
and 6.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family
size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.80% under the
age of 18, 19.90% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 18.80% from
45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,485, and
the median income for a family was $51,210. Males had a median
income of $33,304 versus $25,990 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$19,844. About 7.60% of families and 14.50% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
12.10% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or
over.
There are 121,319 registered voters.
Geography

The Pinnacles, a natural formation
carved by hundreds of years of flowing water, just north of
Columbia.
According to the
U.S.
Census Bureau, the
county has a total area of 691 square miles (1,790 km²),
of which, 685 square miles (1,775 km²) of it is land and
6 square miles (15 km²) of it (0.85%) is water.
The
Missouri
River
makes up the southern border of the
county.
National protected area
Location
Transportation
Major highways
Government
Boone County is a Class I non-charter county.
Cities and towns
See also
References
- The Story of Little Dixie, Missouri, Missouri
Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, accessed 3 Jun
2008
- T. J. Stiles, Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil
War, New York: Vintage Books, 2003, pp.10-11
- Registered Voters in Missouri 2008