Chariton County, Missouri: Map

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Chariton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri

. As of 2000, the population was 8,438. Its county seat is Keytesville

. The county was organized in 1820 from part of Howard County

and was named from the Chariton River.

History

Chariton County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper South states, especially Kentucky

and Tennessee

. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. Chariton 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 Chariton was at its heart.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 768 square miles (1,990 km²), of which, 756 square miles (1,958 km²) of it is land and 12 square miles (32 km²) of it (1.61%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Linn County (north)
Macon County (northeast)
Randolph County (east)
Howard County (southeast)
Saline County (southwest)
Carroll County (west)
Livingston County (northwest)

Major highways

National protected area

Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,438 people, 3,469 households, and 2,345 families residing in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 4,250 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.99% White, 3.19% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.8% were of German, 25.5% American

, 9.7% English and 7.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,469 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.30% 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 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 23.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 22.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,285, and the median income for a family was $39,176. Males had a median income of $25,263 versus $19,068 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,515. About 8.80% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or over.