Wright County, Missouri | |
|---|---|
 Wright County Courthouse in Hartville | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMissouri | |
| Coordinates:37°16′N92°28′W / 37.27°N 92.46°W /37.27; -92.46 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Missouri |
| Founded | January 29, 1841 |
| Named after | Silas Wright |
| Seat | Hartville |
| Largest city | Mountain Grove |
| Area | |
• Total | 683 sq mi (1,770 km2) |
| • Land | 682 sq mi (1,770 km2) |
| • Water | 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2) 0.2% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 18,188 |
• Estimate (2024)[1] | 19,505 |
| • Density | 28.6/sq mi (11.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 8th |
| Website | www |
Wright County is acounty located in the southern portion of theU.S. state ofMissouri. As of the2020 census, the population was 18,188.[2] Itscounty seat isHartville.[3] The county was officially organized on January 29, 1841, and is named afterSilas Wright (D-New York), a formerCongressman,U.S. Senator andGovernor of New York.[4]
As of the2020 United States census, the U.S. Census Bureau recognized themean center of the United States population to be within the county, near the community ofHartville.[5]
Wright County is bordered byLaclede County on the north,Texas County on the east,Douglas County on the south, andWebster County on the west. It is in the part of the state considered Southwest Missouri. Formed from part ofPulaski County on January 29, 1841, Wright County was named in honor ofSilas Wright, a prominentNew YorkDemocrat. The county seat ofHartville was named after pioneer settler Isaac Hart.[6] Wright County lost part of its land in 1845 to Texas County, in 1849 to Laclede, and in 1855 a big chunk to Webster.
It appears there were no Native American settlements early in the area, although the wandering Delawares, Shawnees, and Piankashaws did come through. Earlywhite settlers were in the county in 1836 and were probably hunters. Earliest known settlers (by 1840) were Samuel Thompson, Robert Moore, John W. Burns, Jeff and Robert Montgomery, Benjamin Stephens, James Young, William Franklin, Isham Pool, and the Tuckers, according to Goodspeed.[citation needed]
The county has been devastated several times by storms. Atornado that swept through Southwest Missouri that devastated Webster County onApril 18, 1880. A flood occurred April 22–23, 1885. Another tornado on May 8, 1888, did considerable damage, as did a hailstorm near the same time that reportedly left hail 3-4 inches deep and in drifts 5–8 feet high, after falling for two hours. Goodspeed gives great accounts of these storms, as well as others.[citation needed]
A good-sized portion of the county is located in theMark Twain National Forest. TheGasconade River and its tributaries flow through the county, as well allowing for great recreational opportunities.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 683 square miles (1,770 km2), of which 682 square miles (1,770 km2) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) (0.2%) is water.[7]
Wright County lies within theSalem Plateau region of theOzarks. The bulk of the county is drained by the north flowingGasconade River and its tributary streams. The southern edge of the county is drained by the south flowingheadwaters ofNorth Fork River. The terrain is moderately hilly.[8]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 3,387 | — | |
| 1860 | 4,508 | 33.1% | |
| 1870 | 5,684 | 26.1% | |
| 1880 | 9,712 | 70.9% | |
| 1890 | 14,484 | 49.1% | |
| 1900 | 17,519 | 21.0% | |
| 1910 | 18,315 | 4.5% | |
| 1920 | 17,733 | −3.2% | |
| 1930 | 16,741 | −5.6% | |
| 1940 | 17,967 | 7.3% | |
| 1950 | 15,834 | −11.9% | |
| 1960 | 14,183 | −10.4% | |
| 1970 | 13,667 | −3.6% | |
| 1980 | 16,188 | 18.4% | |
| 1990 | 16,758 | 3.5% | |
| 2000 | 17,955 | 7.1% | |
| 2010 | 18,815 | 4.8% | |
| 2020 | 18,188 | −3.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 19,505 | 7.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[13] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 18,188 and a median age of 40.6 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over.[14]
The racial makeup of the county was 92.4% White, 0.6%Black or African American, 0.4%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Asian, 0.0%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 5.4% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.[15]
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 16,654 | 91.57% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 111 | 0.6% |
| Native American (NH) | 73 | 0.4% |
| Asian (NH) | 48 | 0.26% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 5 | 0.03% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 927 | 5.1% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 370 | 2% |
22.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 77.6% lived in rural areas.[17]
There were 7,182 households in the county, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[14]
There were 8,347 housing units, of which 14.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.4% were owner-occupied and 29.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.6%.[14]
As of the2000 census, there were 17,955 people, 7,081 households, and 5,020 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 26 people per square mile (10 people/km2). There were 7,957 housing units at an average density of 12 units per square mile (4.6/km2).[18] The racial makeup of the county was 97.61%White, 0.28%Black orAfrican American, 0.66%Native American, 0.14%Asian, 0.01%Pacific Islander, 0.27% fromother races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Approximately 0.77% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 7,081 households, out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% weremarried couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.20% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,685, and the median income for a family was $37,139. Males had a median income of $24,876 versus $17,608 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,319. About 17.30% of families and 21.70% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 29.10% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Wright County is a part of theBible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Wright County who adhere to a religion areSouthern Baptists (49.92%),National Association of Free Will Baptists (19.84%), andPentecostals (7.55%).
Of adults 25 years of age and older in Wright County, 71.1% possesses ahigh school diploma or higher while 9.8% holds abachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
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| Wright County, Missouri | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Elected countywide officials | |||
| Assessor | Brenda Day | Republican | |
| Circuit Clerk | Joe Chadwell | Republican | |
| County Clerk | Nelda Masner | Republican | |
| Collector | Cindy Cottengim | Republican | |
| Commissioner (presiding) | Zach Williams | Republican | |
| Commissioner (district 1) | Tommy Gaddis | Republican | |
| Commissioner (district 2) | Mike Sherman | Republican | |
| Coroner | Ben Hurtt | Republican | |
| Prosecuting Attorney | Jason W. MacPherson | Republican | |
| Public Administrator | John T. Miller | Republican | |
| Recorder | Kathy Garrison | Republican | |
| Sheriff | Glenn Adler | Republican | |
| Surveyor | W. Andrew Daniel | Republican | |
| Treasurer | Naomi Gray | Republican | |
TheRepublican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Wright County. Republicans hold every elected position in the county.
All of Wright County is a part of the Missouri 141st District in theMissouri House of Representatives and is currently represented by Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove).
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hannah Kelly | 6,910 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Dugger | 3,591 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Dugger | 6,899 | 100.00% | ||
All of Wright County is a part of Missouri's 33rd District in theMissouri Senate and is currently represented byState SenatorMike Cunningham (R-Rogersville)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Cunningham | 7,098 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Cunningham | 6,834 | 100.00% | ||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 86.17%7,697 | 12.16%1,086 | 1.67%149 |
| 2020 | 84.63%7,343 | 13.61%1,181 | 1.76%153 |
| 2016 | 73.93%5,993 | 23.40%1,897 | 2.66%216 |
| 2012 | 61.13%4,866 | 36.16%2,878 | 2.71%216 |
| 2008 | 49.57%4,198 | 47.53%4,025 | 2.90%245 |
| 2004 | 71.37%5,955 | 27.33%2,280 | 1.30%109 |
| 2000 | 62.56%4,872 | 35.73%2,783 | 1.71%133 |
| 1996 | 62.03%4,310 | 35.13%2,441 | 2.84%197 |
| 1992 | 56.36%4,280 | 43.64%3,314 | 0.00%0 |
| 1988 | 74.68%4,789 | 24.92%1,598 | 0.41%26 |
| 1984 | 74.30%4,928 | 25.70%1,705 | 0.00%0 |
| 1980 | 60.21%4,035 | 39.67%2,659 | 0.12%8 |
| 1976 | 61.66%3,780 | 38.29%2,347 | 0.05%3 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Roy Blunt | 5,930 | 73.29% | +17.39 | |
| Democratic | Jason Kander | 1,836 | 22.69% | −13.92 | |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 176 | 2.18% | −5.31 | |
| Green | Johnathan McFarland | 60 | 0.74% | +0.74 | |
| Constitution | Fred Ryman | 89 | 1.10% | +1.10 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Todd Akin | 4,402 | 55.90% | ||
| Democratic | Claire McCaskill | 2,883 | 36.61% | ||
| Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 590 | 7.49% | ||
Wright County is included inMissouri's 8th Congressional District and is currently represented byJason T. Smith (R-Salem) in theU.S. House of Representatives. Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term ofU.S. RepresentativeJo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau). Emerson announced her resignation a month after being reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in the district. She resigned to become CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason Smith | 6,594 | 83.19% | +5.05 | |
| Democratic | Dave Cowell | 1,150 | 14.51% | −1.28 | |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Shell | 182 | 2.30% | +0.00 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason Smith | 3,157 | 78.14% | −2.27 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Stocker | 638 | 15.79% | −1.18 | |
| Libertarian | Rick Vandeven | 93 | 2.30% | +1.16 | |
| Constitution | Doug Enyart | 56 | 1.39% | −0.09 | |
| Independent | Terry Hampton | 96 | 2.38% | +2.38 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason T. Smith | 1,412 | 80.41 | +1.34 | |
| Democratic | Steve Hodges | 298 | 16.97 | −0.12 | |
| Libertarian | Bill Slantz | 20 | 1.14 | −2.70 | |
| Constitution | Doug Enyart | 26 | 1.48 | +1.48 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jo Ann Emerson | 6,172 | 79.07% | ||
| Democratic | Jack Rushin | 1,334 | 17.09% | ||
| Libertarian | Rick Vandeven | 300 | 3.84% | ||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 1,372 | 50.97% | 771 | 28.64% | 549 | 20.39% |
| 1892 | 1,454 | 50.17% | 786 | 27.12% | 658 | 22.71% |
| 1896 | 1,755 | 49.58% | 1,777 | 50.20% | 8 | 0.23% |
| 1900 | 1,703 | 52.18% | 1,500 | 45.96% | 61 | 1.87% |
| 1904 | 1,972 | 58.80% | 1,266 | 37.75% | 116 | 3.46% |
| 1908 | 2,149 | 58.21% | 1,469 | 39.79% | 74 | 2.00% |
| 1912 | 1,163 | 32.97% | 1,356 | 38.45% | 1,008 | 28.58% |
| 1916 | 2,176 | 56.29% | 1,593 | 41.21% | 97 | 2.51% |
| 1920 | 3,661 | 63.69% | 2,008 | 34.93% | 79 | 1.37% |
| 1924 | 3,105 | 55.04% | 2,303 | 40.83% | 233 | 4.13% |
| 1928 | 4,504 | 69.28% | 1,973 | 30.35% | 24 | 0.37% |
| 1932 | 3,023 | 43.51% | 3,862 | 55.58% | 63 | 0.91% |
| 1936 | 4,837 | 59.18% | 3,296 | 40.32% | 41 | 0.50% |
| 1940 | 5,096 | 64.98% | 2,727 | 34.77% | 20 | 0.26% |
| 1944 | 4,413 | 67.51% | 2,116 | 32.37% | 8 | 0.12% |
| 1948 | 3,542 | 58.47% | 2,505 | 41.35% | 11 | 0.18% |
| 1952 | 5,285 | 72.31% | 2,006 | 27.45% | 18 | 0.25% |
| 1956 | 4,360 | 65.68% | 2,278 | 34.32% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 5,191 | 72.66% | 1,953 | 27.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 3,466 | 51.29% | 3,292 | 48.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 3,576 | 66.22% | 1,337 | 24.76% | 487 | 9.02% |
| 1972 | 4,350 | 76.08% | 1,368 | 23.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 3,397 | 54.87% | 2,781 | 44.92% | 13 | 0.21% |
| 1980 | 4,451 | 66.27% | 2,182 | 32.49% | 83 | 1.24% |
| 1984 | 4,687 | 70.38% | 1,973 | 29.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 4,151 | 64.92% | 2,232 | 34.91% | 11 | 0.17% |
| 1992 | 3,427 | 44.60% | 2,814 | 36.62% | 1,443 | 18.78% |
| 1996 | 3,754 | 53.67% | 2,280 | 32.59% | 961 | 13.74% |
| 2000 | 5,391 | 68.75% | 2,250 | 28.70% | 200 | 2.55% |
| 2004 | 6,090 | 72.97% | 2,188 | 26.22% | 68 | 0.81% |
| 2008 | 5,784 | 67.94% | 2,557 | 30.03% | 173 | 2.03% |
| 2012 | 5,830 | 73.29% | 1,953 | 24.55% | 172 | 2.16% |
| 2016 | 6,707 | 82.61% | 1,170 | 14.41% | 242 | 2.98% |
| 2020 | 7,453 | 85.17% | 1,168 | 13.35% | 130 | 1.49% |
| 2024 | 7,850 | 87.42% | 1,057 | 11.77% | 73 | 0.81% |
Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Wright County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections.George W. Bush carried Wright County in2000 and2004 by more than two-to-one margins, and like many other rural counties throughout Missouri, Wright County strongly favoredJohn McCain overBarack Obama in2008,Mitt Romney in2012, andDonald Trump overHillary Clinton in2016. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Wright County in more than 80 years.
Like most rural areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Wright County traditionally adhere to socially and culturallyconservative principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted ona constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Wright County with 86.28 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to bansame-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted ona constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Wright County with 64.84 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approveembryonic stem cell research. Despite Wright County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancingpopulist causes like increasing theminimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Wright County with 70.99 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.
FormerGovernorMike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) received more votes, a total of 1,878, than any candidate from either party in Wright County during the 2008 presidential primary. He also received more votes than the total number of votes cast in the entire Democratic Primary in Wright County. Wright County was Huckabee's strongest county in Missouri.
Places adjacent to Wright County, Missouri | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofWright County, Missouri,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| Other | |
