Doniphan, Missouri
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Doniphan is a city and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Ripley County, Missouri Ripley County is a county in the Ozarks of Missouri. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,679. The largest city and county seat is Doniphan. The county was officially organized on January 5, 1833, and is named after Brigadier Genera ...
, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2020 census.


History

The first settlement at Doniphan was made in the 1840s. The community was named for
Alexander William Doniphan Alexander William Doniphan (July 9, 1808 – August 8, 1887) was a 19th-century American attorney, soldier and politician from Missouri who is best known today as the man who prevented the summary execution of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church ...
. A post office called Doniphan has been in operation since 1848.


Early years

The earliest recorded permanent settlement in the area that would become Doniphan was that of Lemuel Kittrell in 1819. Kittrell built a grist and wood mill near his home that attracted additional settlers to the region. By 1841, the Kittrell settlement had grown to a sizeable village that included an inn, store, distillery, produce warehouse, tannery, justice of the peace and notary office, blacksmith, and a gunsmith. The town of Doniphan was founded in 1847. Due to most of the population of Ripley County being concentrated in the southern half of the county, the county seat was moved from Van Buren to Doniphan the same year.


Civil War

Most residents of Southeast Missouri identified as southerners and sympathized with, or fought for, the Confederacy. During the winter of 1861-1862, the combination of harsh conditions and numerous skirmishes ruined crops and many families suffered. The residents of Doniphan were promised protection by Captain W. T. Leeper if they remained loyal to the Union, but the residents were mostly rebel sympathizers. In 1862, Reverend Timothy Reeves, a Baptist minister in Doniphan, formed Reeves's Independent Company of Missouri Scouts, a militia group under the command of Confederate General John Sappington Marmaduke. On April 1, 1862, a skirmish lasting two days took place at the Doniphan Ford on Current River. Union forces were led by Captain Leeper, while pro-Confederate forces were led by Reverend Reeves. The skirmish resulted in many killed, wounded, or captured for both sides. In 1863, Reeves combined his Independent Scouts with another militia group to form the 15th Missouri Cavalry Regiment, CSA. In 1864, Union troops entered Doniphan and burned most of the town, including the wooden courthouse. As of 1900, Doniphan was a
sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...
that prohibited African Americans from living there.


Geography

Doniphan is located in south-central Ripley County at the intersection of US Route 160 and
Missouri Route 142 Route 142 is a highway in southern Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at Route 53 in southern Poplar Bluff; its western terminus is at Route 101 in Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, Uni ...
. The Current River flows past the west side of the city. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,997 people, 852 households, and 485 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 966 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.64%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.15%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.55% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.80% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.70% of the population. There were 852 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.1% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 39.4 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 20.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.2% male and 54.8% female.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,932 people, 844 households, and 480 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 951 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.60%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.36% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.10% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. There were 844 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 27.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 21.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 30.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 71.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $19,696, and the median income for a family was $29,875. Males had a median income of $23,438 versus $18,981 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $14,407. About 19.8% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 32.3% of those under age 18 and 25.8% of those age 65 or over.


Climate

Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
subtype for this climate is " Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).


Education

Doniphan R-I School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, Current River Career Center and Doniphan High School. The town has a lending library, the Doniphan-Ripley County Library District.


Notable people

* Larry Dale Lee, foreign correspondent, grew up in Doniphan. * Billy Yates, country singer, born and raised in Doniphan, MO.


See also

* List of sundown towns in the United States


References


External links


2008 Doniphan, Missouri
* Historic maps of Doniphan in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
{{authority control Cities in Ripley County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Cities in Missouri Sundown towns in Missouri