Festus is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

situated in Jefferson County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, United States, and is also a suburb of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. It had a population of 12,706 individuals as of the 2020 census. Festus and its adjacent neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities".

Geography

Festus is situated just west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. The city is served by

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

and US routes 61 and 67. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

History

Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1878. A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 11,602 individuals, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2%. Of the 4,636 households 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of households were one person and 12.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of . The

of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04%. Of the 3,861 households 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of households were one person and 12.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. The age distribution was 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. About 7.0% of families and 10.2% 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 t ...

, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Festus is the home of the

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

band

The Bottle Rockets The Bottle Rockets were an American rock band formed in Festus, Missouri in 1992, and was based in St. Louis, Missouri. Its founding members were Brian Henneman (guitar, vocals), Mark Ortmann (drums), Tom Parr (1992–2002, guitar, vocals) and To ...

. The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "

(We're Not) The Jet Set "(We're Not) The Jet Set" is a song recorded by country music duo George Jones and Tammy Wynette. It was written by country songwriter Bobby Braddock. Background Epic released the song as a single in 1974 and it climbed to #15 on the ''Billboar ...

," in which

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

sing about road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love. The '' Drunken Peasants'' podcast had a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

in the form of a feud with Brett Keane, a

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

and resident of Festus. The feud involved satirizing Brett Keane and aspects of Festus.

Education

Festus R-VI School District operates

Festus High School Festus High School is a public high school in Festus, Missouri. It is a part of the Festus R-VI School District. It is the only high school in the school district. The school has 814 students. In 2018, the school earned a bronze medal for academ ...

. St. Pius X High School, Our Lady Catholic School (K-8) and Twin City Christian Academy (K-12) are private institutions. Festus has a lending library, the Festus Public Library.

News and media

* ''

Jefferson County Leader ''The Jefferson Leader'' is a local American newspaper founded in 1994 in Festus, Missouri. As part of The Leader Publications, The ''Jefferson County Leader'' provides local news for Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in ...

'' * KJFF (1400 AM)

Transportation

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

U.S. Route 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designate ...

U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

Festus Memorial Airport Festus Memorial Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport situation located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Festus, a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. Although many U.S. a ...

Notable Animal

Travis (chimpanzee) Travis (October 21, 1995 – February 16, 2009) was a male common chimpanzee who, as an animal actor, appeared in several television shows and commercials, including spots for Coca-Cola, as well as on television programs including ''The Maury P ...

, animal actor famous for mauling a woman.

References

External links

City of Festus
* Historic maps of Festus in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

{{authority control Cities in Jefferson County, Missouri Cities in Missouri