Pettis County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in west central

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,201. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Sedalia. The county was organized January 24, 1833, and named after former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Spencer Darwin Pettis Spencer Darwin Pettis (1802August 28, 1831) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and the fourth Missouri Secretary of State. He is best known, however, for being a participant in a fatal duel with Major Thomas Biddle. Pettis County, Missouri, ...

. Pettis County comprises the Sedalia, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is home to the site of the

Missouri State Fair The Missouri State Fair is the state fair for the state of Missouri, which has operated since 1901 in Sedalia, Missouri. It includes daily concerts, exhibits and competitions of animals, homemade crafts, shows, and many food/lemonade stands, and ...

in Sedalia.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. It is drained by

Lamine River The Lamine River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. It is formed in northern ...

and branches.

Adjacent counties

* Saline County (north) * Cooper County (east) * Morgan County (southeast) * Benton County (south) * Henry County (southwest) * Johnson County (west) * Lafayette County (northwest)

Major highways

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

U.S. Route 65 * MO-52

Route 52 The following highways are numbered 52: Australia * Kings Highway (Australia) * Isis Highway ( Childers to Ban Ban Springs) - Queensland State Route 52 (Wide Bay–Burnett Region) * Gillies Highway - Queensland State Route 52 (Far North Queensl ...

Route 127 * MO-135

Route 135

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 39,403 people, 15,568 households, and 10,570 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 58 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 16,963 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.06%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 3.04%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.39%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.46% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.62% from two or more races. Approximately 3.88% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 15,568 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,822, and the median income for a family was $38,073. Males had a median income of $29,221 versus $19,554 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,251. About 10.20% of families and 12.80% 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 16.60% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

Public schools

Green Ridge R-VIII School District
– Green Ridge ** Green Ridge Elementary School (K-06) ** Green Ridge High School (07-12)
La Monte R-IV School District
– La Monte ** La Monte Elementary School (PK-06) ** La Monte High School (07-12)
Pettis County R-V School District
– Hughesville ** Northwest Elementary School (K-06) ** Northwest High School (07-12)
Pettis County R-XII School District
– Sedalia ** Pettis County Elementary School (PK-08)
Sedalia School District No. 200
– Sedalia ** Sedalia Early Childhood Education Center (PK) ** Heber Hunt Elementary School (K-04) ** Skyline Elementary School (K-04) ** Parkview Elementary School (K-04) ** Horace Mann Elementary School (K-04) ** Washington Elementary School (K-04) ** Sedalia Middle School (05) ** Smith-Cotton Junior High School (06-08) **

Smith-Cotton High School Smith-Cotton High School is a public high school in Sedalia, Missouri, in the United States. The school serves students in grades 9–12 in the Sedalia 200 School District. The current principal is Wade Norton. Athletic teams are known as the Tige ...

(9-12)
Smithton R-VI School District
– Smithton ** Smithton Elementary School (PK-06) ** Smithton High School (07-12)

Private schools

St. Paul’s Lutheran School
– Sedalia (PK-08) –

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Sedalia Seventh-day Adventist School
– Sedalia (01-08) –

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

Show-Me Christian School
– La Monte (K-12) –

Nondenominational Christian Nondenominational Christianity (or non-denominational Christianity) consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian d ...

Applewood Christian School
– Sedalia (K-12) –

Sacred Heart Schools
– Sedalia (K-12) –

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

** Sacred Heart Elementary School (K-06) ** Sacred Heart High School (07-12)

Post-secondary

* State Fair Community College – Sedalia – A public, two-year/community college.

Public libraries

* Boonslick Regional Library * Sedalia Public Library

Politics

Local

The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Pettis County. Republicans hold all but three of the elected positions in the county.

State

Pettis County is divided into four legislative districts in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, all of which are held by Republicans. * District 48 �
Dave Muntzel
(R- Boonville). Consists of the community of Smithton and the northeast section of the county. * District 51 �
Dean Dohrman
(R- La Monte). Consists of the communities of Houstonia, Hughesville, and La Monte and the northwest portion of the county. * District 52 �
Nathan Beard
(R- Sedalia). Consists of the community of Sedalia. * District 54 �
Dan Houx
(R- Warrensburg). Consists of the community of Green Ridge and the southern portion of the county. All of Pettis County is a part of Missouri's 28th District in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...

and was previously represented by

Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of Missouri since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Parson served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 and in the ...

but the seat is currently vacant.

Federal

All of Pettis County is included in

Missouri's 4th Congressional District Missouri's 4th congressional district comprises west central Missouri. It stretches from Columbia to the southern suburbs of Kansas City, including a sliver of Kansas City itself. The district is predominantly rural and relatively conservative ...

and is currently represented by

Vicky Hartzler Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from ...

(R- Harrisonville) in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Political culture

Communities

Cities and Towns

* Green Ridge * Houstonia * Hughesville *

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

* La Monte * Sedalia (county seat) * Smithton *

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Unincorporated Communities

* Bahner * Beaman * Bryson *

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

* Dunksburg * Georgetown * Longwood *

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

* Newland * Postal * Spring Fork * Stokley * Tedieville

References

External links

Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Pettis County
from

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

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books {{Coord, 38.73, -93.28, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MO_source:UScensus1990 1833 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1833