Taney County is a

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

located in the southwestern portion of the

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 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,066. 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 Forsyth. It is included in the Branson, Missouri, Micropolitan Statistical Area. Taney County was officially organized on January 4, 1837, and named in honor of Roger Brooke Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, best known for delivering the infamous majority opinion in ''

Dred Scott v. Sandford ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...

.'' However, unlike Roger B. Taney, who pronounced his name /ˈtɔːni/, the "Taney" in Taney County is generally pronounced /ˈteɪni/. The county includes the popular tourist destinations

Branson Branson may refer to: Places ;Canada * Branson, Toronto ;United States * Branson, Missouri, a popular tourist destination in the Ozark Mountains * Branson, Colorado * Branson City, California * The Branson School, in Ross, California * Warrenpoi ...

, Table Rock, Taneycomo and Bull Shoals Lakes.

History

The first Taney County Courthouse was built on the mouth of Bull Creek at the confluence of the White River by early pioneers in 1837. Its use as a courthouse ended after Forsyth became the county seat; it was destroyed in a tornado in 1963. The county's second courthouse, in Forsyth, was destroyed in a Civil War battle on July 22, 1861. The rebuilt courthouse was destroyed by fire on December 19, 1885. A third courthouse was removed in 1952 to permit the building of Bull Shoals Lake. The fourth, and present, courthouse was occupied on August 1, 1952. An addition was completed in 1991 after two years of construction. In 1904, the White River Railway was extended through the rugged terrain of

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

and Taney counties. By then, both counties had for years had a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

policy, forbidding African Americans to live there. In 2008, a New Taney County Judicial Center was built. That Judicial Center houses the courtrooms, the Circuit Clerk, and the County Jail.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water. The county is drained by White River and its affluents.

Adjacent counties

* Christian County (north) * Douglas County (northeast) *

Ozark County Ozark County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,553. The largest city and county seat is Gainesville. The county was organized as Ozark County, named after th ...

(east) *

Marion County, Arkansas Marion County is located in the Ozark Mountains in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The county is named for Francis Marion, the famous "Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary War. Created as Arkansas's 35th county in 1836, Marion County is home to one in ...

(southeast) *

Boone County, Arkansas Boone County is located in the U.S. state of Arkansas, along the Missouri border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,373. The county seat is Harrison. It is Arkansas's 62nd county, formed on April 9, 1869. Boone County is part of t ...

(south) *

Carroll County, Arkansas Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,260. The county has two county seats, Berryville and Eureka Springs. Carroll County is Arkansas's 26th county, formed on November ...

(southwest) * Stone County (west)

Major highways

* U.S. Route 65 *

U.S. Route 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

* Route 76 * Route 86 * Route 125 * Route 165 * Route 176 * Route 248 * Route 265 * Route 376 * Route 465 (decommissioned in early 2020, now part of MO-76)

National protected area

Mark Twain National Forest Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The MTNF covers of which is public owned, ...

(part)

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 39,703 people, 16,158 households, and 11,052 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 24/km² (63/mi²). There were 19,688 housing units at an average density of 12/km² (31/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.22%

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 ...

, 0.35%

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 ...

, 0.87% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 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 ...

, 0.74% 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 1.42% from two or more races. About 2.42% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. Among the major first ancestries reported in Taney County were 20.8% German, 18.9% American, 12.4%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and 12.3%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. There were 16,158 households, out of which 27.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.83. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.40% under the age of 18, 10.20% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,771, and the median income for a family was $47,664. Males had a median income of $25,431 versus $19,655 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 $21,663. About 9.40% of families and 12.40% 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 17.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Taney County is a part of the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Taney County who adhere to a religion are

Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

(32.88%), Roman Catholics (12.36%), and Presbyterians (9.13%).

2020 Census

Public safety

The Taney County Ambulance District (TCAD) is an

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

(EMS) agency established by public vote in 1971. The Taney County Sheriff's Office and its jail are in Forsyth, which also has a police department. Firefighting services are provided by Central Taney County Fire Protection District and Western Taney County Fire Protection District.

Education

Of adults 25 years of age and older in Taney County, 81.4% possess a high school diploma or higher while 14.9% hold a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

or higher as their highest educational attainment.

Colleges and universities

Ozarks Technical Community College Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) is a public community college in Springfield, Missouri. It was established by Springfield and thirteen surrounding public school districts on April 3, 1990. It has six locations in southern Missouri. St ...

, Hollister *

College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs.https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/college ...

, Point Lookout

Public schools

*Bradleyville R-I School District - Bradleyville **Bradleyville Elementary School (PK-06) **Bradleyville High School (07-12)
Branson R-IV School District
-

**Branson Primary School (PK) **Branson Buchanan Elementary (K-04) **Branson Cedar Ridge Elementary (K-04) **Branson Buchanan Intermediate (04-06) **Branson Cedar Ridge Intermediate (04-06) **Branson Jr. High School (07-08) **Branson High School (09-12)
Forsyth R-III School District
- Forsyth **Forsyth Elementary School (K-04) **Forsyth Middle School (05-08) **Forsyth High School (09-12)
Hollister R-V School District
- Hollister **Hollister Elementary School (PK-04) **Hollister Middle School (05-06) * Riedgedale Elementary School **Hollister Jr. High School (07-08) **Hollister High School (09-12)
Kirbyville R-VI School District
- Kirbyville **Kirbyville Elementary School (K-03) **Kirbyville Middle School (04-08)
Mark Twain R-VIII School District
- Rueter **Mark Twain Elementary School (K-08) *Taneyville R-II School District - Taneyville **Taneyville Elementary School (K-08)

Private schools

Trinity Christian Academy
- Hollister - (PK-12) - Non-denominational Christian *Riverview Bible Baptist Church School - Forsyth - (05-08) -

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

*School of the Ozarks - Point Lookout

Alternative and vocational schools

*Delmina Woods Youth Facility - Forsyth - (06-12) - Alternative/Other School

Public libraries

*Forsyth Public Library *Taneyhills Community Library

Politics

Local

As of 2020, the Republican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Taney County. Republicans hold every elected position in the county. However, the Democratic Party previously controlled politics at the local level during the late 19th century and much of the first half of the 20th century.

State

Taney County is divided into three 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 138 — Currently represented b
Don Phillips
(R- Kimberling City) and consists of a small part the southwestern section of the county. *District 155 — Currently represented b
Lyle Rowland
(R- Cedar Creek) and consists of the eastern part of the county, including Cedar Creek, Forsyth, Kirbyville, Kissee Mills, Powersite, and Taneyville. *District 156 — Currently represented b
Jeffery Justus
(R-

) and consists of most of the western part of the county, including Branson, Bull Creek, Hollister, Merriam Woods, Ridgedale, Rockaway Beach, and Table Rock. All of Taney County is a part of Missouri's 29th 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 is currently represented b
David Sater
(R- Cassville).

Federal

All of Taney County is in Missouri's 7th Congressional District represented by

Billy Long William Hollis Long II (born August 11, 1955) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 7th congressional district since 2011. The district includes much of the southwestern quadrant of the state and is ...

(R- Springfield) in the

United States 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

Taney County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried Taney County in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and 2004 by more than two-to-one margins. Taney County strongly favored John McCain over

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. The last time the Republican Party failed to carry Taney County was in 1860.Brandt, Maxwell
‘A Few Lists of 2008 Election Results’
/ref> Like most rural areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Taney County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman. It passed Taney County with 80.04 percent of the vote, and the state in general with 71 percent of support from voters, making Missouri the first state to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Taney County with 56.64 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 approve

embryonic stem cell research Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist ...

. Despite Taney County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

causes like increasing the minimum 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 Taney County with 77.78 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.

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

In the 2008 presidential primary, voters in Taney County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally. Former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mike Huckabee (R-

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

) received more votes, a total of 3,850, than any candidate from either party in Taney County during the 2008 presidential primary.

Communities

Cities

(small portion in Stone County; largest city) * Forsyth (county seat) * Hollister * Merriam Woods * Rockaway Beach

Villages

* Bull Creek * Kirbyville * Saddlebrooke (mostly in Christian County) * Taneyville

Census-designated place

* Kissee Mills

Unincorporated communities

* Bradleyville * Brownbranch * Cedar Creek * Day *

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

* Eastview * Garber *

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

* Hilda * McClurg * Mildred * Mincy * Ozark Beach * Point Lookout * Powersite * Protem * Ridgedale * Swan *

Table Rock Table Rock may refer to: Canada * Table Rock, Niagara Falls, a former rock formation ** Table Rock Welcome Centre, a retail center near the site of Table Rock, Niagara Falls United States * Table Rock (Ada County, Idaho), a hill near Boise, Idah ...

* Walnut Shade

References

External links

Taney County government's website

from

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 ...

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books * https://web.archive.org/web/20131013222920/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ {{coord, 36.65, -93.04, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MO_source:UScensus1990 Branson, Missouri micropolitan area 1837 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1837 Sundown towns in Missouri