Ava is the only incorporated city in Douglas County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

, United States. The population was 2,894 at the 2020 census. Ava is 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 Douglas County. The city was founded in 1871. It was renamed ''Ava'' in 1881, the town's original name having been "Militia Springs."

Geography

Ava is located in the southern portion of the Missouri

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

within the southern escarpment of the Salem Plateau. The lakes of the White River basin of northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and southern

lie to the south. The town is at the intersection of Missouri highways 5, 14 and 76.

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

is 13 miles to the north and Gainesville is approximately 30 miles south. Elevation of the town varies from .''Ava, Missouri,'' 7.5 minute Topographic Quad., USGS, 1982 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. Ava is home to co-owned radio stations KKOZ 1430 AM and KKOZ 92.1 FM.

History

The area was settled during the 1830s and Douglas County was incorporated in 1857, with Vera Cruz as

. In 1864, the town of Militia Springs was founded and became the new county seat in 1870. The town was platted in 1871 and renamed Ava in 1881, although not incorporated until 1908. Militia Springs was the location of an encampment of Union soldiers or Missouri Militia during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. During and after the Civil War, a dispute was ongoing regarding the county seat between Vera Cruz to the east and Arno to the west. In 1871, the citizens of Militia Springs built a court house building and moved the records there as a compromise. However, the building was burned and then rebuilt of hand hewn timbers rather than logs and re-opened in January 1873. The court house was burned again in 1886 and replaced in 1888. The current court house on the southeast corner of the town square was constructed in 1937. Ava Fox Trot

In 1910 the Kansas City, Ozark and Southern Railroad was extended from Mansfield south to Ava to serve the growing agricultural and lumbering industries of Douglas County. The railroad remained in operation until 1935. Militia Springs 02

A city park, ''Militia Springs Park,'' was established in 2004 along Prairie Creek on North Spring Street. The location is the approximate site of the Civil War era military encampment. It has a play area and pavilion. The

Missouri Fox Trotter The Missouri Fox Trotter is a horse breed that originated in the state of Missouri in the United States. It was developed in the Ozark Mountains by settlers in the early 19th century, and quickly developed into a gaited breed appreciated for it ...

association was organized in Ava in 1948 and the annual shows are held at the association's property, just north of Ava. The Ava Ranger Station Historic District is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,993 people, 1,296 households, and 753 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 1,494 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.6%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 1,296 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 40.8 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 22.6% were from 45 to 64; and 22.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.4% male and 55.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,021 people, 1,350 households, and 764 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,493 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.79%

, 0.13%

, 0.66% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.26% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 1,350 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,331, and the median income for a family was $28,228. Males had a median income of $25,865 versus $16,324 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 $13,307. About 16.0% of families and 21.7% 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 27.3% of those under age 18 and 25.8% of those age 65 or over. Ava High School 2

Education

Ava R-I School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Ava High School. The town has a lending library, the Douglas County Public Library.

Notable person

* Marilyn Cade (1947-2020) - activist and cofounder of

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...

References

External links

City of Ava website
* Historic maps of Ava 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 Douglas County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Cities in Missouri 1871 establishments in Missouri