Birch Tree is a city in southwest Shannon 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 541 at the 2020 census.

History

A post office called Birch Tree has been in operation since the 1860s. The community was named for a grove of birch trees near the original town site.

Geography

Birch Tree is located in 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 ...

in southwestern Shannon County. The city is on US Route 60 approximately 11 miles east of Mountain View in adjacent Howell County and 8.5 miles west of Winona. 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 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 679 people, 298 households, and 167 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 347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.78%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.88% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 3.09% from other races, and 2.21% 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 6.92% of the population. There were 298 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% 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, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.0% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 38.9 years. 24.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 634 people, 276 households, and 170 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 323 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.11%

, 0.32%

, 2.05% Native American, 0.79% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population. There were 276 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were

living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.95. In the city the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $14,236, and the median income for a family was $18,182. Males had a median income of $16,932 versus $14,531 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 $7,695. About 38.3% of families and 46.0% 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 59.2% of those under age 18 and 41.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District operates Birch Tree Elementary School in the community. The town has a lending library, the Birch Tree City Library.

Notable people

Mel Carnahan Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Carnahan was a Democrat and held various positions in governm ...

, Governor of Missouri (1993–2000), the only person to be posthumously elected to the U.S. Senate; born in Birch Tree. *

Bob Holden Robert Lee Holden Jr. (born August 24, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of Missouri from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Missouri state treasurer from 1993 to 2001 an ...

, Governor of Missouri (2001–2005); raised in Birch Tree.

References

External links

* Historic maps of Birch Tree 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 Shannon County, Missouri Cities in Missouri