Gainesville is a city in Ozark 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 745 at the 2020 census. It 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 Ozark County.

History

Gainesville 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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1841, taking its name from

Gainesville, Georgia Gainesville is a city and the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it has been calle ...

, the native home of a large share of the early settlers. Gainesville was designated county seat of Ozark County in 1857. A post office called Gainesville has been in operation since 1860.

Geography

Gainesville is located at the intersection of

U.S. Route 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 west of Tuba City, Arizona. The eastern terminus is at US 67 and Missour ...

and

Missouri Route 5 Missouri Route 5 is the longest state highway in Missouri and the only Missouri state highway to traverse the entire state. To the north, it continues into Iowa as Iowa Highway 5 and to the south it enters Arkansas as Arkansas Highway 5 as pa ...

in the Lick Creek valley.''Gainesville, MO,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrnagle, USGS, 1968 (1981 rev.) The southern terminus of Route 181 is at U.S Route 160, on the east side of town. 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 773 people, 356 households, and 204 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 406 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.51%

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 ...

, 0.13%

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 ...

, 1.42% Native American, 0.39% from other races, and 1.55% 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 1.68% of the population. There were 356 households, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.7% were non-families. 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 42.6 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 632 people, 294 households, and 176 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 339 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.73%

, 0.16%

, 0.47% Native American, and 0.63% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population. There were 294 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,083, and the median income for a family was $32,019. Males had a median income of $22,188 versus $16,597 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 $14,566. About 12.8% of families and 18.4% 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 25.3% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education is provided by the Gainesville R-5 School District. The 61-acre campus includes the high school built in 1962, the junior high wing added in 1971, and the new elementary school completed in 1995. The school district covers 339 square miles and serves several rural communities including Thornfield, Wasola, Tecumseh, and Pontiac. The Gainesville R-V School District is "fully accredited" and has A+ designation. Gainesville High School is unranked by ''U.S. News & World Report'' and has a graduation rate below the state median.

References

External links

* Historic maps of Gainesville 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 Ozark County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Cities in Missouri