Howardville is a city in New Madrid 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 277 at the 2020 census.

History

Howardville was founded by Travis B. Howard, a prominent black educator and activist in the mid-20th century Bootheel region. A graduate of

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

, Howard was inspired by

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

's belief that land ownership was among the critical factors in lifting African Americans out of poverty. In the late 1940s, Howard purchased of land encompassing much of what is now Howardville, and sold off lots to displaced black sharecroppers. The city incorporated as "Howardville" in 1953.Amber Cox
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Howardville School
Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 2017. Howardville High School, initially known as East Lilbourn High School, opened in 1958. After county schools were integrated in the late 1960s, the school operated as a junior high school until 1980. In 2017, the school was nominated for listing on 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 ...

. Travis Howard was the father of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player

Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues and Major Leag ...

, the first black player to join the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Geography

Howardville is situated along U.S. Routes 61 and 62, just west of New Madrid and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The city of Lilbourn lies just to the north along County Road D, and Marston to the south along US 61. New Madrid County Central High School and New Madrid County Central Middle School are located between Howardville and New Madrid. 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

2020 census

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 383 people, 160 households, and 101 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 192 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 5.74%

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 ...

, 92.43%

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 ...

, 1.04% Asian, and 0.78% 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 0.52% of the population. There were 160 households, of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.9% 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, 38.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.9% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age in the city was 29.7 years. 33.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 18.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 41.3% male and 58.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 342 people, 133 households, and 88 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 158 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 7.02%

, 92.40%

, and 0.58% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population. There were 133 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 18.8% were

living together, 39.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.23. In the city the population was spread out, with 33.9% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $9,671, and the median income for a family was $11,389. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $16,023 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 $6,588. About 63.0% of families and 58.5% 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 69.4% of those under age 18 and 73.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the

New Madrid County R-I School District New Madrid County R-I School District (NMCR1) is a school district with its administration building in New Madrid County, Missouri. The district covers portions of New Madrid County, including Canalou, Catron, Howardville, Lilbourn, Marston, ...

. Central High School is the district's comprehensive high school. Three Rivers College's service area includes New Madrid County.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in New Madrid County, Missouri Cities in Missouri