Memphis, Missouri
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Memphis is a city in and 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 Scotland County, on the northern border of
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. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,731. U.S. Highway 136 passes near Memphis, which is east of
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
and west of Kahoka.


History

Although the
Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...
organized Scotland County on January 29, 1841, the town of Memphis was not developed until more than two years later. County commissioners met at Sand Hill on May 15, 1843, to select the county seat. They chose a spot near the county's geographical center and, after some debate, named it Memphis, after
Memphis, Egypt Memphis (, ; Bohairic ; ), or Men-nefer, was the ancient capital of Inebu-hedj, the first Nome (Egypt), nome of Lower Egypt that was known as ''mḥw'' ("North"). Its ruins are located in the vicinity of the present-day village of Mit Rahina () ...
. The name had been previously used by a U.S. Post Office that operated near the North Fabius River a short distance away. Early settler Samuel Cecil donated about 50 acres of land to the county for the new town. After being laid out in town lots, the original plat of Memphis was filed in county court on October 11, 1843. A few homes had already been developed in the area, the first being a log cabin constructed in 1835 by Burton Tompkins. Scotland County's first courthouse, a two-story brick structure, was completed in June 1845 at a cost of $1,500. A decade later the county court declared the building unsafe. A second, larger courthouse was constructed in the middle of the town square in 1856 at a cost of $19,500. That building served the county well until the turn of the 20th century, but its small size made it outdated; it measured 40 by 70 feet. It was condemned in May 1905 and razed in early 1907. The current Scotland County courthouse was constructed between October 1907 and July 1908 at a cost of $50,000.


Civil War

Scotland County was the scene of two notable engagements 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 ...
. On July 13, 1862,
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
Colonel Joseph C. Porter approached Memphis in four converging columns totaling 125–169 men, and captured the city with little or no resistance. They first raided the federal armory, seizing about 100 muskets with cartridge boxes and ammunition, and several uniforms. The Confederates rounded up all adult males and took them to the courthouse. They had to swear not to divulge any information about the raiders for 48 hours. Porter freed all militiamen or suspected militiamen to await parole. He gave safe passage to a physician, an admitted Union supporter, who was anxious to return to a seriously ill wife. Porter's troops entered the courthouse and destroyed all indictments for horse-theft. This act has been variously interpreted as lawlessness, intervention on behalf of criminal associates, or interference with politically motivated, fraudulent charges. According to the ''History of Shelby County,'' which is generally sympathetic to Porter, “Most conceded that Col. Porter’s purpose for capturing Memphis, MO. was to seize Dr. Wm. Aylward, a prominent Union man of the community.” Aylward was confined to a house after being captured by Captain Tom Stacy's men. Stacy was generally regarded as a
bushwhacker Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tra ...
; other members of Porter's command called his company "the chain gang". Guards claimed that Aylward escaped, but witnesses reported hearing a strangling. The doctor's body was found the next day, marked by signs consistent with hanging or strangulation. Supporters of Porter attributed Aylward's murder to Stacy, but questions remained.


20th century

In the late 1920s, The Pheasant Aircraft Company was established in Memphis.


Geography

Memphis is located along the North Fabius River. 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 an area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate


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 1,822 people, 813 households, and 466 families residing 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 994 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.5%
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 ...
, 0.2%
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, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.8% 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 0.2% of the population. There were 813 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.7% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20% 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 2.85. The median age in the city was 43.8 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.2% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 23.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.6% male and 55.4% female.


2000 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 2000, there were 2,061 people, 888 households, and 523 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,052 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.88%
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 ...
, 0.19% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.63% 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 0.53% of the population. There were 888 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 28.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 79.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,508, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $21,947 versus $17,134 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 $16,220. About 15.2% of families and 17.6% 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 22.8% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Public education in Memphis is administered by Scotland County R-I School District. The Scotland County Memorial Library is in Memphis, serving the city and all county residents.


Notable people

* Alexandre Hogue, realist painter based in Dallas, Texas, known mostly for landscapes *
Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, rodeo performer, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committ ...
, Chief of Scouts during Apache Wars, range detective, gunfighter * George Saling, track & field athlete, gold medal winner at
1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...
* Adrienne Wilkinson, TV, film and voiceover actress; notable roles on '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and '' As If''.


Gallery

File:MemphisMoNorthSideSquare.jpg, North side of the Memphis square. September, 2012. File:MemphisMoEastSideSquare.jpg, East side of the Memphis square. September, 2012. File:MemphisMoSouthSideSquare.jpg, South side of the Memphis square. September, 2012. File:MemphisMoWestSideSquare.jpg, West side of the Memphis square. September, 2012.


References


External links

* Historic maps of Memphis 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 Scotland County, Missouri County seats in Missouri 1843 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1843 Cities in Missouri