Morgan County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the central portion of the
U.S. state 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 ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 21,006. Its
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 ...
is
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
.
The county was organized January 5, 1833, and named for General
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan (c. 1736 – July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...
of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
.
History
Morgan County was organized in 1833 upon separation from
Cooper County. It is named in honor of
Revolutionary War General
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan (c. 1736 – July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...
.
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, with a name referring to the French royal estate near
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, was designated as the county seat and platted in 1854.
Established in 1853 there, the Martin Hotel was visited in the post-Civil War period by both showman and circus entrepreneur
P. T. Barnum and outlaw robber
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...
. Listed 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 ...
(NRHP) in 1978, it now operates as a museum. In 1858 the Mulhollen Station was a mail stop here for the newly established
Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...
stagecoach line, which carried goods and mail for several years to
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.
The Morgan County Courthouse in Versailles, which has also been listed on the NRHP, was designed with French-style details, such as a mansard roof, in keeping with the origin of the town's name. It burned in 1887. The majority of the records were rescued, and the courthouse was soon rebuilt and restored.
Coal mining was historically an important economic activity in Morgan County.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.7%) is water.
Adjacent counties
*
Cooper County (north)
*
Moniteau County (northeast)
*
Miller County (southeast)
*
Camden County (south)
*
Benton County (west)
*
Pettis County (northwest)
Major highways
*
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
*
Route 5
*
Route 52
*
Route 135
Geographical features
*
Brewner Hollow
*
Sawmill Hollow
Demographics
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 2007, there were 20,820 people, over 7,850 households, and over 5,549 families residing in the county. 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 13,898 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.34%
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 ...
, 0.51%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.63%
Native American, 0.12%
Asian, 0.02%
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 ...
, 0.16% from
other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Approximately 0.83% of the population were
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.
There were 7,850 households, out of which 26.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% 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, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 27.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,659, and the median income for a family was $35,908. Males had a median income of $26,579 versus $19,072 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 county was $15,950. About 12.10% of families and 16.20% 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 25.60% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.
2020 Census
Education
Public schools
Morgan County R-I School District–
Stover
**Morgan County R-I Elementary School (PK-04)
**Morgan County R-I Middle School (05-08)
**Morgan County R-I High School (09-12)
Morgan County R-II School District–
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
**Morgan County R-II Elementary School (PK-05)
**Morgan County R-II South Elementary School (PK-02)
**Morgan County R-II Middle School (06-08)
**Morgan County R-II High School (09-12)
Private schools
*Dogwood Grove School –
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
(02-09) –
Mennonite
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
*St. Paul Lutheran School –
Stover (K-09) –
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
Public libraries
*Morgan County Library
Communities
Cities and towns
*
Barnett
*
Gravois Mills
*
Laurie
*
Rocky Mount
*
Stover
*
Syracuse
*
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
(county seat)
Townships
*
Buffalo Township
*
Haw Creek Township
*
Mill Creek Township
*
Moreau Township
*
Osage Township
*
Richland Township
Unincorporated communities
*
Aikinsville
*
Boylers Mill
*
Buck Creek
*
Excelsior
*
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
*
Glensted
*
Marvin
*
Proctor
Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:
# In law, a proctor is a historica ...
*
Pyrmont
*
Riverview
*
Rocky Mount
Politics
Local
The
Republican Party controls politics at the local level in Morgan County. Republicans hold all but five of the elected positions in the county.
State
All of Morgan County is in Missouri's 58th Representative District in the
Missouri House of Representatives, represented b
David Wood(R-
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
).
All of Morgan County is a part of Missouri's 6th District in the
Missouri Senate
The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...
and is currently represented b
Mike Kehoe(R-
Jefferson City
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...
).
Federal
All of Morgan County is included in
Missouri's 4th Congressional District and is currently represented by
Vicky Hartzler (R-
Harrisonville) in the
U.S. House of Representatives.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Morgan County, Missouri
References
Further reading
* ''History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage counties, Missouri : from the earliest time to the present, including a department devoted to the preservation of sundry personal, business, professional and the private records; besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, etc. etc.'' (1889
online
External links
from
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 ...
Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Morgan County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control
1833 establishments in Missouri
Populated places established in 1833