Olean is a town in northern Miller 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 114 at the 2020 census.

History

The community was laid in 1881-1882 by the Jefferson City, Lebanon and Southwestern Railway which became the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

. It was originally called "Proctor", after James G. Proctor, who was an early settler. The name was rejected because there was another Procter in Missouri. It was then changed to "Cove" because of its semicircular shape. That name was also rejected because of another similar name in the state. "Chester" was suggested but again was rejected because there was another Chester on the rail line. Ultimately, the railroad company imposed the name "Olean", after

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is ...

, apparently on a lark, as no documentation survives explaining any reasoning for choosing a city with no connections to the town in Missouri, which in turn had no connection to oil. Attribution to Dr. W.S. Allee appear not to be true, as Allee never lived in or visited New York State. At the turn of the 20th century, Olean contained a gristmill and a canning factory. The railroad left the community in 1962; its station is now 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 ...

. Since 1993, the community has hosted an annual Testicle Festival featuring cooked

testicle A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is Homology (biology), homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of Androgen, androgens, p ...

s from various animals. The festival wasn't held for several due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Olean Railroad Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Geography

Olean is in northern Miller County, north-northeast of Eldon and southwest of

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 ...

, the state capital. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Olean has an area of , all land. Blythe Creek passes through the southeast part of the town, flowing northeasterly toward South Moreau Creek, part of the Moreau watershed leading to the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

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 128 people, 57 households, and 29 families residing in the village. 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 67 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 90.6%

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 ...

, 5.5%

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 ...

, and 3.9% 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 3.1% of the population. There were 57 households, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% 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, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.1% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age in the village was 42.5 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 35.9% were from 45 to 64; and 8.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 53.1% male and 46.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 157 people, 62 households, and 40 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 67 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.45%

, 1.27% Native American, and 1.27% from two or more races. There were 62 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were

living together, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town the population was spread out, with 36.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 12.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was foodstamps. Males had a median income of $24,167 versus -$22,000 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 town was $10,296. About 17.4% of families and 24.0% 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 18.4% of those under the age of eighteen and 48.1% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Miller County, Missouri Villages in Missouri