Overland is a city in
St. Louis 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 15,955 at the 2020 census.
History
The area south of the King's Road to
St. Charles was first settled in the early 1820s, when travelers westward from
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
would stop overnight at what became known as "The Overland Park".
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
constructed a single room cabin here, near the current location of Lake Sherwood and Wyland Elementary School.
In time, businesses were established and a one-room subscription school, the Buck School, was built in 1846. In 1867, the
Ritenour School District was organized. In 1919, the town's name was shortened to "Overland", to avoid postal confusion with the city of
Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...
.
The town was incorporated as a fourth class city in 1939 with a mayoral-city council government. In the 1990s, the city voters approved a change to a third class city. In 2007, the city voted to move to a mayor-council-administrator form of government. Under this structure, the mayor serves as the chief elected official. The city council serves as the legislative body, and is empowered to pass ordinances and resolutions it deems necessary to the operation of the city. The city administrator is a full-time employee of the city, and executes the day-to-day tasks of operations.
The 1.6-million-square foot six-story Military Personnel Records Center, built in 1956 for the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
, later became part of the National Archives and Records Service in the
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...
. On July 12, 1973, a huge fire destroyed an estimated 16 to 18 million personnel files, mostly for the 50 years prior to 1963. The incident was believed to be the largest single loss of government records in the country's history.
On April 3, 2007, Overland residents voted to recall Mayor
Ann Purzner, who had been accused of lying about her career credentials and exceeding her power as mayor. She was temporarily replaced by Alderman Jerry May, and in the August 2007 election, Councilman Mike Schneider was elected mayor.
Geography
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 , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
2020 census
The
2020 United States census counted 15,955 people, 6,351 households, and 3,758 families in Overland. The population density was 3,634.4 per square mile (1,403.3/km). There were 6,587 housing units at an average density of 1,500.5 per square mile (579.3/km). The racial makeup was 55.94% (8,926)
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 ...
, 22.71% (3,624)
black or African-American, 0.74% (118)
Native American, 3.24% (517)
Asian, 0.02% (3)
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 ...
, 8.74% (1,394) from
other races, and 8.61% (1,373) 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 was 16.2% (2,527) of the population.
Of the 6,351 households, 24.6% had children under the age of 18; 32.1% were married couples living together; 33.6% had a female householder with no husband present. Of all households, 33.8% consisted of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1.
22.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 107.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 105.2 males.
The 2016-2020 5-year
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates show that the median household income was $46,109 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,527) and the median family income was $55,738 (+/- $5,511). Males had a median income of $31,029 (+/- $3,054) versus $28,360 (+/- $1,908) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $29,671 (+/- $1,514). Approximately, 7.9% of families and 11.1% 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 14.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those ages 65 or over.
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 16,062 people, 6,717 households, and 4,136 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 7,356 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 73.3%
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 ...
, 16.4%
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 ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 3.2%
Asian, 3.9% from
other races, and 3.0% 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 6.4% of the population.
There were 6,717 households, of which 30.2% had children under the age of eighteen living with them, 37.5% 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, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.4% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96.
The median age in the city was 37.9 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of eighteen; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28% were from 25 to 44; 28.3% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% 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 16,838 people, 7,012 households, and 4,494 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 7,446 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.56%
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 ...
, 11.19%
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 ...
, 0.32%
Native American, 2.01%
Asian, 0.03%
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 ...
, 0.83% from
other races, and 2.05% 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 2.19% of the population.
There were 7,012 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% 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, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,437, and the median income for a family was $43,655. Males had a median income of $31,168 versus $25,352 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 $18,266. About 6.6% of families and 9.7% 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 13.8% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears, stuffed animals, and characters. During store visits, customers go through an interactive process where the stuffed animal of their ...
was headquartered until 2020 in Overland, and concentrate manufacturing operations for
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas. Since July 2018, it is a business unit of the publicly-traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper.
Formerly Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, part of ...
are located in Overland. Overland is less than five miles from the St. Louis
Boeing
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
plant,
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
and
Emerson Electric
Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The Fortune 500 company delivers a range of engineering services, manufactures industrial automation equipment, climate control systems, and p ...
, where many Overland residents are employed. Overland supports a healthy and prosperous retail district.
Overland was the location of the
National Personnel Records Center
The National Personnel Records Center(s) (NPRC) is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration, created in 1966. It is part of the United States National Archives National Archives facilities#Federal Records Centers, federal recor ...
, which houses discharged and retired service records of all branches of the
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
. The city was also the location of the Army Human Resources Command (HRC), prior to the facility's closing as a result of the military's 2005
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was a process by a Federal government of the United States, United States federal government commission to increase the efficiency of the United States Department of Defense by coordinating the realignment and ...
process. The former Army HRC building is now called the Charles F. Prevedel Federal Building and is home to offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Agriculture.
Arts and culture
The following properties in Overland have been identified as county landmarks:
* Lackland House, built around 1844, with 13 glass panes at the front door and 13 crossbars on the front porch, to commemorate the original 13 states.
* Alexander McElhinney Log House, a
dogtrot log home built in the 1850s; moved and restored in the 1980s.
* Wild Acres Park, a estate and
Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
home built in 1907; purchased by the city and opened as Wild Acres Park in 1995.
* Gocke-Vance House, a fireproof home built in 1910, based on a
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
design.
The
U.S. Army Publications Distribution Center in Overland is 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 ...
.
File:LklndHse.jpg, Lackland House
File:McElhinney log house at 9711 Lackland Rd.jpg, Alexander McElhinney Log House
File:GockeVance.jpg, Gocke-Vance House
File:U.S. Army Publications Distribution Center.jpg, U.S. Army Publications Distribution Center
Education
The
Ritenour School District serves the city.
Notable people
* Maj. Gen.
James L. Day,
USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
,
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient
*
Ron Hunt, major league baseball second baseman
*
Mike Keefe
Mike Keefe (born November 6, 1946, in Santa Rosa, California) is an American editorial cartoonist best known for his work at ''The Denver Post'', for which he drew cartoons from 1975 to 2011. His cartoons are nationally syndicated, and have appear ...
, editorial cartoonist for ''
The Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...
''
*
Ted Kulongoski, Governor of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
2003-2011
*
Gene Louis, drummer and lead singer of Bullets and Octane
*
Dan Marsala, lead singer of
Story of the Year
Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri, Story of the Year at Allmusic.comAccessed May 17, 2007. in 1995 under the name 67 North. The band eventually changed their name to Big Blue Monkey in 1998, and then subs ...
*
Jerry Reuss, major league baseball pitcher and broadcaster
*
Bob Scheffing
Robert Boden Scheffing (August 11, 1913 – October 26, 1985) was an American professional baseball player, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager and front-office executive. Nicknamed "Grumpy", the native of Overland, Missouri, is ...
, major league baseball catcher, manager of
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
and
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
, general manager of
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
*
Dave Spence, businessman and Republican nominee for
Governor of Missouri
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
in 2012
*
Bob Todd
Brian Todd (15 December 1922 – 21 October 1992), known professionally as Bob Todd, was an English comedy actor, mostly known for appearing as a straight man in the sketch shows of Benny Hill and Spike Milligan. For many years, he lived in ...
, retired head baseball coach at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
*
Billie Lou Watt, stage and television actress
*
T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
, writer
References
External links
City of Overland official website
{{authority control
Cities in St. Louis County, Missouri
Cities in Missouri