Paris is a city and

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 Monroe 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 1,161 at the 2020 census.

History

Paris was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1831, and named after

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and the county seat. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020, it ha ...

, the native home of one of the first settlers, Mrs. James C. Fox. James R. Abernathy was one of the first settlers in Paris in 1831. The town was laid out in 1831 by Abernathy, James C. Fox, Hightower F. Hackney, and E. W. McBride. In 1837, Paris contained seven stores and a number of families. On March 10, 1832, Abernathy and seven others organized the first Christian church in Paris. The church was built in a Gothic style of brick with four rooms at a cost of $11,000 (). A post office called Paris has been in operation since 1841. The Paris Male Academy and Union Covered Bridge are 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 ...

Geography

Paris is in northeastern Missouri, in the center of Monroe County.

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

bypasses the city on the northwest side, leading northeast to Monroe City and west to Moberly. US 24 Business passes through the center of town, partly along Main Street.

Missouri Route 15 Route 15 is a highway in northeast Missouri. Its northern terminus is at the Iowa state line about north of Memphis; its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 54 in Mexico. Route 15 serves as a key north-south corridor in northeast Missouri, wi ...

passes through the center of Paris on Main Street, leading north to Shelbina and south to the city of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Missouri Route 154 leads east from Paris to

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

. 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 ...

, Paris has a total area of , of which , or 0.63%, are water. The Middle Fork of the Salt River forms the northern border of the city; the river flows into Mark Twain Lake to the east.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Paris has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

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 1,220 people, 528 households, and 309 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 643 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.7%

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 ...

, 4.9%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.0% 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 0.7% of the population. There were 528 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.5% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age in the city was 47.4 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 28% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 43.8% male and 56.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,529 people, 603 households, and 364 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 682 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.15%

, 6.21%

, 0.92% Native American, 0.07% Asian, and 0.65% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population. There were 603 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were

living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 28.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,556, and the median income for a family was $36,917. Males had a median income of $27,813 versus $18,580 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 $14,980. About 5.8% of families and 10.4% 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 10.1% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the city is administered by Paris R-II School District, which operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Paris High School. Paris has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Little Dixie Regional Libraries.

Notable people

* Armstead M. Alexander, U.S.

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Thomas Curtright Thomas L. Curtright (born 1948) is a theoretical physicist at the University of Miami. He did undergraduate work in physics at the University of Missouri (B.S., M.S., 1970), and graduate work at Caltech (Ph.D., 1977) under the supervision of R ...

, professor of physics at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

* Glenn Jacobs,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

professional wrestler known as "Kane" * Mary Margaret McBride, radio pioneer; born near Paris''HOW DEAR TO MY HEART'', by Mary Margaret McBride. The Macmillan Company 1940. Pgs. 119-120

References

External links

* * Historic maps of Paris 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 Populated places established in 1831 Cities in Monroe County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Cities in Missouri 1831 establishments in Missouri