Platte City 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 Platte County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,784 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

History

Platte City was founded by Zadock "Zed" Martin and was incorporated as a city in September 1843. On December 16, 1861, Colonel W. James Morgan's Union Squad razed Platte City, including the courthouse. The Platte County Fair held annually just outside Platte City began in 1863 and is the oldest continuously operating fair west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. On April 3, 1882,

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 ...

planned a robbery of the Platte City bank, but it was never carried out due to his assassination by Robert Ford on the morning of the raid. On July 19, 1933 Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed by, and engaged in, a shootout with local authorities just south of Platte City at the Red Crown Tourist Court. The Frederick Krause Mansion and Platte County Courthouse 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

Platte City is located along the south side of the Platte River and the Platte Falls Conservation Area lies to the northeast along the flood plain. I-29 passes the east side of the city and Missouri Route 92 serves the city. Tracy lies on the north side of the river flood plain. Gibson Branch headwaters within the city limits and flows southwesterly out of it into the Platte 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 a total area of , of which is land and is water.

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 4,691 people, 1,975 households, and 1,174 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 2,214 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.9%

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 ...

, 4.6%

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, 1.4% Asian, 0.2%

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 ...

, 1.6% from other races, and 2.9% 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 4.9% of the population. There were 1,975 households, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% 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, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 35.2 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.3% were from 25 to 44; 23.6% were from 45 to 64; and 11.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.4% male and 49.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,866 people, 1,486 households, and 1,017 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,569 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.08%

, 3.34%

, 0.49% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population. There were 1,486 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were

living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $46,379, and the median income for a family was $52,548. Males had a median income of $36,563 versus $26,169 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 $20,288. About 4.8% of families and 6.2% 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 8.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Platte County R-3 School District, which includes this municipality, operates three elementary schools, two middle schools and Platte County High School. Platte City itself is divided between the attendance boundaries of Compass Elementary School and Siegrist Elementary School, and both of those schools feed into Platte City Middle School. Platte City 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 Mid-Continent Public Library.

Transportation

Platte City is accessible via Interstate 29 at exit 18.

References

External links

Platte City
* Historic maps of Platte City 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 Platte County, Missouri County seats in Missouri 1843 establishments in Missouri Cities in Missouri