Wright City is a city in Warren 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. It is located on Interstate 70 at mile marker 200 approximately west of downtown St. Louis. Wright City is a small, semi-rural community area with primarily single-family housing, with some multi-family dwellings. The population was 3,119 at the 2010 census. It has a number of small stores and restaurants. It has various types of light to heavy industrial businesses.

History

Wright City was laid out in 1857, and was named after Dr. Henry C. Wright, a first settler. A post office called Wright City has been in operation since 1858. The Southwestern Bell Repeater Station-Wright City was 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 ...

in 2007.

Geography

Wright City is located at (38.827878, -91.024280). 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 3,119 people, 1,178 households, and 823 families residing 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 1,288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.0%

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 ...

, 5.7%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 3.7% 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 7.2% of the population. There were 1,178 households, of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% 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, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age in the city was 31 years. 29.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.4% were from 25 to 44; 21.2% were from 45 to 64; and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,532 people, 608 households, and 403 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 661 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.77%

, 6.27%

, 0.72% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 2.74% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 6.20% of the population. There were 608 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were

living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,179, and the median income for a family was $35,563. Males had a median income of $28,977 versus $21,607 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 $17,153. About 12.5% of families and 14.6% 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 18.5% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Wright City is administered by Wright City R-II School District, which operates two elementary schools, one middle school, and Wright City High School. Liberty Christian Academy is a private institution for students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Wright 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 Scenic Regional Library system.

Arts and culture

From 1992 to 2007, Wright City was home to the Elvis Is Alive Museum, run by Baptist minister Bill Beeny in his local general store, which explored Beeny's theory that the singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

is still living. In 2007, Beeny sold the museum's collection of artifacts on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

, and the museum briefly reopened in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

before being placed into storage.

Notable people

Two American theologians, the brothers

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

and H. Richard Niebuhr were born in Wright City in 1892 and 1894 respectively. The actor Rand Brooks, best known for the role of Charles Hamilton in ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', was born in Wright City.

References

External links

* Historic maps of Wright 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 Warren County, Missouri Cities in Missouri