Osage County, Missouri

Osage County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 29, 1841
Named for	The Osage River
Seat	Linn
Largest city	Linn
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	613.41 sq mi (1,589 km²) 606.11 sq mi (1,570 km²) 7.30 sq mi (19 km²), 1.19%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	13,878 22/sq mi (8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	osagecountygov.com

Osage County is a county located in Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 13,878. Its county seat is Linn. The county was organized January 29, 1841, and named for the Osage River. The center of population of Missouri is located in Osage County in the city of Westphalia. [2]

Osage County is part of the Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its geography and the founding of Westphalia Vineyards links it to the Missouri Rhineland, extending along the Missouri River valley to the western edges of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Westphalia Vineyards, although started only in 2005, won the gold medal in the National Norton Festival Wine Competition in St. Louis in 2007 for the top-rated wine from the Norton grape.

According to data from the 2010 U.S. Census, Osage County is the whitest county in Missouri, with 98.85 percent of residents being white.

Geography

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the county has a total area of 613.41 square miles (1,588.7 km²), of which 606.11 square miles (1,569.8 km²) (or 98.81%) is land and 7.30 square miles (18.9 km²) (or 1.19%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Callaway County (north)
• Gasconade County (east)
• Maries County (south)
• Miller County (southwest)
• Cole County (west)
• Montgomery County (northeast at a point in the Missouri River)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 50
• U.S. Route 63
• Route 89
• Route 100

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,062 people, 4,922 households, and 3,578 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 5,904 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.64% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Approximately 0.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,922 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 103.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,565, and the median income for a family was $46,503. Males had a median income of $29,538 versus $22,353 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,245. About 5.90% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Municipalities

Argyle Belle Bonnots Mill

Chamois Folk Frankenstein

Freeburg Koeltztown Linn

Loose Creek Meta Rich Fountain

Westphalia

Education

Public Schools

• Osage County R-I School District – Chamois
  • Osage County R-I Elementary School (PK-06)
  • Chamois High School (07-12)
• Osage County R-II School District – Linn
  • Osage County R-II Elementary School (PK-06)
  • Linn High School (07-12)
• Osage County R-III School District – Westphalia
  • Fatima Elementary School (PK-06)
  • Fatima High School (07-12)

Private Schools

• St. Joseph Catholic School – Westphalia (K-09) – Roman Catholic

• Immaculate Conception School – Loose Creek (K-09) – Roman Catholic
• St. George School – Linn (K-09) – Roman Catholic
• Sacred Heart School – Freeburg (K-09) – Roman Catholic

• Holy Family School – Freeburg (K-09) – Roman Catholic

• St. Mary’s School – Bonnots Mill (K-09) – Roman Catholic

Post Secondary

• Linn State Technical College – Linn

Politics

Local

The Democratic Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Osage County. Democrats hold a little over half of the elected positions in the county.

Osage County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	Ross Seals			Republican
Circuit Clerk	Charlene J. Eisterhold			Democratic
County Clerk	Patrick Steele			Republican
Collector	Doris J. Keilholz			Democratic
Commissioner (Presiding)	Dave Dudenhoeffer			Democratic
Commissioner (District 1)	Elmer Senevey			Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Vincent A. Samson			Republican
Coroner	Lois Jaegers			Independent
Prosecuting Attorney	Amanda L. Grellner			Democratic
Public Administrator	Paul G. Stratman			Republican
Recorder	Cindy Hoffman			Democratic
Sheriff	Mike Dixon			Republican
Surveyor	Ralph P. Kliethermes			Democratic
Treasurer	Tim G. Neuner			Republican

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	59.51% 4,212	39.45% 2,792	1.04% 74
2004	68.67% 4,586	30.61% 2,044	0.71% 48
2000	55.78% 3,450	42.78% 2,646	1.44% 89
1996	38.80% 2,151	59.33% 3,289	1.88% 104

All of Osage County is a part of Missouri’s 112th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Tom Loehner (R-Koeltztown).

Missouri House of Representatives – District 112 – Osage County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Tom Loehner	4,296	75.03
	Democratic	Mark A. Schaeperkoetter	1,430	24.97

All of Osage County is a part of Missouri’s 16th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan W. Brown (R-Rolla).

Missouri Senate - District 16 – Osage County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dan W. Brown	3,450	60.91
	Democratic	Frank A. Barnitz*	2,214	39.09

Federal

All of Osage County is included in Missouri’s 9th Congressional District and is currently represented by Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives – Missouri’s 9th Congressional District – Osage County (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Blaine Luetkemeyer	4,936	88.95
	Libertarian	Christopher W. Dwyer	612	11.05

Political Culture

Past Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2008	71.51% 5,062	26.94% 1,907	1.55% 110
2004	74.58% 4,975	25.08% 1,673	0.34% 23
2000	67.24% 4,154	31.37% 1,938	1.40% 86
1996	51.90% 2,890	36.73% 2,045	11.37% 633

Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

• Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 874, than any candidate from either party in Osage County during the 2008 presidential primary.

Osage County, Missouri
2008 Republican primary in Missouri
John McCain	665 (33.47%)
Mike Huckabee	628 (31.61%)
Mitt Romney	610 (30.70%)
Ron Paul	42 (2.11%)

Osage County, Missouri
2008 Democratic primary in Missouri
Hillary Rodham Clinton	874 (56.4%)
Barack Obama	609 (39.47%)
John Edwards (withdrawn)	42 (2.72%)

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Osage County, Missouri

External links

• The Osage County Branch of the Missouri River Regional Library
• Westphalia Vineyards Official Website
• Osage Community Players, Inc.
• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Osage County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books