Holt County, Missouri

Not to be confused with Holt, Missouri.

Holt County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,223.^[1] Its county seat is Oregon.^[2] The county was organized February 15, 1841. Originally named Nodaway County, it was soon renamed for David Rice Holt (1803–1840), a Missouri state legislator from Platte County.^[3][4][5]

Holt County
County
Holt County Courthouse in Oregon
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°05′N 95°13′W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	February 15, 1841
Named for	David Rice Holt
Seat	Oregon
Largest city	Mound City
Area
• Total	470 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Land	463 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Water	7.7 sq mi (20 km2)  1.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,223
• Density	9.0/sq mi (3.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	6th
Website	holtcounty.org

History

The History of Holt County, Missouri from the Time of the Platte Purchase through 1916 and The History of Holt and Atchison Counties, Missouri (published 1882) are available online.^[6][7]

In 1972, the Holt County Historical Society was established.^[8]

Holt County was impacted by the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods. About 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of the 95,000 acres (38,000 hectares) that flooded in spring 2019 were still underwater in late October. Some of the floodwater was expected to freeze in place over the winter.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 470 square miles (1,200 km²), of which 463 square miles (1,200 km²) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km²) (1.6%) is water.^[10]

Adjacent counties

• Atchison County (north)
• Nodaway County (northeast)
• Andrew County (southeast)
• Doniphan County, Kansas (south)
• Brown County, Kansas (southwest)
• Richardson County, Nebraska (west)
• Nemaha County, Nebraska (northwest)

Major highways

• Interstate 29
• U.S. Route 59
• U.S. Route 159
• Route 111
• Route 113
• Route 118

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	3,957		—
1860	6,550		65.5%
1870	11,652		77.9%
1880	15,509		33.1%
1890	15,469		−0.3%
1900	17,083		10.4%
1910	14,539		−14.9%
1920	14,084		−3.1%
1930	12,720		−9.7%
1940	12,476		−1.9%
1950	9,833		−21.2%
1960	7,885		−19.8%
1970	6,654		−15.6%
1980	6,882		3.4%
1990	6,034		−12.3%
2000	5,351		−11.3%
2010	4,912		−8.2%
2020	4,223		−14.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2015[15]

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 5,351 people, 2,237 households, and 1,503 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (4.6 people/km²). There were 2,931 housing units at an average density of 6 units per square mile (2.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Approximately 0.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,237 households, out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 21.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,461, and the median income for a family was $35,685. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $17,846 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,876. About 10.50% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Holt County Racial Composition^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	3,992	94.53%
Black or African American (NH)	4	0.1%
Native American (NH)	30	0.71%
Asian (NH)	2	0.05%
Pacific Islander (NH)	0	0%
Other/Mixed (NH)	128	3%
Hispanic or Latino	67	1.6%

Education

Public schools

• Craig R-III School District – Craig
  • Craig Elementary School (K-06)
  • Craig High School (07-12)
• Mound City R-II School District – Mound City
  • Mound City Elementary School (PK-04)
  • Mound City Middle School (05-08)
  • Mound City High School (09-12)
• South Holt County R-I School District – Oregon
  • South Holt County Elementary School (K-06)
  • South Holt County High School (07-12)

Public libraries

• Mound City Public Library^[18]
• Oregon Public Library^[19]

Points of interest

• Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
• Big Lake State Park on Big Lake
• St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Corning, Missouri)

Communities

Cities

• Craig
• Forest City
• Maitland
• Mound City
• Oregon (county seat)

Villages

• Big Lake
• Bigelow
• Corning
• Fortescue

Unincorporated communities

• Curzon
• Forbes
• New Point
• Nichols Grove
• Richville

Notable people

• Frank McGrath - actor, born in Mound City in 1903
• Charles C. Moore - 13th Governor of Idaho; born in Holt County.^[20]
• Roger Wehrli - NFL athlete inducted into the Hall of Fame, born in New Point

Politics

Local

The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Holt County. Republicans hold all but one of the elected positions in the county.

Holt County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	LaDonna Jones	Republican
Circuit Clerk	Vicki Book	Republican
County Clerk	Angie Gamache	Republican
Collector	Donna Cotton	Republican
Commissioner (Presiding)	Mark Sitherwood	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Carla Markt	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	David Carroll	Republican
Coroner	Susan Lentz	Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	Robert Shepherd	Republican
Public Administrator	Velvet Sommer	Republican
Recorder	Vicki Book	Republican
Sheriff	Steve Portman	Independent
Surveyor	Joshua Cook	Republican
Treasurer	Gay Quick	Republican

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	82.64% 1,928	15.47% 361	1.89% 44
2016	64.66% 1,515	32.14% 753	3.20% 75
2012	56.40% 1,296	41.60% 956	2.00% 46
2008	55.75% 1,440	40.53% 1,047	3.72% 96
2004	66.34% 1,776	32.61% 873	1.05% 28
2000	59.14% 1,563	39.01% 1,031	1.85% 49
1996	36.65% 1,040	61.63% 1,749	1.73% 49

All of Holt County is a part of Missouri's 1st District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Allen Andrews (R-Grant City).

Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2016)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Allen Andrews	2,133	100.00%	+14.61

Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2014)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Allen Andrews	1,075	85.39%	−14.61
	Democratic	Robert L. Ritterbusch	184	14.61%	+14.61

Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2012)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Thomson	2,152	100.00%

All of Holt County is a part of Missouri's 12th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby).

Missouri Senate - District 12 – Holt County (2010)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dan Hageman	1,120	100.00%

Federal

U.S. Senate — Missouri — Holt County (2016)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Roy Blunt	1,614	69.18%	+17.84
	Democratic	Jason Kander	629	26.96%	−15.16
	Libertarian	Jonathan Dine	54	2.31%	−4.23
	Green	Johnathan McFarland	23	0.99%	+0.99
	Constitution	Fred Ryman	13	0.56%	+0.56

U.S. Senate — Missouri — Holt County (2012)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Todd Akin	1,139	51.34%
	Democratic	Claire McCaskill	959	42.12%
	Libertarian	Jonathan Dine	149	6.54%

All of Holt County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2016)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sam Graves	1,921	82.98%	+5.11
	Democratic	David M. Blackwell	331	14.30%	−3.46
	Libertarian	Russ Lee Monchil	44	1.90%	−2.46
	Green	Mike Diel	19	0.82%	+0.82

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri’s 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2014)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sam Graves	982	77.87%	−3.20
	Democratic	Bill Hedge	224	17.76%	+0.53
	Libertarian	Russ Lee Monchil	55	4.36%	+2.66

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2012)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sam Graves	1,863	81.07%
	Democratic	Kyle Yarber	396	17.23%
	Libertarian	Russ Lee Monchil	39	1.70%

Political culture

United States presidential election results for Holt County, Missouri^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,976	84.34%	338	14.43%	29	1.24%
2016	1,926	81.78%	347	14.73%	82	3.48%
2012	1,725	74.68%	551	23.85%	34	1.47%
2008	1,794	68.14%	802	30.46%	37	1.41%
2004	1,864	69.27%	811	30.14%	16	0.59%
2000	1,738	65.29%	871	32.72%	53	1.99%
1996	1,323	47.15%	1,144	40.77%	339	12.08%
1992	1,202	39.49%	1,050	34.49%	792	26.02%
1988	1,583	55.54%	1,258	44.14%	9	0.32%
1984	2,087	67.04%	1,026	32.96%	0	0.00%
1980	1,993	62.48%	1,119	35.08%	78	2.45%
1976	1,777	53.56%	1,529	46.08%	12	0.36%
1972	2,578	71.83%	1,011	28.17%	0	0.00%
1968	2,031	56.09%	1,211	33.44%	379	10.47%
1964	1,726	47.98%	1,871	52.02%	0	0.00%
1960	2,720	63.69%	1,551	36.31%	0	0.00%
1956	2,888	62.77%	1,713	37.23%	0	0.00%
1952	3,476	69.73%	1,487	29.83%	22	0.44%
1948	2,607	56.05%	2,040	43.86%	4	0.09%
1944	3,152	63.73%	1,785	36.09%	9	0.18%
1940	3,739	58.22%	2,677	41.68%	6	0.09%
1936	3,409	52.45%	3,076	47.33%	14	0.22%
1932	2,253	41.77%	3,117	57.79%	24	0.44%
1928	3,845	66.57%	1,919	33.22%	12	0.21%
1924	3,316	57.98%	2,255	39.43%	148	2.59%
1920	4,153	63.35%	2,329	35.52%	74	1.13%
1916	2,030	55.01%	1,615	43.77%	45	1.22%
1912	1,522	41.22%	1,519	41.14%	651	17.63%
1908	2,246	57.62%	1,596	40.94%	56	1.44%
1904	2,208	61.47%	1,277	35.55%	107	2.98%
1900	2,292	54.91%	1,765	42.29%	117	2.80%
1896	2,397	53.44%	2,036	45.40%	52	1.16%
1892	1,899	51.58%	1,427	38.76%	356	9.67%
1888	1,831	54.00%	1,433	42.26%	127	3.75%

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

Main articles: 2008 Missouri Democratic presidential primary and 2008 Missouri Republican presidential primary

U.S. Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 283, than any candidate from either party in Holt County during the 2008 presidential primary.

See also

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

References

1. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Disappearing Missouri Names". The Kansas City Star. March 19, 1911. p. 15. Retrieved August 15, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 173.
5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 159.
6. "History of Holt County, Missouri. Missouri County Histories". Missouri Digital Heritage. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
7. National Historical Company (1882). The history of Holt and Atchison counties, Missouri : containing a history of these counties, their cities, towns, etc., etc. : biographical sketches of their citizens, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of Missouri, map of Holt and Atchison counties, etc. Harold B. Lee Library. St. Joseph, MO : National Historical Co.
8. "Home". The Holt County Missouri Historical Society. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
9. Associated Press (October 28, 2019). "Prolonged Missouri River flooding could last all winter". KSDK. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
10. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
15. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
17. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Holt County, Missouri".
18. Breeding, Marshall. "Mound City Public Library". Libraries.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
19. Breeding, Marshall. "Oregon Public Library". Libraries.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
20. "Idaho Governor Charles Calvin Moore". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

External links

• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Holt County Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
• "Holt County, Missouri Place Names, 1928-1945". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Holt County, Missouri, various dates

40.09°N 95.21°W / 40.09; -95.21