Lincoln County, Missouri

thumb|An old barn in rural Lincoln County

Lincoln County is located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,574. The county was founded December 14, 1818, and named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln County is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

According to Goodspeed's History of Lincoln County, Missouri (1888), Lincoln County was named by Major Christopher Clark, the first permanent white settler in an address to the Territorial Legislature. He said, "I was born, sir, in Link-Horn County, N.C., I lived for many years in Link-Horn County in old Kain-tuck. I wish to die in Link-Horn County, in Missouri; and I move, therefore, that the blank in the bill be filled with the name Link-Horn." The motion was carried unanimously and the clerk, not adopting the frontier parlance of the Major, wrote "Lincoln" in the blank space of the bill. Others say it was named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water. The county's eastern border with Illinois is formed by the Mississippi River.

Adjacent counties

Pike County (north)
Calhoun County, Illinois (east)
St. Charles County (southeast)
Warren County (southwest)
Montgomery County (west)

Major highways

20px U.S. Route 61
20px Route 47
20px Route 79
20px Route 147

Transit

Burlington Trailways
OATS Transit

Railroads

BNSF Railway

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 59,574. The median age was 37.4 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 89.8% White, 1.8% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 6.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.

28.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 72.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 21,812 households in the county, of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|21,432

|27,928

|37,184

|49,364

|style='background: #ffffe6; |53,051

|96.57%

|96.66%

|95.48%

|93.91%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |89.05%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|544

|588

|672

|963

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,072

|2.45%

|2.04%

|1.73%

|1.83%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.80%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|35

|95

|138

|154

|style='background: #ffffe6; |193

|0.16%

|0.33%

|0.35%

|0.29%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.32%

|Asian alone (NH)

|17

|54

|67

|191

|style='background: #ffffe6; |235

|0.08%

|0.19%

|0.17%

|0.36%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|10

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |27

|0.03%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|Other race alone (NH)

|29

|17

|28

|style='background: #ffffe6; |177

|0.13%

|0.03%

|0.04%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|412

|823

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,278

|1.06%

|1.57%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.50%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|136

|219

|444

|1,032

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,541

|0.61%

|0.76%

|1.14%

|1.96%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.59%

|Total

|22,193

|28,892

|38,944

|52,566

|style='background: #ffffe6; |59,574

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,944 people, 13,851 households, and 10,554 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,511 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.13% White, 1.74% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Approximately 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.7% were of German, 17.0% American, 10.9% Irish and 7.4% English ancestry.

There were 13,851 households, out of which 40.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.80% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,592, and the median income for a family was $47,747. Males had a median income of $35,564 versus $23,270 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,149. About 6.20% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.60% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

School districts include:

Silex R-I School District – Silex
Silex Elementary School (K-06)
Silex High School (07-12)
Elsberry R-II School District – Elsberry
Clarence Cannon Elementary School (PK-04)
Ida Cannon Middle School (05-08)
Elsberry High School (09-12)
Lincoln County R-III School District – Troy
Early Childhood Education Center (Pre-K & PAT)
Boone Elementary School (K-05)
Claude Brown Elementary School (K-05)
Cuivre Park Elementary School (K-05)
Hawk Point Elementary School (K-05)
Lincoln Elementary School (K-05)
Main Street Elementary School (K-05)
William R. Cappel Elementary School (K-05)
Troy Middle School (06-08)
Troy South Middle School (06-08)
Ninth Grade Center (09)
Troy Buchanan High School (10-12)
New Horizons High School (10-12)
Winfield R-IV School District – Winfield
Winfield Elementary School (PK-02)
Winfield Intermediate School (03-05)
Winfield Middle School (06-08)
Winfield High School (09-12)
Wright City R-II School District - Wright City
Additionally, the Wright City R-II serves southern portions of Lincoln County.
Pike County R-III School District
Warren County R-III School District

Private schools

First Baptist Christian Academy - Troy (K-08) - Baptist
Immaculate Conception School – Old Monroe (K-08) – Roman Catholic
NorthRoad Academy - Moscow Mills (K-08) - Baptist
Sacred Heart School – Troy (K-08) – Roman Catholic
St. Alphonsus School – Silex (PK-08) – Roman Catholic
Troy Holiness School – Troy (K-12) – Methodist

Public libraries

Powell Memorial Library

Communities

Cities and villages

Cave
Chain of Rocks
Elsberry
Foley
Fountain N' Lakes
Hawk Point
Moscow Mills
Old Monroe
Silex
Troy (county seat)
Truxton
Whiteside
Winfield

Unincorporated communities

Apex
Argentville
Auburn
Brevator
Briscoe
Brussells
Cap au Gris
Chantilly
Corso
Dameron
Davis
Ethlyn
Fairview
Famous
Louisville
Mackville
Millwood
New Hope
Okete
Olney
South Troy

Politics

Local

The Republican Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Lincoln County. Republicans hold all but four of the elected positions in the county.

State

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third Parties

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2024

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|76.36% 24,149

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|21.37% 6,759

|align="center" |2.27% 719

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2020

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|72.70% 21,014

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|24.62% 7,116

|align="center" |2.68% 775

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2016

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|58.56% 14,536

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|37.68% 9,352

|align="center" |3.76% 934

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2012

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|49.29% 11,092

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|47.64% 10,730

|align="center" |3.12% 703

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2008

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|45.43% 10,589

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|52.33% 12,197

|align="center" |2.23% 521

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2004

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|53.75% 10,626

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|44.64% 8,824

|align="center" |1.61% 318

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2000

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|52.12% 8,282

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|44.26% 7,034

|align="center" |3.62% 575

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|1996

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|43.69% 5,507

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|53.93% 6,797

|align="center" |2.38% 300

Lincoln County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.

District 40 — Chad Perkins (R-Bowling Green). Consists of the northernmost section of the county.

District 41 — Doyle Justus (R-Troy). Consists of most of the county and includes the communities of Cave, Foley Troy, Truxton, and Whiteside.