Noel is a city on the Elk River and Butler and Mill creeks in McDonald County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,124 as of the 2020 census, The community was named for Clark Wallace "C.W." and William Jasper "W.J." Noel; brothers, stockmen, and owners of a sawmill. The town was founded after the Kansas City, Pittsburg, and Gulf Railroad arrived.
Noel has capitalized on its Christmas-themed name, along with North Pole, Alaska, Christmas, Michigan, Santa Claus, Indiana, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Each year, tens of thousands of Christmas cards and letters are sent to the USPS Noel Post Office during the holiday season to be stamped with a postmark reading, Noel, Mo. - "The Christmas City in the Ozark Vacation Land". This practice became popular in the late 1940s when Kate Smith, a radio and television singer, began telling the "Noel Story" during her broadcasts. Most of the year, area residents pronounce Noel as rhyming with "mole", in honor of the town's namesake, Bridges Noel.
On August 3, 1969, a freight train exploded while passing through Noel, spraying fragments of metal through houses and buildings over a six-block area. One person was killed, and 40 others injured.
Noel was home to a Tyson Foods chicken-processing plant. By 2010, an estimated 400 to 500 Somali refugees, and 60 and 70 Sudanese refugees, out of 1,800 residents, lived in the town, most of whom worked for Tyson Foods. Tyson Foods later released a statement dismissing it as a cross-cultural misunderstanding. A few days after the fire, the Islamic Society of Joplin launched a fundraising campaign to find a new home for the mosque. The goal was met, raising $100,480.
Geography
Noel is in southwestern McDonald County, north of the Arkansas border. Missouri Route 90 passes through the city as its Main Street, leading east to Jane and west to Southwest City next to the Oklahoma border. Missouri Route 59 runs through the west side of Noel, briefly joining Route 90 near the center of town. Route 59 leads north to Anderson and south to Sulphur Springs, Arkansas.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Noel has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.62%, are water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,124 people in Noel.
There were 767 housing units, of which 10.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.
There were 687 households, of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.8% were married-couple households, 25.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09. of 2010, there were 1,832 people, 616 households, and 428 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 731 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 56.6% White, 5.0% African American, 2.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 2.9% Pacific Islander, 29.4% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 49.7% of the population.
There were 616 households, of which 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.5% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.43.
The median age in the city was 28.5 years. 31.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30% were from 25 to 44; 20% were from 45 to 64; and 6.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
2000 census
As of the census
Noel has a public library, the Noel Community Branch Library.
See also
- List of cities in Missouri
- McDonald Territory