Gasconade County, Missouri


Gasconade County is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,794. The county was organized on 25 November 1820 and the county seat has been Hermann since 1842. The county was named after the Gasconade River.
The county is located on the south side of the Missouri River, which once served as the chief route of transportation in the state. It is located in the area known as the Missouri Rhineland. Because of its distinctive conditions, the Hermann area was designated an American Viticultural Area in 1983. The southern part of the county is within the larger Ozark Highlands AVA, established in 1987.

Etymology

Gasconade County received its name from French-speaking settlers. They came from the Gascony region in southwestern France during French colonial rule of New France.
Per a 1916 Missouri Historical Review article, "The name is from 'Gascon', an inhabitant of Gascony,' a unique, marginal maritime province in the southwest of France with Basque cultural roots.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the county has a total area of, of which is covered by water.

Adjacent counties

  • Montgomery County
  • Warren County
  • Franklin County
  • Crawford County
  • Phelps County
  • Maries County
  • Osage County
  • Callaway County

    Major highways

  • 20px Route 19
  • 20px Route 28
  • 20px Route 100

    Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 14,794. The median age was 46.7 years, 21.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 23.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.3 males. About 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 5.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.3% of the population.
There were 6,111 households in the county, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 7,577 housing units, of which 19.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.5% were owner-occupied and 22.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.8%.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone 13,07913,92415,10114,80113,70599.23%99.41%98.43%97.23%92.64%
Black or African American alone 6101726180.05%0.07%0.11%0.17%0.12%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 9202726250.07%0.14%0.18%0.17%0.17%
Asian alone 24172453510.18%0.12%0.16%0.35%0.34%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone xx169xx0.01%0.04%0.06%
Other race alone 16036240.12%0.00%0.02%0.04%0.16%
Mixed race or Multiracial xx105152773xx0.68%1.00%5.23%
Hispanic or Latino 4735641521890.36%0.25%0.42%1.00%1.28%
Total13,18114,00615,34215,22214,794 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 15,342 people, 6,171 households, and 4,288 families resided in the county. The population density was. The 7,813 housing units had an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 98.69% White, 0.12% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. About 0.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,171 households, 31.0% had children under 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were not families. About 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the age distribution was 24.8% under 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,047, and for a family was $41,518. Males had a median income of $29,659 versus $20,728 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,319. About 7.00% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those 65 or over.

Politics

Local

The Republican Party in Gasconade County holds all of the elected positions.

State

Gasconade County is entirely contained within district 61 in the Missouri House of Representatives.
  • District 61 — . Consists of the counties of Gasconade, Montgomery, and Osage.

    State Senate

Gasconade County is a part of Missouri's 6th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by .

Federal

Gasconade County is included in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District and is represented by Blaine Luetkemeyer in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political culture

At the presidential level, Gasconade County is one of the most reliably Republican strongholds in Missouri. The Republican presidential nominee has won Gasconade County in every presidential election since Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860, giving the county the longest active Republican voting streak for presidential elections in the United States. In fact, no Democrat has even managed to break 40% of the vote in the county since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.
Like most rural areas throughout Northeast Missouri, voters in Gasconade County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles, which tend to influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Gasconade County with 76.48% of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71% of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Gasconade County with 58.61% voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51% of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Gasconade County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Gasconade County with 74.74% of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99% voting in favor.

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton received more votes, a total of 848, than any candidate from either party in Gasconade County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary.

Education

K-12 school districts with any amount of territory in the county, no matter how slight, include:
There is one elementary school district with a piece of the county: Strain-Japan R-XVI School District.

Public schools

  • - Hermann
  • *Hermann Elementary School
  • *Hermann Middle School
  • *Hermann High School
  • - Owensville
  • *Owensville Elementary School
  • *Owensville Middle School
  • *Owensville High School

    Private schools

  • – Hermann – Roman Catholic
  • Immanuel Lutheran School – Rosebud – Lutheran

    Public libraries

  • Hermann Branch Library
  • Owensville Branch Library

    Communities

Cities and towns

  • Bland
  • Gasconade
  • Hermann
  • Morrison
  • Owensville
  • Rosebud

    Unincorporated communities

  • Bay
  • Bem
  • Cleavesville
  • Drake
  • Fredericksburg
  • Little Berger
  • Mount Sterling
  • New Woollam
  • Redbird
  • Swiss