Washington County, Missouri
Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 23,514. The county seat and largest city is Potosi. The county was officially organized on August 21, 1813, and was named in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States.
History
The French explorers Renault and La Motte entered the area of present-day Potosi in 1722–23. However, no permanent settlements were made until 1763, when François Breton settled near Potosi and began to operate a mine bearing his name. The Bellview Valley, near Caledonia and Belgrade, was settled in 1802 by the families of William and Helen Watson Reed, their sons, Robert, Joseph, and Thomas Reed, William Reed's brother and nephew, Joseph and William Reed, Annanias McCoy, and Benjamin Crow. Washington County was officially organized on August 21, 1813, out of Ste. Genevieve County.Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Adjacent counties
National protected area
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 23,514. The median age was 42.2 years, with 22.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.7% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 107.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 109.5 males.The racial makeup of the county was 91.3% White, 2.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,919 households in the county, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 10,719 housing units, of which 16.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.1% were owner-occupied and 22.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone | 17,733 | 19,863 | 22,159 | 23,969 | 21,378 | 98.61% | 97.46% | 94.92% | 95.13% | 90.92% |
| Black or African American alone | 107 | 378 | 577 | 554 | 610 | 0.60% | 1.85% | 2.47% | 2.20% | 2.59% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 33 | 40 | 149 | 95 | 78 | 0.18% | 0.20% | 0.64% | 0.38% | 0.33% |
| Asian alone | 22 | 12 | 35 | 48 | 40 | 0.12% | 0.06% | 0.15% | 0.19% | 0.17% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone | x | x | 2 | 5 | 1 | x | x | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone | 13 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 53 | 0.07% | 0.02% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.23% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | x | x | 243 | 261 | 1,127 | x | x | 1.04% | 1.04% | 4.79% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 75 | 83 | 170 | 255 | 227 | 0.42% | 0.41% | 0.73% | 1.01% | 0.97% |
| Total | 17,983 | 20,380 | 23,344 | 25,195 | 23,514 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2000 census
| Largest ancestries | Percent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
American  ReligionAccording to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report, Washington County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Washington County who adhere to a religion are Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, and Baptist Missionary Association of America.PoliticsLocalRepublicans hold a sizeable majority of the elected positions in the county.StateWashington County is divided into three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
FederalWashington County is included in Missouri's 8th Congressional District and is currently represented by Jason T. Smith in the U.S. House of Representatives. Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson. Emerson announced her resignation a month after being reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in the district. She resigned to become CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative.Political cultureWashington County is one of only two counties, alongside Webster County, West Virginia, to be carried by Barack Obama in 2008 and still give Donald Trump over 80% of the vote in 2020.At the presidential level, Washington County was a fairly independent-leaning or battleground county for many years; however, it has voted increasingly more Republican in recent elections. While George W. Bush carried Washington County in 2004, he narrowly lost the county to Al Gore in 2000, and both times the margins of victory were significantly closer than in many of the other rural areas. Bill Clinton also carried Washington County both times in 1992 and 1996 by convincing double-digit margins, and unlike most of the other rural counties in Missouri, Washington County was one of only nine counties in Missouri that favored Barack Obama over John McCain. Obama won Washington County by just five votes in the 2008 election. Like most rural areas throughout Missouri, voters in Washington County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles but are more moderate or populist on economic issues, typical of the Dixiecrat philosophy. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Washington County with 81.37 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent 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 Washington County with 56.48 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Washington 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 Washington County with 81.47 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. In 2018, Washington County rejected Proposition A which would have made Missouri a right-to-work state with 82.1 percent of the vote. EducationAmong adults 25 years of age and older in Washington County, 62.5% possess a high school diploma or higher, while 7.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.Public schools
Private schools
Colleges and universities
Public libraries
Government and infrastructureThe Potosi Correctional Center of the Missouri Department of Corrections is located in an unincorporated area in the county. The prison houses male death row inmates. 911 services are provided by the Washington County Central Dispatch Center. Major fire departments in the county include those of Potosi, Richwoods, Irondale, Belgrade, and Caledonia. The Washington County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement for the county. Its sheriff is Dwayne S. Reed as of 2025.Attractions
TransportationPrimary state highways
Secondary state highways
AirportsRailroadsCommunitiesCitiesVillagesCensus-designated placeUnincorporated communities
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