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Wayne County is a Anthony Wayne who served in the American Revolutionary War.[3]
Wayne County was created in December 1818 by the last Missouri Territorial Legislature out of parts of Cape Girardeau and Lawrence counties and thus predates the state of Missouri being admitted to the Union. In March 1819, Congress established the Territory of Arkansas and most of Lawrence County, Missouri Territory became Lawrence County, Arkansas Territory. The small strip of “Old Lawrence County” that had been orphaned in Missouri was added to Wayne County by the Missouri State Constitution of 1820. The Osage Strip along the Kansas border was added in 1825. From 1825-1831, Wayne County was an enormous area larger than Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware combined. All or part of 32 counties in Missouri were at one point part of Wayne County.
When Wayne County was formed, five commissioners were appointed to govern the county. They chose a small settlement known locally as Cedar Cabin located on the St. Francis River to be the county seat and named it Greenville. In 1900, Greenville had a population of about 1,000. By 1940, the population had declined to 572. The town was relocated by the construction of Lake Wappapello in 1941 and the new town only had a population of 270 in 1950. Today, approximately 450 people call Greenville home.
The Wayne County Courthouse burned in 1854. The records in the new courthouse were stolen in 1866 and in 1892 the courthouse burned again. In the Census of 1820, the large area of Wayne County had a population of only 1,239 Whites and 204 slaves.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 774 square miles (2,000 km2), of which 759 square miles (1,970 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) (1.9%) is water.[4]
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 13,259 people, 5,551 households, and 3,841 families residing in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 7,496 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.68% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 0.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The most common first ancestries reported in Wayne County were 32.9% American, 15.0% German, 11.9% English, 11.7% Irish, 3.0% French (excluding Basque), 2.0% Dutch and 2.0% Italian, according to Census 2000.
There were 5,551 households out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.20% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,166, and the median income for a family was $34,727. Males had a median income of $26,241 versus $17,232 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,852. About 17.90% of families and 21.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.70% of those under age 18 and 15.60% of those age 65 or over.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Wayne County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Wayne County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (62.76%), Methodists (10.08%), and Roman Catholics (7.07%).
The Democratic Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Wayne County. Democrats hold all but five of the elected positions in the county.
Wayne County is divided among three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Wayne County is included in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District and is currently represented by Jason T. Smith (R-Salem) 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 (R-Cape Girardeau). 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.
At the presidential level, Wayne County is a fairly independent county or battleground. Unlike many rural counties which are Republican strongholds, voters in Wayne County have seldom been lockstep in their tendencies. While 2000 and 2004, Bill Clinton also carried the county both times in 1992 and 1996. Like many rural counties in Missouri in 2008, voters in Wayne County favored John McCain over Barack Obama.
However, like most rural areas, voters in Wayne County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles and therefore have a slight tendency to vote Republican. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Wayne County with 87.75 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 Wayne County with 55.15 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 Wayne 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 (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Wayne County with 77.36 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. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.
In the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary, voters in Wayne County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.
Of all adults 25 years of age and older in Wayne County, 59.7% possessed a high school diploma or higher while 6.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
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