Gourt Home::Gourt :: Poplar Bluff, Missouri
Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,651 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. Butler County was organized February 27 1849 from Wayne County.
Description
Poplar Bluff, Missouri is about 150 miles from St. Louis, MO, Springfield, MO, Little Rock, AR, and Memphis, TN. It is a moderate size town nestled in the "Bible Belt" where churches litter almost every street. The town has one public high school (mascot: the Mules) and one junior high, a 5th and 6th grade center, a kindergarten center, 3 grade elementary schools (with talk to grade level those too), and a head start. The town also has a Catholic pre-K through 8th grade school and a Baptist pre-K through 12th grade school. Three Rivers Community College, home of the Raiders, is also located in Poplar Bluff. A troubled-youth school is located on the outskirts of town. Poplar Bluff has a plethora of fast food and pizza joints, several casual dining restuarants, a Japanese Grill and restuarant, two authentic Mexican resturants, a handful of coffee-shops, a wine store, and many locally owned 'home-town cooking' places. Located near Lake Wappapello, Poplar Bluff sees many vistors around Drag Boat Racing season as a national level competition is held at the lake. Visitors also come to town for the Poplar Bluff Basketball Showdown, as the several of the best basketball teams in the country come to play at the Black River Coliseum (Poplar Bluff's community/convention center that has seen many big name bands play and housed rodeos, circuses, and weekly bingo outings). Poplar Bluff has two hospitals, with three campuses and several clinics. A Veteran's Hospital is also located in the town. Car lots are also in abundance. The Industrial Park is home to Rowe Furniture, Briggs and Stratton, Gates Rubber, Team USA, and other factories. Train shipping also runs through the town. The town is the county seat and the Butler County Correctional Center, Butler County Health Department, Butler County Juvenille Center, and many other county necessities.
Downfalls
Poplar Bluff's biggest economical concern is keeping residents around and lowering drug usage. Many resident's also complain about the poor service at many resturants and low pay at most jobs. Health Care quality is also debated by long term residents. The nearest mall is 1.75 hours away and much local money is spent outside the city limits. There are many eyesores in the town, but many locals are trying to clean the city up.Perks
Poplar Bluff's standard of living costs are very low in comparison to cities in Missouri like Springfield and Columbia. It is a nice place to relax and experience small town life with the benefits of a bigger than middle of no-where-town. The high school athletics recently went through a period of state championships and national attention. The junior college also has good athletics. Preseident Bush came to town during his second-term promotions.History
The city was founded as the county seat in 1849. The city was placed on the bluffs of Black River. It consisted of about 150 acres. The identity of the very first European visitor to the Poplar Bluff area is Hernando DeSoto. DeSoto landed at Tampa Bay in May of 1539. Later he crossed the Mississippi River. He then traveled to a point below the mouth of the St. Francis river, and into Butler County. DeSoto and his men traveled through what is now Ash Hill and passed just outside of Poplar Bluff. Later, the French were the first Europeans who assert any territorial rights over the Poplar Bluff area. The French held the area until 1770, when it was ceeded by treaty to Spain. Spain held the area until 1802 when it was returned to France. Throughout this time, the area of Poplar Bluff as well as all of Butler County, held almost no European settlements up until the year 1819 when twelve year old Solomon Kittrell, a native of Kentucky settled on Cane Creek with his parents, Samuel and Eleanor "Nelly" Shamwell Kittrell, originally of North Carolina, and siblings. Solomon's younger brother, Samuel B. Kittrell, was born shortly thereafter in what was ultimately Butler County, giving this pioneer couple children born in North Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri. As an adult living in the Cane Creek settlement area, Solomon Kittrell took up a large tract of land, built a home, erected a distillery and established a store (or trading post). His supplies were brought in by ox teams from Cape Girardeau. Decades later, Solomon served by appointment of Gov. Austin King as one of the first set of county commissioners, with Jonathan Sandlin and John Stevenson as the other two appointed county commissioners, for the newly organized Butler County in 1849. When this first white settler family moved into the Poplar Bluff area in 1819, it is reported that about 300 Native Americans resided in the area.Geography
Poplar Bluff is located at (36.759808, -90.402731), along the Black River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.0 km² (11.6 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,651 people, 7,077 households, and 4,295 families residing in the city. The population density was 555.7/km² (1,438.9/mi²). There were 7,871 housing units at an average density of 262.7/km² (680.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.04% White, 9.71% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.
There were 7,077 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,068, and the median income for a family was $28,744. Males had a median income of $23,851 versus $18,770 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,996. About 19.3% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.4% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.
Causes
Most of Poplar Bluff's wealthier residents reside outside of the city limits, including a small asian population not identified in the city demographics. Some of the Poplar Bluffians are farmers and live outside the town on their farm lands, also affected demographics.Notable Poplar Bluff residents
- Dusty Rhodes Musician
- Linda Bloodworth Thomason Television producer
- Tyler Hansbrough UNC-Chapel Hill Basketball star played high school basketball in Poplar Bluff
External links
"Poplar Bluff, Missouri"