Lincoln County is located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,574.[1] Its county seat is Troy.[2] The county was founded December 14, 1818, and named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the American Revolutionary War.[3]
According to Goodspeed's History of Lincoln County, Missouri (1888), Lincoln County was named by Major Christopher Clark, the first permanent white settler in an address to the Territorial Legislature. He said, "I was born, sir, in Link-Horn County, N.C., I lived for many years in Link-Horn County in old Kain-tuck. I wish to die in Link-Horn County, in Missouri; and I move, therefore, that the blank in the bill be filled with the name Link-Horn." The motion was carried unanimously and the clerk, not adopting the frontier parlance of the Major, wrote "Lincoln" in the blank space of the bill. Others [who?] say it was named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 640 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 627 square miles (1,620 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (2.2%) is water.[4] The county's eastern border with Illinois is formed by the Mississippi River.
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[9] 2020[1]
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 38,944 people, 13,851 households, and 10,554 families residing in the county. The population density was 62 inhabitants per square mile (24/km2). There were 15,511 housing units at an average density of 25 units per square mile (9.7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.13% White, 1.74% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Approximately 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.7% were of German, 17.0% American, 10.9% Irish and 7.4% English ancestry.
There were 13,851 households, out of which 40.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.80% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,592, and the median income for a family was $47,747. Males had a median income of $35,564 versus $23,270 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,149. About 6.20% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.60% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.
Lincoln County is a reliable state bellwether, having voted for Missouri's statewide winner in every presidential election since 1956.
Local
The Republican Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Lincoln County. Republicans hold all but four of the elected positions in the county.[13][14][15]
Missouri House of Representatives — District 40 — Lincoln County (2020)[16]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Chad Perkins
270
97.12%
Missouri House of Representatives — District 40 — Lincoln County (2018)[15]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jim hansen
202
97.58%
Missouri House of Representatives — District 40 — Lincoln County (2016)[17]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jim Hansen
232
100.00%
+23.78
Missouri House of Representatives — District 40 — Lincoln County (2014)[18]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jim Hansen
125
76.22%
+17.79
Democratic
Lowell Jackson
39
23.78%
-17.79
Missouri House of Representatives — District 40 — Lincoln County (2012)[19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jim Hansen
156
58.43%
Democratic
Paul Quinn
111
41.57%
District 41 — Doyle Justus (R-Troy). Consists of most of the county and includes the communities of Cave, Foley Troy, Truxton, and Whiteside.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 41 — Lincoln County (2022)[14]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Doyle Justus
18,148
72.8%
Missouri House of Representatives — District 41 — Lincoln County (2018)[15]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Randy Pietzman
10,612
68.57%
Democratic
David Beckham
4,848
31.33%
Missouri House of Representatives — District 41 — Lincoln County (2016)[17]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Randy Pietzman
15,609
100.00%
+38.21
Missouri House of Representatives — District 41 — Lincoln County (2014)[18]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Randy Pietzman
6,243
61.79%
+20.10
Democratic
Dan Dildine
3,861
38.21%
-20.10
Missouri House of Representatives — District 41 — Lincoln County (2012)[19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Democratic
Ed Schieffer
9,589
58.31%
Republican
Beverly Steiniger
6,857
41.69%
District 64 — Tony Lovasco (R- O'Fallon) Includes the southeast corner of the county and the communities of Chain of Rocks, Fountain N' Lakes, Moscow Mills, Old Monroe, and Winfield.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 64 — Lincoln County (2020)[16]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Tony Lovasco
5,786
75.90%
Democratic
Aaliyah Bailey
1,829
23.99%
Missouri House of Representatives — District 64 — Lincoln County (2018)[15]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Tony Lovasco
3,448
63.80%
Democratic
Shawn Finklein
1,946
36.01%
All of Lincoln County is a part of Missouri's 10th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Jeanie Riddle (R-Fulton).
Missouri Senate — District 10 — Lincoln County (2018)[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jeanie Riddle
14,652
69.22%
Democratic
Ayanna Shivers
6,490
30.66%
Missouri Senate — District 10 — Lincoln County (2014)[18]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Republican
Jeanie Riddle
7,542
56.52%
Democratic
Ed Scheiffer
5,802
44.48%
United States presidential election results for Lincoln County, Missouri[21]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 185–186.
^"2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
^"U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
^"Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
^"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
^"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
^"State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
^ ab"2022 General Election Results". lincolncountymoclerk.gov.
^ abcdef"2018 General Election Results". lincolncountymoclerk.gov.
^ abc"2020 General Election Results". lincolncountymoclerk.gov.
^ abcd"Lincoln County - General Election - November 8, 2016". Lincoln County Clerk. November 14, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
^ abcd"Lincoln County, Missouri Official Results General Election". Lincoln County Clerk. November 4, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
^ abcd"Lincoln County, Missouri Official Results". Lincoln County Clerk. November 6, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
^"Lincoln County, Missouri Official Results General Election". Lincoln County Clerk. November 12, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
^Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
Further reading
History of Lincoln County, Missouri, from the earliest time to the present: including a department devoted to the preservation of sundry personal, business, professional and private records, besides a valuable fund of notes original observation.... (1888) full text
External links
Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Lincoln County Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books