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Taney County, Missouri
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Taney County is a county located in Southwest Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 39,703. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 45,905. Its county seat is Forsyth. The county was officially organized on January 4, 1837, and was named in honor of Roger Brooke Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The county includes the popular tourist destination city of Branson and is part of the Branson Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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Encyclopedia
Taney County is a county located in Southwest Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 39,703. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 45,905. Its county seat is Forsyth. The county was officially organized on January 4, 1837, and was named in honor of Roger Brooke Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The county includes the popular tourist destination city of Branson and is part of the Branson Micropolitan Statistical Area. With a wide range of live music shows, restaurants and shopping locations, Taney County is also the home of Table Rock, Taneycomo and Bull Shoals lakes.
History
The first Taney County Courthouse was built by the early pioneers in 1837 and destroyed on July 22, 1861 during a Civil War Battle. The second Courthouse was destroyed by fire on December 19, 1885. The third Courthouse was removed in 1952 to permit the building of Bull Shoals Lake. The fourth, and present, Courthouse was occupied on August 1, 1952. In 1989, an addition was started and completed in 1991.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,687 km˛ (651 mi˛). 1,638 km˛ (632 mi˛) of it is land and 50 km˛ (19 mi˛) of it (2.93%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Major highways
- U.S. Route 65
- U.S. Route 160
- Route 13
- Route 76
- Route 125
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 39,703 people, 16,158 households, and 11,052 families residing in the county. The population density was 24/km˛ (63/mi˛). There were 19,688 housing units at an average density of 12/km˛ (31/mi˛). The racial makeup of the county was 96.22% White, 0.35% Black or African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Approximately 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among the major first ancestries reported in Taney County were 20.8% German, 18.9% American, 12.4% Irish, and 12.3% English, according to Census 2000.
There were 16,158 households out of which 27.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.40% under the age of 18, 10.20% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,771, and the median income for a family was $47,664. Males had a median income of $25,431 versus $19,655 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,663. About 9.40% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
†Denotes a municipality whose physical boundaries extend beyond Taney County
Education
Of adults 25 years of age and older in Taney County, 81.4% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 14.9% holds a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
Public Schools
- Bradleyville R-I School District - Bradleyville
- Bradleyville Elementary School (PK-06)
- Bradleyville High School (07-12)
- - Branson
- Branson Primary School (PK-01)
- Branson Elementary East (02-04)
- Branson Elementary West (02-04)
- Branson Intermediate School (05-06)
- Branson Jr. High School (07-08)
- Branson High School (09-12)
- ] - Forsyth
- Forsyth Elementary School (K-04)
- Forsyth Middle School (05-08)
- Forsyth High School (09-12)
- - Hollister
- Hollister Elementary School (PK-04)
- Hollister Middle School (05-06)
- Hollister Jr. High School (07-08)
- Hollister High School (09-12)
- - Kirbyville
- Kirbyville Elementary School (K-03)
- Kirbyville Middle School (04-08)
- - Rueter
- Mark Twain Elementary School (K-08)
- Taneyville R-II School District - Taneyville
- Taneyville Elementary School (K-08)
Private Schools
Alternative & Vocational Schools
- Delmina Woods Youth Facility - Forsyth - (06-12) - Alternative/Other School
Politics
Local
Politics at the local level in Taney County is completely controlled by the Republican Party. All of Taney County’s elected officeholders are Democrats.
State
Past Gubernatorial Elections Results | Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|
| 2008 | 51.16% 10,903 | 46.31% 9,870 | 2.53% 540 | | 2004 | 68.88% 13,207 | 29.91% 5,734 | 1.21% 233 | | 2000 | 60.03% 9,003 | 37.30% 5,594 | 2.67% 400 | | 1996 | 58.07% 7,516 | 38.89% 5,034 | 3.04% 394 |
Taney County is divided into three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
- District 62 – (R-Kimberling City). Consists of the southwestern parts of the county. In 2008, Wood defeated Peter D. Tsahiridis (D) 73.12-26.88 percent; Taney County backed Wood with 70.31 percent while Tsahiridis received 29.69 percent.
- District 142 – (R-Nixa). Consists of the northeastern parts of the county. In 2008, Weter ran unopposed and was reelected with 100% of the vote.
- District 143 – (R-Thornfield). Consists of the southeastern. In 2008, Wallace defeated Cathy Hilliard (D) 67.66-32.34 percent; Taney County backed Wallace with 65.87 percent while Hilliard received 34.13 percent.
Taney County is also a part of Missouri's 29th Senatorial District and is currently represented by State Senator (R-Farmington). In 2008, Goodman ran unopposed and was reelected with 100 percent of the vote. The 29th Senatorial District consists of Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, Ozark, Stone, and Taney counties.
In Missouri's gubernatorial election of 2008, Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon (D) defeated former U.S. Representative Kenny Hulshof (R) with 58.40 percent of the total statewide vote. While Nixon performed extremely well and won many of the rural counties in the state, Taney County was not one of them. The former attorney general Nixon lost Taney County with 46.31 percent of the vote to Hulshof’s 51.16 percent.
Federal
In the U.S. House of Representatives, most of Taney County is represented by Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) who represents most of the central and eastern portions of the county as part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District. The City of Branson and the western portions of the county are included in Missouri's 7th Congressional District and is currently represented by Roy Blunt (R-Springfield).
Political Culture
Past Presidential Elections Results | Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|
| 2008 | 68.02% 14,736 | 30.85% 6,683 | 1.13% 245 | | 2004 | 70.43% 13,578 | 29.05% 5,601 | 0.52% 101 | | 2000 | 63.84% 9,647 | 33.70% 5,092 | 2.46% 373 | | 1996 | 52.01% 6,844 | 35.13% 4,623 | 12.86% 1,693 |
Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Taney County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried Taney County in 2000 and 2004 by more than two-to-one margins, and like many other rural counties throughout Missouri, Taney County strongly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Taney County in over 50 years.
Like most rural areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Taney County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to strongly 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 Taney County with 80.04 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 Taney County with 56.64 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 Taney 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 Taney County with 77.78 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 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.
2008 Missouri Presidential Primary
Democratic
Former U.S. Senator and now Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) won Taney County over now President Barack Obama (D-Illinois) by an almost two-to-one margin with 63.69 percent of the vote while Obama received 33.74 percent of the vote. Although he withdrew from the race, former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) still received 1.89 percent of the vote in Taney County.
Clinton had a large initial lead in Missouri at the beginning of the evening as the rural precincts began to report, leading several news organizations to call the state for her; however, Obama rallied from behind as the heavily African American precincts from St. Louis began to report and eventually put him over the top. In the end, Obama received 49.32 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 47.90 percent—a 1.42 percent difference. Both candidates split Missouri’s 72 delegates as the Democratic Party utilizes proportional representation.
Republican
Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) won Taney County with 55.89 percent of the vote. U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) finished in second place in Taney County with 25.90 percent. Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) came in third place, receiving 14.17 percent of the vote while libertarian-leaning U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) finished fourth with 2.83 percent in Taney County.
Huckabee slightly led Missouri throughout much of the evening until the precincts began reporting from St. Louis where McCain won and put him over the top of Huckabee. In the end, McCain received 32.95 percent of the vote to Huckabee’s 31.53 percent—a 1.42 percent difference. McCain received all of Missouri’s 58 delegates as the Republican Party utilizes the winner-take-all system.
- Mike Huckabee received more votes, a total of 3,850 , than any candidate from either party in Taney County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Primaries.
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