Cameron, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Cameron is a city in Clinton
and DeKalb
Counties in the U.S. state
of Missouri
. The population was 8,312 at the 2000 census.
The Clinton County portion of Cameron is part of the Kansas City
, MO–KS
Metropolitan Statistical Area
, while the DeKalb County portion is part of the St. Joseph, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
line. The north-south-east division creates an unusual street grid naming system where some streets in the northern part of Cameron in DeKalb follow that county's naming structure of Southeast Rogers Road, Southeast Summit Road, Southeast Pence Road, etc. while roads in the south of Cameron in northern Clinton County have road names of Northeast 358th Street, Northeast 348th Street, etc. With Caldwell County on the east side of Cameron, that means that street name extensions in Caldwell County on the far east side have a prefix of Northwest such as Northwest Old Highway 36. In one instance just outside the city limits Southeast Oregon Road in Dekalb County turns into Northwest Oregon Road in Caldwell County when heading east out of Cameron.
(a line whose founders included the father of Mark Twain
and which was to deliver the first mail of the Pony Express
) proposed coming through the area, the line said the area around Somerville was too steep for the rail so he platted a new community 1.5 miles to the west in what is now "Olde Towne" Cameron. The town platted in 1855 was named for maiden name of his wife Malinda Cameron. McCorkle Park is still Cameron's centerpiece park.
During the 1860s as fierce competition raged for the starting point of the First Transcontinental Railroad
there was competition to get the Hannibal & St. Joseph (which at the time was the farthest west railroad connected to the main rail network) to cross the Missouri River
. Omaha, Nebraska
was to win the fight when the Union Pacific started the railroad west from there. However there was no bridge connecting it to the rest of the network.
Kansas City, Missouri
was able to convince the railroad to bypass its rivals in St. Joseph, Leavenworth, Kansas
, Atchison, Kansas
and Parkville, Missouri
to create the "Cameron Branch" of the railroad. The construction of the Hannibal Bridge
in Kansas City (which was to beat Omaha in any bids to cross the Missouri) was to propel that city into being the dominant city in the region.
Cameron was to enjoy a surge in its population because of the cutoff with its population growing from 100 in 1859 to 3,000 by 1881.
Cameron was a college town from 1883 until 1930. Founded as the Cameron Institute it became Missouri Wesleyan College
operated by the Methodist Church until 1930. A building on the campus would become Cameron High School (the Dragons) until being torn down in the 1960s.
Cameron gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s after Cameron Bob F. Griffin
served more than 15 years as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
—the longest of any representative. Among the pork barrel legislation he was to bring to the town is the Missouri Veterans Home and the Western Missouri Correctional Center which is the city's biggest employer with 700 employees. A street in the town is named "Bob Griffin Road." Griffin eventually served four years for corruption.
Cameron's character has evolved with the intersection of limited access highways. It has expanded to the north towards U.S. Route 36 (which in 2007 was proposed to be part of Interstate 72 in Missouri. It has also expanded to the east towards Interstate 35.
, Cameron has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.9 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.56%) is water.
of 2000, there were 8,312 people, 2,263 households, and 1,434 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,560.6 people per square mile (602.1/km²). There were 2,540 housing units at an average density of 476.9 per square mile (184.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.90% White, 12.64% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.25% from other races
, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.
There were 2,263 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 40.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 171.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 189.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,136, and the median income for a family was $40,540. Males had a median income of $29,529 versus $19,777 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $12,375. About 9.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.
Clinton County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,979 people, 7,152 households, and 5,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 7,877 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...
and DeKalb
DeKalb County, Missouri
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population is 12,892. The county was organized in 1845 and is named after the American Revolutionary War general Johann de Kalb. The county along with Buchanan and Andrew counties in Missouri and Doniphan County,...
Counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The population was 8,312 at the 2000 census.
The Clinton County portion of Cameron is part of the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, MO–KS
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
, while the DeKalb County portion is part of the St. Joseph, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area
St. Joseph, Missouri Metropolitan Area
The St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties - three in northwest Missouri and one in northeast Kansas - anchored by the city of St. Joseph...
.
Unusual street grid
More than two thirds of the community is in Clinton County south of NE Platte/8th Street/County Road 56. This area includes the original olde town center, Cameron High School and Veterans Home. The area north of the street in DeKalb includes the Crossroads Prison and the shopping centers next to U.S. 36. In addition portions of the community stretch east to the Caldwell County, MissouriCaldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...
line. The north-south-east division creates an unusual street grid naming system where some streets in the northern part of Cameron in DeKalb follow that county's naming structure of Southeast Rogers Road, Southeast Summit Road, Southeast Pence Road, etc. while roads in the south of Cameron in northern Clinton County have road names of Northeast 358th Street, Northeast 348th Street, etc. With Caldwell County on the east side of Cameron, that means that street name extensions in Caldwell County on the far east side have a prefix of Northwest such as Northwest Old Highway 36. In one instance just outside the city limits Southeast Oregon Road in Dekalb County turns into Northwest Oregon Road in Caldwell County when heading east out of Cameron.
History
In 1854 Samuel McCorkle platted the town of Somerville. When the Hannibal and St. Joseph RailroadHannibal and St. Joseph Railroad
The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest...
(a line whose founders included the father of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
and which was to deliver the first mail of the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
) proposed coming through the area, the line said the area around Somerville was too steep for the rail so he platted a new community 1.5 miles to the west in what is now "Olde Towne" Cameron. The town platted in 1855 was named for maiden name of his wife Malinda Cameron. McCorkle Park is still Cameron's centerpiece park.
During the 1860s as fierce competition raged for the starting point of the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
there was competition to get the Hannibal & St. Joseph (which at the time was the farthest west railroad connected to the main rail network) to cross the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
was to win the fight when the Union Pacific started the railroad west from there. However there was no bridge connecting it to the rest of the network.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
was able to convince the railroad to bypass its rivals in St. Joseph, Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Atchison, Kansas
Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...
and Parkville, Missouri
Parkville, Missouri
Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,059 at the 2000 census. Parkville is known for its antique shops, art galleries, and historic downtown. The city is home to Park University and English Landing Park....
to create the "Cameron Branch" of the railroad. The construction of the Hannibal Bridge
Hannibal Bridge
The First Hannibal Bridge was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River and was to establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center....
in Kansas City (which was to beat Omaha in any bids to cross the Missouri) was to propel that city into being the dominant city in the region.
Cameron was to enjoy a surge in its population because of the cutoff with its population growing from 100 in 1859 to 3,000 by 1881.
Cameron was a college town from 1883 until 1930. Founded as the Cameron Institute it became Missouri Wesleyan College
Missouri Wesleyan College
Missouri Wesleyan College was a college in Cameron, Missouri from 1883 until 1930.The school school opened as the Cameron Institute and became the college in 1887 after the Methodists acquired it.The college was best known for its music department....
operated by the Methodist Church until 1930. A building on the campus would become Cameron High School (the Dragons) until being torn down in the 1960s.
Cameron gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s after Cameron Bob F. Griffin
Bob F. Griffin
Bob F. Griffin served as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1981 to 1995—longer than any other speaker in state history....
served more than 15 years as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
Missouri House of Representatives
The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...
—the longest of any representative. Among the pork barrel legislation he was to bring to the town is the Missouri Veterans Home and the Western Missouri Correctional Center which is the city's biggest employer with 700 employees. A street in the town is named "Bob Griffin Road." Griffin eventually served four years for corruption.
Cameron's character has evolved with the intersection of limited access highways. It has expanded to the north towards U.S. Route 36 (which in 2007 was proposed to be part of Interstate 72 in Missouri. It has also expanded to the east towards Interstate 35.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, Cameron has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.9 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.56%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 8,312 people, 2,263 households, and 1,434 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,560.6 people per square mile (602.1/km²). There were 2,540 housing units at an average density of 476.9 per square mile (184.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.90% White, 12.64% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.25% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.
There were 2,263 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 40.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 171.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 189.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,136, and the median income for a family was $40,540. Males had a median income of $29,529 versus $19,777 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $12,375. About 9.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.
Highways
- Interstate 35, exits 52 and 54
- U.S. Route 36
- U.S. Route 69
Notable Residents
- DeWitt Clarke Jennings, actor
- Don Gillis, composer and conductor
External links
- City of Cameron
- Cameron R-1 School District
- Historic maps of Cameron in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of MissouriUniversity of MissouriThe University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...