Potosi, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Potosi is a city in Washington County
, Missouri
, United States
. Potosi is about 10 miles north of Belgrade
. The estimated population in July 2008 was 2,698. It was 2,662 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
of Washington County
. The city was founded in 1783 by Moses Austin
and was named after the Bolivia
n silver-mining city of Potosí
.
, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), all land.
mining settlement at this spot, "Mine á Breton" or Mine au Breton, was founded between 1760 and 1780 by Francis Azor, of Brittany, France
. Moses Austin
came here in 1798 with his family, including his son Stephen F. Austin
. Moses obtained a grant of 7,153 arpent
s of land from the Spanish Empire
and started large-scale mining operations, building his town to support it. Moses named the town after Potosí
in Bolivia
, which was famous for its vast silver
mines. Austin's tomb and the foundation of his home Durham Hall can still be seen. Another mining entrepreneur in Potosi at the time of Moses Austin was James Bryan. Firmin Desloge, who emigrated from Nantes, France in 1822 located in Potosi and established a mercantile, distillery, fur trading and lead smelting business. The Desloge lead mining business Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
was later relocated to Desloge, MO
The Potosi Correctional Center
, which opened in 1989, housed Missouri's death row
and the state's executions were handled at the prison until 2005. The Potosi Center conducted all but one of the 62 Missouri executions between 1989 when capital punishment was reinstated and 2005 when executions were moved 25 miles east to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
in Bonne Terre, Missouri
.
Renowned woodcut artist Tom Huck
grew up in Potosi, where he has taken inspiration from many of the region's local legends and folk tales. In 1998, Huck released "2 Weeks in August: 14 Rural Absurdities", a suite of 14 woodcut prints based on bizarre tales from the towns history.
of 2000, there were 2,662 people, 1,103 households, and 677 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,218.9 people per square mile (471.5/km²). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 554.5 per square mile (214.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.60% White, 2.14% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.23% from other races
, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.
There were 1,103 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples
living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,702, and the median income for a family was $23,958. Males had a median income of $31,548 versus $16,976 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $12,417. About 28.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
operates the Potosi Post Office.
The Potosi Correctional Center
of the Missouri Department of Corrections is located in an unincorporated area
in Washington County
, near Potosi. The prison houses male death row
inmates.
Washington County, Missouri
Washington County is a county located in East Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 25,195. The largest city and county seat is Potosi...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Potosi is about 10 miles north of Belgrade
Belgrade, Missouri
Belgrade is an unincorporated community in south central Washington County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Missouri Supplemental Route C about six miles west of Caledonia and ten miles south of Potosi. The community was founded in 1876 and was named after Belgrade in Serbia. Belgrade...
. The estimated population in July 2008 was 2,698. It was 2,662 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Washington County
Washington County, Missouri
Washington County is a county located in East Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 25,195. The largest city and county seat is Potosi...
. The city was founded in 1783 by Moses Austin
Moses Austin
Moses Austin played a large part in the development of the American lead industry and is the father of Stephen F. Austin, a leading American settler of Texas. He was the first to be allowed to gather Anglo Americans for settlement in Spanish Texas...
and was named after the Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n silver-mining city of Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
.
Geography
Potosi is located at 37°56′16"N 90°46′55"W (37.937881, -90.781932). 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...
, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), all land.
History
A leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mining settlement at this spot, "Mine á Breton" or Mine au Breton, was founded between 1760 and 1780 by Francis Azor, of Brittany, France
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. Moses Austin
Moses Austin
Moses Austin played a large part in the development of the American lead industry and is the father of Stephen F. Austin, a leading American settler of Texas. He was the first to be allowed to gather Anglo Americans for settlement in Spanish Texas...
came here in 1798 with his family, including his son Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
. Moses obtained a grant of 7,153 arpent
Arpent
An arpent is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman actus. It is used in Quebec as well as in some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana.-Unit of length:...
s of land from the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
and started large-scale mining operations, building his town to support it. Moses named the town after Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, which was famous for its vast silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mines. Austin's tomb and the foundation of his home Durham Hall can still be seen. Another mining entrepreneur in Potosi at the time of Moses Austin was James Bryan. Firmin Desloge, who emigrated from Nantes, France in 1822 located in Potosi and established a mercantile, distillery, fur trading and lead smelting business. The Desloge lead mining business Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
Desloge Consolidated Lead Company
Desloge Consolidated Lead Company is a historically significant Missouri lead mining company owned by a great industrialist baron family of the 19th and 20th centuries in the new American Frontier - starting just after the Louisiana Purchase, in the Southeast Missouri Lead District.-History:The...
was later relocated to Desloge, MO
The Potosi Correctional Center
Potosi Correctional Center
Potosi Correctional Center is a Missouri Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated Washington County, Missouri, near Potosi. The facility currently houses 800 capital punishment, maximum security and high-risk male inmates....
, which opened in 1989, housed Missouri's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
and the state's executions were handled at the prison until 2005. The Potosi Center conducted all but one of the 62 Missouri executions between 1989 when capital punishment was reinstated and 2005 when executions were moved 25 miles east to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
The Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center is a 2,684-bed prison located northeast of Bonne Terre, Missouri.The ERDCC serves as the point of admission for male offenders committed by the courts in eastern Missouri to the Missouri Department of Corrections...
in Bonne Terre, Missouri
Bonne Terre, Missouri
Bonne Terre is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was estimated in 2008 as 6,854. It was 4,039 at the 2000 census. The community was originally settled by the French in 1720 after lead ore was discovered...
.
Renowned woodcut artist Tom Huck
Tom Huck
Tom Huck is an American printmaker best known for his large scale satirical woodcuts. He lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri where he runs his own press, Evil Prints. He is a regular contributor to BLAB! of Fantagraphics Books. His work draws heavily upon the influence of Albrecht Dürer, José...
grew up in Potosi, where he has taken inspiration from many of the region's local legends and folk tales. In 1998, Huck released "2 Weeks in August: 14 Rural Absurdities", a suite of 14 woodcut prints based on bizarre tales from the towns history.
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 2,662 people, 1,103 households, and 677 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 1,218.9 people per square mile (471.5/km²). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 554.5 per square mile (214.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.60% White, 2.14% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.23% 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 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.
There were 1,103 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% 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, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,702, and the median income for a family was $23,958. Males had a median income of $31,548 versus $16,976 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 $12,417. About 28.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Potosi Post Office.
The Potosi Correctional Center
Potosi Correctional Center
Potosi Correctional Center is a Missouri Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated Washington County, Missouri, near Potosi. The facility currently houses 800 capital punishment, maximum security and high-risk male inmates....
of the Missouri Department of Corrections is located in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Washington County
Washington County, Missouri
Washington County is a county located in East Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 25,195. The largest city and county seat is Potosi...
, near Potosi. The prison houses male death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmates.
External links
- History of Potosi
- Historic maps of Potosi 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...