Independence, Missouri
Independence is a city in
Missouri, in the
Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the
2000 census, the city had a total population of 113,288. It is the
county seat of
Jackson County.
 |
Location of Independence, Missouri |
Independence is located at (39.079805, -94.406551).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 203.2
km² (78.4
mi²). 202.9 km² (78.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 113,288 people, 47,390 households, and 30,566 families residing in the city. The
population density was 558.4/km² (1,446.3/mi²). There were 50,213 housing units at an average density of 247.5/km² (641.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.87%
White, 2.59%
African American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.64%
Native American, 0.46%
Pacific Islander, 1.43% from
other races, and 2.31% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.69% of the population.
There were 47,390 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% 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 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,012, and the median income for a family was $45,876. Males had a median income of $34,138 versus $25,948 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,384. About 6.4% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.
Five school districts have areas within the city: Independence, Kansas City (Missouri), Fort Osage, Blue Springs, and Raytown. Four public high schools are located within the city limits: Van Horn (Kansas City District), Truman (Independence), William Chrisman (Independence) and Fort Osage (Fort Osage). The city also is home to Blue River Community College.
Independence was founded on
March 29,
1827 and quickly became an important
frontier town. Independence was the farthest point westward on the
Missouri River where
steamboats or other cargo boats could travel due to the convergence of the
Kansas River with the Missouri River approximately six miles west of Independence, near the current
Kansas-
Missouri border.
In
1831, members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons) began moving to the Jackson County, Missouri, area. Shortly thereafter,
Joseph Smith, Jr., the Latter-Day Saint prophet, declared a
spot just west of Courthouse Square to be the place for a prophesied temple of the
New Jerusalem in expectation of the
Second Coming of Christ. Tension grew with local Missourians until finally the Latter-Day Saints were
expelled from the area. Many offshoots from the main body of Latter-Day Saints gradually returned to the city, often making Independence their headquarters, including the
Community of Christ, the
Restoration Branches and the
Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
In the mid-1800s an act of Congress defined Independence as the start of the
Oregon Trail.
President Harry S Truman grew up in Independence and in 1922 was elected judge of the County Court of Jackson County, Missouri â€" an administrative, not judicial, position. Although he was defeated for reelection in
1924, he won back the office in
1926 and was reelected in
1930. Truman performed his duties in this office diligently, and won personal acclaim for several popular public works projects, including an extensive series of fine roads for the growing use of the automobiles, building of a new County Court building in Independence, and a series of 12
Madonna of the Trail monuments to pioneer women dedicated across the country in
1928 and
1929. He later returned to the city after two terms as President. His wife,
First Lady Bess Truman, was born and raised in Independence.
Santa-Cali-gon Days is an annual festival held in Independence since
1973 that celebrates the city's heritage as the starting point for three major frontier trails: the
Santa Fe Trail, the
California Trail and the
Oregon Trail.
Independence is a
sister city of
Higashimurayama,
Japan*
David Stover -
NASCAR driver
*
City's official website*
Independence Chamber of Commerce*
"This is Where I Belong", a
National Park Service article about Truman and Independence
*
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
