Howell County, Missouri

 

Founding: 1857
Parent county: Oregon

Namesake: Josiah Howell, early resident
Seat: West Plains (1858–)

Land area: 927 square miles

Population (2020): 39,750

Population (historic): 3,169 (1860); 8,814 (1880); 21,834 (1900); 19,672 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1900; 1910s; 1930–1950; 1960–2010

Subdivisions: Four cities; two CDPs; 12 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,464 (8%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 32.1%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 2.8%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 26.2%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 12%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $598
Average outbuilding value (1930): $378
Average farmhouse size (1940): 4.1 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 3,076
Average farm size (1920): 63.2 acres
Sources of settlement: Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas
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West Plains

Namesake: Prairies near the city site

Founding: 1858 (platting); 1858 (post office); 1883 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 12,184

Population (historic): 130 (1870); 2,091 (1890); 2,914 (1910); 3,335 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1870–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 438 (7.7%)
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