Dent County, Missouri

 

Founding: 1851
Parent counties: Crawford and Shannon

Namesake: Lewis Dent, early resident
Seat: Salem (1851–)

Land area: 753 square miles

Population (2020): 14,421

Population (historic): 5,654 (1860); 10,646 (1880); 12,986 (1900); 10,974 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1910; 1930s; 1960–1980; 1990–2010

Subdivisions: One city; 13 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 843 (11.5%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 27.5%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 2%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 14.4%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 10.7%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $543
Average outbuilding value (1930): $468
Average farmhouse size (1940): 4.3 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,859
Average farm size (1920): 69.9 acres
Sources of settlement: Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois
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Salem

Namesake: Salem, North Carolina

Founding: 1845 (platting); 1853 (post office); 1860 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 4,608

Population (historic): 280 (1870); 1,815 (1890); 1,796 (1910); 2,250 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1870–1890; 1900s; 1920–2010
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 429 (16.1%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. Lewis Dent House (c. 1845). Road 407, north of the Meramec River. Short Bend. Razed.
2. William Young Farm (1871). 1206 Road 5130. Spring Creek East.

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