Howell County, Missouri

Howell County is a county located in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. It had a population of 40,400 at the 2010 census. One of the larger counties in the Missouri Ozarks, by both land area and population, it was formally organized on March 2, 1857, and named for Josiah Howell, a local notable and a member of one of the first families to settle in the region. West Plains is the county seat and the largest city.

History

The area that would become Howell County was first inhabited by a number of Indian tribes, including many members of the Osage nation. They were drawn by the fertile prairies in this part of the Ozarks, to which they occasionally added by the burning of trees and other vegetation.

The first American pioneers to settle in the region had begun to trickle in by the late 1830s, also attracted to the prairies with their potential for livestock grazing. Among the most important of these was the Howell family from Tennessee, whose leader, Josiah, purchased a plot of land near the center of what is now West Plains. One of his sons, Thomas Jefferson Howell, would later represent Oregon County (to which most of the area was still attached at that time) in the Missouri legislature, and the family as a whole was prominent enough for many nearby landmarks to bear their name (such as Howell Spring, Howell Valley, etc.). It was natural, then, that when the legislature organized this part of the state as a new county in 1857, it would be named for the family: specifically for Josiah, still regarded as the family patriarch.

At the time of the 1860 federal census, Howell County had a population of a little over 3,000, and West Plains had already come into existence as a flourishing farming community and the permanent county seat. It was hit especially hard, though, by the subsequent Civil War; no significant battles were fought within the county, but there was constant guerrilla warfare, and West Plains was mostly burned to the ground. By 1865, over 90% of the original population had fled. The immediate post-war era saw a slow rebuilding, but this was soon accelerated by the arrival of the railroads in the 1880s, creating a boom for agriculture and timber harvesting and making West Plains a significant rail hub, as well as the center of such industries as canning and the making of bricks and cigars. The county's population soared from only about 4,200 in 1870 to almost 22,000 in 1900.

Though Howell County's growth and overall prosperity were hampered somewhat by the onset of the Great Depression, it continued to be among the most populous areas of the central Ozarks, and the extension of the federal highway system, including U.S. 60 and 63, which provided direct connection to major cities like Springfield, brought a renewed surge. Despite several setbacks, such as a devastating 1928 explosion in West Plains that destroyed much of the downtown area, and a deadly 1982 tornado, it has continued to expand, nearly doubling its population since 1960.

Howell County briefly drew national attention in 2008, due to a billboard outside West Plains that drew attention to then-candidate Barack Obama's murky religious loyalties by displaying an image of him wearing a turban. Media outlets such as the Washington Post insinuated that the billboard's message was racist.

Geography

Howell County is located in the center of Missouri's southernmost tier of counties, along the border with Arkansas. It is rectangular in shape, about 38 miles in extent from north to south compared with about 24 miles from west to east. It is bordered on the northeast by Shannon County, on the east by Oregon County, on the south by the state of Arkansas, on the west by Ozark County, on the northwest by Douglas County, and on the north by Texas County.

The county has a total area of 928.37 square miles, including 927.25 of land and 1.12 of water. It is the fourth-largest county in Missouri by area. Though located within the Ozark Mountains (sometimes called the Ozarks Plateau), most of Howell County, apart from some more rugged uplands in the northwest and extreme north, is generally level, characterized in many places by rolling prairies, especially in and around West Plains. The highest elevation, about 1,560 feet above sea level, is along the Texas County line northwest of Willow Springs; the lowest elevation is about 750 feet along the Eleven Point River as it flows east into Oregon County, but most of the terrain is closer to about 1,000 feet.

There are three federal highways in the county: U.S. Route 60, which crosses its northern edge, including the cities of Mountain View and Willow Springs; Route 63, which roughly bisects it from northwest to southeast and passes through West Plains; and Route 160, which crosses west to east through its center and intersects Route 63 at West Plains. Other major highways include Missouri State Highways 14, 17, 76, and 142.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, Howell County had a total population of 40,400, with 16,192 households and 11,020 families; this represented a significant increase from its 2000 population of 37,238. The population density was 43.5 per square mile. There were 18,021 housing units, or about 19.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 96.29% White, 0.39% African-American, 0.67% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.50% from some other race, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.73% of the population.

The median age in the county was about 39.5 years. 24.91% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.38% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 23.13% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 26.47% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 17.10% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 48.4% male, 51.6% female.

As of 2018, the median household income in the county was $36,143, and the median family income was $45,010. Males had a median income of $36,910 versus $29,905 for females. The unemployment rate was 4.5%. The per capita income was $20,873. About 22.2% of the population was below the poverty line, including 30.7% of those under the age of 18 and 19.2% of those 65 years old or older.

Communities

Howell County is home to six incorporated communities, including four cities and two census-designated places (CDPs).

Cities

• Brandsville
• Mountain View
• West Plains (county seat)
• Willow Springs

CDPs

• Pomona
• South Fork

Government

Local government in Howell County is provided by the elected officials. At present, all of these positions are held by members of the Republican party.

Countywide official	Name	Party
Assessor	Daniel Franks	Republican
Circuit Clerk	Suzanne Adams	Democratic
County Clerk	Kelly Waggoner	Democratic
Collector	Dennis K. Von Allmen	Republican
Commissioner (presiding)	Mark B. Collins	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Calvin Wood	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Billy Sexton	Republican
Coroner	James T. Cherry	Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	Michael P. Hutchings	Republican
Public Administrator	John Pruett	Republican
Recorder	Jeff Brasier	Republican
Sheriff	Brent Campbell	Republican
Surveyor	Ralph L. Riggs	Republican
Treasurer	Nancy Franz	Republican

At the state level, Howell County makes up parts of two districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. The northeastern corner, including the city of Mountain View, is part of the 142nd District, which also includes all of Texas County and portions of Phelps and Pulaski Counties. It is currently represented by Bennie Cook (R-Houston), who was elected to his first term in November 2020 without opposition.

The rest of the county, including the cities of Brandsville, West Plains, and Willow Springs, comprises the 154th District. It is currently represented by David Evans (R-West Plains), who was re-elected to his second term in November 2020 without opposition.

In the Missouri State Senate, Howell County is part of the 33rd District, which also includes Douglas, Oregon, Ozark, Ripley, Texas, Webster, and Wright Counties. It is currently represented by Karla Eslinger (R-Wasola), who was elected to her first term in November 2020, defeating Democratic candidate Tammy Harty.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Karla Eslinger	Republican	64,891	83.813%
Tammy Harty	Democratic	12,533	16.187%

Eslinger roughly matched her overall total in Howell County, winning 15,213 votes to 2,935 for Harty.

At the federal level, Howell County is part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which includes most of southeast and south-central Missouri. It is represented by Jason Smith (R-Salem), who won re-election in November 2020, defeating Democrat Kathy Ellis.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Smith	Republican	253,811	76.86%
Kathy Ellis	Democratic	70,561	21.367%
Tom Schmitz	Libertarian	5,854	1.773%

Smith moderately overperformed his average margin in Howell County, winning 81.694% of the vote.

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, Howell County is among the most solidly Republican counties in the state of Missouri. It only supported the Democratic candidate in presidential elections five times in the 20th century, the last time being in 1992 when it was only narrowly carried by Bill Clinton. Since then, it has consistently voted for the GOP candidate. In 2016, Donald Trump won the county overwhelmingly with 79.59% of the vote, increasing his total to 81.29% in the 2020 election.

Like much of southern Missouri, Howell County can be included within the Bible Belt, combining social conservatism with economic populism. In 2004, it voted overwhelmingly in favor of Constitutional Amendment 2, which recognized marriage as between a man and a woman only--the measure passed in Howell County with 83.36% support. In 2006, while the state narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county decisively defeated the measure with 57.97% voting against. At the same time, it often supports economic measures that appear to favor the working and middle class, though less strongly than some other areas. In the November 2006 election, the county, like the state, supported a proposed increase in the state minimum wage, with 67.79% voting in favor, but in November 2018, a similar measure (which passed the state at large) was narrowly defeated, with 52.70% voting against. These results generally align with the rest of southern Missouri.