Jefferson City, informally Jeff City,
is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the
2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Cole County and the principal city of the
Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area
The Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties – Cole, Callaway, Moniteau, and Osage – in central Missouri anchored by the city of Jefferson ...
, the second-most-populous metropolitan area in Mid-Missouri and the fifth-largest in the state. Most of the city is in Cole County, with a small northern section extending into
Callaway County. Jefferson City is named for
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, the third
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
.
Jefferson City is located on the northern edge of the
Ozark Plateau
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant por ...
on the southern side of the
Missouri River in a region known as
Mid-Missouri, that is roughly mid-way between the state's two large urban areas of
Kansas City and
St. Louis. It is 29 miles (47 km) south of
Columbia, Missouri, and sits at the western edge of the
Missouri Rhineland, one of the major wine-producing regions of the
Midwest. The city is dominated by the domed
Capitol, which rises from a bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the north;
Lewis and Clark passed the bluff on their historic expedition upriver before Europeans established any settlement there.
Many of Jefferson City's primary employers are in service and manufacturing industries. Jefferson City is also home to
Lincoln University, a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
historically black land-grant university
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
Signed by Abraha ...
founded in 1866 by the
62nd Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops with support from the
65th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops.
History
In
pre-Columbian times, this region was home of an ancient people known only as the
"Mound Builders", being replaced by
Osage Native Americans. In the late 17th century, frontiersmen started to inhabit the area, including
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac,
Louis Jolliet,
Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...
,
Robert de LaSalle
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, and
Daniel Boone, with the latter having the greatest influence on the region. Daniel Boone's son, Daniel Morgan Boone, would later lay out Jefferson City in the early 19th century.
When the
Missouri Territory was organized in 1812,
St. Louis was Missouri's seat of government, and
St. Charles would serve as the next capital. However Jefferson City was chosen as the new capital in 1821. The village first was called "Lohman's Landing", and when the legislature decided to relocate there, they proposed the name "Missouriopolis" before settling on the city of "Jefferson" to honor Thomas Jefferson. Over the years, the city was most often referred to as "Jefferson City" and the name stuck. For years, this village was little more than a trading post located in the wilderness about midway between St. Louis and
Kansas City. In 1825, the settlement was incorporated as a city and a year later, the Missouri legislature first met in Jefferson City.
Jefferson City was chosen as the site of a state prison. This prison, named the
Missouri State Penitentiary, opened in 1836. This prison was home to multiple infamous Americans, including former heavyweight champion
Sonny Liston, assassin
James Earl Ray, and bank robber
Pretty Boy Floyd.
During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, Jefferson City was occupied by
Union troops and the elected state legislature was driven from Jefferson City by Union General
Nathaniel Lyon. Some of the legislators later reconvened in
Neosho and passed an ordinance of secession. Missouri was claimed by both the Confederacy and the Union, as was neighboring state
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. Missourians were strongly divided and many people in the state—especially in St. Louis—supported the Union, while other areas (such as Missouri's
Little Dixie) were strongly pro-
Confederate along the
Missouri River between Jefferson City and Kansas City.
German immigrants created vineyards in small towns on either side of the Missouri River, especially on the north from the city east to
Marthasville, located outside of St. Louis. Known as the "
Missouri Rhineland" for its vineyards and first established by German immigrants in the mid-1800s, this region has become part of Missouri's agricultural and tourist economy.
The city won a 2013 essay contest sponsored by
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution c ...
, and was named "Most Beautiful Small Town".
2019 tornado
Approximately 15 minutes before midnight on May 22, 2019, a tornado emergency was issued for the Jefferson City area. Minutes later, a destructive EF-3 tornado caused extensive damage on the southwest side of the city. At least 20 people were injured, but none were killed due to this tornado.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Jefferson City has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(''Dfa'') with hot, rainy summers and cold winters. The city borders on having a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
but falls just short due to January having a mean temperature of which is below the isothern.
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
s are common in both the spring and summer. Light snow is common during the winter, although about half of wintertime precipitation falls as rain.
Demographics
2010 census
At the
2010 census there were 43,079 people in 17,278 households, including 9,969 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 18,852 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 78.0% White, 16.9% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.6%.
Of the 17,278 households 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.3% were non-families. 36.2% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.89.
The age distribution was 20.9% of residents under the age of 18, 10.3% between the ages of 18 and 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% 65 or older. The median age was 37.5 years. The gender makeup of the city was 51.2% male and 48.8% female.
2000 census
At the
2000 census there were 39,636 people in 15,794 households, including 9,207 families, in the city. The population density was 1,454.4 people per square mile (561.6/km). There were 16,987 housing units at an average density of 623.3 per square mile (240.7/km). The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 81.5% White, 14.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 1.6% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race.
Of the 15,794 households 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 36.1% of households were one person and 11.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.90.
The age distribution was 20.9% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males.
The median household income was $39,628 and the median family income was $52,627. Males had a median income of $35,050 versus $25,521 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,268. About 7.3% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Jefferson City's economy is driven by its residents, citizens of surrounding communities, and tourists.
Business
Jefferson City's economy is based on the government, health care, manufacturing, retail, education, and tourism industries. In 2016, Jefferson City's gross metropolitan product was $7.366 billion and Missouri's real total gross domestic product was $260.309 billion, making Jefferson City's economy 2.829% of the total gross state product of Missouri.
Central Bancompany, Hawthorn Bancshares, Capital Region Medical Center, and Arris Pizza all have their headquarters in Jefferson City. Jefferson City is also known for Central Dairy, whose products are shipped statewide.
Tourism
Tourists are drawn to the
Missouri State Capitol
The Missouri State Capitol is the home of the Missouri General Assembly and the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, it is the third capitol to be built in the cit ...
, St. Peter Church (adjacent to the capitol),
Missouri State Penitentiary,
Missouri Governor's Mansion
The Missouri Governor's Mansion is a historic U.S. residence in Jefferson City, Missouri. It is located at 100 Madison Street. On May 21, 1969, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is located in the Missouri State C ...
, and
Missouri State Museum
The Missouri State Museum is Missouri's showpiece museum. It was founded in 1919 and is located in Jefferson City, Missouri, inside the state capitol on the ground floor of the building.
The museum's mission is to explore Missouri's history and ...
. Lincoln University, ranked by ''
U.S. News & World Report'' in 2007 as a top educational institution for international students, also helps draw students and tourists from other states and countries.
Government
State government
The
State Capitol
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
is located in Jefferson City. In addition, state agencies are headquartered in Jefferson City. The Missouri State Archives is located in Jefferson City.
The
Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) operates the
Jefferson City Correctional Center
The Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) is a maximum security prison in Jefferson City, Missouri operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections. It houses up to 1996 inmates, with a staff of 660. It is located at Jefferson City Corre ...
(JCCC) and the
Algoa Correctional Center
Algoa Correctional Center (ACC) is a minimum security prison in Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th ...
(ACC) in Jefferson City.
[ Missouri Department of Corrections. May 7, 2006. Retrieved on September 18, 2010.] JCCC replaced the
Missouri State Penitentiary on September 15, 2004, which until its closure was the oldest operating penal facility west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
. It served as the State of Missouri's primary maximum security institution,
[Lombardi, George, Richard D. Sluder, and Donald Wallace.]
The Management of Death-Sentenced Inmates: Issues, Realities, and Innovative Strategies
." Missouri Department of Corrections. 8. Retrieved on September 18, 2010. and it housed male
death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...
prisoners until April 1989, when they were moved to the
Potosi Correctional Center
Potosi Correctional Center (PCC) is a Missouri Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated Washington County, Missouri, near Mineral Point. The facility currently houses 800 death row, maximum security and high-risk male inma ...
.
Federal government
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
operates several postal facilities. The Jefferson City Main Post Office building previously shared occupancy with the U.S. District Court from its dedication in November 1934 until September 27, 2011 when it moved into the Christopher S. Bond Court House.
The 118,000-square-foot
courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
is named for the former Governor and United States Senator from Missouri. The courthouse, which is occupied by the Central Division of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and under the appellate jurisdiction of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, was designed to achieve the
U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
's
LEED Gold rating.
Sustainable design features include reducing water use by 44 percent, using 13 percent recycled content, diverting 80 percent of construction waste materials from landfills, and it is 36 percent more efficient than current energy standards.
Education
Schools
Jefferson City Public School District currently operates
Jefferson City High School and Capital City High School, two middle schools, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and Lewis and Clark Middle School, and eleven elementary schools.
In addition to public education, there are also five private elementary schools and three private high schools, including
Helias High School
Helias Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States.
History
Helias High School opened for the 1956-57 school year. This interparish Catholic school became necessary when St. Peter High ...
and Calvary Lutheran High School in the city.
Colleges and universities
Lincoln University is a public
historically black university with open enrollment and certificate, associate, bachelor, and graduate programs.
Columbia College,
William Woods University, Metro Business College, and Merrell University also have campuses in the city with varying degree levels and options.
Public library
Jefferson City has a
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
There are five fundamen ...
, the Missouri River Regional Library.
Media
Print
The major daily English-language newspaper in the area is the ''
Jefferson City News Tribune''. Several monthly magazines cover Jefferson City and/or the surrounding areas: ''Jefferson City Magazine'', ''Her Magazine'', ''Capital Lifestyles'', and ''Professional Day''.
Television
Jefferson City, along with Columbia, is part of the
Mid-Missouri television market.
KRCG
KRCG (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Jefferson City, Missouri, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Columbia–Jefferson City market. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios and transm ...
, the region's
CBS affiliate, and
KNLJ
KFDR (channel 25) is a religious television station licensed to Jefferson City, Missouri, United States, serving the Columbia–Jefferson City market as an owned-and-operated station of the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's tr ...
, a station owned by the
Christian Television Network (CTN), are both licensed to the city.
Radio
The following is a list of
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s that broadcast from and/or are
licensed to Jefferson City, Missouri.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Highways
Federal highways are
U.S. Routes 50,
54, and
63.
Missouri Routes 179 and
94 also run through the city. Jefferson City is one of the four state capitals that is not served by an
Interstate highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
;
Interstate 70 passes by the city to the north in
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
.
Airports
The city is served by
Columbia Regional Airport and nearby
Jefferson City Memorial Airport.
Public transportation
=Local transit
=
JeffTran
JeffTran is a public transit agency in Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the ...
, the city operated public transit system, provides year-round bus service during traditional weekday business hours, but is currently considering the extension of service hours to include evenings and weekends.
=Intercity transit
=
The
Jefferson City station, located in the former Union Hotel at
Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, is one of the ''
Missouri River Runner
The ''Missouri River Runner'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The eastern half of the route runs largely along the right bank of the ...
'' train stops between
Kansas City and
St. Louis, provided by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
, the sole
intercity passenger railroad service in the United States.
A
Greyhound bus stop near the Eastland Drive
Convenient Food Mart also provides intercity transit.
Jefferson City Memorial Airport, which is located in the Jefferson City limits of
Callaway County, Missouri, serves
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
but has no scheduled commercial airline service.
Healthcare
Jefferson City is home to
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital which has 154 beds.
Notable people
Sister city
Jefferson City is the sister city to the German city of
Münchberg.
Around 200 years ago, people from Münchberg created a neighborhood south of downtown Jefferson City. That's why the south of Jefferson City is called "Old Munichburg". The two city councils decided on a relationship between the two cities.
See also
*
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
– a city in Missouri near Jefferson City
*
Capital Mall
Capital Mall is a shopping mall located in Olympia, Washington. The anchor stores are REI, Total Wine & More, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Best Buy, and Century Theatres. The mall was known as Westfield Capital from 1998 to 2013, when ...
– a mall in Jefferson City
*
Cathedral of St. Joseph – a cathedral in Jefferson City
References
Further reading
*
External links
City of Jefferson government websiteJefferson City Convention and Visitor's Bureau* Historic maps of Jefferson City in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collectionat the
University of Missouri
{{Authority control
1821 establishments in Missouri
Cities in Callaway County, Missouri
Cities in Cole County, Missouri
Jefferson City metropolitan area
Cities in Missouri
County seats in Missouri
Missouri populated places on the Missouri River
Missouri Rhineland
Populated places established in 1821
State capitals in the United States