Chaffee is a city in Scott County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States. The population was 3,057 at the 2020 census.

History

Chaffee was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1905, and named after Adna Chaffee, an officer in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. A post office called Chaffee has been in operation since 1905.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,955 people, 1,204 households, and 762 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,336 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.51%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 1.25% of the population. There were 1,204 households, of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age in the city was 36.4 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.8% were from 45 to 64; and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. The per capita income for the city was $20,978. About 24.4% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.9% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,044 people, 1,267 households, and 824 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,378 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.46%

, 0.07%

, 0.23% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 1.18% of the population. There were 1,267 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were

living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 85.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,076, and the median income for a family was $34,671. Males had a median income of $27,576 versus $18,873 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,554. About 12.9% of families and 16.2% 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 21.4% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Chaffee R-II School District. Chaffee R-II School District operates one elementary school and Chaffee Jr.-Sr. High School. The town has a lending library, the Chaffee Public Library. Three Rivers College's service area includes Scott County.

Economy

For many years, the town's economy was centered on

textile manufacturing Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

. Because large amounts of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

are produced by southeast Missouri farmers, and owing to the town's location near the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, it made sense to process the cotton locally. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the town's economy was devastated by factory closings. The

Columbia Sportswear The Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company that manufactures and distributes outerwear, sportswear, and footwear, as well as headgear, camping equipment, ski apparel, and outerwear accessories. It was founded in 1938 by Paul Lamf ...

factory and the Florsheim Shoe Company announced that they were idling their plants and laying off workers. Nearly 450 jobs were lost in a period of six months. This was compounded by the closure of previous factories such as the Thorngate Clothing Company, which idled its plant in 1996. Out of a population of just 3000 people, this amounted to losing over 60% of the town's employment base.

References

External links

* Historic maps of Chaffee in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

{{authority control Cities in Scott County, Missouri Cities in Missouri