Concordia is a city in Lafayette 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 ...

, and is part of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

within the United States. The population was 2,371 at the 2020 census.

History

Concordia 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 1868. The city was named after a place mentioned in the poem " Das Lied von der Glocke" by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. A post office called Concordia has been in operation since 1865. A large share of the early settlers were Germans. Among these immigrants were ancestors of scientist

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling ( ; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. ''New Scientist'' called him one of the 20 gre ...

. In 1842, Christoph Friedrich Pauling, his wife Catharine and their daughters Rebecca and Charlotte immigrated to the United States from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, with a son being born while they were crossing the Atlantic; they travelled to "a German settlement in Concordia, Missouri", near where they farmed; a second son was born in 1844 and their third and final son, Charles Henry (grandfather of Linus Pauling) was born in 1847.

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 2,450 people, 1,002 households, and 645 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 1,131 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.7%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% 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 of any race were 2.1% of the population. There were 1,002 households, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 40.2 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.4% were from 45 to 64; and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.0% male and 54.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,360 people, 929 households, and 614 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,006 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.56%

, 0.42%

, 0.04% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 0.81% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. There were 929 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,906, and the median income for a family was $43,605. Males had a median income of $30,302 versus $20,068 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 $16,813. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% 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 14.6% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Concordia R-II School District. Concordia R-II School District operates one public elementary school and Concordia High School. St. Paul Lutheran High School, a private institution, is the only residential high school affiliated with the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

in the United States. Concordia has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

, a branch of the Trails Regional Library. Metropolitan Community College has the Concordia school district area in its service area, but not its in-district taxation area.

Arts and culture

The annual Fall Festival is held the first weekend after Labor Day, with the CCC Parade (Concordia Comical Crew) held on Friday night.

Notable people

* Dugan Ashley – creator of CarniK Con *

Kathryn Kuhlman Kathryn Kuhlman (May 9, 1907 – February 20, 1976) was an American Christian evangelist, preacher and minister who was referred to by the press as a faith healer. Early life Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman was born in 1907 near Concordia, Missouri, w ...

(9 May 1907 – 20 February 1976), Bible teacher and evangelist

References

External links

* Historic maps of Concordia 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 Lafayette County, Missouri Cities in Missouri