Knob Noster is a city in Johnson 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 2,782 at the 2020 census. It is located adjacent to and closely associated with

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for Geor ...

. Knob Noster State Park is nearby.

History

Knob Noster 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 1856. The community, in the eastern part of Washington Township, was laid out in 1856 by William A. Wortham, and incorporated by act of legislature December 14, 1859. All authorities agree that the name is connected with the prominent mound or knob (or knobs) that stand isolated on the prairie near the town. The second part of the name is said to have been suggested by a school teacher, but its origin is uncertain. Surveyor and educator David Wolfe Eaton derived it from the Latin, interpreting the whole name as "Our Knobs". The town was removed to its present site when the Pacific Railroad was built. A post office has been in operation in Knob Noster since 1846.

Geography

Knob Noster is located along

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

approximately nine miles east of Warrensburg. Knob Noster State Park lies to the southwest along

Missouri Route 23 Route 23 is a highway in central Missouri. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most ...

and

lies directly south about one mile. 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 2,709 people, 1,147 households, and 675 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 1,347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.0%

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 ...

, 9.1%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.7%

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 ...

, 2.2% from other races, and 4.2% 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 6.8% of the population. There were 1,147 households, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% 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 3.03. The median age in the city was 27.1 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 18.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.3% were from 25 to 44; 20.1% were from 45 to 64; and 7.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,462 people, 959 households, and 602 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,092 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.61% White, 11.86% African American, 0.93% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.49% Pacific Islander, 10.32% from other races, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic of any race were 15.07% of the population. There were 959 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 19.3% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,869, and the median income for a family was $36,842. Males had a median income of $22,176 versus $19,327 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,702. About 13.4% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Knob Noster R-VIII School District operates two elementary schools, one middle school, and Knob Noster High School. Knob Noster 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.

In popular culture

Knob Noster was mentioned in the 1983 American

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

The Day After ''The Day After'' is a 1983 American television film directed by Nicholas Meyer. The war film postulates a fictional conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact over Germany that rapidly escalates into a full-scale nuclear exchange between the ...

''.

References

External links

City of Knob NosterKnob Noster Cemetery Association
* Historic maps of Knob Noster 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 Johnson County, Missouri Cities in Missouri