Cameron, Missouri
Olde Town Cameron
Location of Cameron, Missouri
U.S. Census Map
Coordinates: 39°44′35″N 94°14′26″W / 39.74306, -94.24056
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Counties	Clinton, DeKalb
Area
- Total	5.4 sq mi (13.9 km²)
- Land	5.3 sq mi (13.8 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	1,033 ft (315 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	8,312
- Density	1,560.6/sq mi (602.6/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	64429
Area code(s)	816
FIPS code	29-10828[1]
GNIS feature ID	0766153[2]

Historic Cameron depot - the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in the "Cameron Cutoff" built the Hannibal Bridge across the Missouri River resulting in Kansas City, Missouri becoming the biggest city in the region.

Cameron is a city in Clinton and DeKalb Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 8,312 at the 2000 census.

History

One of the first settlers was Isaac Baldwin in 1830 who, according to town history, operated a “house of entertainment� in the community and sold whiskey for 25 cents a gallon and for $20 would take people 40 miles to St. Joseph, Missouri in 48 hours.^[3]

The town was between the second and third largest cities in Missouri prior to the American Civil War. The route connecting them was called the "Hound Dog Trail."

Another event during the pre-Civil War period has made it into a major stopping point of Mormons visiting historical sites of the early era of the church including New West 10 miles to the south, where church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. surrendered after the Hauns Mill Massacre 10 miles to the east during the Mormon War.

In 1854 Samuel McCorkle platted the town of Somerville. When the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad (a line whose founders included the father of Mark Twain and which was to deliver the first mail of the Pony Express) proposed coming through the area, the line said the area around Somerville was too steep for the rail so he platted a new community a 1.5 miles to the west in what is now "Olde Towne" Cameron. The town platted in 1855 was named for maiden name of his wife Malinda Cameron. McCorkle Park is still Cameron's centerpiece park.

During the 1860s as fierce competition raged for the starting point of the First Transcontinental Railroad there was competition to get the Hannibal & St. Joseph (which at the time was the furtherest west railroad connected to the main rail network) to cross the Missouri River. Omaha, Nebraska was to win the fight when the Union Pacific started the railroad west from there. However there was no bridge connecting it to the rest of the network.

Kansas City, Missouri was able to convince the railroad to bypass its rivals in St. Joseph, Leavenworth, Kansas, Atchison, Kansas and Parkville, Missouri to create the "Cameron Branch" of the railroad. The construction of the Hannibal Bridge in Kansas City (which was to beat Omaha in any bids to cross the Missouri) was to propel that city into being the dominant city in the region.

Cameron was to enjoy a surge in its population because of the cutoff with its population growing from 100 in 1859 to 3,000 by 1881.

Cameron was a college town from 1883 until 1930. Founded as the Cameron Institute it became Missouri Wesleyan College operated by the Methodist Church until 1930. A building on the campus would be the Cameron High School Dragons until being torn down in the 1960s.

Cameron gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s after Cameron Bob Griffin served more than 15 years as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives -- the longest of any reprentative. Among the pork barrel legislation he was to bring to the town is the Missouri Veterans Home and the Western Missouri Correctional Center which is the city's biggest employer with 700 employees. A street in the town is named "Bob Griffin Road." Griffin eventually served four years for corruption.

Cameron's character has evolved with the intersection of limited access highways. It has expanded to the north towards U.S. Route 36 (which in 2007 was proposed to be part of Interstate 72 in Missouri. It expanded to the west towards Interstate 35.

Geography

Cameron is located at 39°44′35″N, 94°14′26″W (39.742998, -94.240418)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.9 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.56%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 8,312 people, 2,263 households, and 1,434 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,560.6 people per square mile (602.1/km²). There were 2,540 housing units at an average density of 476.9/sq mi (184.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.90% White, 12.64% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 2,263 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 40.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 171.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 189.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,136, and the median income for a family was $40,540. Males had a median income of $29,529 versus $19,777 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,375. About 9.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Highways

• Interstate 35, exits 52 and 54
• U.S. Route 36
• U.S. Route 69

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ Economic History of Cameron: Hound Dog Trail - cameron-mo.com - Retrieved November 15, 2007
4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• City of Cameron
• Cameron R-1 School District

• Cameron, Missouri is at coordinates 39°44′35″N 94°14′26″W / 39.742998, -94.240418 (Cameron, Missouri)Coordinates: 39°44′35″N 94°14′26″W / 39.742998, -94.240418 (Cameron, Missouri)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Clinton County, Missouri
County seat: Plattsburg
Cities	Cameron | Gower | Holt | Lathrop | Osborn | Plattsburg | Trimble
Village	Turney
Townships	Atchison | Clinton | Concord | Hardin | Jackson | Lafayette | Lathrop | Platte | Shoal

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of DeKalb County, Missouri
County seat: Maysville
Cities	Clarksdale | Maysville | Osborn | Stewartsville | Union Star
Villages	Amity | Weatherby
Townships	Adams | Camden | Colfax | Dallas | Grand River | Grant | Polk | Sherman | Washington
Unincorporated community	Fairport