Potosi, Missouri
Washington County Courthouse
Motto: A City for All Seasons
Location of Potosi, Missouri
Coordinates: 37°56′16″N 90°46′55″W / 37.93778, -90.78194
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Washington
Area
- Total	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²)
- Land	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	902 ft (275 m)
Population (2006)
- Total	3,662
- Density	1,218.9/sq mi (470.6/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	63664
Area code(s)	573
FIPS code	29-59330[1]
GNIS feature ID	0751729[2]

Potosi is a city in Washington County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,662 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County^[3]. The city was founded in 1799 by Moses Austin and was named after the Bolivian silver-mining city of Potosí.

Geography

Potosi is located at 37°56′16″N, 90°46′55″W (37.937881, -90.781932)^[4]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²), all of it land.

History

A lead mining settlement at this spot, Mine au Breton, was founded between 1760 and 1780 by Francis Azor, of Brittany, France. Moses Austin came here in 1798 with his family, including his son Stephen F. Austin, realizing this was the richest known lead deposit in the world. He obtained a grant of 7,153 arpents of land from the Spanish Empire and started large-scale mining operations, building his town to support it. He named the town after Potosí in Bolivia, which was famous for its vast silver mines. Austin's tomb and the foundation of his home Durham Hall can still be seen. The Potosi Correctional Center, which opened in 1989, housed Missouri's death row and the state's executions were handled at the prison until 2005. The Potosi Center conducted all but one of the 62 Missouri executions between 1989 when capital punishment was reinstated and 2005 when executions were moved 25 miles east to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri.^[5]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,662 people, 1,103 households, and 677 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,218.9 people per square mile (471.5/km²). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 554.5/sq mi (214.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.60% White, 2.14% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

There were 1,103 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $17,702, and the median income for a family was $23,958. Males had a median income of $31,548 versus $16,976 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,417. About 28.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• History of Potosi

• Potosi, Missouri is at coordinates 37°56′16″N 90°46′55″W / 37.937881, -90.781932 (Potosi, Missouri)Coordinates: 37°56′16″N 90°46′55″W / 37.937881, -90.781932 (Potosi, Missouri)

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