# Holt County, Missouri

Holt County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,223. Its county seat is Oregon. The county was organized February 15, 1841. Originally named Nodaway County, it was soon renamed for David Rice Holt (1803–1840), a Missouri state legislator from Platte County.

## History

The History of Holt County, Missouri from the Time of the Platte Purchase through 1916 and The History of Holt and Atchison Counties, Missouri (published 1882) are available online.
The first Post Office in Holt County opened in 1839 and was located on Thorp's Creek near Oregon. It was known as Thorp's Mill and closed in 1841.
In 1972, the Holt County Historical Society was established.
Holt County was impacted by the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods. About 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of the 95,000 acres (38,000 hectares) that flooded in spring 2019 were still underwater in late October. Some of the floodwater was expected to freeze in place over the winter.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 470 square miles (1,200 km$^2$), of which 463 square miles (1,200 km$^2$) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km$^2$) (1.6%) is water.

### Adjacent counties

* Atchison County (north)
* Nodaway County (northeast)
* Andrew County (southeast)
* Doniphan County, Kansas (south)
* Brown County, Kansas (southwest)
* Richardson County, Nebraska (west)
* Nemaha County, Nebraska (northwest)

### Major highways

* Interstate 29
* U.S. Route 59
* U.S. Route 159
* Route 111
* Route 113
* Route 118

## Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,351 people, 2,237 households, and 1,503 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (4.6 people/km$^2$). There were 2,931 housing units at an average density of 6 units per square mile (2.3/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Approximately 0.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,237 households, out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 21.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,461, and the median income for a family was $35,685. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $17,846 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,876. About 10.50% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

### 2020 Census

Holt County Racial Composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (NH) | 3,992 | 94.53% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 4 | 0.1% |
| Native American (NH) | 30 | 0.71% |
| Asian (NH) | 2 | 0.05% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 0 | 0% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 128 | 3% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 67 | 1.6% |

## Education
### Public schools

* Craig R-III School District – Craig
** Craig Elementary School (K-06)
** Craig High School (07-12)
* Mound City R-II School District – Mound City
** Mound City Elementary School (PK-04)
** Mound City Middle School (05-08)
** Mound City High School (09-12)
* Nodaway-Holt R-VII School District – Maitland and Graham
** Nodaway-Holt Elementary School (K-06)
** Nodaway-Holt Junior/Senior High School (07-12)
* South Holt County R-I School District – Oregon
** South Holt County Elementary School (K-06)
** South Holt County High School (07-12)

### Public libraries

* Mound City Public Library
* Oregon Public Library

## Points of interest

* Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (formerly Squaw Creek)
* Big Lake State Park on Big Lake
* St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Corning, Missouri)

## Communities
### Cities

* Craig
* Forest City
* Maitland
* Mound City
* Oregon (county seat)

### Villages

* Big Lake
* Bigelow
* Corning
* Fortescue

### Unincorporated communities

* Forbes
* New Point

### Extinct places

* Curzon
* Kings Grove
* Napier
* Nichols Grove
* Richville
* Whig Valley

## Notable people

* Frank McGrath - actor, born in Mound City in 1903
* Charles C. Moore - 13th Governor of Idaho; born in Holt County.
* Roger Wehrli - NFL athlete inducted into the Hall of Fame, born in New Point

## Politics
### Local

The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Holt County. Republicans hold all but one of the elected positions in the county.

### State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results :
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
| 2020 | 82.64% 1,928 | 15.47% 361 | 1.89% 44 |
| 2016 | 64.66% 1,515 | 32.14% 753 | 3.20% 75 |
| 2012 | 56.40% 1,296 | 41.60% 956 | 2.00% 46 |
| 2008 | 55.75% 1,440 | 40.53% 1,047 | 3.72% 96 |
| 2004 | 66.34% 1,776 | 32.61% 873 | 1.05% 28 |
| 2000 | 59.14% 1,563 | 39.01% 1,031 | 1.85% 49 |
| 1996 | 36.65% 1,040 | 61.63% 1,749 | 1.73% 49 |
All of Holt County is a part of Missouri's 1st District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Allen Andrews (R-Grant City).
Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2016) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Allen Andrews | 2,133 | 100.00% | +14.61 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2014) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Allen Andrews | 1,075 | 85.39% | −14.61 |
| | Democratic | Robert L. Ritterbusch | 184 | 14.61% | +14.61 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 1 — Holt County (2012) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Mike Thomson | 2,152 | 100.00% | |
All of Holt County is a part of Missouri's 12th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby).
Missouri Senate - District 12 – Holt County (2010) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Dan Hageman | 1,120 | 100.00% | |

### Federal

U.S. Senate — Missouri — Holt County (2016) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Republican | Roy Blunt | 1,614 | 69.18% | +17.84 |
| Democratic | Jason Kander | 629 | 26.96% | −15.16 |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 54 | 2.31% | −4.23 |
| Green | Johnathan McFarland | 23 | 0.99% | +0.99 |
| Constitution | Fred Ryman | 13 | 0.56% | +0.56 |
U.S. Senate — Missouri — Holt County (2012) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Todd Akin | 1,139 | 51.34% |
| Democratic | Claire McCaskill | 959 | 42.12% |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 149 | 6.54% |
All of Holt County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2016) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Republican | Sam Graves | 1,921 | 82.98% | +5.11 |
| Democratic | David M. Blackwell | 331 | 14.30% | −3.46 |
| Libertarian | Russ Lee Monchil | 44 | 1.90% | −2.46 |
| Green | Mike Diel | 19 | 0.82% | +0.82 |
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri’s 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2014) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Republican | Sam Graves | 982 | 77.87% | −3.20 |
| Democratic | Bill Hedge | 224 | 17.76% | +0.53 |
| Libertarian | Russ Lee Monchil | 55 | 4.36% | +2.66 |
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 6th Congressional District — Holt County (2012) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Sam Graves | 1,863 | 81.07% |
| Democratic | Kyle Yarber | 396 | 17.23% |
| Libertarian | Russ Lee Monchil | 39 | 1.70% |

### Political culture

United States presidential election results for Holt County, Missouri :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 1,982 | 84.13% | 357 | 15.15% | 17 | 0.72% |
| 2020 | 1,976 | 84.34% | 338 | 14.43% | 29 | 1.24% |
| 2016 | 1,926 | 81.78% | 347 | 14.73% | 82 | 3.48% |
| 2012 | 1,725 | 74.68% | 551 | 23.85% | 34 | 1.47% |
| 2008 | 1,794 | 68.14% | 802 | 30.46% | 37 | 1.41% |
| 2004 | 1,864 | 69.27% | 811 | 30.14% | 16 | 0.59% |
| 2000 | 1,738 | 65.29% | 871 | 32.72% | 53 | 1.99% |
| 1996 | 1,323 | 47.15% | 1,144 | 40.77% | 339 | 12.08% |
| 1992 | 1,202 | 39.49% | 1,050 | 34.49% | 792 | 26.02% |
| 1988 | 1,583 | 55.54% | 1,258 | 44.14% | 9 | 0.32% |
| 1984 | 2,087 | 67.04% | 1,026 | 32.96% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,993 | 62.48% | 1,119 | 35.08% | 78 | 2.45% |
| 1976 | 1,777 | 53.56% | 1,529 | 46.08% | 12 | 0.36% |
| 1972 | 2,578 | 71.83% | 1,011 | 28.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 2,031 | 56.09% | 1,211 | 33.44% | 379 | 10.47% |
| 1964 | 1,726 | 47.98% | 1,871 | 52.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 2,720 | 63.69% | 1,551 | 36.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,888 | 62.77% | 1,713 | 37.23% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 3,476 | 69.73% | 1,487 | 29.83% | 22 | 0.44% |
| 1948 | 2,607 | 56.05% | 2,040 | 43.86% | 4 | 0.09% |
| 1944 | 3,152 | 63.73% | 1,785 | 36.09% | 9 | 0.18% |
| 1940 | 3,739 | 58.22% | 2,677 | 41.68% | 6 | 0.09% |
| 1936 | 3,409 | 52.45% | 3,076 | 47.33% | 14 | 0.22% |
| 1932 | 2,253 | 41.77% | 3,117 | 57.79% | 24 | 0.44% |
| 1928 | 3,845 | 66.57% | 1,919 | 33.22% | 12 | 0.21% |
| 1924 | 3,316 | 57.98% | 2,255 | 39.43% | 148 | 2.59% |
| 1920 | 4,153 | 63.35% | 2,329 | 35.52% | 74 | 1.13% |
| 1916 | 2,030 | 55.01% | 1,615 | 43.77% | 45 | 1.22% |
| 1912 | 1,522 | 41.22% | 1,519 | 41.14% | 651 | 17.63% |
| 1908 | 2,246 | 57.62% | 1,596 | 40.94% | 56 | 1.44% |
| 1904 | 2,208 | 61.47% | 1,277 | 35.55% | 107 | 2.98% |
| 1900 | 2,292 | 54.91% | 1,765 | 42.29% | 117 | 2.80% |
| 1896 | 2,397 | 53.44% | 2,036 | 45.40% | 52 | 1.16% |
| 1892 | 1,899 | 51.58% | 1,427 | 38.76% | 356 | 9.67% |
| 1888 | 1,831 | 54.00% | 1,433 | 42.26% | 127 | 3.75% |

### Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

U.S. Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 283, than any candidate from either party in Holt County during the 2008 presidential primary.