Waynesville, Missouri

History

Waynesville was platted in 1839. The city was named for Anthony Wayne. A post office called Waynesville has been in operation since 1834.

During the American Civil War, Waynesville was sometimes manned by units of the 5th Missouri State Militia.

Geography

Waynesville is located at 37°49′13″N 92°12′49″W (37.820218, -92.213661).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.45 square miles (16.71 km²), of which, 6.42 square miles (16.63 km²) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) is water.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,830 people, 1,894 households, and 1,252 families residing in the city. The population density was 752.3 inhabitants per square mile (290.5/km²). There were 2,088 housing units at an average density of 325.2 per square mile (125.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.6% White, 12.4% African American, 1.1% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 6.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.1% of the population.

There were 1,894 households of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.9% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the city was 32.6 years. 28% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.6% were from 25 to 44; 21.2% were from 45 to 64; and 11.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 3,507 people, 1,428 households and 922 families residing in the city. The population density was 563.3 per square mile (217.3/km²). There were 1,591 housing units at an average density of 255.6 per square mile (98.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.70% White, 10.98% African American, 0.94% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 3.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.11% of the population.

There were 1,428 households of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.

27.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median household income was $41,250 and the median family income was $46,205. Males had a median income of $31,435 versus $23,640 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,117. About 9.5% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Waynesville experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) like much of southern Missouri.

Government

Waynesville is classified a 3rd Class City with an elected mayor and city council.

As of the April 2014 election, the mayor is Luge Hardman. City Council members are Diana Stanford, Mike Curtis, Jim Mathews, Tim Mann, Ed Conley, Jerry Brown, William Paolicelli, and Mike France. The council members remained unchanged from those elected in April 2013.

Education

Fort Leonard Wood is in Pulaski County and a high percentage of military personnel live off-post in surrounding communities, especially St. Robert and Waynesville but also the farther-out cities of Richland, Crocker and Dixon, and the unincorporated communities of Laquey, Swedeborg and Devil's Elbow, all of which have a lower housing cost than closer housing in St. Robert and Waynesville. Military personnel assigned to training areas on the south end of the post sometimes choose to live in the unincorporated areas of Big Piney and Pulaski County, or the northern Texas County communities of Plato and Roby.

Seven main school districts are fully or partly within the borders of Pulaski County, not counting two small districts which are mostly within other counties and only have only a few dozen residents within Pulaski County. All seven school districts have a high percentage of Fort Leonard Wood military dependents, and over two-thirds of Waynesville students fall into that category.

The cities of Waynesville and St. Robert and the Fort Leonard Wood army installation, along with their surrounding rural areas running east to Devil's Elbow, are served by the Waynesville R-VI School District [1] which is by far the largest in the county.

Other districts serving Pulaski County include the Laquey R-V School District, Richland R-IV School District, Swedeborg R-III School District, Crocker R-II School District, and Dixon R-I School District. The Plato R-V School District is in Texas County but serves the southern portion of Pulaski County.

Registered historic places

Transportation

Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field serves the community with air service. Even though it is on Fort Leonard Wood, it is jointly run by the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert and is available for civilian use by private pilots and scheduled commercial passenger service.

The major east-west route is Interstate 44; before that, the main highway was U.S. Route 66, which still exists as a scenic route through the area and passes through Devil's Elbow, St. Robert, Waynesville, Buckhorn, and Hazelgreen. Names for U.S. Route 66 vary - at different places, it's called Teardrop Road, Highway Z, Old Route 66, Historic Route 66, and Highway 17. State-posted signs mark most of the alignment of the road.

The major north-south routes near Waynesville are:

Major attractions along U.S. Route 66 include the Old Stagecoach Stop in downtown Waynesville, which is now a museum but began as a tavern and boarding house and is the oldest standing structure in the county. It was used as a Civil War hospital for Union troops who were garrisoned above the city in Fort Wayne, which was demolished after the war. The Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Waynesville is near the Old Stagecoach Stop.

Media

Pulaski County has one daily and three weekly print newspapers, as well as an online Internet daily newspaper. The county also has two Internet discussion sites, the Pulaski County Web and Pulaski County Insider.

KFBD-FM and its AM sister station, KJPW, are the dominant news radio providers in the Pulaski County area, which includes Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville and St. Robert. These stations compete with the only other station broadcasting from Pulaski County, KFLW Radio, owned by the Lebanon Daily Record and working locally from the St. Robert offices of the Pulaski County Mirror weekly newspaper.

The Daily Guide, commonly known as the Waynesville Daily Guide (and formerly called the Gateway Daily Guide), is based in St. Robert and serves the entire county. It is owned by GateHouse Media and is the central printing plant for three other GateHouse newspapers in nearby counties, the daily Camden Lake Sun Leader and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St. James Leader-Journal.

The content of the weekly Fort Leonard Wood Guidon is produced under the auspices of Army Public Affairs at Fort Leonard Wood but printed under contract by the Springfield News-Leader, a Gannett-owned newspaper which produces and sells advertisements in the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon. The military contract to produce the Guidon was held by the Lebanon Daily Record until the end of 2002, and previously by the Waynesville Daily Guide for many years.

The weekly Pulaski County Mirror is owned by the Lebanon Daily Record, a family-owned newspaper in an adjoining county. The paper is a merger of the Richland Mirror and Pulaski County Democrat in St. Robert, which were separate weekly papers owned by the Lebanon Daily Record until their owner merged them in 2009.

The Pulaski County Daily News online newspaper is privately owned by a Waynesville resident.

The Pulaski County Insider is run and maintained by a businessman from St. Robert and hosted by a Potosi resident.

The county's other weekly paper, the Dixon Pilot, does not routinely cover Waynesville.

Film

Wanyesville appeared in Extreme Home Makeover Special Episode.

Waynesville appeared in the 17th season of The Bachelor.