Audrain County, Missouri


Audrain County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 25,529. Its county seat is Mexico. The county was organized December 13, 1836, and named for Colonel James Hunter Audrain of the War of 1812 and who later was elected to the state legislature.
Audrain County comprises the Mexico, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Columbia-Moberly-Mexico, MO Combined Statistical Area.

History

Audrain county was formed from a non-county area with portions under the administration of Montgomery, Callaway, Boone, Ralls, or Monroe counties at various times prior to its official establishment in 1836. Thus, records for locations now in Audrain prior to 1836 may indicate location in those counties instead. Some details have been summarized on the website of the Northeast Missouri Genealogy Village, and a dynamic map showing some of the changes is on the 'mapgeeks' website showing historical maps of the states of the USA.
Today's Audrain County historical website data indicates that the county was divided about 50/50 during the historic US Civil War and that US Army Commander General Ulysses Grant was resident there briefly during that time. While Audrain county shared some history with neighboring counties, it does not border the Missouri River.
According to some Confederate historian publications, Audrain County was one of several nearby counties settled by migrants from the Upper South, especially Kentucky and Tennessee; that some brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky such as hemp and tobacco, or brought antebellum architecture and culture; and that the county was considered by those historians to be in the heart of what was called "Little Dixie".

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Adjacent counties

At the time of the 2010 United States Census, there were 25,529 people, 9,844 households, and 6,762 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile. There were 10,881 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile. 89.8% of the population were White, 6.4% Black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 1.2% of some other race and 1.7% of two or more races. 2.6% were Hispanic or Latino. 33.2% were of German, 16.0% American, 9.3% Irish and 8.4% English ancestry.
There were 9,844 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,057, and the median income for a family was $40,448. Males had a median income of $28,550 versus $20,712 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,441. About 11.10% of families and 14.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.30% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Audrain County E-911 Joint Communications

Audrain County Joint Communications is the primary public safety answering point for Audrain County, and is responsible for handling incoming and outgoing communication from the public for assistance from law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel throughout Audrain County. Joint Communications is specifically responsible for receiving incoming 9-1-1 emergency telephone calls, and dispatching the appropriate personnel; receiving other non-emergency telephone calls and dispatching, routing, or messaging those calls to the correct personnel; entering information into, and inquiring information from the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System and the National Crime Information Center crime databases; maintaining a detailed computerized log of requests received and dispatched; and keeping current on city and county geography, so that members may assist responding personnel in locating addresses.
Joint Communications is located at 1854 East Liberty Street in Vandiver Village, and serves a coverage area of with a population of nearly 26,000 people. Staff includes 7 full-time Dispatchers, 2 part-time Dispatchers, 3 full-time Shift Supervisors, the Assistant 911 Director, and the 911 Director. There is a minimum of two Dispatchers on duty at all times to answer incoming and outgoing communications.
Upgrades to the communications equipment and computer software were made when Mexico Public Safety Dispatch and Audrain County Sheriff's Dispatch consolidated to form the Joint Communications Center in October 1999. These upgrades allowed for even better service to the county. At that time the Vandalia Police Department elected to continue to operate their communications center for the Vandalia Police Department, Vandalia Fire District, and Van-Far Ambulance District. Audrain County Joint Communications and Vandalia Communications acted as backup sites for each other, so if anything happened to one center there would be no disruption of service to the residents and visitors of Audrain County.
In February 2007, Joint Communications implemented an Emergency Medical Dispatch program utilizing the protocol-based Medical Priority Dispatch System created by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch. This program allows dispatchers to quickly and accurately determine the nature of an emergency medical call and prioritize it to allow for the most appropriate response. Joint Communications's dispatchers are trained to provide real-time instruction of CPR and other life-saving first aid while simultaneously dispatching Emergency Medical Service professionals to the emergency. This reduces the time between the onset of symptoms and when basic aid is provided to the patient, thus increasing the patient's chances of survival in life-threatening emergencies.
Another equipment upgrade was completed in March 2007. This upgrade included new 9-1-1 equipment and a new telephone and radio voice recorder. These upgrades were necessary to keep current with the latest technology available. With the new 9-1-1 system dispatchers have quicker access to a caller's telephone and address data and it introduced a mapping system to automatically plot emergency calls on a map, allowing for a faster response by emergency personnel as dispatchers previously had to look up addresses on the map manually. The new 9-1-1 system also allows for upgrades to accommodate future telephone and communications technologies. The previous 9-1-1 system was unable to process telephone number and location information from cellular telephone calls, which created a problem in determining the location of an emergency if the caller is unable to speak. The new 9-1-1 system is compatible with cellular telephone and Voice over Internet Protocol technologies, and these services will be added to the Audrain County E-911 system as they become available.
On February 15, 2008, Audrain County Joint Communications assumed the communications responsibilities for the Vandalia Police Department, Vandalia Fire District and Van-Far Ambulance District. Ralls County E-911 was designated as the backup PSAP for Audrain County Joint Communications so if anything were to happen to the Joint Communications Center there would be no disruption of service to the residents and visitors of Audrain County.
In August 2008, Joint Communications Director Chris Hardin began the process of implementing Phase II wireless service to the Audrain County E-911 system. This process was expected to take several months, but after Phase II wireless service was implemented Joint Communications would be able to locate a caller when they called 911 from a cellular telephone.
Joint Communications became Wireless Phase II with AT&T Mobility on March 3, 2009 and with US Cellular on March 16, 2009. The other cellular phone providers were expected to follow shortly.
Joint Communications became Wireless Phase II with Sprint Nextel on July 15, 2009 meaning that Joint Communications is now Wireless Phase II with all of the cellular phone providers officially serving Audrain County.

Emergency medical services

The Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, a women's prison of the Missouri Department of Corrections, is located in Vandalia and in Audrain County.

Education

Public schools

Local

State

All of Audrain County is currently included in Missouri's 43rd Legislative District and is currently represented by in the Missouri House of Representatives.
All of Audrain County is a part of Missouri's 10th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by .

Federal

Most of Audrain County is included in Missouri's 4th Congressional District and is currently represented by Vicky Hartzler in the U.S. House of Representatives. Communities in Audrain County included in the 4th District include Mexico.
Some of Audrain County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves in the U.S. House of Representatives. Communities in Audrain County included in the 6th District include Farber, Laddonia, and Vandalia.

Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008)

Cities

Audrain County is divided into eight townships: