Seymour, Missouri

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Seymour is a city in Webster County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,834 at the 2000 census.

A little history of Seymour:

In the early 1960's, U.S. Highway 60 ran through the middle of town. In Missouri, Highway 60 runs from the Illinois state line near Charleston, in the bootheel, across the state to the Oklahoma state line near Neosho, on the Ozarks plateau. At that time, also, the Frisco railroad ran through town, providing both passenger and freight service to Seymour, including less-than-car-load service. The Frisco was absorbed by the Burlington Northern in 1980. The old Frisco railroad depot has long since been torn down.

In the early 1960's, most of the business district was centered around the public square. There were three major grocery stores in Seymour--White's, which was connected with a general store, and owned by Charles White; the MFA supermarket, which was part of the MFA complex (feed and agriculture, hardware and groceries); the MFA general manager was Sherman Eddings, and two of the ladies who worked in the office were Dorothy Herman and Lucille Brown; and Williams', which was owned by the Williams family, who also had a variety store. There was a feed mill, Marlin Milling, which was owned by the Marlin family. Alvin Marlin had been a paratrooper in World War II and had jumped into Normandy on D-Day. Mr. Pennington owned an Oklahoma Tire and Supply store. Paul Hunter ran the Western Auto Store. The movie theater was owned by the Owens family. The local newspaper, the "Webster County Citizen," was owned and run by Joe Stanard. Miller's cafe was on the square, as was a pool hall. Ron Durnford owned an oil company and also a service station, which was on highway 60. An independent auto garage was owned by Wilson Kale (sp?) and Donnie Fann. Joe Criswell owned and ran the local dry cleaners, which was a short way out of the main town on BB Highway.

The postmaster was Bob Nichols, whose father owned a local implement company. The Mayor was Benton George, who owned a tire recapping company. The agent for the Frisco Railroad was Virgil L. Walker, Jr. He was also a veteran of World War II, having served with the 104th Infantry Divsion in France and Germany. The medical doctor was J.R. Gill, DO. The veterinarian was Louis W. "Doc" Touchen. The librarian at the local library was Mrs. Erb. The largest church was the First Baptist Church, whose pastor was Rev. Moore. One of the pastors who served the Seymour Methodist Church during this time was Rev. August Wilm.

Dean Matney owned and ran the East Side Barber Shop on the square. George "Speedy" Owen owned the sundry store (soda fountain). Cliff Winslow owned the "Anchor Inn," a small restaurant located on highway 60. Next to it was a service station owned by George Loveland. Chuck Carter owned the local propane service.

In the schools, in 1962-63, Walter Hall was superintendent; William Guthrie, principal; in the high school, Bob Mahaffey taught vocational agriculture; Floyd Blankenship taught various science courses; Dean Blankenship taught history; Wayne Barlow taught industrial arts; Bill Halbrook taught physical education and was the coach for sports. Elementary school teachers included Claddie Nichols and Bette Durnford.

City Marshals at various points during the early 1960s time included Jack Grecian and William "Pistol Bill" Silvey. Seymour's policeman was Fred Cornelius. Seymour had public utilities. Oscar Noel was the electric utility man, while Joe Hensley oversaw the water department.

Seymour was the second largest city in Webster County at that time. It is now the third largest city, having been surpassed by Rogersville. The largest city was, and still is, Marshfield, which is the county seat of Webster County.

http://www.seymourmissouri.org

[edit] Geography

Seymour is located at 37°8′52″N, 92°46′8″W (37.147671, -92.768882)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,834 people, 711 households, and 479 families residing in the city. The population density was 270.3/km² (699.3/mi²). There were 792 housing units at an average density of 116.7/km² (302.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.29% White, 0.05% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.71% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.80% of the population.

There were 711 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,093, and the median income for a family was $30,048. Males had a median income of $25,938 versus $16,481 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,486. About 13.7% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 32.1% of those age 65 or over.