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Lincoln County,
Missouri, with a population of 45,618, sits north of Warren
and St.
Charles Counties. The Mississippi
River defines the eastern border, and its land mass
encompasses 630 square miles. The county is one of the fastest
growing in the country, with a population that increased by more
than 17.6 percent from 2000 to 2004, as reported in the 2004
U.S. Census Bureau report. This followed a major growth
period with a 34.8% increase between 1990 and 2000. It remains
the fastest growing county in the state of Missouri. Lincoln
County’s most populous city and county seat is Troy,
MO.
Per capita income in Lincoln County was $17,149 in 1999, with
a median household income of $42,592. Manufacturing and service
industries are major employers in the county. The top three
employers are Bodine
Aluminum Manufacturing, Wal-Mart
Stores and the Lincoln County Public School/County
Government employees. When comparing total population to number
of resident employees, Lincoln County is easily one of the
premier suburban commuter bedroom communities feeding the St.
Louis market.
Lincoln County is home to one of the state’s largest and
most rugged parks. Cuivre
River State Park lends a wild Ozark flavor to an otherwise
predominately agricultural landscape of northern Missouri. This
6,394-acre anomaly contains ridges, hollows, gravel bottom
streams, and bluff overlooks common to the Ozarks in the
southern part of MO. Found here are many plants and animals that
live nowhere else in northern Missouri. Civilian Conservation
Corps and Works Progress Administration construction programs in
the 1930’s helped turn this area into a State Park in 1946.
Approximately 12 miles east of Cuivre River Park and in the
middle of the Mississippi River, lies the 45,000-acre Mark
Twain National Wildlife Refuge. While the entire refuge
divides into five sites across three states, Lincoln County is
home to the main site and management area. Picnic areas and
park-like settings for sports and family fun abound in Lincoln
County. Fairgrounds
Park is the largest, having covered pavilions with kitchen
facilities, lighted ball fields, two soccer fields and a sand
volleyball court. Others in the area include the Avery Family
Playground, Weinand Park and Woods Fort. Residents ride ATVs and
motorcycles at the Proving Grounds Race Track, a recent addition
to the Troy area. Lincoln County hosts a Blue
Ribbon Fair every July.
Lincoln County, Missouri Board
of Education administers 9 elementary schools, 4 middle
schools and 5 high schools. The City of Troy maintains some
independent status from the county system, but shares major
funding and grants. The Troy
Buchannan High School has the largest enrollment in the
county; second largest is their Middle school, the Troy
Middle school. Both are award
winning and innovative schools in their county as well as at
the state level.
Lincoln County, MO is a progressive area, which takes full
advantage of the convergence of rural and urban lifestyles. The
on-line weekly newspaper, County
Mirror, provides a shining example.
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