Peculiar, Missouri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peculiar is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,604 at the 2000 census.
Peculiar received its name in 1868 when the first postmaster Edgar Thomson had his first choice, Excelsior, rejected because it already existed in Atchison County, Missouri. Several other choices were also rejected. The story goes that the annoyed Thomson wrote to the Postmaster General himself to complain saying, among other things, "We don't care what name you give us so long as it is sort of 'peculiar'", with "peculiar" in quotation marks. Washington approved that name.
A historical plaque in the town is noteworthy. It reads, "In 1861-1864 while bloody battles raged throughout the southern states nothing happened here."
The town motto is, appropriately enough, "Where the 'odds' are with you."
[edit] Geography
Peculiar is located at (38.720896, -94.456733)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²). 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.41%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 2,604 people, 953 households, and 730 families residing in the city. The population density was 287.3/km² (744.8/mi²). There were 983 housing units at an average density of 108.4/km² (281.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.20% White, 0.27% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population.
There were 953 households out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,769, and the median income for a family was $48,534. Males had a median income of $36,921 versus $27,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,104. About 5.7% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Metropolitan area of Kansas City |  |
|---|---|
| Central City: Kansas City, Missouri Largest cities (over 100,000 in 2000): Independence • Kansas City, Kansas • Olathe • Overland Park Largest towns and villages (over 10,000 in 2000): Blue Springs • Belton • Excelsior Springs • Gladstone • Grandview • Lansing • Leawood • Leavenworth • Lee's Summit • Lenexa • Liberty •Merriam •Ottawa • Prairie Village • Raymore • Raytown • Shawnee Counties: Jackson • Clay • Cass • Platte • Lafayette • Ray • Clinton • Bates • Caldwell • Johnson • Wyandotte • Leavenworth • Miami • Franklin • Linn |
