Jefferson City: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Jefferson City School District elementary schools offer instruction in language arts, social studies, science, math, fine arts, and physical education. Two middle schools, identical in physical design, feature innovative curriculums for grades 6-8. All ninth graders attend the Simonsen Center; in tenth grade, the students transfer to Jefferson City High School. High school students may also opt to enroll in classes offered by Nichols Career Center, which offers classes in a variety of vocational areas.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Jefferson City public school system as of the 2002–2003 school year.

Total enrollment: 8,338

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 11

junior high/middle schools: 2

senior high schools: 1

Student/teacher ratio: 14.5:1

Teacher salaries

average: $41,062

Funding per pupil: $6,095

Jefferson City is home to 10 private schools. The largest of these is Helias Interparish High School, which enrolls about 900 students from three local Catholic parishes. Emphasis at Helias is placed on a four-year program in math, science, English, social studies, and foreign language. Courses are taught in computer applications with computer assisted instruction in other courses.

Public Schools Information: Jefferson City Public Schools, 315 E. Dunklin St., Jefferson City, MO 65101; telephone (573)659-3000

Colleges and Universities

Lincoln University, founded in 1866 by African American Civil War veterans, has changed over time from an African American university to a major coeducational state university with a multi-ethnic student body. The university offers undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences, as well as accounting, business administration, public administration, marketing, business education, economics, computer science, technology, military science, and agribusiness. Graduate programs are available in business, education, and social science.

Libraries and Research Centers

Jefferson City is served by the Missouri River Regional Library, which has nearly 200,000 volumes and approximately 400 periodical subscriptions. The library has special collections on local and state history. The system has one branch and two bookmobiles.

The Missouri State Library has special collections on health and education policy issues, human service, legislative reference, public finance, and state government. The Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, featuring braille and large-type books, has holdings of 321,832 volumes and 70 periodical subscriptions. Other state libraries located in the city are the Missouri Committee on Legislative Research, with 5,200 volumes and 125 periodical subscriptions; the Missouri Department of Corrections Libraries, with more than 100,000 book titles; the Missouri Supreme Court Library, which has more than 110,000 volumes; and the Office of the Secretary of State, Missouri State Archives, which has 12,500 volumes.

Other local libraries include Lincoln University's Inman E. Page Library, which has nearly 180,000 volumes, and special collections on ethnic studies, and the library of the Cole County Historical Society, which has special collections on oral history.

Lincoln University's Cooperative Research Program conducts studies in agricultural science, nutrition, and environmental science.

Public Library Information: Missouri River Regional Library, 214 Adams St., Jefferson City, MO 65102; telephone (573)634-2464; fax (573)634-7028

Jefferson City: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

The Jefferson City Post Tribune is published weekday afternoons; the Daily Capital News is published Tuesday through Saturday mornings, and the Sunday News Tribune is a combination of both publications.

The Catholic Missourian is the official newspaper of the Diocese of Jefferson City, while Word and Way is a religious tabloid published by the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Local magazines include the Journal of the Missouri Bar, Rural Missouri, Missouri Municipal Review, Missouri Conservationist, The Missouri Engineer, The Missouri Nurse, Missouri Pharmacist, Missouri Wildlife, and Show Me Missouri Farm Bureau News. Also published in Jefferson City are Something Better, an education magazine, and MLPGA News, a magazine for the gas industry. Locally produced journals include Focus MDA, a dental journal, and Missouri Medicine, a journal reporting on the interests of medical and public health professionals.

Television and Radio

Local radio stations include an FM oldies station, an FM jazz and urban contemporary station, an FM top 40 station, an FM country station, and an AM news and talk station. There are ABC, CBS and NBC-affiliated television stations in the city.

Media Information: Jefferson City News & Tribune, PO Box 420, Jefferson City, MO 65102; telephone (573)636-3131

Jefferson City Online

City of Jefferson City home page. Available www.jeffcity.com/cityclerk

Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce. Available www.jcchamber.org

Jefferson City Convention & Visitors Bureau. Available www.visitjeffersoncity.com/default.htm

Jefferson City Public Schools. Available www.jcps.k12.mo.us

Missouri River Regional Library. Available www.mrrl.org

News Tribune. Available www.newstribune.com

Selected Bibliography

Digges, Deborah, Fugitive Spring: A Memoir (New York: Vintage Books, 1993)

Ford, James E., History of Jefferson City, Missouri's State Capital and of Cole County (Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1994)

Young, Robert Emmett, Pioneers of High, Water, and Main: Reflections of Jefferson City (Jefferson City, MO: Twelfth State, 1997)

Jefferson City: Population Profile

Cole County Population

1980: 56,663

1990: 63,579

2000: 71,397

Percent change, 1990–2000: 12.3%

U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported

U.S. rank in 2000: 693rd

City Residents

1980: 33,619

1990: 35,481

2000: 39,636

2003 estimate: 37,550

Percent change, 1990–2000: 10.8%

U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported

U.S. rank in 2000: (State rank: 15th)

Density: 1,454.4 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 32,303

Black or African American: 5,828

American Indian and Alaska Native: 150

Asian: 488

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 20

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 616

Other: 847

Percent of residents born in state: 71.7%

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 2,314

Population 5 to 9 years old: 2,210

Population 10 to 14 years old: 2,295

Population 15 to 19 years old: 2,705

Population 20 to 24 years old: 3,133

Population 25 to 34 years old: 6,202

Population 35 to 44 years old: 6,518

Population 45 to 54 years old: 5,613

Population 55 to 59 years old: 1,766

Population 60 to 64 years old: 1,337

Population 65 to 74 years old: 2,646

Population 75 to 84 years old: 2,023

Population 85 years and older: 874

Median age: 36.5 years (2000)

Births (2003, Cole County)

Total number: 963

Deaths (2003, Cole County)

Total number: 584 (of which, 2 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $21,268

Median household income: $39,628

Total households: 15,870

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 1,488

$10,000 to $14,999: 1,034

$15,000 to $24,999: 2,329

$25,000 to $34,999: 2,189

$35,000 to $49,999: 2,628

$50,000 to $74,999: 3,212

$75,000 to $99,999: 1,725

$100,000 to $149,999: 839

$150,000 to $99,999: 142

$200,000 or more: 284

Percent of families below poverty level: 7.2% (30.6% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: Not reported

Jefferson City

The City in Brief

Founded: 1823 (incorporated 1825)

Head Official: Mayor John Landwehr (since 2003)

City Population

1980: 33,619

1990: 35,481

2000: 39,636

2003 estimate: 37,550

Percent change, 1990–2000: 10.8%

U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported

U.S. rank in 2000: (State rank: 15th)

County Population (Cole County)

1980: 56,663

1990: 63,579

2000: 71,397

Percent change, 1990–2000: 12.3%

U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported

U.S. rank in 2000: 693rd

Area: 27.3 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 702 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 54.4° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 38.43 inches of rain; 23.5 inches of snow

Major Economic Sectors: Government, trade, services

Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (February 2005)

Per Capita Income: $21,268 (1999)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: Not reported

Major Colleges and Universities: Lincoln University, Columbia College-Jefferson City

Daily Newspaper: Daily Capital News, Jefferson City Post Tribune

Jefferson City: Health Care

Capital Region Medical Center is a 100-bed facility affiliated with the University of Missouri Health Sciences System. The affiliation combines the strengths of an academic medical center with the strengths of a community-based hospital. Capital Region offers prenatal and maternity services, an inpatient rehabilitation center, advanced cardiac and oncology services, and ambulance service. An expansion of the hospital is slated for completion by the end of 2005; its major component will be the addition of 44 private in-patient rooms. In addition to being a full-service hospital, the center operates an extensive clinic system from urgent care centers to specialty physician practices. St. Mary's Health Center is a faith-based, full-service hospital, with 167 beds, extensive cardiology and open-heart surgery, a maternal and child care center, an oncology center, and a network of primary care clinics. Also at St. Mary's is Villa Marie Skilled Nursing Facility, a 120-bed facility offering intermediary and skilled nursing care as well as a complete rehabilitation program.

Health Care Information: Capital Region Medical Center, 1125 Madison Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101; telephone (573)632-5000

Jefferson City: Transportation

Approaching the City

Jefferson City is located at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 54 and 63, which run north and south, and U.S. Highway 50, which runs east and west. Columbia Regional Airport, about twelve miles north of downtown, has commuter air carrier service. The airport shuttle offers trips downtown, and taxi service is also available. Amtrak offers train transportation to the city and bus service is provided by Sho-Me Coach Lines.

Traveling in the City

Highway 50/63 runs east and west through the city just two blocks south of the State Capitol Building; in town it is known as the Whitton Expressway. Highway 54, known as Christy Lane, runs north to Fulton and south to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Downtown, West Main Street and East Capitol Avenue run directly to the Missouri Capitol Building. Jefferson City is served by Jefferson City Transit's JEFFTRAN bus line.

Jefferson City: Municipal Government

Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri and the seat of Cole County. The city itself has a mayor-council form of government; there are ten councilmen, each of whom serves a two-year term and may be elected to serve a total of up to eight years. The mayor serves for four years and may be re-elected for a second term.

Head Official: Mayor John Landwehr (since 2003; current term expires 2007)

Total Number of City Employees: 387 (2005)

City Information: Mayor's Office, City of Jefferson City, 231 Madison Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101; telephone (573)634-6304

Jefferson City: Introduction

Jefferson City, the seat of Cole County, is named after the esteemed third president of the United States. It is a genteel, conservative city full of charming and refurbished old homes. The Missouri State Capitol building, reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol, stands grandly at the center of this planned city, which serves as a center for midwestern trade. Visitors view its many historic structures while enjoying the friendly, easygoing family atmosphere the city offers.