Central Township, Perry County, Missouri

Central Township, Missouri
Civil Township
Location of Perry County
Coordinates: 37°43′51″N 89°51′45″W / 37.73088°N 89.86250°W / 37.73088; -89.86250Coordinates: 37°43′51″N 89°51′45″W / 37.73088°N 89.86250°W / 37.73088; -89.86250[1]
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Perry
Area
• Total	48 sq mi (124 km2)
• Land	48 sq mi (123 km2)
• Water	1 sq mi (1 km2)  0.81%%
GNIS Feature ID	767153

Central Township is one of the eight townships located in Perry County, Missouri, in the United States of America.

Name

Central Township is located in the central part of Perry County, and hence so named.^[2]

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) lists five townships name Central, including this one, in various counties of Missouri.

History

The first European settlers in what is now Central Township arrived in 1800 and were Kentuckians who laid down farms around The Barrens. They had called their home in Kentucky The Barrens, a term used extensively to describe land which combines some of the features of timber land and prairie, the timber being scattering and possibly stunted. The term does not indicate poor soil. Finding the topographical conditions in Perry County to resemble that of their Kentucky home, the early settlers transferred the name to this region. The Kentucky Barrens lie east of Bowling Green and the Barren River, a tributary of Green River, and Barren County near the southern border of the state. The first settlers here were Tuckers, Moores, Haydens, and Laytons. The first settlement was made in 1801 by Isadore Moore. The town site for Perryville was selected in 1822 by Robert T. Brown, Joseph Tucker, and Thomas Riney, who had been appointed to select the seat of justice for Perry County. The land was surveyed and the town platted by William McLane in 1822 on land belonging to Bernard Layton. The first Catholic Seminary west of the Mississippi River was founded here in 1818 by Bishop Du Bourg and called St. Mary's-of-the-Barrens. ^[2]

Central Township was organized in the years between 1870-1890. There is one incorporated community (Perryville, Missouri) and an unincorporated community (Friedenberg, Missouri) situated in the township.^[3]

Geography

As its name indicates, Central Township is located in the middle of Perry County, Missouri. Cinque Hommes Creek flows through the township eastward towards the Mississippi River. ^[2]

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,875 people residing in the township. The racial makeup of the township was 97.4% White, Black 0.2%, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, 0.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% from other races. ^{[4] [5]} The median age is 37.7. The US median is 37.3. 53.96% of people in Central township (Perry county), MO, are married. 9.89% are divorced. The average household size is 2.48 people. 29.97% of people are married, with children. 15.28% have children, but are single. ^{[6] [4]}

References

Municipalities and communities of Perry County, Missouri, United States
County seat: Perryville
Cities	Altenburg Frohna Perryville
Villages	Lithium Longtown
Townships	Bois Brule Brazeau Central Cinque Hommes St. Mary's Salem Saline Union
CDP	Biehle Brewer
Other unincorporated communities	Allen's Landing Apple Creek Barks Belgique Brazeau Claryville Corners Crosstown Eureka Farrar Friedenberg Highland McBride Menfro Millheim Old Appleton‡ Schalls Schumer Springs Sereno Silver Lake Uniontown Wittenberg Yount
Abandoned villages	Dresden Fenwick Settlement Friendlytown Giboney Le Grand Village Sauvage Pointrest Seelitz Seventy-Six Starlanding Tucker's Settlement
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties