| County: | Washington County |
| State: | Missouri |
| Founded Year: | 1813 |
| Founded Date: | August 21 |
| Seat Wl: | Potosi |
| Largest City Wl: | Potosi |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 762 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 760 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 2.6 |
| Area Percentage: | 0.3 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 23514 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Central |
| Web: | http://www.washingtoncountymo.us/ |
| Ex Image: | Potossi-courthouse enh.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | The Washington County Courthouse in Potosi |
| District: | 8th |
Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 23,514.[1] The county seat and largest city is Potosi.[2] The county was officially organized on August 21, 1813, and was named in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States.[3]
The French explorers Renault and La Motte entered the area of present-day Potosi in 1722–23. However, no permanent settlements were made until 1763, when François Breton settled near Potosi and began to operate a mine bearing his name. The Bellview Valley, near Caledonia and Belgrade, was settled in 1802 by the families of William and Helen Watson Reed, their sons, Robert, Joseph, and Thomas Reed, William Reed's brother and nephew, Joseph and William Reed, Annanias McCoy, and Benjamin Crow. Washington County was officially organized on August 21, 1813, out of Ste. Genevieve County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.3%) is water.[4]
| Largest ancestries (2000) | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
American  | 19.8% | |
French  | 15.6% | |
German  | 10.4% | |
Irish  | 9.6% | |
| 5.9% |
There were 8,406 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.60% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 106.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,001, and the median income for a family was $38,193. Males had a median income of $27,871 versus $18,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,095. About 17.10% of families and 20.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.40% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or older.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Washington County is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Washington County who adhere to a religion are Roman Catholics (36.73%), Southern Baptists (21.74%), and Baptist Missionary Association of America (16.86%).
| White (NH) | 21,378 | 91% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 610 | 2.6% | |
| Native American (NH) | 78 | 0.33% | |
| Asian (NH) | 40 | 0.17% | |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 1 | 0.004% | |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 1,180 | 5% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 227 | 0.97% |
Republicans hold a sizeable majority of the elected positions in the county.
Washington County is divided into three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives.
All of Washington County is a part of Missouri's 3rd District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Elaine Gannon (R-De Soto).
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 75.34% 7,442 | 21.47% 2,121 | 3.19% 315 | |
| 2016 | 61.34% 5,681 | 33.91% 3,141 | 4.75% 440 | |
| 2012 | 42.25% 3,697 | 55.12% 4,823 | 2.63% 230 | |
| 2008 | 31.08% 2,993 | 67.05% 6,456 | 1.87% 180 | |
| 2004 | 50.37% 4,622 | 47.87% 4,393 | 1.76% 162 | |
| 2000 | 42.93% 3,536 | 49.90% 4,110 | 7.17% 591 | |
| 1996 | 39.69% 3,097 | 57.77% 4,508 | 2.54% 198 | |
| 1992 | 39.60% 3,049 | 60.40% 4,851 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1988 | 57.19% 3,978 | 42.64% 2,966 | 0.17% 12 | |
| 1984 | 51.46% 3,460 | 48.54% 3,264 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1980 | 50.52% 3,278 | 49.35% 3,202 | 0.12% 8 | |
| 1976 | 47.00% 2,855 | 52.84% 3,210 | 0.16% 10 |
Washington County is included in Missouri's 8th Congressional District and is currently represented by Jason T. Smith (R-Salem) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau). Emerson announced her resignation a month after being reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in the district. She resigned to become CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative.
Washington County is one of only two counties, alongside Webster County, West Virginia, to be carried by Barack Obama in either of his runs and still give Donald Trump over 80% of the vote in 2020.
At the presidential level, Washington County was a fairly independent-leaning or battleground county for many years, however, it has voted increasingly more Republican in recent elections. While George W. Bush carried Washington County in 2004, he narrowly lost the county to Al Gore in 2000, and both times the margins of victory were significantly closer than in many of the other rural areas. Bill Clinton also carried Washington County both times in 1992 and 1996 by convincing double-digit margins, and unlike most of the other rural counties in Missouri, Washington County was one of only nine counties in Missouri that favored Barack Obama over John McCain. Obama won Washington County by just five votes in the 2008 election.
Like most rural areas throughout Missouri, voters in Washington County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles but are more moderate or populist on economic issues, typical of the Dixiecrat philosophy. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Washington County with 81.37 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Washington County with 56.48 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Washington County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Washington County with 81.47 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. In 2018, Washington County rejected Proposition A which would have made Missouri a right-to-work state with 82.1 percent of the vote.
See main article: 2008 Missouri Democratic presidential primary and 2008 Missouri Republican presidential primary. In the 2008 presidential primary, voters in Washington County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.
Former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 2,345, than any candidate from either party in Washington County during the 2008 presidential primary. She also received more votes, almost double, than the total number of votes cast in the entire Republican Primary in Washington County. Washington County was Clinton's fifth strongest county in Missouri; she only did better in Dunklin, Wayne, Carter and Ripley counties.
Among adults 25 years of age and older in Washington County, 62.5% possess a high school diploma or higher, while 7.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.
The Potosi Correctional Center of the Missouri Department of Corrections is located in an unincorporated area in the county.[8] The prison houses male death row inmates.[9]
Washington County Ambulance District. Administrator – Justin Duncan
Washington County Sheriff's Office
Potosi Police Department
Missouri Department of Conservation
United States Forestry Service