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Peculiar, Missouri
Sign directing travelers to Peculiar
Sign directing travelers to Peculiar
Location of Peculiar, Missouri
Location of Peculiar, Missouri
Country United States
State Missouri
County Cass
Area
 • Total 9.11 sq mi (23.59 km2)
 • Land 9.06 sq mi (23.48 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation
991 ft (302 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 4,608
 • Estimate 
(2019)
5,620
 • Density 604.30/sq mi (233.32/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
64078
Area code(s) 816
FIPS code 29-56756
GNIS feature ID 0724169

Peculiar is a city in Cass County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 4,608 at the 2010 census. The town motto is "Where the 'odds' are with you."

History

Early settlers of the town came to Western Missouri by riverboat from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Peculiar also had families coming from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. On July 29, 1868, the county surveyor, Robert Cass, platted Peculiar and was filed as "The Town of Peculiar".

There are at least two versions of the story on how Peculiar received its name. The first involves the community's first postmaster, Edgar Thomson. His first choice for a town name, "Excelsior," was 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'." Thomson submitted the name "Peculiar" and the name was approved. The post office was established on June 22, 1868.

In an alternate version, according to Missouri folklorist Margot Ford McMillen, early settlers were searching for a location to farm. As they cleared a small rise and looked below, one remarked "Well that's peculiar! It's the very place I saw in a vision back in Connecticut." The land was purchased and eventually a village sprang up on it, which was named "Peculiar".

In 1953 Peculiar was incorporated and became a fourth class city of the state of Missouri.

The city celebrated its centenary in July 1968. The celebrations continued for nine days and included an antique show and sale, a Lions Club championship rodeo, and an open class Western horse show.

Geography

Peculiar is located at 38°43′15″N 94°27′24″W / 38.72083°N 94.45667°W / 38.72083; -94.45667 (38.720896, -94.456733) at an elevation of 991 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.45 square miles (21.89 km2), of which, 8.41 square miles (21.78 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1900 104
1910 205 97.1%
1920 283 38.0%
1930 227 −19.8%
1940 206 −9.3%
1950 267 29.6%
1960 458 71.5%
1970 705 53.9%
1980 1,571 122.8%
1990 1,777 13.1%
2000 2,604 46.5%
2010 4,608 77.0%
2019 (est.) 5,478 18.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,608 people, 1,704 households, and 1,268 families living in the city. The population density was 547.9 inhabitants per square mile (211.5/km2). There were 1,816 housing units at an average density of 215.9 per square mile (83.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White, 2.0% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population.

There were 1,704 households, of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.12.

The median age in the city was 32.8 years. 29.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Education

Public education in Peculiar is administered by Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District.

Peculiar has a public library, the Peculiar Branch library.

Notable people

  • Carson Coffman, AFL player
  • Chase Coffman, NFL tight end
  • Paul Coffman, NFL player
  • Brutus Hamilton, decathlete and track and field coach

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Peculiar (Misuri) para niños

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