Ozark Mountains

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Ozark Mountains

Ozark Mountains, Mo.: see Ozarks, the.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

or Ozark Plateau

Heavily forested highlands, south-central U.S. Extending southwest from St. Louis to the Arkansas River, they occupy an area of about 50,000 sq mi (130,000 sq km) in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and Kansas. Many of the highest peaks exceed 2,000 ft (600 m). Tourism is one of the region's chief industries. Lake of the Ozarks provides power and recreational facilities. The name Ozark probably derives from the French trading post, Aux Arc, established in the area in the 1700s.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Ozark, Alabama

Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Dale County, Alabama, United States. In 1980 the population was 12,205, and in 1990 it was 13,030. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 15,119.

Ozark along with the city of Enterprise, are principal cities of the Enterprise–Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Dale and Coffee counties.

History

The Ozark area was originally inhabited by the Creek Indians. It is said that Ozark received its name after a traveller thought it reminded him of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.

The first known European settler in Ozark was John Merrick Sr., a veteran of the Revolutionary War, in 1822. In honor of him, the town was named Merricks. It was later changed to Woodshop, which was its name when the town received its post office. The first appearance of the name Ozark was in 1855, when the citizens requested a name change.

The courthouse in Newton burned to the ground, and an election was made to find the new county seat. Ozark won, and in 1870 was incorporated.

Geography

Ozark is located at (31.448169, -85.642009). It is part of the Wiregrass Region.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.5 square miles (89.3 km²), of which, 34.2 square miles (88.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.70%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,119 people, 6,126 households, and 4,233 families residing in the city. The population density was 441.5 people per square mile (170.5/km²). There were 6,955 housing units at an average density of 203.1/sq mi (78.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.28% White, 28.30% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 2.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,126 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,330, and the median income for a family was $38,633. Males had a median income of $30,236 versus $19,564 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,984. About 14.8% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.