High Ridge, Missouri

Not to be confused with Highridge.

High Ridge, Missouri
CDP
Location of High Ridge, Missouri Location of High Ridge, Missouri
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Jefferson
Area
• Total	4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2)
• Land	4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	927 ft (283 m)
Population (July 2007)
• Total	4,598
• Density	1,149.5/sq mi (446.4/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	63049
Area code(s)	636
FIPS code	29-32140
GNIS feature ID	0736305

High Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,598 in the 2007 estimated census. It was 4,236 at the 2000 census. At 927 feet (283 m) above sea level, High Ridge is the second-highest point in Jefferson County, second only to Sun Ridge, north of Hillsboro according to data from the House Springs/Hillsboro 7.5 minute topographic quadrangles. It is home to Olympic triathlete Sarah Haskins, who competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. High Ridge houses Beaumont Scout Reservation, a property of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Geography

High Ridge is located at (38.465787, -90.527517). High Ridge is a nine-armed local topographic high capped with the Bushberg Sandstone, and part of the Burlington Escarpment. High point of the ridge is located near the Senior Center just north of High Ridge Boulevard, (old Gravois/Missouri Highway 30.) Flowing off this topographic high are Antire Creek, Rock Creek, Williams Creek, Saline Creek, Sugar Creek, Romaine Creek and lesser streams. It is bounded on one side by the Big River and the other by the Meramec River. The ridge is very cherty, and poor for conventional farming, hence the area became known for fruit trees, strawberries, blackberries and truck farm produce which were sold in St. Louis.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km²), all of it land.

History

High Ridge was first used by humans approximately 10,000 years ago as a source for flint and chert, which it has in copious abundance, due to the exposures of the Burlington formation, which is approximately 10–30% composed of this rock. Evidence of flint quarries remains at nearby Crescent, just off the Antire arm of the ridge. In more recent times it appears to have been used largely as a hunting, not residential area. A Clovis point arrowhead was found in 1978 along the Saline arm of the ridge, where it slopes to the Meramec Valley on the northeast.(Cf: newspaper morgue: Meramec Community Press.)

White settlement in the region commenced in the 1790s at Fenton, and 1801 at House Springs to the southwest, but the first settlement of record on the ridge was by Thomas Maddox, who died and was buried along High Ridge Blvd, in 1848. The first post office was established in 1856. In 1860 the post office name was changed to Tallow Hill; it reverted to High Ridge in 1861. The settlement boasted a store, saloon and boarding house almost from the beginning—its location one day's wagon ride from Affton and two days' ride from downtown St. Louis made it a convenient evening stopover. Settlers were primarily northern European Americans: principally Germans, English and Irish. (cf: Along Old Gravois by Della Lang and the community library association, 120 pp. 1983.)

In 1880, many of the core businesses of the town were purchased by William Brackmann, whose brother assumed duty as postmaster. Some effort was made to rename the town to Brackmann, and indeed, some postmarks came out that way, but other town interests eventually prevailed against a town name change. From the 1880s until the 1940s, High Ridge served as the mercantile, social and church center for the surrounding countryside of small farmers. After WWII, the area, just over the Jefferson County line in an area of lower taxes and fewer government regulations, experienced the suburban tract home building boom which changed the character of the area from rural to outer fringe suburban. Suburban development continues today. (cf: Along Old Gravois by Della Lang and the community library association, 120 pp. 1983.)

High Ridge is unincorporated, despite several attempts from the 1960s forward to form a city. Northeast Jefferson County, including High Ridge, has been cited by University of Missouri geography professor emeritus Walter F. Schroeder as a "grand experiment" in governance by taxing districts, in which functions normally performed by a municipality (fire, sewer, ambulance, and water) are instead controlled by elected district trustees, with other functions (police, planning and zoning, roads, real estate matters) left to county-wide ordinance, with the tradeoff being lower taxes than an incorporated region. This "experiment" was not planned, but is a result of the reluctance of long-time residents in the face of urbanization, and the antipathy of post-WWII and post-Korea settlers against the large urban governments from which most came. (cf: county records of Jefferson County, Missouri.)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,236 people, 1,556 households, and 1,145 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,061.0 people per square mile (409.9/km²). There were 1,609 housing units at an average density of 403.0/sq mi (155.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.78% White, 0.31% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.

There were 1,556 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% 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 3.13.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $46,742, and the median income for a family was $50,125. Males had a median income of $36,053 versus $27,394 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,959. About 4.7% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Bill Alter, Missouri State Senator
• Michael Chandler, professional MMA fighter, NCAA wrestling All American (University of Missouri)
• Sarah Haskins, Olympic triathlete