Napoleon, Missouri

Napoleon, Missouri
City
Location of Napoleon, Missouri Location of Napoleon, Missouri
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Lafayette
Area
• Total	1.75 sq mi (4.53 km2)
• Land	1.75 sq mi (4.53 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	748 ft (228 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	222
• Estimate (2012)	220
• Density	126.9/sq mi (49.0/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	64074
Area code(s)	816
FIPS code	29-51140
GNIS feature ID	0723115

Napoleon is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. It is located approximately 30 miles east of Kansas City. The population was 222 at the 2010 census.

History

The town was referred to as Poston's landing for some time and appears that it was a trading post before the first platting of Napoleon by William Ish in 1836. The town at the platting of Napoleon was a venture of shares by several people. There doesn't seem to be records of anyone actually owning specific land in it during this time. The state of Missouri was only 33 years old at the time of the platting of its borders. Shortly after the platting, there was a currency problem. Our Federal Government said that only coin money would be used for purchases. They didn't have enough coins in stock at the time so much business was done through exchange and barter systems. This didn't leave much room for a fledgling town to get started so, almost as fast as it appeared, it disappeared.

Dr. James Belt, a physician from Wellington, Missouri traveled through here often and finally decided to try to buy the town. During its 10 to 15 years of existence, shares were split, traded, share holders died and shares were spit between heirs and the number of people with monetary interests in Napoleon had grown from about 5 or 6 to about 15 or 20. Dr. Belt set forth buying first one person's shares and then other shares until William Ish, the founder of the town, was the last to deal with. Dr. Belt bought William Ish's shares and at that point, Dr. Belt owned the town of Napoleon, Missouri. Unfortunately all marks, for the most part were gone and he had to lay the whole town markings out again. So, he drew up a new map which was entirely different in structure and names, yet on the same ground and took it to the County seat in Lexington, Missouri and recorded it as the new town of Lisbon, Missouri. This was done in 1856. He knew most the people around the area, the money issues had settled down by then, a good portion of the English and French settlers had sold out to the German population that was immigrating into the area. The German people were stable people and made the town of Napoleon thrive. It boasted saw mills, grain mills, general stores, pharmacies, shoe cobblers, physicians, barbers, rail road station, post office, coal mining, newspaper, school, livery stable, saloons, dry goods stores and many other businesses by 1887. The main part of town sits more than 100 feet above the river.

In 1887, the town incorporated as a 4th Class City in the State of Missouri. During this time, there was a problem with a town named Lisbon and a post office named the Napoleon Post Office, so the town once again took on the name of Napoleon, Missouri. Many records of real estate bear the name Lisbon on them to this day. Napoleon had one of the better natural docking ports on the Missouri River which was used for many purposes. The Missouri River changed course in 1914 and dug into the bank of Napoleon, further embedding itself as a major port while cutting the prime bottom farm land in half north of Waterloo and leaving Wellington about a mile from the river at that point. Wellington had a former name also. It was originally called Tyre. Waterloo was a major farming community that never did incorporate but had grain mills, stores for the farmers and lakes for hunting.

There are stories that circulate claiming the names of the towns of Wellington, Waterloo & Napoleon relate to the battle of Waterloo, although there doesn't seem to be any record substantiating this.

In November 2013, Leland Ray Kolkmeyer plead guilty, in federal court, of a fraud scheme in which he embezzled more than $1.5 million from Wellington-Napoleon Fire Protection District and Special Road District while being their former treasurer.

Geography

Napoleon is located at (39.129800, -94.072099). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.75 square miles (4.53 km²), all of it land.

Napoleon lies just a few miles west of Wellington, Missouri; the two towns having been named after the commanders at the Battle of Waterloo. About halfway between the two towns lies a small, unincorporated crossroads called "Waterloo".

Napoleon, Missouri is located in the northwestern corner of Lafayette County, Missouri and bordered on the north side by the Missouri River and on the south side by U.S. Hwy 24 and on the west side by Jackson County, Missouri. It is about 40 miles east of the Kansas/Missouri line on the south side of the Missouri River and about 6 miles east of the Independence city limits as of this writing. The town measures about 2 & ½ miles east to west and about one mile north to south at its widest point.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	106		—
1900	132		24.5%
1910	146		10.6%
1920	156		6.8%
1930	131		−16.0%
1940	132		0.8%
1950	143		8.3%
1960	215		50.3%
1970	263		22.3%
1980	271		3.0%
1990	233		−14.0%
2000	208		−10.7%
2010	222		6.7%
Est. 2014	218		−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 222 people, 85 households, and 69 families residing in the city. The population density was 126.9 inhabitants per square mile (49.0/km²). There were 98 housing units at an average density of 56.0 per square mile (21.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.1% White and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 85 households of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 18.8% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.87.

The median age in the city was 43.8 years. 21.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.3% were from 25 to 44; 35.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 208 people, 86 households, and 63 families residing in the city. The population density was 119.3 people per square mile (46.2/km²). There were 99 housing units at an average density of 56.8 per square mile (22.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.71% White, 1.92% African American, 0.48% Asian, and 2.88% from two or more races.

There were 86 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 32.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 121.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,875, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $36,042 versus $23,036 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,546. About 9.0% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.