Rolla, Missouri
Alternate uses: see Rolla (disambiguation). Rolla is a city in
Phelps County,
Missouri,
United States. The population was 16,367 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Phelps County.
Rolla is the home of the
University of Missouri - Rolla, part of the
University of Missouri system. It was formerly known as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy.
The first settlers in Phelps County came in the early 1800's, as farmers and iron workers along the local rivers, such as the
Meramec,
Gasconade, and the
Little Piney. The first settlement in the City of Rolla proper was the home of John Webber, built in 1844. Nine years later, railroad contractor
Edward Bishop, considered to be the founder of Rolla, settled in this area. Rolla was officially set aside as a town in 1858.
There are two stories on how the town of Rolla received its name. One, widely regarded as a folk legend, and acknowledged as such by the Phelps County Historical Society, comes from the battle to become county seat with neighboring
Dillon, Missouri. When Rolla was made the county seat in 1861, the residents of Dillon, losing the chance to be the home to the county seat, were allowed to choose the name of the new city, and named it Rolla, after a good-for-nothing hunting dog.
The other, more widely accepted story, came from a citizens' meeting. Webber preferred the name Hardscrabble, for the unfarmable clay dirt in the region, and Bishop pushed for the name Phelps Center; however, the name for the town came from new settlers originally from North Carolina, who missed their hometown of
Raleigh, but chose to spell it phonetically.
Rolla's original affiliation during the
American Civil War was
Confederate; however, the town was taken by Union forces in
June, 1861. Two minor forts were built:
Fort Wyman and
Fort Dette.
In most of its history, Rolla has served as a transportation center. Rolla was the original terminus of the
St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, colloquially known as the
Frisco Line. Today the
BNSF Railway runs directly through the town. Rolla was a major town in Missouri along
U.S. Route 66, being located almost exactly halfway between the larger towns of
St. Louis and
Springfield. Today,
Interstate 44,
U.S. Highway 63, and
Missouri State Highway 72 run through Rolla.
Source: http://www.rollachamber.org/210.html History of Rolla
 |
Location of Rolla, Missouri |
Rolla is located at (37.948831, -91.763048).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.3
km² (11.3
mi²). 29.3 km² (11.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.09% is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 16,367 people, 6,514 households, and 3,543 families residing in the city. The
population density was 559.2/km² (1,448.7/mi²). There were 7,221 housing units at an average density of 246.7/km² (639.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.2%
White, 2.92%
African American, 0.46%
Native American, 4.6%
Asian, 0.12%
Pacific Islander, 0.73% from
other races, and 1.69% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.
There were 6,514 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were
married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 25.3% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,479, and the median income for a family was $38,975. Males had a median income of $31,861 versus $19,625 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,916. About 13.8% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
*
University of Missouri - Rolla*
Phelps County, Missouri*
Geography of Missouri*
Mel Carnahan*
Robin Carnahan*
Samuel Curtis*
Sarah Steelman*
Stonehenge Replicas*
Royal Canin*
Historic Places*
City of Rolla, Missouri*
Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce*
Rolla area information
