Camden

Formed January 29, 1841 (68th county)

Camden County (42,746), Camdenton (3,966), Osage Beach (4,688)

The yellow brick and masonry Art Deco structure was built in 1931.  The building sits on a circle named Court Circle at the intersection of Missouri State Highway 5 and United States Highway 54.  Victor J. DeFoe is the architect.  A Justice Center was added in 1999.  Erie had the first 1843 courthouse, then Linn Creek had 1867 and 1906 courthouses, with the current courthouse supporting the county seat move to Camdenton in 1930.  The county was organized on January 29, 1841 from parts of Benton and Pulaski counties as the 68th county.  The county and county seat are named for Charles Pratt, First Earl of Camden. 

Camden County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Three Circuit Court Judges serve Camden, Laclede, Miller, Moniteau, and Morgan counties and One County Court Judge and a court clerk serve Camden County (judicial.) The county is in the central part of the state.  Kansas City, Missouri is northwest and Saint Louis, Missouri is east of the county.  The county center is 16.8 miles North of Camdenton nearer Sunrise Beach.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Morgan, Miller, Pulaski, Laclede, Dallas, Hickory, and Benton counties. 

The area of the county is 655 square miles.  It is 41 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 26 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 65.3 persons per square mile making it 27 out of 115 in the state.  Camden County has 27.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 54 crosses northeast to southwest in the county from Miller County to Hickory County.  The county resembles a dog’s head.  Camdenton is in the southern third of the county.  Osage Beach is on the northern border of the county and extends into Miller County.  Camdenton is the county seat and Osage Beach is the largest city.  Camdenton is 5.1% of the county population while Osage Beach is 11.0% of the county population.  The largest city is pronounced OE-SAEG BEECH.

Sunrise Beach