Callaway

Formed November 16, 1820 (17^th county)

Callaway County (44,290), Fulton (12,594)                

The red brick and concrete Art Deco courthouse was constructed in 1938 and renovated in 2000.  The courthouse is on a square at 5^th, Court, 4^th, and Market streets.  The county was established on November 16, 1820 from Native American Territory as the 17^th county.  United States Highway 54 Business is Market Street.  E. C. Henderson, Jr., and Paul Elsner provided the designs.  There was an 1827 and an 1856 courthouse earlier.  Inside the building marble walls and a replica of the Liberty Bell are featured.  The county is named for Captain James Callaway, grandson of Daniel Boone.  Elizabeth was the first county seat until 1825 when Fulton took over.  The county seat is named for inventor Robert Fulton. 

Callaway 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 Callaway and Boone counties and Two County Court Judges and a court clerk serve Callaway County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Missouri.  Saint Louis, Missouri is east and Kansas City, Missouri is west of the county.  The county center is in Fulton 1.8 miles South-Southeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Audrain, Montgomery, Osage, Gasconade, Cole, and Boone counties. 

The area of the county is 839 square miles.  It is 7 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 52.8 persons per square mile making it 33 out of 115 in the state.  Callaway County has 43.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 70 travels east to west in the county from Montgomery County to Boone County.  United States Highway 40 is combined with Interstate Highway 70 from Montgomery to Boone counties.  United States Highway 54 passes north to south from Audrain County to Cole County.  United States Highway 63 clips the southwest corner from Boone County, northwest, to Cole County, southwest.  The county looks like an arrow pointing northeast.  Fulton is slightly west of center in the county.  Fulton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 28.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area.