Dade County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Part 2: Community Profile Part 2: Community Profile Dade County Location Dade County is located in Southwest Missouri. Counties that border Dade are Barton and Jasper to the west, Cedar to the north, Polk and Greene to the east, and Lawrence to the south. The county covers 506.25 square miles, including 490.01 square miles of land and 16.24 square miles of surface water. Incorporated communities include the villages of Arcola, Dadeville and South Greenfield and the cities of Everton, Greenfield, and Lockwood. Unincorporated settlement areas include Bona in the northeastern corner of the county and Pennsboro is the south central section. Greenfield is the county seat. June 2014 – FEMA Approved Final Draft 2-1 Dade County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Part 2: Community Profile Historical Overview The Dade County area was part of the area claimed by France until purchased by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The area was first inhabited by the Sac, Delaware and Osage Indians; the Osage ceded the territory in 1808. The first settlers arriving in the early 1830s from Kentucky and Tennessee found fertile prairie soils, walnut timber, wild game, and rivers and creeks which provided drinking water for their animals. Dade County was created on January 29, 1841 from Barry County territory and was named after Major Francis L. Dade who was killed in the Seminole Wars; Greenfield was named the county seat (Aldrich, Dade County Soil Survey, p. 10). Growth of the cities was stimulated by railroad construction in 1881. The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad was constructed through the southern part of the county, running through the communities of Everton, South Greenfield and Lockwood. The construction of a rail spur from the main line to Greenfield was privately financed by Greenfield residents and businessmen. The Greenfield Northern Railroad solidified Greenfield’s position as the county seat. Dade County’s economy began to expand and diversify following construction of the railroad. Mining of coal, zinc, iron, lead and silica contributed to a population boom in the late 1800s as investors and workers migrated to the county. However, mining ceased in the early 1900s and population declined as mining boom towns such as Corry faded away. Agriculture dominated the local economy during the early 1900s. Chief crops produced in the county were oats, wheat corn and fruits. Animal production included dairy and beef cattle, horses, poultry and sheep. The dairy industry was strong through the 1940s but beef cattle became more dominant through the latter part of the century. In 2007, the market value of agricultural products sold was over $51 million, with livestock sales accounting for 62 percent and crop sales such as row crops, vegetables and fruits accounting for 38 percent of this total. Dade County ranked fourth in the State for the value of sales in the vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potato commodity group in 2007 (USDA, 2007 Census of Agriculture). Agricultural production is still important to the local economy; however, the vast majority of income is generated from other activities, with 52 percent of farm operators claiming primary occupations in fields other than farming in 2007. Dade County’s landscape changed significantly in the early 1960s with the construction of Stockton Dam on the Sac River in Cedar County and the creation of Stockton Lake. Nearly 26,000 acres of land in Cedar, Dade and Polk counties were inundated with the formation of Stockton Lake. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) maintains a policy of limiting access to federal lands and Stockton Lake to only power generation, flood control and recreational purposes, and there is minimal commercial and residential development around the lake area in Dade County. While Stockton Lake is a popular attraction for fishing and water sports, it has not been a major catalyst for diversifying the Dade County economy to the extent experienced by other counties in Southwest Missouri with USACE maintained lakes in their jurisdictions (Stone and Taney counties-Table Rock Lake). June 2014 – FEMA Approved Final Draft 2-2 Dade County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Part 2: Community Profile Form of Government Missouri is divided into 114 counties and the City of St. Louis (RSMo §46.040). Counties are political subdivisions of the State established to provide governance, public goods and services and have a wide range of governmental responsibilities. The Missouri legislature established four classes of counties, based on the assessed valuation of real and personal property (RSMo §48.020). Dade County is classified as a third class county and is governed by a three-member Commission. Under the provisions of RSMo §49.010, counties are divided into two districts of nearly equal population. Each district elects one commissioner and the presiding commissioner is elected by the county voters as a whole. Commissioners serve four-year terms. Missouri’s incorporated communities are classified as villages, towns, third and fourth class cities, and home rule charter cities. Villages/towns are incorporations with less than 500 inhabitants (RSMo §72.050). Fourth class cities are those with populations greater than 500 but less than 3,000 inhabitants. There are six municipal subdivisions within Dade County, including the villages of Arcola, Dadeville, and South Greenfield and the cities of Everton, Greenfield, and Lockwood. All of the cities are incorporated as fourth-class cities. Villages are regulated under RSMo §80 and are governed by a board of trustees. The board elects a presiding officer (chair) and a clerk, and appoints the village’s officers. Fourth class cities are regulated by RSMo §79. Such cities may have the mayor/board of aldermen or mayor/city administrator/board of aldermen form of government. All the cities in Dade County operate under the mayor/board of aldermen form of government. Physical Characteristics Physiography and Geology Nearly all of Dade County is situated in the Interior Highlands Physiographic Province of the United States. Most of the county lies on the Springfield Plateau, a subdivision of the Ozarks Plateau physiographic region. The northeastern corner of the county lies on the Salem Plateau subdivision of the Ozarks Plateau. The extreme northwest corner of the county is located on the Osage Plains subdivision of the Central Lowlands Physiographic Province. Dade County’s topography transitions from nearly level to gently rolling plains in the western area to more hilly landscapes in the central and eastern section of the county. The landscape varies in response to the underlying bedrock formations and the processes of weathering of the bedrock. Resistant sandstone and/or cherty limestone usually cap the mounds and prairies in the western and southern parts of the county. The slopes below the caps are usually developed on less resistant shale. The bedrock consists mainly of sedimentary rock ranging from Jefferson City dolomite of Ordovician age to sandstone, shale, and conglomerates of Pennsylvanian age. June 2014 – FEMA Approved Final Draft 2-3 Dade County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Part 2: Community Profile Elevations in Dade County range from a high of 1,260 feet near the Lawrence County line south of Lockwood to 867 feet, the normal pool elevation of Stockton Lake in the northeast part of the county. Local relief is generally 50 to 100 feet in the far western section of the county. As the landscape transitions to the east, local relief typically is 100 to Figure 2-2 250 feet, with relief more than 300 feet along the major streams (Dade County Soil Survey, p. 11). Several old and geologically inactive faults exist in the county. The most prominent is the Dadeville fault that trends in a southeast-northwest direction. Highway Y crosses the Dadeville fault approximately seven miles west of Bona. Several small faults and folds parallel with the Dadeville fault, but these faults are geologically inactive and pose no seismic risk. Hydrology and Drainage Dade County lies within two river basins: the Sac River Basin and the Spring River Basin (Figure 2-3). Sac River Basin Most of Dade County lies within the Sac River Basin. The Sac River Basin also covers all or parts of Barton, Cedar, Christian, Greene, Hickory, Lawrence, Polk, St. Clair, and Vernon counties. The Sac River originates close to the City of Springfield (Greene County) and flows in a northerly direction to its confluence with the Osage River and Truman Reservoir. Primary tributaries in Dade County include Horse Creek, Cedar Creek, Maze Creek, Sons Creek, Limestone Creek, Turnback Creek and the Little Sac River. The Sac River and Turnback Creek drain most of the deeply dissected areas in the eastern half of the county. Sons Creek traverses across the gently rolling landscape of the central portion of the county. All of the county’s incorporated communities are located in the Sac River Basin. June 2014 – FEMA Approved Final Draft 2-4 Dade County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Part 2: Community Profile Sinking Creek flows in a northern direction through the southwestern portion of Everton and a tributary of Sinking Creek flows southwesterly through the southeastern portion of the city. A tributary of Horse Creek flows in a western direction through the southern portion of Lockwood. A tributary of Limestone Creek flows in an eastern direction through the northeastern tip of South Greenfield. Greenfield contains a tributary of Wetzel Branch that flows in a northwestern direction from the northern portion of the city. A tributary of Turnback Creek flows in a southeastern direction from the south and southeastern portion of Greenfield. Also, a tributary of Wetzel Branch flows in a western direction from the western portion of the city. A tributary of the Sac River flows in a southern direction near the southern portion of the Village of Dadeville and a tributary of Maze Creek flows in a northern direction near the northwestern portion of the village.