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Missouri’s regions reflect the ethnic, religious, and political persuasions of the residents. The Bootheel in the extreme southeast was settled by planters from the South and was appended to Missouri at the time of statehood through the great influence of one planter; it is the centre of Missouri’s historic cotton culture. Drainage systems converted former swamps in this region into one of the state’s richest agricultural zones. The Ozark Mountains area, whose rugged terrain is unsuited to extensive agriculture, has been among the poorer regions of Missouri, but it constitutes one of the great tourist attractions of the state. In the years prior to the American Civil War (1861–65), the Little Dixie region was settled by persons sympathetic to the South. Some of the finest examples of antebellum residences are found there. South of Little Dixie, on the bluffs and uplands south of the Missouri River and west of St. Louis, is a concentration of German settlements, known locally as the “Missouri Rhineland.” In the western part of the state, north and east of the Missouri River, is historic “Mormon Country.” There, followers of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, settled about 1831, first at Independence and subsequently in other areas, until they were driven out by hostile neighbours. In the centre of the state, around Boonville and Columbia, is the “Boone’s Lick Country,” where the frontiersman Daniel Boone and his sons moved from Kentucky to hunt and trap game and to make salt.
Urban areas continued to expand, ultimately reducing the amount of agricultural land. Although urban settlements are scattered throughout the state, Kansas City and St. Louis are Missouri’s most important centres of commerce and manufacturing. They are the nuclei of large metropolitan areas that extend into Kansas on the west and Illinois on the east. More than half of the state’s population lives in and around these two cities.
Demographic trends
While Missouri’s population has grown modestly since the mid-20th century, people continued to emigrate to other states, reflecting a common trend in the more heavily rural and economically less-developed parts of the country. Southwestern Missouri, however, has not conformed to this pattern. Since about 1960 that region experienced rapid population growth, stimulated by the expanding tourism industry and the influx of retirees. Much of the growth occurred in Springfield, which is the urban hub of the region; in communities near the large lakes; and in the vicinity of Branson, the booming country music and retirement centre.
Economy
Although agriculture has remained an important component of Missouri’s economy, the manufacturing and service sectors have since the mid-20th century grown to become the major contributors to the state’s gross product. After World War II there was a notable shift in the emphasis of Missouri’s manufacturing activity from nondurable to durable goods. The production of shoes and clothing, for instance, declined, while metal fabrication and the manufacture of plastics and machinery increased. By the early 21st century Missouri ranked among the top states in the country in some types of manufacturing, particularly the production of aerospace and transportation equipment—including automobile assembly.
Agriculture and forestry
Missouri has more farms than nearly every other state in the country, and the vast majority of these farms are owned by individuals or families. Since the late 20th century, however, the number of Missouri’s farms has been decreasing while acreage and productivity have been on the rise, largely because of the development of agribusiness enterprises. Only a small portion of Missouri’s workforce is directly engaged in agriculture, and many of the state’s farmers earn a major portion of their income from nonfarm work.
Approximately two-thirds of Missouri’s farmland is planted in crops; the remaining third is divided roughly equally between woodland and pasture. Cotton was once Missouri’s principal agricultural commodity, but production declined in the second half of the 20th century because of cotton disease and low market prices. Since that time, farmers have diversified their agricultural activities. Soybeans became the state’s most valuable crop, followed by hay, corn (maize), wheat, sorghum, cotton, and rice. Small acreages of tobacco continue to be planted in the northwestern part of the state. Hay is the leading product of the Ozark region, where it supports a growing feeder cattle industry. More than half of Missouri’s total farm income derives from the sale of animals and animal products, mainly cattle, hogs, poultry, and dairy products. Dairying is concentrated in the state’s southwestern region.
The forest resources of the Ozarks were increasingly tapped after the 1950s for dimension lumber, oak flooring, railroad ties, cabinet wood, and whiskey barrels. The introduction of large wood-chip mills in the area since the late 20th century stirred great controversy, because those mills are capable of stripping thousands of acres of forestland in a relatively short time span, greatly modifying wildlife habitats, patterns of water runoff, and the rate of soil erosion. Such environmental concerns triggered the state government to curb chip milling intermittently in Missouri.