Mooresville, Missouri

Episode 66 / 19 April 2018 / 148 min / full

A Deadly Scam

"James says they are going to Mooresville, Missouri, in north central Missouri, in Livingston County, about four hours from St Louis and an hour and fifteen minutes from Kansas City" about 0:05:03

The case: The a covered name farm murders (1986 to 1989). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2018

Population

88

Median age

41.4

Median household income

$43,125

Median home value

$45,100

Two-bedroom rent

$630

Cost of living

79 out of 100

Religious

about 73%

Property crime

exactly average

Violent crime

exactly average

History, in brief

• Missouri became a state in 1821. about 0:09:35
• Livingston County was formed in 1837 from parts of Carroll County and named after the Honourable Edward Livingston, the 11th Secretary of State of the United States, under Andrew Jackson. about 0:09:51
• The county website says the early settlers shared desirable characteristics: faith in God, the courage to leave familiar surroundings and loved ones, the ability to make a living from the land, and they were good neighbours, honest, straightforward men of their word; had they been otherwise they would not have been welcome in the community. about 0:11:18
• Mooresville was platted by W. B. Moore and named after him. about 0:13:40
• A post office was established in 1860 and the village was incorporated in 1874. about 0:14:40
• In the Civil War most people in the county were secessionists; a newspaper letter dated May 6th, 1861 told Lincoln voters to leave with their property, and county citizens were said to be getting their shotguns in order. about 0:15:15
• Notable resident Shirley Collie Nelson was born in 1931 as Shirley Angelina Simpson, a country and rockabilly singer, yodeller, guitarist and songwriter, and was Willie Nelson's second wife from 1963 to 1971. about 0:19:40
• The town peaked in population in 1910 and has declined ever since; from 1920 to 1930 it fell from 193 people to 137. about 0:21:06
• The town has no website and no town motto; the county website dates from the late 1990s. about 0:08:27

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