Brandsville, Missouri

Brandsville is a city in southeastern Howell County, Missouri. It had a population of 161 at the 2010 census.

The town of Brandsville was laid out in 1883, as a result of the construction of a line of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway through this part of the county. It was named for Michael Brand, a brewer in Chicago who was also a large landowner in the area and donated some of his property to the new community. During its early days, it was also known as "Flag Pond," due to the presence of a marshy pond nearby.^[1]

For a time in the early 20th century, the area around Brandsville and extending southeast to neighboring Koshkonong was notable as a major peach-growing site, with some 10-20,000 acres of orchards in place by 1913 and selling their fruit nationwide. The Brandsville district was also significant for sheep ranching and the growing of apples and grapes.^[2]

Brandsville is located along U.S. Route 63 in southeastern Howell County, immediately west of the boundary with Oregon County. It is about five miles northwest of Koshkonong, and ten miles southeast of West Plains. Its exact coordinates are 36°39’03”N 91°41’47”W.

The city lies in open, rolling terrain within the Ozarks Plateau, just south of a branch of the Spring River. It has a total land area of 0.52 square miles, and an average elevation of 942 feet.^[3]

At the 2010 census, Brandsville had a total of 161 inhabitants, grouped into 61 households, with a population density of 309.6 people per square mile. This figure represented a moderate decrease from the 2000 census, when Brandsville had a population of 174. 89.44% of the inhabitants were White, 0.62% were Native American, 8.70% were from some other race, and 1.24% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 12.42% of the population.

The median age in Brandsville was 30.9 years, with 27.3% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 12.4% between 18 and 24 years old, 24.9% between 25 and 44, 25.6% between 45 and 64, and 9.9% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 54.7% male, 45.3% female.^[4]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Brandsville had a median household income of $17,292, and a median family income of $27,083. The unemployment rate was 20.5%. The per capita income was $13,157. About 49.5% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 63.6% of people under the age of 18 and 29.6% of people 65 years old or older.^[5]

The Brandsville area is part of the Oregon-Howell R-III School District, so named because it encompasses significant portions of both Oregon and Howell Counties. The school facilities are located nearby in Koshkonong.^[6]