Rensselaer, Missouri
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Clay Township. It lies in ZIP code area 63401. The Survey maps it on the Rensselaer quadrangle. 253 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 699 feet above sea level.
On record in Rensselaer
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
St. Peter's Catholic Churchlisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresRensselaer grew from 228 to 253 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 228 | |
| 2020 | 253 | +25 (+11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1903 USGS Palmyra quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Rensselaer quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
17 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Rensselaer between 1992 and 2020, burning about 95 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 9 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.1 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 177480-06438-04242018-1353 |
| 20 April 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Missouri Department of Conservation | 177319-06417-04202018-1619 |
| 8 March 1997 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 27 March 1997 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 23 March 1994 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 15 March 1994 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 7 February 1992 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 7 February 1992 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Rensselaer: 5 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Salt. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freemores Lick | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| Central Stone #1 Huntington Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Central Stone Plant #1 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Fessenden Lime Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Marblehead Lime Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rensselaer in 8 storm reports between 1996 and 2021: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | $1,300,000 | An NWS storm survey discovered a macroburst that first initiated to the north of Rensselaer, MO. This macroburst caused extensive tree damage in town, especially on the western side of Rensselaer where several large branches and trees were snapped or uprooted and a few roofs sustained damage. Winds in this area were determined to be around 80 mph. The large swath of damaging winds then pushed south towards Mark Twain State Park. Extensive tree damage was noted in the state park. In addition, the Blackjack Marina sustained quite a bit damage from straight line winds around 80 mph. These winds were strong enough to cause damage to several boats, damage to the metal roofing of the marina, and the winds were even able to pull part of the marina off its mooring. The dollar amount damage to the marina is estimated to be around a million dollars. The worst of the damage occurred to the south of the marina in the town of Perry, MO. Extensive tree damage was noted in this area along with some damage to roofs and siding to a number of residences. The degree of tree and structural damage was consistent with fairly widespread 80 mph winds across town, with localized areas of 90 mph present in some of the observed damage. Straight line wind damage continued to the south of Perry, but it became less intense and more scattered in nature south of town. No deaths or injuries were reported. |
| June 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Rensselaer | $10,000 | The County Sheriff reported a brief tornado west of Rensselaer. Trees were uprooted and a barn heavily damaged. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | Thunderstorm winds blew a wooden swing set approximately 100 yards. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Rensselaer | - | Between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time causing flash flooding. Highway H had six inches of water over it in spots between U.S. Highway 36 and the south side of Rensselaer. |
| September 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | A local golf course reported trees down. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Rensselaer | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Rensselaer | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington | 2.9 miles | 11 | |
| Spalding | 3.7 miles | 12 | |
| Sheil | 3.8 miles | 11 | |
| Hydesburg (historical) | 4.1 miles | 17 | |
| Hassard | 6.2 miles | 11 | |
| Hatch | 6.8 miles | 12 | |
| Ralls | 7.6 miles | 17 | |
| Cincinnati | 7.9 miles | 12 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Rensselaer | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2792987 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 725223. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




