Saline County /

Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. In 2000, the population was 23,756. Its county seat is Marshall. The county was established in 1820 and named for the region's salt springs. Saline County was formed in 1820. It was named for the salt mines which are found in the region. Saline County was one of the historical settlement areas of the Missouri Indians before relocation on reservations. Saline County was settled primarily by migrants from the Upper South states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. The counties settled by southerners were known as "Little Dixie." By the time of the Civil War, one-third of the county population was African American, most of whom were enslaved laborers on major plantations, particularly for labor-intensive tobacco cultivation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 765 square miles (1,980 km²), of which, 756 square miles (1,957 km²) of it is land and 9 square miles (23 km²) of it (1.18%) is water. At the 2000 census, there were 23,756 people, 9,015 households and 6,013 families residing