Scott City celebrates its 50th anniversary today, the day when the towns of Ancell of Fornfelt formally ceased to exist.

"We're a very thriving community," said Carolyn Pendergrass, president of Scott City Historical Preservation Commission and a resident for 40 years.

The community first started to be settled before the Civil War with Lutheran and Catholic farmers from Germany, she said. In 1960, the towns Fornfelt and Ancell formed Scott City. Illmo was incorporated into Scott City in 1980.

"After the development of the interstate, the complexion of the town changed when a growth of businesses started to develop on Main Street," Pendergrass said. "[There are] four important transportation entities that have contributed to our community: the airport, the railroad, the highway system and the river."

The town is home to the SEMO Port Authority on the Mississippi River.

She said trains have been an important part of Scott City's history. The caboose dedicated to the city's railroad history caught fire two years ago. However, "it has been repainted. It's ready now to get our things back in," she said.

According to Scott City officials, the new restaurant Carl's Kitchen, the meat processing company Hinkebein Hill Farms and the pool and spa sales store Aloha Pools opened last year. Southeast Snacks (Wonder Bread) has built a new building in the past year off Nash Road to store its products. Berghoff's Cafe has built a new building, as has Wm. Nobbe and Co., a John Deere dealer. The antique store Yesterday & Today opened in the last few months and just finished up a new building. River Bend Fuels opened in the past few months. The city hops a new road is going from Main Street to the industrial area will bring in more large businesses to the area.

In the 2000 census, Scott City had 4,591 residents with a median age of 35. The average household size was 2.54 people. There were 32 foreign-born inhabitants living in Scott City, and 78 people spoke a language other than English at home. The median family income was $36,763. In 2000, 410 people worked in manufacturing, only 13 in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining. There were also 121 self-employed workers.

Pendergrass, a retired kindergarten and second-grade teacher who still works with children as a volunteer, said, "Over the years I have been very, very pleased with our school district. I am very proud of our educational system here, but I recognize we do have problems."

"I love our Scott City park," she said. "And I like being able to go to the restaurant or the grocery store and people greet you."