Owensboro, Kentucky
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Owensboro is a city located in Daviess County, Kentucky on U.S. Highway 60 about 30 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,067. It is the county seat of Daviess County6.
Owensboro considers itself the "BBQ Capital of the world"; it holds its BBQ festival (http://www.bbqfest.com/) and competition every second weekend in May.
Owensboro is home to Brescia University, Kentucky Wesleyan College, and Owensboro Community & Technical College.
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History
Owensboro was first settled in the 1790s and was known at that time as Yellow Banks.
- 1806: The United States Post Office establishes the "Yellow Banks" post office.
- 1817: Yellow Banks is incorporated as the city of Owensborough, named after Colonel Abraham Owen (who is also the namesake of Owen County, Kentucky).
- 1893: The Owensborough post office becomes the Owensboro post office.
- 1910: The former Carriage Woodstock Company in Owensboro begins manufacturing the Ames automobile.
- 1934 Streetcars make their final trips through Owensboro.
- 1936: Downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States. On August 14, 22-year-old Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape of 70-year-old Elischa Edwards, who was also murdered. He had confessed to her strangling (http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/specialarchives/connections/7618401.htm) but the commonwealth indicted him only on the rape charge since that was the only capital crime for which the penalty was hanging.
- 1937: The western Kentucky Roman Catholic diocese of Owensboro is created by Pope Pius XI.
- 1961: The Compactron, a family of vacuum tubes designed by engineers from the General Electric plant in Owensboro, is introduced.
- 1994: Owensboro establishes a sister city relationship with Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Geography
KYMap-doton-Owensboro.PNG
Location of Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is located in the crook of a bend in the Ohio River at 37°45'28" North, 87°7'6" West (37.757748, -87.118390)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.3 km² (18.7 mi²). 45.1 km² (17.4 mi²) of it is land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.59% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 54,067 people, 22,659 households, and 14,093 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,198.4/km² (3,102.9/mi²). There are 24,302 housing units at an average density of 538.6/km² (1,394.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 90.63% White, 6.90% African American, 0.51% Asian, 0.12% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 22,659 households out of which 28.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% are non-families. 33.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 2.91.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,867, and the median income for a family is $41,333. Males have a median income of $33,429 versus $21,457 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,968. 15.9% of the population and 12.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.9% of those under the age of 18 and 12.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Notable natives
- Terry Bisson, author
- Rex Chapman, NBA basketball player (born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but raised in Owensboro)
- Johnny Depp, actor
- Tom Ewell, actor
- Wendell H. Ford, politician
- Jeff Green, NASCAR driver
- Nicky Hayden, motorcycle racer
- Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR driver
- Dudley W. Morton, U.S. naval commander
- Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR driver
- Michael Waltrip, NASCAR driver
- Brad Wilkerson, MLB baseball player
External links
- Official website (http://www.owensboro.org/)
- Entry about Owensboro (http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/ky-owensboro.html) from the Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer, a University of Kentucky website
- Messenger-Inquirer (http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/), the city's newspaper, with a special series of articles about the 20th century in Owensboro (http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/index/century.htm)
- Owensboro Chamber of Commerce (http://www.owensboro.com/)
- 1821 Advertisement for an auction for land around Owensboro, Kentucky (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/fawbib:@field(TITLE+@od1(Advertisement+for+an+auction+for+land+around+Owensboro,+Kentucky))), from the Library of Congress
- Bar-B-Q Festival (http://www.bbqfest.com/)
- Owensboro Tourist Commission (http://www.visitowensboro.com/)
- Summer Music Festival (http://www.fridayafter5.com/)
- Brescia University (http://www.brescia.edu/)
- Kentucky Wesleyan College (http://www.kwc.edu/)
