Leavenworth, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Leavenworth is the largest city
and county seat
of Leavenworth County
, in the U.S. state
of Kansas
and within the Kansas City, Missouri
Metropolitan Area
. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 35,251.
, the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi
, which was established in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth
. Leavenworth is the home of many detention centers and prisons, including the Leavenworth federal prison
for which the city is most famous, and several smaller jails and prisons, including the city and county jails, a Federal Detention Center, and the military's maximum security prison, the United States Disciplinary Barracks
. The very large Kansas State Penitentary and a state medium security prison are also located nearby.
Beneath the city appears to be another one entirely: a recently publicized underground series of "vaults" is thought to have been used for commerce, fugitives, or slaves.
Leavenworth is also home to University of Saint Mary (Kansas)
, operated by the Sisters of Charity
.
Leavenworth is sister city to the city of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
in Australia
as well as the city of Ōmihachiman, Japan
.
, the city has a total area of 23.5 mi² (60.9 km²), of which 23.5 mi² (60.9 km²) is land and 0.04 mi² (0.1 km²), or 0.09%, is water.
The area receives nearly 41 in (1041 mm) of precipitation during an average year with the largest share being received in May and June—the April–June period averages 31 days of measurable precipitation. During a typical year, the total amount of precipitation may be 29 in-51 in (737 mm-1295 mm). There are, on average, 93 days of measurable precipitation per year. Winter snowfall averages about 10 inches, but the median is less than 3 inches (76.2 mm). Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 4 days per year with at least 1 inches (25.4 mm) of snow being received on three of those days.
was 1,506.8 people per square mile (581.7/km²). There were 12,936 housing units at an average density of 550.3 per square mile (212.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.77% White, 16.32% African American, 0.76% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.72% from other races
, and 2.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.08% of the population.
There were 12,035 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females ages 17 and under, there were 112.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,681, and the median income for a family was $48,836. Males had a median income of $36,953 versus $24,235 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,785. About 6.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Leavenworth is the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). It is part of an initiative by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Leavenworth County
Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 76,227. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth...
, in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and within the Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
Metropolitan Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 35,251.
History
Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first incorporated city in Kansas. The city is located south of Fort LeavenworthFort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, which was established in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians...
. Leavenworth is the home of many detention centers and prisons, including the Leavenworth federal prison
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
for which the city is most famous, and several smaller jails and prisons, including the city and county jails, a Federal Detention Center, and the military's maximum security prison, the United States Disciplinary Barracks
United States Disciplinary Barracks
The United States Disciplinary Barracks is a military prison located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas....
. The very large Kansas State Penitentary and a state medium security prison are also located nearby.
Beneath the city appears to be another one entirely: a recently publicized underground series of "vaults" is thought to have been used for commerce, fugitives, or slaves.
Leavenworth is also home to University of Saint Mary (Kansas)
University of Saint Mary (Kansas)
The University of Saint Mary is a private liberal arts university in Leavenworth, Kansas. It is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, who established it as Saint Mary College. Though it was originally a school for women, the school is now coeducational. St. Mary's Academy for high...
, operated by the Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
.
Leavenworth is sister city to the city of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as well as the city of Ōmihachiman, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Geography
Leavenworth is located at 39°18′30"N 94°55′22"W (39.308248, -94.922740). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 23.5 mi² (60.9 km²), of which 23.5 mi² (60.9 km²) is land and 0.04 mi² (0.1 km²), or 0.09%, is water.
Climate
Over the course of a year, temperatures range from an average low of about 20 °F (-6.7 °C) in January to an average high of nearly 90 °F (32.2 °C) in July. The maximum temperature reaches 90 °F (32.2 °C) an average of 44 days per year and reaches 100 °F (37.8 °C) an average of 4 days per year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point (32°F) an average of 114 days per year. Typically, the first fall freeze occurs between the last week of September and the first day of November, and the last spring freeze occurs between the last day of March and the final week of April.The area receives nearly 41 in (1041 mm) of precipitation during an average year with the largest share being received in May and June—the April–June period averages 31 days of measurable precipitation. During a typical year, the total amount of precipitation may be 29 in-51 in (737 mm-1295 mm). There are, on average, 93 days of measurable precipitation per year. Winter snowfall averages about 10 inches, but the median is less than 3 inches (76.2 mm). Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 4 days per year with at least 1 inches (25.4 mm) of snow being received on three of those days.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: Temperature Temperature Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot... s are in degrees Fahrenheit Fahrenheit Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees... . Precipitation Precipitation (meteorology) In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation... includes rain Rain Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface... and melted snow Snow Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by... or sleet Rain and snow mixed Rain and snow mixed is precipitation composed of rain and partially melted snow. This precipitation can occur where the temperature in the lower part of the atmosphere is slightly above the freezing point... in inches; median Median In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to... values are provided for precipitation and snowfall because mean Arithmetic mean In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean, often referred to as simply the mean or average when the context is clear, is a method to derive the central tendency of a sample space... averages may be misleading. Mean and median values are for the 30-year period 1971–2000; temperature extremes are for the station's period of record (1948–2001). The station is located in Leavenworth at 39°16′N 94°55′W, elevation 870 feet (265.2 m). |
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Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 35,420 people, 12,035 households, and 8,219 families residing in the city. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,506.8 people per square mile (581.7/km²). There were 12,936 housing units at an average density of 550.3 per square mile (212.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.77% White, 16.32% African American, 0.76% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.72% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.08% of the population.
There were 12,035 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females ages 17 and under, there were 112.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,681, and the median income for a family was $48,836. Males had a median income of $36,953 versus $24,235 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,785. About 6.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Leavenworth is the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). It is part of an initiative by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.
Parochial and private schools
- Xavier Elementary School
- Immaculata High SchoolImmaculata High School (Kansas)Immaculata High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Leavenworth, Kansas. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.-History:...
Notable people
- Hilda ClarkHilda ClarkHilda Clark was an American model and actress. She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, to Lydia and Milton Edward Clark. As a young adult she moved east to Boston to become a popular music hall songstress and actress. However, Clark became famous as a model in 1895 when she became the first woman to...
, American actress and model - Buffalo Bill Cody, soldier, buffalo hunter and wild west showman
- Harold CoyleHarold CoyleFor the Irish architect, see Harold Edgar Coyle.Harold Coyle is an American author of historical, speculative fiction and war novels including Team Yankee, a New York Times best-seller. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1974 and spent seventeen years on active duty with the U.S...
, author - Robert E. DavisRobert E. DavisRobert E. Davis was the Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from 2009 to 2010. He was first appointed in 1993 and became chief justice on January 12, 2009.-Personal life:...
, Kansas Supreme CourtKansas Supreme CourtThe Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss, the Court supervises the legal profession, administers over the judicial branch, and serves as the state court of last resort in the appeals...
Justice - Neil DoughertyNeil DoughertyCornelius Aaron "Neil" Dougherty was an American basketball coach, most recently the head coach at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas...
, basketball coach - Melissa EtheridgeMelissa EtheridgeMelissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, musician - Fred Harvey, prolific restaurateur
- Wild Bill HickokWild Bill HickokJames Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
, soldier, lawman, gunfighter - Ron LoganRon LoganRon Logan is a former executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment . After retiring from the company in 2001, he is now a professor at the University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, Florida, United States.-Life and career:Growing up in Leavenworth,...
, former Executive Vice President of Walt Disney EntertainmentThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into... - Sean Malto, Pro Skateboarder
- Wayne SimienWayne SimienWayne Anthony Simien, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player, who last played with Spain's Cáceres Ciudad de Baloncesto. He was a member of the Miami Heat team that won the 2005–06 NBA championship.-High school career:Growing up, Simien was a University of Kansas fan due to his...
, basketball player - Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
, Musician, Entertainer (New Christy Minstrels)
Further reading
- History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
- Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)