Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Tompkinsville is a city in and the 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 Monroe County
Monroe County, Kentucky
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 11,756. Its county seat is Tompkinsville. The county is named for President James Monroe. It is a prohibition or dry county.-History:...

, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 2,660 at the 2000 census. The city was named after Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman, the fourth Governor of New York , and the sixth Vice President of the United States .-Name:...

 who served under President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

, for whom the county was named after.

MONROE COUNTY - TOMPKINSVILLE The only county of the 2,957 in the United States named for a President where the county seat is named for the contemporary Vice-President. County formed in 1820; named for James Monroe the fifth President, author of the Monroe Doctrine. The county seat named for Daniel Tompkins. Two terms for each covered 1817 - 1825.

Site of Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan's first raid of his famous First Kentucky Raid. July 9, 1862, Morgan's Raiders, coming from Tennessee on their first raid into Kentucky, attacked Major Thomas J. Jordan's 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry at USA garrison. Raiders captured 30 of retreating enemy and destroyed tents and stores. They took 20 wagons, 50 mules, 40 horses, sugar and coffee supplies. At Glasgow they burned supplies, then went north, raiding 16 other towns before returning to Tennessee.

Geography

Tompkinsville is located at 36°41′58"N 85°41′31"W (36.699508, -85.692005).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (4.69%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,660 people, 1,169 households, and 702 families residing in the city. The population density
Population 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 727.4 people per square mile (280.6/km²). There were 1,321 housing units at an average density of 361.2 per square mile (139.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.47% White, 8.95% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.53% 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 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.

There were 1,169 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% 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, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 76.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $18,267, and the median income for a family was $23,361. Males had a median income of $21,587 versus $16,541 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 $15,975. About 24.5% of families and 29.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.8% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives

  • Joe H. Eagle
    Joe H. Eagle
    Joe Henry Eagle was a U.S. Representative from Texas.Born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, Eagle was graduated from the local high school in 1883 and obtained a teacher's certificate in 1884....

     - US Representative from Texas.
  • Elois Grooms
    Elois Grooms
    Elois T. Grooms is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Tennessee Tech and was drafted in the third round of the 1975 NFL Draft....

     - Former defensive lineman in the National Football League
    National Football League
    The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

    .
  • Samuel B. Maxey
    Samuel B. Maxey
    Samuel Bell Maxey was an American soldier, lawyer, and politician from Paris, Texas, United States. He was a Major General for the Confederacy in the Civil War and later represented Texas in the U.S. Senate.-Early life:...

     - A Major General for the Confederacy in the Civil War who later represented Texas in the U.S. Senate.
  • Pearl Carter Pace
    Pearl Carter Pace
    Pearl Carter Pace was the first woman elected sheriff in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Pearl Carter had been born into a Tompkinsville, Kentucky, family devoted to public service...

    - First woman sheriff in Kentucky.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK