Humboldt, Kansas

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Coordinates: 37°48′39″N, 95°26′15″W
City of Humboldt
Location of Humboldt in Kansas.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Allen
Founded	1857
Mayor	Tom Rutledge
Area
- City	3.7 km² (1.4 sq mi)
- Land	3.7 km² (1.4 sq mi)
Population
- City (2005)	1,921
- Density	519.2/km² (1,372.1/sq mi)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

Humboldt is a city situated along the Neosho River in the southwest part of Allen County, located in southeast Kansas, in the central United States. The population was estimated to be 1,921 in the year 2005.^[1]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 Trivia
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Humboldt, named after Baron von Humboldt, was founded in 1857. Germans migrating from Hartford, Connecticut, began organizing a colony during the winter of 1856–57. They arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, in March of 1857, and at the townsite on May 10, 1857. Orlin Thurston, a young attorney, moved to Humboldt during the summer of 1857 and put up a steam sawmill; he began sawing wood and building houses on the prairie side of town. The first frame building was erected by J.A. Coffey; and in May of 1858, W.C. O'Brien opened the first gristmill in the county. The United Brethren Denomination erected the first church in 1859.^[2]

The city was organized as a village in 1866 and incorporated as a city of the second class by the act of February 28, 1870. In October of 1870 the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston railway was run through Humboldt;^[3] the railway is currently a short line owned by BNSF Railway.

Humboldt was the Allen county seat for seven years, from 1858 until 1865, when Iola became the seat. Humboldt won two contentious legislative elections to become the seat in 1858 and 1860, but another election in 1865 in the midst of the American Civil War resulted in the re-location of the county seat to Iola. The legitimacy of this election was questioned by Humboldt residents due to low turnout arising from soldiers fighting the War. Some residents claim that the county seat was "stolen". Iola effectively secured the seat by donating 100 lots to the county to aid in the construction of public buildings and subsequently raising funds to build a courthouse. County seat wars of this sort were common in Kansas and the American West.

[edit] Geography

Humboldt is located at 37°48′39″N, 95°26′15″W (37.810738, -95.437418).^[4] The city is situated along the east bank of the Neosho River, midway between Iola (to the north) and Chanute (to the south, in Neosho County) along Old 169 Highway. The old highway passes through the center of town, while the current U.S. Route 169 passes by at about a mile to the east. A short line for BNSF Railway passes along the eastern side of town and terminates in Iola. Allen County Airport is located only a few miles to the northeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²), of which 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²) is land, and 0.70% is water.^[4]

[edit] Demographics

Humboldt's population was estimated to be 1,921 in the year 2005, a decrease of 87, or -4.3%, over the previous five years.^[1]

As of the U.S. Census in 2000,^[5] there were 1,999 people, 825 households, and 554 families residing in the city. The population density was 543.5/km² (1,403.3/mi²). There were 925 housing units at an average density of 251.5/km² (649.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.00% White, 1.75% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American or Alaska Native, 0.10% Asian, 2.65% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.15% of the population.

There were 825 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,408, and the median income for a family was $39,750. Males had a median income of $28,512 versus $18,712 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,651. About 9.8% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The Humboldt school district (USD 258), with three schools, serves more than 500 students.^[6]

Humboldt Elementary School, grades K–5
Humboldt Middle School, grades 6–8
Humboldt High School, grades 9–12

[edit] Trivia

Humboldt is the site of Biblesta, a parade through the center of town. Local churches, businesses, and organizations create floats for the parade based on Bible stories. Other festivities during Biblesta generally include a Christian-music concert and bean-feed.

Humboldt only has one traffic light.

Humboldt has three water towers.

Walter Johnson, who won 416 games for the Washington Senators, second all-time behind Cy Young, was born in Humboldt 1887.

[edit] References

See also: Geographic references and United States Census, 2000

^ ^a ^b Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual estimates of the population through 2005-07-01. Released 2006-06-21.
^ "History of Humboldt, Kansas", HumboldtKS.com
^ Blackmar, Frank W., ed. "Humboldt". Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... Vol. I. Standard Pub. Co. (Chicago: 1912) pp. 879–880.
^ ^a ^b Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files. U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division.
^ Census 2000 Gateway. U.S. Census Bureau.
^ "Humboldt schools", GreatSchools.net