Hays, Kansas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hays is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, near the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 183. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 20,013. It is the county seat of Ellis CountyGR6.
Hays is home to Fort Hays State University and the Hays Larks, champions of the Jayhawk Collegiate League for most of the 20th century. It is the childhood hometown of billionaire Philip Anschutz and current home of 1st District Congressional Representative Jerry Moran.
Contents |
[edit] Early History
The city of Hays was incorporated in 1867, close to the site of Fort Hays. In the early days, Hays was a wild and lawless town, filled with saloons and dance halls. The legendary Wild Bill Hickok served as sheriff for a few months in 1869, but left town the next year after a brawl with some troopers from Fort Hays. Summing up her impression while her husband, George Custer, was encamped near Fort Hays, Elizabeth Custer said, "there was enough desperate history in that little town in one summer to make a whole library of dime novels." Between August of 1867 and December of 1873 there were over 30 homicides in and around Hays. Hays developed the reputation, which was well deserved, as one of the most violent towns on the Kansas Frontier. The original Boot Hill was located in Hays, not Dodge City as many people believe. In fact, when Dodge City was founded in 1872, the Hays City Boot Hill was well populated. Mrs. Custer noted in her diary in the summer of 1869 there were already 36 graves in the cemetery called "Boot Hill". The Hays Boot Hill is actually the oldest west of the Mississippi.
By the mid 1870's the "end of the tracks" moved on and with it went the teamsters, railroad workers, soldiers and famous characters of the day. Hays City gradually quieted down and began serving as a point of arrival for immigrants, most notably those from the Volga region of Russia. These immigrants were originally from Germany and traveled to Russia because of Catherine the Great. She promised the immigrants freedom of religion, tax exemption, freedom from military duties, and free land. Eventually the Czars began to break these promises made by Catherine the Great, and the Volga-Germans sent a scouting party to the United States. They wanted land suitable for farming similar to their routine in Russia. The first Volga-German settlers arrived in Hays in February of 1876. Several communites were eventually formed, retaining the differences in dialect, food and family that each community had previously formed in Russia.
[edit] Geography
Hays is located at (38.879399, -99.322277)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 km² (7.6 mi²), all land.
Hays is served by two commercial airlines at Hays Regional Airport.
[edit] Climate
Annually, Hays experiences extremes of heat and cold. Winters tend to be cool with lows in upper teens and highs around 40. But, large deviations from these temperatures are regularly experienced, with temperatures dropping below 0 F a few days in the year. Summertime, in sharp contrast, is hot with highs around, and often exceeding, 90 F, and several days of triple-digit temperatures in July and August. Hays is classified as part of Kansas' semi-arid climate, with the city receiving very little rainfall. Hays average temperatures from weather.com
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 20,013 people, 8,230 households, and 4,674 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,018.1/km² (2,635.9/mi²). There were 8,772 housing units at an average density of 446.2/km² (1,155.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.43% White, 1.09% Asian, 0.79% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.63% of the population.
Ellis County attracted nearly 1000 Volga German immigrants in the 1870s; for the 2000 census, over 45% of Hays residents identified their ancestry as German.
There were 8,230 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 22.2% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,501, and the median income for a family was $45,552. Males had a median income of $30,022 versus $21,793 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,565. About 6.7% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Historical Visitors and Temporary Residents
Explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1867)
Teddy Roosevelt (1903)
Helen Keller (1941)
John F. Kennedy (Nov. 20 1959)
Tom Welch (Feb. 24 2004)
[edit] External links
- Hays Kansas Community Portal, city discussion board,
- Official website, including a summary of the town's history [1]
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Official Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Hays Chamber of Commerce
- Hays Daily News, the town's daily newspaper
- Fort Hays State University, State college located in Hays
[edit] Trivia
- Baseball great Satchel Paige was married here
- Birthplace of Frances Tilton Weaver, a pioneer of women in the legal profession
- Ft. Hays was the last civilized stop for the main character in the film Dances with Wolves
