La Cygne, Kansas

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Coordinates: 38°20′49″N, 94°45′44″W
City of La Cygne
Location of La Cygne in Kansas.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Linn
Incorporated	January 14, 1870
Area
- City	1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²)
Population (2005)
- City	1,146
- Density	818.6/sq mi (318.3/km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

Oaklawn Cemetery memorial to Civil War soldiers. Numerous swans like this one can be found around the city.

La Cygne (pronounced luh SEEN) is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the northeast part of Linn County, located in eastern Kansas, in the central United States. The population was estimated to be 1,146 in the year 2005.^[1] The city took its name from the name of the river which is a French translation of an Osage appellation meaning "marsh of the swans".^[2]

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

[edit] History

La Cygne was started in 1869 as soon as the people were assured of the building of a track for the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad. A town company was organized and purchased 1,400 acres of land, but had only 140 acres laid out as a town site. La Cygne was incorporated as a village on January 14, 1870, and a board of trustees was appointed. In the fall of that year the town had grown so that it had inhabitants enough to organize as a city of the third class, and F. A. Foote was elected the first mayor. The first school was taught in 1869 in Cady's hall. It was a private subscription school and was kept open until 1870, when the public school house was built. It was a commodious two-story brick building containing the graded and high schools. The Methodist church organized in 1870 and soon after built a house of worship. The Presbyterian church was organized the same year but had no building for a year afterward.

At an early date La Cygne became a manufacturing point. A flour mill was built in 1870; a bank was started in 1871; the La Cygne organ factory was another early commercial enterprise, but it did not flourish. In 1881 a coal mine was opened, afterwhich it become an important point for the industry. The first newspaper in the town was the Weekly Journal, which first appeared in June 1870.^[3]

[edit] Geography

La Cygne is located at 38°20′49″N, 94°45′44″W (38.346841, -94.762171).^[4] The city is situated on the east bank of the Marais des Cygnes River and only a few miles southwest of the city of Linn Valley. It is four miles west of U.S. Route 69 on K-152; La Cygne Lake is east of US-69. A track for BNSF Railway passes through the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.6 km² (1.4 mi²), all land.^[4]

[edit] Demographics

La Cygne's population was estimated to be 1,146 in the year 2005, an increase of 29, or +2.6%, over the previous five years.^[1]

As of the U.S. Census in 2000,^[5] there were 1,115 people, 459 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The population density was 309.7/km² (800.4/mi²). There were 507 housing units at an average density of 140.8/km² (363.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.68% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 1.43% Native American or Alaska Native, 0.27% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 459 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,479, and the median income for a family was $44,118. Males had a median income of $30,900 versus $19,803 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,880. About 5.0% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

La Cygne is in the Prairie View school district (USD 362), with five schools, serving more than 1,000 students.^[6] The three schools located in the city are:

La Cygne Elementary School, grades PK–5
Prairie View Middle School, grades 6–8
Prairie-View High School, grades 9–12

[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.
^ Penner, Marci (2005). The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers. Inman, Kansas: Kansas Sampler Foundation, 230. ISBN 0-9765408-0-0.
^ "La Cygne". Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc ... II: 91. (1912). Ed. Frank W. Blackmar. Chicago: Standard Pub Co.
^ ^a ^b Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files. U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division.
^ Census 2000 Gateway. U.S. Census Bureau.
^ Prairie View schools. GreatSchools.net. Retrieved on July 4, 2006.