La Grange, Kentucky

La Grange, Kentucky
—  City  —
Downtown La Grange
Location of LaGrange, Kentucky
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Kentucky
County Oldham
Incorporated January 23, 1840
Government
 • Type Mayor-Council
 • Mayor William "Bill" Lammlein
Area
 • Total 7.14 sq mi (18.50 km2)
 • Land 7.06 sq mi (18.29 km2)
 • Water 0.08 sq mi (0.22 km2)
Elevation 863 ft (263 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,082
 • Density 1,131.4/sq mi (436.8/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 40031-40032
Area code(s) 502
FIPS code 21-43480
GNIS feature ID 0495884

La Grange is a city in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1827 and named after the French home of General Lafayette. The population was 8,082 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Oldham County.[1]

Contents

History

The city of La Grange was established in 1827 when the county seat was relocated at Major William Berry Taylor's suggestion from Westport. It was named La Grange for the estate of General Lafayette of France who had visited the area in 1824. For some unknown reason, the county seat once again returned to Westport in 1828 where it remained until 1838 when it was once again relocated to La Grange. On January 23, 1840, La Grange was incorporated as a city.[2]

Railroad

La Grange is unusual in that a railroad line runs right through downtown. Cars are forced to park on either side of the tracks when a train is passing through. The speed limit for trains in downtown is 10 mph. CSX owns the trackage.

Commerce

The La Grange historic district contains numerous small businesses such as shops, eateries, and art galleries.

Discover Downtown La Grange is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business, history, and community in the city.[3]

La Grange hosts a Farmers and Artisan Market, a Kentucky Proud Market, where locally-made items are sold. The market is open from mid-May through late October.[4]

Correctional facilities

The Kentucky Department of Corrections maintains four correctional facilities in La Grange. Construction began on the Kentucky State Reformatory, the largest prison in the state, in 1937, with the prison opening in 1939. Roederer Correctional Complex, which houses the state prison Assessment and Classification Center, was built in 1976. The Luther Luckett Correctional Complex and Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, both built in the same facility but technically two separate prisons, opened in 1983. Approximately 4,000 inmates of various security levels are housed at these institutions.

Geography

La Grange is located at (38.406612, -85.379382).[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.14 square miles (18.5 km2), of which, 7.06 square miles (18.3 km2) of it is land and 0.84 square miles (2.2 km2) of it (1.17%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1870 612
1880 490 −19.9%
1890 670 36.7%
1900 646 −3.6%
1910 1,152 78.3%
1920 1,060 −8.0%
1930 1,121 5.8%
1940 1,334 19.0%
1950 1,558 16.8%
1960 2,168 39.2%
1970 1,713 −21.0%
1980 2,971 73.4%
1990 3,853 29.7%
2000 5,676 47.3%
2010 8,082 42.4%
U.S. Census Bureau[6]

As of the census of 2010,[7] there were 8,082 people, 2,964 households, and 2,087 families residing in the city. The population density was 1131.4 people per square mile (436.8/km²). There were 3,189 housing units at an average density of 446.4 per square mile (172.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.3% White (83.5% non-Hispanic), 4.7% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.6% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.9% of the population.

There were 2,964 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a single female householder, 5.1% had a single male householder, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

The age distribution was 29.8% under 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

Full economic data for Kentucky locations from the 2010 Census has not yet been released. As of the 2010 Census, the median income for a household in the city was $46,422, and the median income for a family was $52,821. Full-time male workers had a median income of $48,511 versus $31,180 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,921. As of the 2000 Census, about 9.1% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Famous natives

References

  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  2. ^ Rennick, Robert M. (1988). "Place Names". Kentucky Place Names. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813101794.  Retrieved on 2010-05-16
  3. ^ http://discoverlagrange.org/
  4. ^ http://discoverlagrange.org/special-events/farmers-market-artisans/
  5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  6. ^ Historical Census Data Retrieved on 2011-12-30
  7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 

External links