| Richmond, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Madison County courthouse, Richmond, with flags at half-staff in honor of Veterans Day (2007). | |
| Nickname(s): Home Of Kentucky's Finest | |
| Motto: "The City That Works" | |
| Location of Richmond, Kentucky | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | Madison |
| Government | |
| • Type | City Mayor/Manager |
| • Mayor | Jim Barnes |
| • Manager | Jimmy Howard |
| Area | |
| • Total | 19.3 sq mi (49.9 km2) |
| • Land | 19.1 sq mi (49.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 948 ft (289 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 31,364 |
| • Density | 1,420.4/sq mi (548.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 40475-40476 |
| Area code(s) | 859 |
| FIPS code | 21-65226 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0501827 |
Richmond is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States.[1] It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is the home of Eastern Kentucky University. The population of Richmond, Kentucky was 31,364 in 2010. Richmond is Kentucky's seventh-largest city (after Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Covington, and Hopkinsville) and the second largest city in the Bluegrass region (after Lexington). Richmond serves as the center for work and shopping for south central Kentucky. Richmond is the principal city of the Richmond–Berea Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Madison and Rockcastle counties.
Contents |
The City of Richmond was founded in 1798 by Colonel John Miller, who had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War. According to tradition, Miller was attracted to the area by the good spring water and friendly Native Americans. That year, the Kentucky legislature approved moving the county seat from Milford to land owned by Colonel Miller. The residents of Milford adamantly opposed the move, which led to a fist fight between Dave Kennedy (representing Milford) and William Kearly (representing Richmond). Nevertheless, the county approved the move in March 1798. On 4 July 1798, the new town was named Richmond in honor of Miller's Virginia birthplace.[2]
On August 30, 1862, during the Civil War, the Union and Confederate Armies clashed in the Battle of Richmond. Troops under Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith routed the soldiers of Union General William Nelson. Out of Nelson's 6,500 men, only 1,200 escaped; the rest were all captured.[3] One historian called this battle "the nearest thing to a Cannae ever scored by any general, North or South, in the course of the whole war." [4]
In 1906, Eastern Kentucky State Normal School was founded in Richmond to train teachers. There were eleven members of the first graduating class in 1909. It became a four-year college in 1922 and added graduate programs in 1935. In 1965, the institution was renamed Eastern Kentucky University.[5]
In the late 1990s and through the first decade of the 21st century, Richmond had a commercial and residential boom. Richmond is currently Kentucky's seventh-largest city, moving up four places from Kentucky's eleventh-largest city in the 2000 census.[6]
The Richmond Transit Service operates public buses for the City of Richmond at a rate of $1 per day or $7 for a ten day pass. In addition to service within the city the RTS runs a suburban commuter bus line from Berea to Richmond in addition to a commuter bus line between Lexington and Richmond.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 square miles (50 km2), of which, 19.1 square miles (49 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2)(0.73%) is water.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1800 | 110 |
|
|
| 1810 | 366 | 232.7% | |
| 1830 | 947 |
|
|
| 1840 | 822 | −13.2% | |
| 1850 | 411 | −50.0% | |
| 1860 | 845 | 105.6% | |
| 1870 | 1,629 | 92.8% | |
| 1880 | 2,909 | 78.6% | |
| 1890 | 5,073 | 74.4% | |
| 1900 | 4,653 | −8.3% | |
| 1910 | 5,340 | 14.8% | |
| 1920 | 5,622 | 5.3% | |
| 1930 | 6,495 | 15.5% | |
| 1940 | 7,335 | 12.9% | |
| 1950 | 10,268 | 40.0% | |
| 1960 | 12,168 | 18.5% | |
| 1970 | 16,861 | 38.6% | |
| 1980 | 21,705 | 28.7% | |
| 1990 | 21,183 | −2.4% | |
| 2000 | 27,257 | 28.7% | |
| 2010 | 31,364 | 15.1% | |
| U.S. Census[7] | |||
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 individuals and the average family size was 2.78.
The age distribution, influenced strongly by the presence of Eastern Kentucky University, is: 17.5% under the age of 18, 31.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,533; and the median income for a family was $36,222. Males had a median income of $30,817 versus $22,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,815. About 16.6% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.2% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
Richmond is served by the Madison County School System.[8] Schools located in Richmond include:
Richmond operates under a council–manager government. The citizens elect a mayor and four city commissioners which form the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners is the legislative body of the city government and represents the interests of the citizens when applicable. The Board of Commissioners appoints a city manager who administers the day-to-day operations of the city.
The mayor is elected for a term of four years. Each city commissioner is elected for a term of two years. The term of the city manager is indefinite.
The city has numerous parks, the most prominent being Lake Reba Recreational Complex. Paradise Cove, the city's aquatic center, is located in the complex along with a horse shoe pit, putt-putt golf course, football field, soccer field, baseball and softball fields, and a playground.
The downtown business district consists of many Victorian style structures, including the Glyndon Hotel. The only high rise in the downtown area is Madison Towers.
The majority of the city's high rises are located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) which include the 20 storey Commonwealth Hall, the 16 storey Keene Hall, the 13 storey Telford Hall, and two 12-story buildings, Todd and Dupree Halls.
A 2,000-seat performing arts center is under construction on Lancaster Avenue. The center will house the only theater in central Kentucky with a “fly system” that allows quick changing of sets suitable for Broadway-type performances.
The Richmond economy is supported by many diverse entities:
The Eastern Progress - weekly (Student publication of Eastern Kentucky University)[9]
The Richmond Register - daily (owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.)[10]
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||