Everything about Owensboro Kentucky totally explained
Owensboro is the third-largest city in the
U.S. state of
Kentucky and the
county seat of
Daviess County. It is located on
U.S. Route 60 about 32 miles southeast of
Evansville, Indiana and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky
Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to 2006 estimates, the city had a total population of 55,525 and a metropolitan population of 111,599. The city was named after Colonel
Abraham Owen.
History
Owensboro was first settled in the
1790s by frontiersman William "Bill" Smeathers, for which the park on the riverfront is named, as well a Kentucky Historical Marker # 744 has also been erected in his honor at the park. The settlement was called Yellow Banks, an allusion to the color of the banks of the
Ohio River. In
1817, Yellow Banks was incorporated as a city under the name Owensborough, named after Colonel
Abraham Owen (who is also the
namesake of
Owen County, Kentucky). In
1893, the name was shortened to its present spelling of Owensboro.
Frederick Ames came to Owensboro from
Washington, Pennsylvania in
1887. He started the
Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages, but in
1910 began to manufacture a line of automobiles under the
Ames brand name. Ames hired industrialist
Vincent Bendix in
1912, and the company became the Ames Motor Car Company. Despite being called the "best $1500" car by a
Texas car dealer, production ceased in
1915. The company instead began manufacturing replacement bodies for the
Ford Model T. In
1922, the company again remade itself, manufacturing furniture under the name Ames Corporation. The company finally sold out to Whitehall Furniture in
1970.
On
August 14,
1936, downtown Owensboro became the site of the last public
hanging in the
United States.
Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards, who was also murdered. He had confessed to her strangling but the Commonwealth indicted him only on the rape charge since that was the only capital crime for which the penalty was hanging.
In
1937,
Pope Pius XI established the
Roman Catholic diocese of Owensboro which spans approximately the western third of the state. It includes thirty-two counties and covers approximately 12,500 square miles.
In
1961, a family of
vacuum tubes called the
Compactron was introduced by engineers from the
General Electric plant in Owensboro.
Geography
Owensboro is located in the crook of a bend in the
Ohio River at (37.757748, -87.118390).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.3
km² (18.7
mi²). 45.1 km² (17.4 mi²) of it's land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (6.59%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 54,067 people, 22,659 households, and 14,093 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,198.4/km² (3,102.9/mi²). There were 24,302 housing units at an average density of 538.6/km² (1,394.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.63%
White, 6.90%
African American, 0.51%
Asian, 0.12%
Native American, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.55% from
other races, and 1.28% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.
There were 22,659 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were
married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,867, and the median income for a family was $41,333. Males had a median income of $33,429 versus $21,457 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,968. About 12.2% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
Metropolitan area
According to the 2000 census, the Owensboro
Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Daviess,
Hancock County, Kentucky and
McLean County, Kentucky.
Law and government
Owensboro has operated under a City Manager form of government since
1954. The citizenry elects 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. 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.
Education
The Owensboro Public School System,
Daviess County Public Schools, and the
Diocese of Owensboro's
Catholic School System oversee K-12 education in and around Owensboro.
Owensboro is home to two private, four-year colleges,
Brescia University and
Kentucky Wesleyan College, and one public community college,
Owensboro Community and Technical College. Campuses of
Draughons Junior College and
Daymar College are also located in Owensboro, and
Western Kentucky University maintains an extended campus presence there.
In
2006, plans were announced for a research center operated by the
University of Louisville to be located at the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center, a part of the Owensboro Medical Health System, to study how to make the first ever
human papilloma virus vaccine, called
Gardasil, from
tobacco plants. UofL researcher Dr Albert Bennet Jenson and Dr Shin-je Ghim discovered the
vaccine in
2006. If successful, the
vaccine would be made in Owensboro.
Transportation
Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport serves as the region's only commercial airport.
US 60 and
US 431 serve
Downtown Owensboro.
US 231 and
US 60 BYPASS form a partial beltway around Owensboro.
KY 81,
KY 56,
KY 331,
KY 298,
KY 54,and
KY 144 also serve the city.
Cultural features
Media
The daily newspaper is the
Messenger-Inquirer, owned by the Paxton Media Group of
Paducah, Kentucky.
Radio Stations include
WBIO (FM),
WOMI (AM),
WVJS (AM),
WBKR (FM) and numerous other stations broadcasting from Evansville are also available. One,
WSTO FM 96.1 Radio, is actually licensed to Owensboro, although its studios are now located in Evansville.
Although no television stations are based in the city, it's part of the Evansville television market, which is the 100th-largest in the United States according to
Nielsen Media Research. Many of the local television stations often promote themselves as serving Evansville, Henderson, and Owensboro.
Events of interest
Owensboro considers itself the "
BBQ Capital of the world"; it holds its
International BBQ festival and competition every second weekend in May.
During the summer downtown offers Friday After 5, a 16-week series of free outdoor concerts on the downtown riverfront. The festival was created and sponsored by Downtown Owensboro, Inc. The festival includes live bands, events for families, and entertainment every Friday from 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm. An estimated 35,000 people attend the events.
Owensboro is home to the Annual Owensboro PumpkinFest held each September at the Sportscenter/Moreland Park complex. The festival consists of food vendors, crafts people, carnival rides, children and adult activities and games, and plenty of contests using pumpkins. Each year, the festival hosts a weekend long concert series featuring some of the areas top bands such as the Velvet Bombers, Sundown, Bad Kitty, and Mr. Nice Guy to name a few. The event was started by the
Glenmary Sisters (also based in Owensboro) as a way to raise awareness and funds for their mission work in the southeastern United States.
Owensboro hosts one of the largest parades in Kentucky, second only to the Pegasus Parade in Louisville. It is held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day and features marching bands, clowns, fire trucks, beauty queens, miniature horses, and decorated floats.
www.ChristmasParade.net
Points of interest
Notable natives
Politicians
Wendell H. Ford, former Kentucky Governor and U.S. Senator
John M. Spalding, WWII hero, politician
W. Ralph Basham, former Director of the United States Secret Service
Steve Henry, former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
Sports figures
Rex Chapman, former NBA basketball player
Cliff Hagan, former NBA basketball player
Logan Johnson, former Louisville Cardinals baseball player
Brad Wilkerson, MLB baseball player
Bruce Brubaker, former MLB baseball player
Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR driver and sports commentator
Michael Waltrip, NASCAR driver,
Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR driver
Jeff Green, David Green, and Mark Green, NASCAR drivers
Stuart Kirby, NASCAR driver
Justin Miller, NFL football player
Nick Varner, pool champion
Nicky Hayden, Motorcycle Racer
Roger Lee Hayden, Motorcycle Racer
Tommy Hayden, Motorcycle Racer
BJ Whitmer, professional wrestler
Joe Hardesty, Roller Skating National Champion 1977 & 1978
Mark Higgs, former NFL football player
Ken Willis, former NFL football player
Entertainers
Johnny Depp, actor, director, musician
Tom Ewell, actor
Brian "beej" Jackson, radio/TV personality
Mark Stuart, vocalist for Audio Adrenaline
William Booth Wecker, showman of the 1930s and 1940s
Byron C. Miller, filmmaker and member of God Module
John Ferguson, member of The Apples in Stereo.
Christine Johnson Smith, opera singer and Tony Award nominated Broadway actress
Authors and journalists
Terry Bisson, author
Chuck Clark, journalist
Stephen F. Cohen, Russian studies scholar
Moneta Sleet Jr., Pulitzer prize-winning photographer
Others
Dudley W. Morton, U.S. naval commander
Sister Cities
Owensboro has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
Olomouc, Czech Republic
Nisshin, Aichi, JapanFurther Information
Get more info on 'Owensboro Kentucky'.
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