Eudora, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Eudora is a city in Douglas County
, Kansas
, United States
. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located along the Kansas
and Wakarusa
Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,136.
. The Kansa lived along the rivers of this region in villages until they were forcibly removed in the 1820s by the American government to make room for the Shawnee
. The Oregon Trail
and Santa Fe Trail
passed through the region, just a few miles south of modern Eudora.
In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act
was passed, creating the Kansas Territory
and opening the region to settlement by Americans. As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Americans settlers started to encroach upon Indian lands. In 1856, three members of a German
Immigrant Settlement Company (called Deutsche-Neusiedlungsverein) from Chicago
, sent out a location committee to choose a town site in the new Kansas Territory. Favoring the Eudora area, they drew up contracts with Shawnee Chief Paschal Fish, the owner of most of the land in the area. The new town was named Eudora in honor of Chief Fish's daughter.
Eudora was the site of conflict during the Bleeding Kansas
Era and the American Civil War
. Eudora strongly supported the Union during the Civil War, many of its men enlisted to defeat the Confederacy. William Quantrill
passed through the Eudora area in 1863 on his way to Lawrence, Kansas
to commit his infamous and deadly raid on the unsuspecting town. Several Eudora residents attempted to warn Lawrence of Quantrill's proximity, but two men were thrown from their horses, one of them dying as a result of his injuries. After the raid, Eudorans were quick to aid the citizens of Lawrence as they started their recovery.
After the Civil War, relative stability finally arrived to the region. Eudora grew rapidly in the late 19th century, with growth leveling in the early 20th century. In the recent decades, Eudora has again grown tremendously as a result of its proximity to Lawrence and Kansas City
and its location along Kansas Highway 10
.
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 2 square miles (5.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (1.49%) is water.
of 2000, there were 4,307 people, 1,607 households, and 1,136 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,173.9 people per square mile (839.9/km²). There were 1,664 housing units at an average density of 839.9 per square mile (324.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.87% White, 0.70% African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races
, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.39% of the population.
There were 1,607 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,713, and the median income for a family was $50,909. Males had a median income of $37,833 versus $25,202 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,693. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
News
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located along the Kansas
Kansas River
The Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
and Wakarusa
Wakarusa River
The Wakarusa River is a tributary of the Kansas River, approximately long, in eastern Kansas in the United States. It drains an agricultural area of rolling limestone hills south of Topeka and Lawrence.-Description:...
Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,136.
History
The history of Eudora predates American settlement. The Eudora area was home to various Indian tribes for thousands of years. The most notable tribe was the KansaKaw (tribe)
The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...
. The Kansa lived along the rivers of this region in villages until they were forcibly removed in the 1820s by the American government to make room for the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
. The Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
and Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
passed through the region, just a few miles south of modern Eudora.
In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
was passed, creating the Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
and opening the region to settlement by Americans. As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Americans settlers started to encroach upon Indian lands. In 1856, three members of a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Immigrant Settlement Company (called Deutsche-Neusiedlungsverein) from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, sent out a location committee to choose a town site in the new Kansas Territory. Favoring the Eudora area, they drew up contracts with Shawnee Chief Paschal Fish, the owner of most of the land in the area. The new town was named Eudora in honor of Chief Fish's daughter.
Eudora was the site of conflict during the Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
Era and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Eudora strongly supported the Union during the Civil War, many of its men enlisted to defeat the Confederacy. William Quantrill
William Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. After leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, which included the infamous raid and sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863, Quantrill eventually ended up in...
passed through the Eudora area in 1863 on his way to Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
to commit his infamous and deadly raid on the unsuspecting town. Several Eudora residents attempted to warn Lawrence of Quantrill's proximity, but two men were thrown from their horses, one of them dying as a result of his injuries. After the raid, Eudorans were quick to aid the citizens of Lawrence as they started their recovery.
After the Civil War, relative stability finally arrived to the region. Eudora grew rapidly in the late 19th century, with growth leveling in the early 20th century. In the recent decades, Eudora has again grown tremendously as a result of its proximity to Lawrence and Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
and its location along Kansas Highway 10
K-10 (Kansas highway)
K-10 is a 38 mile state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. It was originally designated in 1929. It is mostly a controlled-access freeway, linking Lawrence to Lenexa. It provides an important toll-free alternate route to Interstate 70...
.
Geography
Eudora is located at 38°56′18"N 95°5′51"W (38.938213, -95.097417). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 2 square miles (5.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (1.49%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 4,307 people, 1,607 households, and 1,136 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,173.9 people per square mile (839.9/km²). There were 1,664 housing units at an average density of 839.9 per square mile (324.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.87% White, 0.70% African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.39% of the population.
There were 1,607 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,713, and the median income for a family was $50,909. Males had a median income of $37,833 versus $25,202 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,693. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The Eudora government consists of a mayor and five council members. The council meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 7PM.- City Hall, 4 East 7th St.
External links
City- City of Eudora
- Eudora - Directory of Public Officials
- Eudora - Chamber of commerce
- Eudora - Public Library
News
- The Eudora News, local newspaper
- Eudora Reporter, Eudora news and information