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Owensboro, Kentucky
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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. The population was 54,067 at the 2000 census. The city was named after Colonel Abraham Owen. Owensboro is the second-largest city in the Tri-State region of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky after Evansville, Indiana.
sboro was first settled in the 1790s by frontiersman William "Bill" Smeathers, for whom the riverfront park is named.
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Encyclopedia
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. The population was 54,067 at the 2000 census. The city was named after Colonel Abraham Owen. Owensboro is the second-largest city in the Tri-State region of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky after Evansville, Indiana.
History
Owensboro was first settled in the 1790s by frontiersman William "Bill" Smeathers, for whom the riverfront park is named. A Kentucky Historical Marker # 744 was 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. He was also the namesake of Owen County, Kentucky. In 1893, the spelling of the name was shortened to its current Owensboro.
Frederick Ames came to Owensboro from Washington, Pennsylvania in 1887. He started the Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages. In 1910 he 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 its product being called the "best $1500" car by a Texas car dealer, the company ceased production of its own model in 1915. The company then began manufacturing replacement bodies for the more widely sold Ford Model T. In 1922, the company again remade itself and started to manufacture furniture under the name Ames Corporation. The company finally sold out to Whitehall Furniture in 1970.
On August 14, 1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States. Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards.
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, engineers at the General Electric plant in Owensboro introduced a family of vacuum tubes called the Compactron.
Geography
Owensboro is located at (37.757748, -87.118390)., at the crook of a bend in the Ohio River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.3 km˛ (18.7 mi˛). 45.1 km˛ (17.4 mi˛) of it is land and 3.2 km˛ (1.2 mi˛) 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/km˛ (3,102.9/mi˛). There were 24,302 housing units at an average density of 538.6/km˛ (1,394.7/mi˛). 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 Area includes Daviess, Hancock, and McLean counties.
Law and government
Owensboro has operated under a City Manager form of government since 1954. Citizens elect a mayor and four city commissioners who 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 hires 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 and based on performance.
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
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.
Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport serves along with Evansville Regional Airport as one of the region's commercial airports.
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 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 is part of the Evansville television market, which is the 100th-largest in the United States according to Nielsen Media Research. However in early 2007 WFIE-TV opened a bureau in Owensboro which covers news in the market's Western Kentucky Counties. 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, the city 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 holds the Annual Owensboro PumpkinFest each September at the Sportscenter/Moreland Park complex. The festival includes food vendors, crafts people, carnival rides, children and adult activities and games, and contests using pumpkins. Each year, the festival hosts a weekend-long concert series featuring some of the area's 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 as a way to raise awareness and funds for their mission work in the southeastern United States.
- Owensboro hosts one of the largest Christmas parades in Kentucky, second only to the Pegasus Parade in Louisville. Held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day, the parade features marching bands, clowns, fire trucks, beauty queens, miniature horses, and decorated floats.
Points of interest
Notable natives
Politicians
Sports figures
- Rex Chapman, former NBA basketball player
- Wayne Chapman, former NBA and ABA player
- Cliff Hagan, former NBA basketball 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
- Jeff Jones, collegiate basketball coach
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.
- Tom Powers, actor
- Christine Johnson Smith, opera singer and Tony Award nominated Broadway actress
- Florence Henderson, of The Brady Bunch fame
- Jared Wright, booking agent and promoter
Authors and journalists
Others
Sister Cities
Owensboro has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
See also
External links
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