Prairie Village, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. The county is largely suburban, being part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, and containing many of its affluent southwestern suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 544,179. Its county...

, 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...

, and is a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,447.

History

After the successful development of the Country Club Plaza
Country Club Plaza
The Country Club Plaza is an upscale shopping district and residential neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was the first shopping center in the world designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile...

 in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, J. C. Nichols turned toward development of his native Johnson County, just a few miles from the Plaza. Construction of Prairie Village started in 1941. By 1949, Prairie Village was named the best planned community in America by the National Association of Home Builders. It was officially recognized as a city in 1951.

Remnants of the 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...

 are found in the city.

Geography

Prairie Village is located at 38°59′23"N 94°38′10"W (38.989655, -94.636162). According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 22,072 people, 9,833 households, and 6,165 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 3,547.1 people per square mile (1,370.1/km²). There were 10,126 housing units at an average density of 1,627.3 per square mile (628.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.15% White, 0.78% African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.13% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.64% 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 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.27% of the population.

There were 9,833 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,685, and the median income for a family was $70,602 (these figures had risen to $71,646 and $88,185 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,428 versus $37,321 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 $34,677. About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Libraries

The Johnson County Library serves residents of Prairie Village. The library's Corinth branch is in Prairie Village.

Notable people

  • Jason Aaron
    Jason Aaron
    Jason Aaron is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as The Other Side, Scalped, Ghost Rider, Wolverine and PunisherMAX.-Early life:Jason was born in Jasper, Alabama...

    , American comic book writer
  • Hank Bauer
    Hank Bauer
    Henry Albert "Hank" Bauer was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics ; he batted and threw right-handed...

    , Major League baseball player, manager
  • Robert Frederick Bennett
    Robert Frederick Bennett
    Robert Frederick Bennett was an American lawyer and the 39th Governor of Kansas from 1975 to 1979.Bennett was born May 23, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri. He married Joan Gregory, whom he met at Shawnee Mission Rural High School while participating in debate. They had four children: Robert F. ,...

    , Mayor of Prairie Village, Governor of Kansas (1975–1979)
  • Sandahl Bergman, Broadway dancer and film actress
  • George Brett
    George Brett (baseball)
    George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...

    , Hall of Fame baseball player
  • Joyce DiDonato
    Joyce DiDonato
    Joyce DiDonato is an award-winning American operatic mezzo-soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Handel, Mozart, and Rossini...

    , operatic mezzo-soprano
  • Ben A. Jones
    Ben A. Jones
    Benjamin Allyn Jones was a thoroughbred horse trainer.Born in Parnell, Missouri, Ben Jones went into the business of breeding and training of thoroughbreds during the first decade of the 20th century, racing his horses on small circuits in the American West and in Mexico...

    , thoroughbred horse trainer
  • Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones, thoroughbred horse trainer
  • Chuck Norris
    Chuck Norris
    Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...

    , actor and martial arts champion, briefly lived in Prairie Village as a teenager
  • Ramesh Ponnuru
    Ramesh Ponnuru
    Ramesh Ponnuru is a Washington, D.C.-based Indian American columnist and a senior editor for National Review magazine. He is also a contributor to TIME magazine and WashingtonPost.com...

    , columnist
  • Larry Winn
    Larry Winn
    Edward Lawrence Winn, Jr. is a U.S. Republican politician.He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Kansas and served from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1985. He currently resides in Prairie Village, Kansas.-References:...

    , former U.S. Representative from Kansas
  • David Wittig
    David Wittig
    David Wittig is the former chief executive officer of Topeka, Kansas-based Westar Energy, a utility company.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wittig became a Wall Street investment banker....

    , indicted CEO of Westar Energy
  • Debora Green
    Debora Green
    Dr. Debora Green was a former oncologist living in Prairie Village, Kansas, married to Michael Farrar, a cardiologist. After previously trying to poison Michael using ricin, on October 24, 1995 she murdered two of her children, Kelly and Tim Farrar, ages 6 and 13, by setting fire to the family...

    , convicted murderer

External links

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