West Liberty, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
As of the census
of 2000, there were 3,277 people, 696 households, and 446 families residing in the city. The population density
was 739.3 people per square mile (285.6/km²). There were 758 housing units at an average density of 171.0 per square mile (66.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.43% White, 18.19% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races
, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.
There were 696 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples
living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.71.
In the city the population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 44.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 264.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 297.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,429, and the median income for a family was $30,875. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $19,464 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,215. About 25.7% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.6% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.
n crafts, folk art, food, and other sundry items for sale and/or show. The entire downtown section is cordoned off with main street as the center of activity, a large pavilion type tent is erected to house the art and craft booths. While only hand-made items are allowed in the main tent, a good variety of roadside vendors and yardsales set up along route 519 from the county line at Cave Run Lake
to the flea market at Index, selling everything from antiques, tools, furniture, guns, Case knives, glassware, and collectibles, to homemade quilts, cakes, pies, jams and jellies. Local businesses decorate their window front displays for the occasion with an appropriate "1800s" theme, many local homes around the county also participate with awards for both categories. There is also a parade at noon on Saturday, featuring floats, horses, classic cars, motorcycles and displays from local area organizations, churches and schools, with awards and trophies in several categories. The festival also hosts a number of country
, bluegrass
and rock music
ians on 2 separate stages, one located on Main street for Country and Rock performances, the other at Old Mill Park caters more to traditional bluegrass music. The festival is locally known for the "Old Mill", a horse-drawn sorghum
mill, as well as the Sorghum Bowl, the local high school's homecoming
football game. For those who enjoy Southern classics, there are ample food booths offering the best selections of area restaurants, and the all-time favorites of many festival-goers, funnel cakes and dried apple pies. The area is host to the Countries largest concentration of Menonites (Amish
) and can be seen walking around the festival in their 18th century homemade dresses, bonnet
s and boots, the men are easily recognised by their black trousers and suspenders
(think:Little House on the Prairie
). The festival is a grand celebration of the harvest season and the warm rich diversity of the artisans and people who call the picturesque mountains of Morgan County home.
FYI: sorghum
is a sweet molasses
-like syrup
derived from sorghum cane, a member of the sugar cane family, sweeter and more flavorful than regular sugar cane mollasses, it retains more of the plants' natural honey
-like flavor.
The Bluegrass Festival began in 1996, and showcases both local and regional bluegrass acts. It takes place at Old Mill Park, and visitors can enjoy a wide selection of food and local vendor booths. The 14th Annual Old Mill Bluegrass Festivals' lineup included The Grascals, Tommy Webb Band, Darrell Winkleman and the Mountain Echoes, Orby Hunley and Pine Mountain Grass, Morgan County's own Gospel Witness, Rowland Dunn and the East Kentucky Mountain Boys, Clarence Kelly and New Cut Road, Bluegrass On-Line, Mike Havens and Blue Mountain Grass, Buck and Company, True Gospel Echoes, Don Rigsby and Midnight Call. Also appearing are The Gospel Travelers, East Kentucky Mountain Boys, Kati Penn Band, Pickin' Time, Billie Renee & Cumberland Gap, Alvin Ray Howard Band, Beracha Valley Singers & Kyle Henry Sexton and the Bluegrass thieves.
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 3,277 people, 696 households, and 446 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 739.3 people per square mile (285.6/km²). There were 758 housing units at an average density of 171.0 per square mile (66.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.43% White, 18.19% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.21% 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 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.
There were 696 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% 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, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.71.
In the city the population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 44.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 264.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 297.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,429, and the median income for a family was $30,875. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $19,464 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 $11,215. About 25.7% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.6% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.
Events
West Liberty celebrates the annual Sorghum Festival on the last full weekend of September. 2011 marks the Festival's 41th year, with upwards of 50,000 visitors expected each year. The Festival features a large variety of AppalachiaAppalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n crafts, folk art, food, and other sundry items for sale and/or show. The entire downtown section is cordoned off with main street as the center of activity, a large pavilion type tent is erected to house the art and craft booths. While only hand-made items are allowed in the main tent, a good variety of roadside vendors and yardsales set up along route 519 from the county line at Cave Run Lake
Cave Run Lake
Cave Run Lake, located south of Morehead, Kentucky, USA along Kentucky Route 801, is an , reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 148 ft , half-mile dam construction began in 1965 and was completed in 1973. Cave Run Lake is in the northern part of the Daniel Boone...
to the flea market at Index, selling everything from antiques, tools, furniture, guns, Case knives, glassware, and collectibles, to homemade quilts, cakes, pies, jams and jellies. Local businesses decorate their window front displays for the occasion with an appropriate "1800s" theme, many local homes around the county also participate with awards for both categories. There is also a parade at noon on Saturday, featuring floats, horses, classic cars, motorcycles and displays from local area organizations, churches and schools, with awards and trophies in several categories. The festival also hosts a number of country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
ians on 2 separate stages, one located on Main street for Country and Rock performances, the other at Old Mill Park caters more to traditional bluegrass music. The festival is locally known for the "Old Mill", a horse-drawn sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
mill, as well as the Sorghum Bowl, the local high school's homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
football game. For those who enjoy Southern classics, there are ample food booths offering the best selections of area restaurants, and the all-time favorites of many festival-goers, funnel cakes and dried apple pies. The area is host to the Countries largest concentration of Menonites (Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
) and can be seen walking around the festival in their 18th century homemade dresses, bonnet
Bonnet (headgear)
Bonnets are a variety of headgear for both sexes, which have in common only the absence of a brim. Bonnet derives from the same word in French, where it originally indicated a type of material...
s and boots, the men are easily recognised by their black trousers and suspenders
Suspenders
Suspenders or braces are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up trousers. Straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attachment ends and most straps are of woven cloth forming an X or Y shape at the back. Braces are typically attached to trousers with buttons...
(think:Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie
Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
). The festival is a grand celebration of the harvest season and the warm rich diversity of the artisans and people who call the picturesque mountains of Morgan County home.
FYI: sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
is a sweet molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
-like syrup
Syrup
In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
derived from sorghum cane, a member of the sugar cane family, sweeter and more flavorful than regular sugar cane mollasses, it retains more of the plants' natural honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
-like flavor.
The Bluegrass Festival began in 1996, and showcases both local and regional bluegrass acts. It takes place at Old Mill Park, and visitors can enjoy a wide selection of food and local vendor booths. The 14th Annual Old Mill Bluegrass Festivals' lineup included The Grascals, Tommy Webb Band, Darrell Winkleman and the Mountain Echoes, Orby Hunley and Pine Mountain Grass, Morgan County's own Gospel Witness, Rowland Dunn and the East Kentucky Mountain Boys, Clarence Kelly and New Cut Road, Bluegrass On-Line, Mike Havens and Blue Mountain Grass, Buck and Company, True Gospel Echoes, Don Rigsby and Midnight Call. Also appearing are The Gospel Travelers, East Kentucky Mountain Boys, Kati Penn Band, Pickin' Time, Billie Renee & Cumberland Gap, Alvin Ray Howard Band, Beracha Valley Singers & Kyle Henry Sexton and the Bluegrass thieves.
External links
- City of West Liberty Official Website
- KyHomeTown.com West Liberty Page
- Vegetable Gardens Are Booming in West Liberty, Ky. -- NY Times September 8, 2011