Baldwin City, Kansas

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Baldwin City, Kansas
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Downtown Baldwin City


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Baldwin City, Kansas


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map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Kansas
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Douglas
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 5.6
area_land_km2 = 5.6
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 2.2
area_land_sq_mi = 2.2
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 3400
population_density_km2 = 604.3
population_density_sq_mi = 1565.1

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 316
elevation_ft = 1037
latd = 38 |latm = 46 |lats = 39 |latNS = N
longd = 95 |longm = 11 |longs = 15 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 66006
area_code = 785
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 20-03900GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0479524GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States about 12 miles south of Lawrence and 15 miles west of Gardner. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,400 at the 2000 census. The city is home to Baker University, the oldest four-year university in the state. It is the only town with its name in the United States.

History

Early History

Baldwin City originally began as a trail stop on the Santa Fe Trail named Palmyra. The small town consisted of a harness shop, blacksmith, hotel, lawyer, drug store, post office, two doctors and a tavern. In 1858, a group of Methodist ministers gathered at Kibbee Cabin and founded Baker University. The town of Palmyra bought land to the south for the university and surrounding city. A main benefactor was John Baldwin and the town was named in his honor. Baldwin built a saw mill which was located at present-day Fifth and Indiana Streets.

Baldwin City unwittingly found themselves surrounded by the events that led up to the Civil War. Three miles east of Baldwin was the town site of Black Jack where the Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856. The night before John Brown stayed in Prairie City and Quantrill's raiders passed within three miles of Baldwin after the burning of Lawrence in 1863.

Midland Railway

In 1867, the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Fort Gibson railroad laid tracks and became the first Kansas railroad south of the Kansas River. In 1906, the Santa Fe Depot was built and today the Midland Railway offers excursion rides to Ottawa via "Nowhere" and Norwood. Midland's Scout program is one of the few in the country to offer a railroading merit badge and Midland has hosted a Thomas the Tank Engine attraction the last few years.

Maple Leaf Festival

Every year since 1957, Baldwin City has hosted the Maple Leaf Festival during the third full weekend in October. It began as a way to celebrate a successful harvest and to view the fall foliage. Today, it is the largest fall family event in the area and features a parade, arts and crafts, quilt show, theatrical performances, history tours, train rides and live music.

Education

Baldwin City is home to the main campus of [http://www.bakeru.edu Baker University] , a liberal arts university founded in 1858 by United Methodist ministers. It is the oldest four-year university in Kansas and has been coed since it was founded.

The [http://www.usd348.com USD 348] public school district is also in Baldwin City and services most of southern Douglas County and has four elementary schools; two in Baldwin (K-3, Baldwin Elementary and 4-5 Baldwin Intermediate ) one located in Vinland and one near Worden called Marion Springs, a junior high and high school in Baldwin.

[http://www.usd348.com/?schools&bhs Baldwin High School] is home to the Bulldogs.

Geography

Baldwin City is located at coor dms|38|46|39|N|95|11|15|W|city (38.777597, -95.187418)GR|1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,400 people, 1,077 households, and 774 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,565.1 people per square mile (605.0/km²). There were 1,165 housing units at an average density of 536.3/sq mi (207.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.62% White, 1.12% African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.62% of the population.

There were 1,077 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 21.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,269, and the median income for a family was $51,667. Males had a median income of $37,111 versus $25,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,698. About 5.6% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

Further reading

*"A Self-Guided Tour of Baldwin City's Historic Sites on the Santa Fe Trail" by Loren K. Litteer
*"The Leavenworth, Lawrence & Ft. Gibson Railroad" by Loren K. Litteer

External links

* [http://www.baldwincity.org City of Baldwin City]
* [http://www.usd348.com Baldwin City USD 348]
* [http://www.baldwincity.com Baldwin City Signal]
* [http://www.douglas-county.com/aboutdc/history.asp#baldwin Some Baldwin City history on the Douglas County website.]