Harlan, Kentucky

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Harlan, Kentucky
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Harlan, Kentucky


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Kentucky
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Harlan
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
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established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 4.5
area_land_km2 = 4.5
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 1.8
area_land_sq_mi = 1.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2081
population_density_km2 = 458.5
population_density_sq_mi = 1187.4

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 363
elevation_ft = 1191
latd = 36 |latm = 50 |lats = 29 |latNS = N
longd = 83 |longm = 19 |longs = 12 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 40831
area_code = 606
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 21-34732
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0493746
website =
footnotes =

Harlan is a city in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,081 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 1,880 in 2007. It is the county seat of Harlan CountyGR|6.

History

The settlement which became Harlan was first settled by Samuel and Chloe Howard in 1796, who allocated 12 acres of their land to become the county seat in 1812. They named the town Mount Pleasant when it was incorperated in 1876 due to the presence of a nearby Indian burial mound. It was renamed Harlan by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1912 since there was already a "Mount Pleasant" in the state.

In the 1980s a flood wall was completed on the city's west side and a four lane bypass for US 421 was completed. The additional flood protection allowed new commericial development.

Geography

Harlan is located at coor dms|36|50|29|N|83|19|12|W|city (36.841487, -83.320066)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,081 people, 926 households, and 550 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,187.4 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 1,060 housing units at an average density of 604.8/sq mi (233.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.01% White, 7.02% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.86% Asian, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 926 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.91.

The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $17,270, and the median income for a family was $29,135. Males had a median income of $37,500 versus $20,852 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,572. About 23.8% of families and 32.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.0% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives

*Wah Wah Jones -- NBA player
*James E. Keller -- former Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
*Nick Lachey -- Singer/Boy bander
*Cawood Ledford -- University of Kentucky basketball & football announcer
*Tony Turner -- WYMT-TV Late News Anchor, Reporter, Vice President
*Ryan Garrett -- Lead Guitar player of rock band "Sixth Gear"
*Phil Cox -- Former Kentucky Mr. Basketball who attended James A. Cawood High School (one of the predecessors to today's Harlan County High School)
*George Ella Lyon -- award-winning Kentucky author
*Eldon Huff -- Singer/ [Country/Rock genre]
*William Shackleford -- Native American Activist, Political Blogger

The popular Old-time song "Shady Grove" refers to the city in the chorus:

"Shady Grove, my little love
"Shady Grove, my darling
"Shady Grove, my little love
"I'm going back to Harlan."

Educational Institutions

Two school districts, the [http://www.harlan.k12.ky.us Harlan County Public Schools] and the [http://www.harlan-ind.k12.ky.us Harlan Independent Schools] , are based in the city. The independent schools, whose district roughly coincides with the city limits of Harlan, feature Harlan Elementary, Harlan Middle, and Harlan High.

Harlan County High School, which opened in 2008 as the consolidation of the county district's three previous high schools (James A. Cawood, Evarts, and Cumberland), serves all other public high school students in the county. Harlan also features a campus of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Media

[http://www.harlandaily.com/news/ The Harlan Daily Enterprise] newspaper is published Monday through Saturday. Radio stations serving Harlan are WHLN (adult contemporary, 1410 AM), WFSR (gospel, 970 AM) and WTUK (country, 105.1 FM).

References

External links