Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown, Kentucky
—  City  —
Historic Downtown Georgetown
Nickname(s): G-Town
Location of Georgetown, Kentucky
Coordinates: 38°12′52″N 84°33′20″W / 38.21444°N 84.55556°W / 38.21444; -84.55556Coordinates: 38°12′52″N 84°33′20″W / 38.21444°N 84.55556°W / 38.21444; -84.55556
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Scott
Government
– Mayor	Everette Varney (D)
Area
– Total	13.7 sq mi (35.5 km2)
– Land	13.7 sq mi (35.5 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	846 ft (258 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	29,098
– Density	1,317.5/sq mi (508.7/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	40324
Area code(s)	502
FIPS code	21-30700
GNIS feature ID	0492790

Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington.^[1] It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts college. Georgetown is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city's growth began in the mid-1980s, when Toyota built Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, the first wholly owned United States plant, in a recently^[when?] annexed part of the city. The plant, which currently builds the Camry, Camry Hybrid, Venza, and Avalon automobiles, opened in 1988. It is the largest building in terms of acres covered under one building in the United States, with over 200 acres (0.8 km²) occupied. The city also serves as the home of the annual training camp for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.

Geography

Georgetown is located at 38°12′52″N 84°33′20″W / 38.21444°N 84.55556°W / 38.21444; -84.55556 (38.214542, -84.555496)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 18,080 people, 6,703 households, and 4,618 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,317.5 per square mile (508.7 /km²). There were 7,209 housing units at an average density of 525.3 per square mile (202.8 /km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.68% White, 8.01% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.99% of the population. According to the 2010 census, Georgetown is Kentucky's ninth largest city^[4].

There were 6,703 households out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.97.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,684		—
1870	1,570		−6.8%
1880	2,061		31.3%
1900	3,823		—
1910	4,533		18.6%
1920	3,903		−13.9%
1930	4,229		8.4%
1940	4,420		4.5%
1950	5,516		24.8%
1960	6,986		26.6%
1970	8,629		23.5%
1980	10,972		27.2%
1990	11,414		4.0%
2000	18,040		58.1%
2010	29,098		61.3%
U.S. Census Bureau[5]

The age distribution was 25.6% under 18, 16.1% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,186, and the median income for a family was $50,743. Males had a median income of $36,970 versus $25,936 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,859. About 8.7% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Cardome Centre

Ward Hall, a Greek Revival landmark

In late 1785 or early 1786, the city of Georgetown was settled by the Rev. Elijah Craig and other Baptists who migrated with him from Virginia. The city was incorporated on December 16, 1790. Craig established some of the first mills west of the Appalachian Mountains. Craig's early mills, which were located on the Royal Spring Branch, manufactured cloth and paper.^[6] He founded a distillery in 1789. Elijah Craig also founded a classical school in Georgetown, which became the basis of Georgetown College.^{[citation needed]}

For his military service, Colonel John Floyd was granted by the State of Virginia a total of 1,000 acres (4.0 km²), which included the Cardome property along the north fork of Elkhorn Creek. Later the property was home to several famous people, including Kentucky Governor James F. Robinson. More recently the site was the location of a girl's academy founded by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Visitation.^{[citation needed]}

The historic Ward Hall, now the home of The Ward Hall Preservation Foundation, is located just outside of Georgetown. Ward Hall was the summer home of Junius Ward. The home represents the height of the Greek Revival period of architecture in Kentucky.

The Georgetown business section has a historic district known as the Oxford Historic District.^{[citation needed]}

Education

Giddings Hall on campus of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Georgetown College is a private liberal arts college located in the downtown area of Georgetown.

Public education in Georgetown and Scott County consists of seven elementary schools (grades K-5), three middle schools (grades 6-8) and one high school (grades 9-12). These eleven schools are all part of the Scott County School system. Plans have been in progress for an additional high school and middle school within the city limits for several years due to the expanding population. Scott County High School also houses a separate (though still attached) wing for students in the ninth grade, called the Ninth Grade Center, which was developed to ease the transition for students between middle school and high school. An extended campus of the high school, Elkhorn Crossing School, provides some sophomores and juniors with a curriculum that integrates academic and career-based disciplines. Another unique feature, the Alternative School, is also part of the Scott County High School educational complex. The Alternative School strives to give somewhat uneducated students a better education without the classroom setting.

Public schools located within Georgetown and Scott County include:

Royal Spring, the main source of water for Georgetown, Kentucky since the earliest settlement as McClelland's Station in 1775.

• Garth Elementary
• Northern Elementary
• Southern Elementary
• Eastern Elementary
• Western Elementary
• Anne Mason Elementary
• Stamping Ground Elementary
• Royal Spring Middle School
• Georgetown Middle School
• Scott County Middle School
• Scott County High School (which includes the Ninth Grade Center, the Alternative School, and Elkhorn Crossing School)

Private education in Georgetown and Scott County includes St. John elementary and middle school, Providence Christian Academy elementary and middle school, and Keystone Montessori elementary school.

Culture

Sister city

Georgetown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Tahara, Japan

News publications

Georgetown's newspaper, the Georgetown News-Graphic, prints on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Residents of the area commonly subscribe to this locally-geared newspaper in addition to the larger Lexington daily newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader.^[7]

Notable residents

Notable past or current residents include:

• Benjamin Franklin Bradley - politician, representative to the Confederate States Congress from Kentucky. Born in Georgetown in 1825.
• J. Campbell Cantrill - politician, U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born in Georgetown in 1870.
• Elijah Craig, early Baptist preacher, educator and entrepreneur. Worked on protecting religious freedom with James Madison of Virginia.
• Basil W. Duke - lawyer and Confederate general during the Civil War. Born in Georgetown in 1838.
• William H. Hatch - politician, U.S. Representative from Missouri. Born in Georgetown in 1833.
• Tom L. Johnson - U.S. Representative from Ohio 1891-95, Mayor of Cleveland 1901-1909. Born in Georgetown in 1854.
• James F. Robinson - politician, 22nd Governor of Kentucky. Federal Governor during the Civil War. Cardome in Georgetown was his family home.
• John McCracken Robinson - politician, United States Senator from Illinois. Born in Georgetown in 1794.
• Gustavus W. Smith - General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Confederate Secretary of War in 1862.
• Barton W. Stone, influential Presbyterian and Restorationist preacher of the Second Great Awakening; founded the Restoration Movement with Alexander Campbell
• Steve Zahn - Actor, lives on a 330-acre (1.3 km²) horse farm
• George Clooney - Actor, born in Georgetown May 6, 1961.

References

1. ^ http://www.georgetownky.com/hist.html History of Scott County
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "Kentucky State Data Center 2010 Census Data". http://ksdc.louisville.edu/census/cities2000_2010popchange_with_ranks.xls. Kentucky State Data Center. 
5. ^ [1] Retrieved on 2010-12-04
6. ^ Scott County, Kentucky URL accessed on 07/09/2006
7. ^ Georgetown News-Graphic URL accessed on 04/05/2007.

External links

Kentucky portal

• Official city government site
• Official tourism site
• Georgetown/Scott County Chamber of Commerce
• Scott County Public Library
• Georgetown Police Department
• Photos of the John Graves Ford Hospital before demolition