Lawrence is the 6th largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Area which encompasses all of Douglas County. Located twenty-five miles east of Topeka, Kansas, and forty-one miles west of Kansas City, Missouri, it is situated along the banks of the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. In 2008, the city had an estimated population of 90,520. Lawrence is a college town and is the home to the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.
History
Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854 for the New England Emigrant Aid Company by Charles Robinson, who later served as governor of Kansas. The city was named after Amos Adams Lawrence, a prominent politician and antislavery partisan and the son of famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence. Lawrence was Robinson's cousin and a major source of funds and support for the new settlement.
In the Bleeding Kansas era, Lawrence was a center of anti-slavery sentiment. On May 21, 1856, a pro-slavery posse led by Sheriff Samuel J. Jones burned the Free-State Hotel, destroyed the equipment of two anti-slavery newspapers, and looted several other businesses in an attack known as the sack of Lawrence; one man was killed, struck dead by a stone falling from the burning hotel. Abolitionist John Brown's nearby Pottawatomie Massacre is believed to have been a reaction to this event. On August 21, 1863, during the American Civil War, Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill burned most of the houses and commercial buildings in Lawrence and killed 150 to 200 of the men they found in the Lawrence Massacre. Of historical importance is KU's Pioneer Cemetery , perhaps best known for being the final resting place of Thomas Barber, a free-state settler, and Elmer McCollum, KU alumnus who is credited with discovering Vitamin A. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, is buried in East Lawrence in Memorial Park Cemetery.
The University of Kansas was founded in Lawrence in 1865 by the citizens of Lawrence under a charter granted by the Kansas Legislature, with the donation of 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land on Mount Oread by former Kansas Governor Charles Robinson and his wife, Sara, and a small monetary gift from Amos Adams Lawrence. As a college town, Lawrence is known for its liberal philosophy and distinctive culture.
In 1989, when the Free State Brewing Co. opened in Lawrence, it was the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years. The restaurant is in a renovated inter-trolley station in downtown Lawrence. The city is home to the state's only commercial hydro-electric plant.
In the early 1980s Lawrence grabbed national and later world attention because of the television movie The Day After . The TV movie first appeared on ABC but was later shown in movie theaters around the world. The movie depicted what would happen to average Americans, particularly those living in Lawrence and surrounding communities, if the United States was destroyed in a nuclear war. The movie was filmed in Lawrence with help from many people in the community.
Geography
Lawrence is situated at 38°57′36″N 95°15′12″W / 38.96°N 95.25333°W / 38.96; -95.25333 (38.959902, -95.253199). This is about 41 miles (66 km) west of Kansas City, and about 20 miles (30 km) east of Topeka. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.7 square miles (74.3 km²), of which, 28.1 square miles (72.8 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) is water, including Potter Lake on the KU campus. The total area is 2.06% water.
Older versions of Google Earth, software that allows the user to "fly" over the surface of the earth, mapped with satellite photography and topographical data, has a default position that, when the program launches, is centered exactly on the city of Lawrence (specifically on Meadowbrook Apartments, lying between Compton Square and Regency Place). This may be verified by running the software and zooming in from the default start position without rotating the virtual globe at all. This location was set by Brian McClendon, a 1986 graduate of the University of Kansas and director of engineering for Google Earth. Newer versions of the program center on Lawrence on the initial run, but center on the user's own location on subsequent launches.
Lawrence's Mount Oread is named after Oread Seminary in Worcester, which was founded by the organization that sent the city's first settlers.
Climate
Over the course of a year, temperatures range from an average low of almost 20 °F (−7 °C) in January to an average high above 90 °F (32 °C) in July. The high temperature reaches 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 49 days a year and reaches 100 °F (38 °C) on average of five days a year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point 32 °F (0 °C) on average of 96 days a year. Typically the first fall freeze occurs between mid-October and the second week of November, and the last spring freeze occurs between the last week of March and the third week of April.
The area receives nearly 40 inches (1,000 mm) of precipitation during an average year with the largest share being received in May and June; the April-to–June period averages 32 days of measurable precipitation. During a typical year the total amount of precipitation may be anywhere from 27 to 54 inches (1,400 mm). There are on average 100 days of measurable precipitation each year. Winter snowfall averages almost 18 inches, but the median is less than 10 inches (250 mm). Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 10 days a year with at least an inch of snow being received on six of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 18 days a year.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 80,098 people, 31,388 households, and 15,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,849.4 people per square mile (1,100.2/km²). There were 32,761 housing units at an average density of 1,165.4/sq mi (450.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.80% White, 5.09% African American, 2.93% Native American, 3.78% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.65% of the population. 23.8% were of German, 10.6% English, 10.1% Irish and 7.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.0% spoke English, 2.9% Spanish and 1.0% Chinese or Mandarin as their first language.
Of the 31,388 households, 25.1% included children under the age of 18, 38.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 30.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,669, and the median income for a family was $51,545. Males had a median income of $33,481 versus $27,436 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,378. About 7.3% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Cost of Living
CityData.com compiled cost of living statistics for Lawrence and the surrounding communities. Household income has grown 12% in Lawrence since 2000. Housing costs have increased 52% during the same time.
Estimated median household income in 2007: $38,826 (it was $34,669 in 2000)
Lawrence: $38,826 / Topeka: $41,662 / Olathe: $69,366 / Kansas: $47,451
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $171,100 (it was $112,800 in 2000)
Lawrence: $171,100 / Topeka: $92,100 / Olathe: $190,600 / Kansas: $121,200
Mean prices in 2007: All housing units: $202,400; Detached houses: $218,655; Townhouses or other attached units: $139,429; In 2-unit structures: $209,848; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $122,636; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $75,000; Mobile homes: $19,003
Median gross rent in 2007: $711.
Lawrence: $711 / Topeka: $581 / Olathe: $767
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2007: 20.7%
Lawrence: 20.7% / Topeka: 15.3% / Olathe: 4.3%
Politics and culture
While Kansas is a heavily Republican state, Lawrence is reliably Democratic. Douglas County, where Lawrence is situated, was one of only two counties in Kansas whose majority voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election and one of only three that
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