Georgetown, Kentucky

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Coordinates: 38°12′52″N 84°33′20″W / 38.21444, -84.55556
Georgetown, Kentucky
Location of Georgetown, Kentucky
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Scott
Area
- Total	13.7 sq mi (35.5 km²)
- Land	13.7 sq mi (35.5 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	846 ft (258 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	18,080
- 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

Downtown view of Georgetown

Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States and is a suburb of Lexington. The population was 18,080 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Scott County^[1]. The original settlement was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington.^[2] It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts college.

The city's recent growth began in the mid-1980s, when Toyota built Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, the first wholly owned United States plant, in a recently annexed part of the city. The plant, which currently builds the Camry, Solara and Avalon automobiles, opened in 1988 and 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 state of Kentucky estimated in 2007 that Georgetown's population may be close to 27,500 as of July 1, 2006 ^[3]

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Education
5 Culture
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Georgetown is located at 38°12′52″N, 84°33′20″W (38.214542, -84.555496)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[5] 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 people per square mile (508.8/km²). There were 7,209 housing units at an average density of 525.3/sq mi (202.9/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. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.

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.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 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 years of age 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.

[edit] History

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

Cardome Centre

In late 1785 or early 1786, Georgetown was settled by the Rev. Elijah Craig and Virginia Baptists. The city was incorporated on December 16, 1790. Some of the first mills west of the Appalachian Mountains were established in Georgetown by Craig. Craig's early mills, which were located on the Royal Spring Branch, manufactured cloth and paper ^[6]. Elijah Craig also founded a classical school in Georgetown, which would lead to the founding of Georgetown College.

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 Sisters of Visitation.

The historic Ward Hall, now the home of the 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.

[edit] 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.

There are currently seven elementary schools (grades K-5) located in Georgetown and Scott County, along with three middle schools (grades 6-8) and one high school (grades 9-12). These 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. This was developed to ease the transition for students between middle school and high school. 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. Schools located within Georgetown and Scott County include:

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

[edit] Culture

[edit] Sister city

Georgetown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Tahara, Japan

[edit] News publications

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

[edit] Notable residents

Notable past or current residents include:

J. Campbell Cantrill - politician, U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born in Georgetown in 1870.
David French - author, A Season for Justice: Defending the Rights of the Christian Home, Church and School.
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. Was the Federal Governor during the Civil War. Cardome in Georgetown was his family home.
John M. 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.