Pittsburg, Kansas

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Pittsburg, Kansas
Location of Pittsburg, Kansas
Location of Pittsburg, Kansas
Coordinates: 37°24′37″N 94°41′59″W / 37.41028, -94.69972
Country United States
State Kansas
County Crawford
Area
 - Total 12.5 sq mi (32.4 km²)
 - Land 12.4 sq mi (32.2 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation 942 ft (287 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 19,243
 - Density 1,546.2/sq mi (597.0/km²)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 66762
Area code(s) 620
FIPS code 20-56025[1]
GNIS feature ID 0469594[2]

Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in Southeast Kansas, United States. It lies 90 miles west of Springfield, Missouri, and 137 miles northeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in Southeastern Kansas. The population was 19,243 at the 2000 census.

It was founded on May 20, 1876 and named after and in honor of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Franklin Playter is credited with being the city's founder, establishing a government from its earlier incarnation as a coal mining camp in the 1870s.

Pittsburg is the home to Pittsburg State University, founded as a normal training institution. It has always had a strong manual and industrial arts program and has trained many of the area's public and private school teachers.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Pittsburg is located at 37°24′37″N, 94°41′59″W (37.410320, -94.699816)[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32.4 km²), of which, 12.4 square miles (32.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.48%) is water.

[edit] Heritage

The city has a rich cultural heritage from many Southern and Eastern European mine workers who settled in and around Pittsburg and Southeastern Kansas. The city was founded in 1876, and incorporated in 1880. It is situated in a once productive coal field. It now relies heavily on education and governmental related employment.

Little Balkans Days is a celebration that is unique to Pittsburg. This celebration of the community's European ethnic heritage features games, entertainment, a parade, competitions, and arts and crafts. It is held in conjunction with the Labor Day holiday.

The city is the birthplace & childhood home of broadcast journalism pioneer Paul White, legendary news director for CBS in the 1930s and 1940s.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1880 624
1890 6,697 973.2%
1900 10,112 51.0%
1910 14,755 45.9%
1920 18,052 22.3%
1930 18,145 0.5%
1940 17,571 -3.2%
1950 19,341 10.1%
1960 18,678 -3.4%
1970 20,171 8.0%
1980 18,770 -6.9%
1990 17,775 -5.3%
2000 19,243 8.3%

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 19,243 people, 7,980 households, and 4,213 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,546.2 people per square mile (596.8/km²). There were 8,855 housing units at an average density of 711.5/sq mi (274.6/km²). The people are 89.73% White, 3.11% Black/African American, 1.08% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.90% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.75% of the population.

There were 7,980 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 24.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,221, and the median income for a family was $36,674. Males had a median income of $26,312 versus $20,132 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,318. About 13.6% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable natives

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links