Winchester, Kentucky

Winchester, Kentucky
City
The Clark County Court House clock
Motto: Rich in History & Ready for the Future
Location of Winchester, Kentucky
Coordinates: 37°59′41″N 84°11′3″W / 37.99472°N 84.18417°WCoordinates: 37°59′41″N 84°11′3″W / 37.99472°N 84.18417°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Clark
Area
• Total	7.9 sq mi (20.4 km^2)
• Land	7.8 sq mi (20.3 km^2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.1 km^2)
Elevation	994 ft (303 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	18,368
• Density	2,344/sq mi (905.0/km^2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	40391-40392
Area code(s)	859
FIPS code	21-83676
GNIS feature ID	0506924
Website	winchesterky.com

Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States.^[1] The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census.^[2] It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

It was named after Winchester, Virginia.^[3]

Geography

Main Street in Winchester

Winchester is located northwest of the center of Clark County, 18 miles (29 km) east of Lexington and 15 miles (24 km) west of Mt. Sterling. Kentucky Route 1958 (Bypass Road) is an outer loop around the town. Kentucky Route 627 (Boonesborough Road) leads towards Richmond, 21 miles (34 km) to the south. U.S. Route 60 (Winchester-Lexington Road/Lexington Avenue) runs through downtown Winchester. Interstate 64 passes through the northern part of the city, with access from exits 94 and 96. The Mountain Parkway turns off I-64 just northeast of Winchester and leads 75 miles (121 km) east to Salyersville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Winchester has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.4 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20.3 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.67%, is water.^[2]

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Winchester has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.^[4]

Historic sites

Clark County Court House as viewed from Kentucky Route 627

• Bluegrass Heritage Museum
• Clark County Court House
• Clark Mansion (Gov. Clark House)
• Indian old fields
• Kerr Building
• Leeds Theater
• Oakwood Estate
• Old Providence Church
• Winchester Opera House

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	130		—
1810	538		313.8%
1830	620		—
1840	1,047		68.9%
1860	1,142		—
1870	1,616		41.5%
1880	2,277		40.9%
1890	4,519		98.5%
1900	5,964		32.0%
1910	7,156		20.0%
1920	8,333		16.4%
1930	8,233		−1.2%
1940	8,594		4.4%
1950	9,226		7.4%
1960	10,187		10.4%
1970	13,402		31.6%
1980	15,216		13.5%
1990	15,799		3.8%
2000	16,724		5.9%
2010	18,368		9.8%
Est. 2015	18,446	[5]	0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 16,724 people, 6,907 households, and 4,620 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,187.6 per square mile (844.6/km²). There were 7,400 housing units at an average density of 968.0 per square mile (373.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.94% White, 8.83% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.60% of the population.

There were 6,907 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,254, and the median income for a family was $36,797. Males had a median income of $31,295 versus $21,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,611. About 13.1% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Winchester's top 10 employers in manufacturing, service, and technology (2016)[8]
Employer	Number of employees	Year established in Winchester
Amazon.com	400	2012
Catalent Pharma	400	1992
East Kentucky Power Cooperative	300	1941
General Dynamics Information Technology	208	2014
Infiltrator Water Technologies	182	1986
Leggett & Platt	250	1910
Save-A-Lot Distribution Center	210	1998
The Freeman Corporation	223	1913
Walle Corporation	140	1991
Winchester Farms Dairy	183	1982

Small business

Winchester's economy supports opportunities for small business. All are locally owned, but many expand into surrounding counties.

Ale-8-One, a Kentucky-specific brand of soft drink, has been bottled in Winchester since 1926.^[9]

Education

Higher education

Winchester has been home to several higher education establishments. Kentucky Wesleyan College was located in the city from 1890 to 1954. When Kentucky Wesleyan left, the local Churches of Christ organized Southeastern Christian College on the former Kentucky Wesleyan campus. After SCC folded in the 1970s, the campus was preserved as a public park. Today, Clark County is home to the Winchester Campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

High school

George Rogers Clark High School is the city's only public high school.

Notable people

• Armstead M. Alexander (1834–1892), congressman from Missouri^[10]
• Chilton Allan (1786–1858), congressman from Kentucky
• Yeremiah Bell, safety for the New York Jets NFL team
• George French Ecton, second African-American state legislator in Illinois^[11]
• William Harrow (1822–1871), Union general in the Civil War
• Joel Tanner Hart (1810–1877), sculptor
• Preston Knowles, basketball player for the University of Louisville
• Homer Ledford (1927–2006), instrument maker and bluegrass musician
• Matt Long, TV's "Jack & Bobby", "Mad Men", "Helix".
• Claude Sullivan, sports broadcaster
• Allen Tate (1899–1979), poet associated with the Agrarians, a group of Southern poets, and most noted for "Ode to the Confederate Dead"
• Helen Thomas, White House press correspondent

Sister city

Winchester has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Ibarra, Ecuador
• Etawah, India

References

1. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
2. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Winchester city, Kentucky". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
3. Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. p. 130.
4. "Winchester, Kentucky Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.
5. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
8. "Business & Industry". Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. September 16, 2016.
9. Walton, Riley Rogers (1992). "Ale-8-One". In Kleber, John E. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. p. 11.
10. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
11. Smith, Gerald L., Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin, eds. The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky, 2015. p161

External links

• City of Winchester official website