Owensboro, Kentucky

City of Owensboro, Kentucky
—  City  —
Historic District in downtown Owensboro
Nickname(s): BBQ Capital of the World
Location of Owensboro within Kentucky.
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Daviess
Settled	Yellow Banks, Kentucky 1797
Incorporated	1817
Government
- Mayor	Ron Payne
- Mayor Pro Tem	Charlie Castlen
- City Manager	William Parrish
Area
- City	18.7 sq mi (48.3 km2)
- Land	17.4 sq mi (45.1 km2)
- Water	1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2)  6.59%
Elevation	394 ft (120 m)
Population (2009)
- City	55,745
- Density	3,107.3/sq mi (1,198.8/km2)
- Metro	111,599
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	42301-42304
Area code(s)	270
FIPS code	21-58620
GNIS feature ID	0500082
Website	http://www.owensboro.org

Owensboro is the third largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County.^[1] It is located on U.S. Route 60 about 32 miles (51 km) southeast of Evansville, Indiana and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 55,745 at the 2009 U.S. Census Estimate. The city was named after Colonel Abraham Owen. Owensboro is the second-largest city in the Tri-State region of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky after Evansville, Indiana.

History

Stretching out for more than five miles (8 km) along the meandering south bank of the mighty Ohio River lies the sprawling steel town of Owensboro, in the bluegrass state of Kentucky. St Louis, the 2nd largest city in Missouri, is 200 miles (320 km) to its north-west, while some 120 miles (190 km) south is the home of country music itself: Nashville, Tennessee. To the north, on the other side of the river, lies Indiana; to the east, Virginia of which Kentucky was originally a part.

According to anthropological studies, Native American culture in the locality dates back 12,000 years, through the last Shawnee Indians were forced to vacate the area before the end of the eighteenth century. Legend has it that Kentucky as a whole is 'dark and bloody ground' - a myth which arose out of the popular belief that Indian tribes were happy to hunt the land but were unwilling to settle it.

Settlement

It had initially been settled in 1797 by frontiersman William Smeathers (Smothers),for whom the riverfront park is named and Kentucky Historical Marker # 744 was erected in his honor at the park. The settlement was known as Yellow Banks, Kentucky;an allusion to the color of the banks of the Ohio River, In 1817, Yellow Banks was incorporated as a city under the name Owensborough, named after Colonel Abraham Owen. He was also the namesake of Owen County, Kentucky. In 1893, the spelling of the name was shortened to its current Owensboro.

Civil War

During the American Civil War, Owensboro was a town of split loyalties: it fought with the North, but its heart lay with the South. Owensboro's only claim to fame in the civil war was that in August 1865, the town was subject to a raid by a band of Confederate guerrillas from Tennessee led by Captin Jack Bennett, an officer in Johnson's Partisan Rangers. Bennett's men rode into Owensboro, tried and failed to rob a local bank, took 13 Union soldiers of the 108th Coloured Infantry prisoner, executed them, burned the bodies on a supply boat and escaped back to Tennessee having covered a total of 300 miles (480 km) on horseback inside six days. At that time, Owensboro was less than 70 years old. Another major battle was conducted 8 miles (13 km) south of Owensboro and today signified by a monument marking the battle located beside US Hwy 431.

On August 14, 1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States. Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. (The execution was presided over by the first female Sheriff in Kentucky, whose surname was Thompson.)

The end of the Second World war had bought civil engineering projects, which helped turn Owensboro from sleepy industrial rump into a modern, expanding community by the turn of the 1960s. Many of those had been set in motion by Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry, a firm of consulting engineers then engaged in a runway redesign at the County Airport; the 'Depp' in question was but one member of an old and prodigious Kentucky family which was to endow the town with its most famous son, actor Johnny Depp although in the 1960s, it was more famously the home of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Manufacturing History

The Owensboro Wagon Company, established in 1884, was one of the largest and most influential wagon companies in the nation. With nearly eight styles or sizes of wagons, the company set the standard of quality at the turn of the 20th century

Frederick A. Ames came to Owensboro from Washington, Pennsylvania in 1887. He started the Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages. In 1910 he began to manufacture a line of automobiles under the Ames brand name. Ames hired industrialist Vincent Bendix in 1912, and the company became the Ames Motor Car Company.

Despite its product being called the "best $1500" car by a Texas car dealer, the company ceased production of its own model in 1915. The company then began manufacturing replacement bodies for the more widely sold Ford Model T. In 1922, the company again remade itself and started to manufacture furniture under the name Ames Corporation. The company finally sold out to Whitehall Furniture in 1970.^[2]

1899 saw the start of the Kentucky Electrical Lamp Company, a light bulb manufacturing company which eventually was acquired by Kentucky Radio Company (Ken-Rad) in 1918 and later acquired by General Electric in 1945 and in 1987 acquired by MPD, Inc.,^[3] created the light bulbs that illuminated the first night game in the history of Major League Baseball on May 24, 1935,between the Reds and Phillies at Cincinnati's Crosley Field.^[4]

In June 1932, Mr. John G. Barnard; "Mr. Pete", as everyone called him founded the Modern Welding Company, Inc. in a small building located near the Ohio River at First and Frederica Streets where the Commonwealth of Kentucky office building sits today. Today, Modern Welding Company has 9 steel tank and vessel fabrication subsidiaries located throughout the United States and 5 welding supply stores located in Kentucky and Indiana. The company is an industry leader by being the country's largest supplier of Underwriters Laboratories listed, underground and aboveground steel storage tanks for flammable and combustible liquids. Chemical storage tanks, ASME pressure vessels and structural steel fabrication are additional products manufactured by the company. The company celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007.^[5]

Texas Gas Transmission Corporation was created in 1948 with the merger of Memphis Natural Gas Company and Kentucky Natural Gas Corporation and made it's headquarters in Owensboro. Since that time, Texas Gas changed ownership four times. The company was bought by CSX Corp. in 1983; by Transco Energy Corp. in 1989; by Williams in 1995; and by Loews Corporation in 2003.^[6]

In 1961, engineers at the General Electric plant in Owensboro introduced a family of vacuum tubes called the Compactron.

Religion

In 1937, Pope Pius XI established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro, which spans approximately the western third of the state. It includes thirty-two counties and covers approximately 12,500 square miles.^[7]

Geography

Owensboro is located at (37.757748, -87.118390)^[8], at the crook of a bend in the Ohio River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.3 km² (18.7 mi²). 45.1 km² (17.4 mi²) of it is land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (6.59%) is water.

Demographics

As of the U.S. census^[10] estimate of 2009, there were 55,745 people, 22,659 households, and 14,093 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,198.4/km² (3,102.9/mi²). There were 24,302 housing units at an average density of 538.6/km² (1,394.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.63% White, 6.90% African American, 0.51% Asian, 0.12% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 22,659 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,867, and the median income for a family was $41,333. Males had a median income of $33,429 versus $21,457 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,968. About 12.2% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan area

According to the 2007 census, the Owensboro Metropolitan Area includes Daviess, Hancock, and McLean counties.

Law and government

Daviess County Courthouse constructed in 1964

Owensboro has operated under a City Manager form of government since 1954. Citizens elect a mayor and four city commissioners who form the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners is the legislative body of the city government and represents the interests of the citizens. The Board of Commissioners hires a city manager who administers the day-to-day operations of the city.

The mayor is elected for a term of four years. Each city commissioner is elected for a term of two years. The term of the city manager is indefinite and based on performance.

Education

The Owensboro Public Schools, Daviess County Public Schools, and the Diocese of Owensboro's Catholic School System oversee K-12 education in and around Owensboro.

Owensboro is home to two private, four-year colleges, Brescia University and Kentucky Wesleyan College, and one public community college, Owensboro Community and Technical College. Campuses of Draughons Junior College and Daymar College are also located in Owensboro, and Western Kentucky University Owensboro maintains an extended campus presence there.

In 2006, plans were announced for a research center operated by the University of Louisville to be located at the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center, a part of the Owensboro Medical Health System, to study how to make the first ever human papilloma virus vaccine, called Gardasil, from tobacco plants. U of L researcher Dr Albert Bennet Jenson and Dr Shin-je Ghim discovered the vaccine in 2006. If successful, the vaccine would be made in Owensboro.^[11]

Transportation

Glover Cary Bridge as seen from Smeathers Park

US 60 and US 431 serve downtown Owensboro. US 231 and US 60 BYPASS form a partial beltway around Owensboro. KY 81, KY 56, KY 331, KY 298, KY 54, and KY 144 also serve the city.

Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport serves along with Evansville Regional Airport as one of the region's commercial airports.

Cultural features

Media

The daily newspaper is the Messenger-Inquirer, owned by the Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Kentucky.^[12]

Radio Stations include WBIO(FM), WOMI(AM), WVJS (AM), WBKR and numerous other stations broadcasting from Evansville are also available. One, WSTO FM 96.1 Radio, is actually licensed to Owensboro, although its studios are now located in Evansville.

Although no television stations are based in the city, it is part of the Evansville television market, which is the 100th-largest in the United States according to Nielsen Media Research.^[13] However in early 2007 WFIE-TV opened a bureau in Owensboro which covers news in the market's Western Kentucky Counties. Many of the local television stations often promote themselves as serving Evansville, Henderson, and Owensboro.

Fireworks over the river in Owensboro, KY

Concert during July 4th celebration 2010.

Owensboro Medical Health System

Owensboro BBQ Festival 2008

Military Memorial on the riverfront

Events of interest

• Owensboro considers itself the "BBQ Capital of the world"; it holds its International BBQ festival and competition every second weekend in May.

• During the summer, the city offers "Friday After 5", a free 16-week series of outdoor concerts on the downtown riverfront. The festival includes live bands, events for families, and entertainment every Friday from 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm. An estimated 55,000 people attend the events. ^[14]

• Owensboro holds the Annual Owensboro PumpkinFest each September at the Sportscenter/Moreland Park complex. The festival includes food vendors, crafts people, carnival rides, children and adult activities and games, and contests using pumpkins.^[15] Each year, the festival hosts a weekend-long concert series featuring some of the area's top bands, such as the Velvet Bombers, Sundown, Bad Kitty, and Mr. Nice Guy, to name a few. The event was started by the Glenmary Sisters as a way to raise awareness and funds for their mission work in the southeastern United States. The festival, however, was handed over to New Beginnings Rape Crisis Center in October 2009.^[16]

• Owensboro is home of a unique annual fundraiser: Men Who Cook - Celebrity Chefs Gala & Auction. The first Men Who Cook was held in 2007 through the collaboration of Richard Remp-Morris,^[17][18] Deputy Chief David Thompson with the Owensboro Police Department and many dedicated volunteers. Men Who Cook features amateur chefs who display their culinary talents in a friendly competition for coveted Silver Spoon Awards. The event includes food, live music, as well as silent and live auctions. The event has received recognition from Kentucky's Governor Steven L. Beshear; State Representatives Tommy N. Thompson, Jim Gooch, and Jim Glenn; City Commissioner Al Mattingly; Mayors Tom Watson and Ron Payne; and Bishop John McRaith. All proceeds from the event support the mission work of the Glenmary Sisters. Since 1941 the Glenmary Sisters have supported the poorest of Americans living in the rural south and Appalachia. The Sisters are funded almost entirely by donations from supporters who share an interest in reaching the unchurched, underserved, and oppressed. [2]

• Owensboro hosts one of the largest Christmas parades in Kentucky, second only to the Pegasus Parade in Louisville. Held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day, the parade features marching bands, clowns, fire trucks, beauty queens, miniature horses, and decorated floats. www.ChristmasParade.net

• During the summer, Owensboro is home of the Owensboro Oilers, a baseball team in the collegiate wood bat KIT League. The Oilers were the KIT League's 2008 playoff champions and the 2006 KIT League season champions. The team is named for the baseballminor league farm team 'Owensboro Oilers' which existed in the 1940's.

Points of interest

• Ben Hawes Golf Course and Park
• International Bluegrass Music Museum
• Western Kentucky Botanical Garden
• Glover Cary Bridge
• William H. Natcher Bridge
• Temple Adath Israel - one of the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United States.^[19]
• Largest Sassafras tree

Notable natives

Politicians

• Wendell H. Ford, former Kentucky Governor and U.S. Senator
• John M. Spalding, WWII hero, politician
• W. Ralph Basham, former Director of the United States Secret Service
• Steve Henry, former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
• Wilbur Kingsbury Miller, federal judge

Sports figures

• Eugene Oberst, Olympic bronze medalist in the javelin throw
• Rex Chapman, former NBA basketball player
• Wayne Chapman, former NBA and ABA player
• Cliff Hagan, former NBA basketball player
• Brad Wilkerson, MLB baseball player
• Bruce Brubaker, former MLB baseball player
• Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR retired driver and sports commentator
• Michael Waltrip, NASCAR retired driver and presently a team owner
• Bo Smith, Canadian Football League cornerback
• Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR former driver
• Jeff Green, David Green, and Mark Green, NASCAR drivers
• Stuart Kirby, NASCAR driver
• Justin Miller, NFL football player
• Nick Varner, pool champion
• Nicky Hayden, Motorcycle Racer, 2006 MotoGP champion
• Roger Lee Hayden, Motorcycle Racer
• Tommy Hayden, Motorcycle Racer
• BJ Whitmer, professional wrestler
• Joe Hardesty, Roller Skating National Champion 1977 & 1978
• Mark Higgs, former NFL football player
• Ken Willis, former NFL football player
• Chris Brown (defensive back), former NFL football player
• Jeff Jones, collegiate basketball coach
• Vince Buck, NFL player
• Tommy Kron, professional basketball player
• David Watkins, MLB baseball player

Entertainers

• Johnny Depp, actor, director, musician
• Tom Ewell, actor
• Mark Stuart, vocalist for Audio Adrenaline
• William Booth Wecker, showman of the 1930s and 1940s
• Byron C. Miller, filmmaker and member of God Module
• John Ferguson, member of The Apples in Stereo.
• Tom Powers, actor
• Christine Johnson Smith, opera singer and Tony Award nominated Broadway actress
• Florence Henderson, of The Brady Bunch fame
• Jared Wright, booking agent and promoter

Dudley Morton Memorial at the American Legion Hall

Authors and journalists

• Terry Bisson, author
• Chuck Clark, journalist
• Stephen F. Cohen, Russian studies scholar
• Craig Crawford, political commentator
• Marcus Rediker, author
• Moneta Sleet Jr., Pulitzer prize-winning photographer

Others

• Beulah Annan, suspected murderess
• Hazen A. Dean, noted Boy Scouts of America member and Scoutmaster
• Dudley W. Morton, U.S. naval commander
• Brett Baker, advertising copywriter
• Phillip Scott Bell, advertising copywriter
• Miss Kentucky USA, Lisa Devillez, 4th runner up Miss USA 1980
• Miss Kentucky USA, Kristina Chapman, 4th runner up Miss USA 1982

Sister cities

Owensboro has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:^[20]

• Olomouc, Moravia, Czech Republic
• Nisshin, Aichi, Japan

See also

• Owensboro metropolitan area
• International Bar-B-Q Festival
• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River

References

External links

• Official website
• Entry about Owensboro from the Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer, a University of Kentucky website
• Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
• 1821 Advertisement for an auction for land around Owensboro, Kentucky, from the Library of Congress
• Owensboro Daviess County Convention and Visitor Bureau

Owensboro, Kentucky Subject areas Culture • Demographics • Education • Geography • Government • History • Media • People • Transportation Top subjects Ben Hawes Golf Course and Park • Brescia University • Daymar College • International Bar-B-Q Festival • International Bluegrass Music Museum • Kentucky Wesleyan College • Owensboro Medical Health System Hospital • Owensboro Public Schools • Owensboro Sports Center • Western Kentucky Botanical Garden Prominent suburbs Calhoun • Hawesville • Island • Lewisport • Livermore • Sacramento • Whitesville

Municipalities and communities of Daviess County, Kentucky County seat: Owensboro Cities Owensboro | Whitesville CDP Masonville Unincorporated communities Curdsville | Friendly Village | Knottsville | Maceo | Philpot | Rome | Sorgho | Stanley | Utica | West Louisville | Yelvington

Commonwealth of Kentucky Frankfort (capital) Topics History · Education · Music · Cuisine · Sports · Flag · Seal · People · Geography · Demographics · Economy · Transportation · Culture · Symbols · Visitor Attractions · Portal Regions Allegheny Plateau · The Bluegrass · Central Kentucky · Cumberland Plateau · Cumberland Mountains · Eastern Mountain Coal Fields · Highland Rim · The Knobs · Mississippi Plain · Northern Kentucky Region · Pennyroyal Plateau · South Central Kentucky · The Purchase · Ridge and Valley · Tennessee Valley · Western Coal Fields 25 Largest cities Louisville · Lexington · Owensboro · Bowling Green · Covington · Richmond · Hopkinsville · Florence · Henderson · Frankfort · Nicholasville · Jeffersontown · Paducah · Elizabethtown · Radcliff · Independence · Georgetown · Ashland · Madisonville · St. Matthews · Erlanger · Winchester · Murray · Shively · Newport Metropolitan areas Ashland · Bowling Green · Clarksville · Elizabethtown · Evansville · Lexington-Fayette · Louisville-Jefferson County · Northern Kentucky · Owensboro Counties Adair · Allen · Anderson · Ballard · Barren · Bath · Bell · Boone · Bourbon · Boyd · Boyle · Bracken · Breathitt · Breckinridge · Bullitt · Butler · Caldwell · Calloway · Campbell · Carlisle · Carroll · Carter · Casey · Christian · Clark · Clay · Clinton · Crittenden · Cumberland · Daviess · Edmonson · Elliott · Estill · Fayette · Fleming · Floyd · Franklin · Fulton · Gallatin · Garrard · Grant · Graves · Grayson · Green · Greenup · Hancock · Hardin · Harlan · Harrison · Hart · Henderson · Henry · Hickman · Hopkins · Jackson · Jefferson · Jessamine · Johnson · Kenton · Knott · Knox · LaRue · Laurel · Lawrence · Lee · Leslie · Letcher · Lewis · Lincoln · Livingston · Logan · Lyon · Madison · Magoffin · Marion · Marshall · Martin · Mason · McCracken · McCreary · McLean · Meade · Menifee · Mercer · Metcalfe · Monroe · Montgomery · Morgan · Muhlenberg · Nelson · Nicholas · Ohio · Oldham · Owen · Owsley · Pendleton · Perry · Pike · Powell · Pulaski · Robertson · Rockcastle · Rowan · Russell · Scott · Shelby · Simpson · Spencer · Taylor · Todd · Trigg · Trimble · Union · Warren · Washington · Wayne · Webster · Whitley · Wolfe · Woodford