Lincoln Center, Kansas

History

Settler George Green founded the town of Lincoln in 1870, naming it after the county. "Center" was added to its name to indicate its location in the central part of the county. County residents initially voted to place the county seat in Lincoln Center. However, elections in November 1870 resulted in the seat relocating to nearby Abram, sparking a county seat war. Another vote in February 1872 reversed the switch, and Lincoln Center became the permanent county seat. In addition, residents relocated all the buildings in Abram to Lincoln, merging the two communities. The town was incorporated as the city of Lincoln Center in 1879, and is still officially referred to as such in the United States Census. However, both the city government and local chamber of commerce refer to the city as Lincoln, and it appears as such on state maps and signs.

Lincoln grew rapidly over the following decade, more than doubling in size, and the city gradually modernized. Kansas Christian College opened in Lincoln in 1885. The Union Pacific Railroad opened a branch line through the city in 1886, bringing mail service. In 1900, after the previous courthouse burned down, a new one was built out of native limestone known locally as "post rock". Rural mail delivery began in 1904, and telephony service began in 1905. In 1906, the city's first power plant opened, providing electric power. By 1950, the state highway commission had completed K-14 and K-18 through Lincoln.

In 1989, given the widespread, long-standing use of post rock limestone in local building construction, the Kansas Legislature named Lincoln County as "The Post Rock Capital of Kansas".

Geography

Lincoln Center is located at 39°2′30″N 98°8′48″W (39.041744, -98.146760) at an elevation of 1,417 feet (432 m). The city lies on the north side of the Saline River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. Yauger Creek, a tributary of the Saline River, flows south along the eastern edge of the city to its confluence with the Saline immediately south of the city. The confluence of the Saline and Lost Creek, another of the river's tributaries, is located immediately southwest of the city. Located at the intersection of Kansas Highway 14 (K-14) and Kansas Highway 18 (K-18) in north-central Kansas, Lincoln Center is 101 miles (163 km) northwest of Wichita, 190 miles (310 km) west of Kansas City, and 371 miles (597 km) east-southeast of Denver.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.24 square miles (3.21 km²), all of it land.

Climate

Lying in the transition zone between North America's humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), Lincoln Center experiences hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. The average temperature is 55.1 °F (12 °C), and the average yearly precipitation is 27.4 inches (69 cm). Snowfall averages 19.3 inches (49 cm) per year. On average, July is the warmest month, January is the coldest month, and May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Lincoln was 117 °F (47 °C) in 1947; the coldest temperature recorded was -27 °F (-33 °C) in 1989.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,297 people, 576 households, and 324 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,049.4 people per square mile (405.2/km²). There were 734 housing units at an average density of 593.9 per square mile (229.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.6% White, 1.1% American Indian, 0.3% African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.8% from some other race, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 2.8% of the population.

There were 576 households of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.8% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16, and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 44.9 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,308, and the median income for a family was $47,679. Males had a median income of $33,650 versus $28,438 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,949. About 13.0% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Lincoln Center is a city of the second class with a mayor-council form of government. The city council consists of five members, and it meets on the second Monday of each month.

As the county seat, Lincoln Center is the administrative center of Lincoln County. The county courthouse is located downtown, and all departments of the county government base their operations in the city.

Lincoln lies within Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is located in the 35th district of the Kansas Senate and the 107th district of the Kansas House of Representatives.

Primary and secondary education

Lincoln School District (USD 298) operates two public schools in Lincoln Center: Lincoln Elementary School (Grades Pre-K-6) and Lincoln Junior/Senior High School (7-12).

Transportation

Lincoln Center sits immediately south of the intersection of Kansas state highways K-14, which runs north-south through the city, and K-18, which wraps around the northern and eastern edges of the city.

Lincoln Municipal Airport, a general aviation facility, is located roughly a mile northwest of the city on K-18.

A line of the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad runs through the west side of the city.

Media

Lincoln Center has one weekly newspaper, The Lincoln Sentinel-Republican.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Lincoln include: