Liberal, Kansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Liberal is a city in Seward County, Kansas, United States. The population was 19,666 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Seward County^GR6.

1 History
2 Economy
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 External links

[edit] History

S. S. Rogers built the first house in what would become Liberal in 1872. Rogers would give water to travelers, who in turn told him something to the effect, 'that is very liberal of you.' In 1885 Rogers built a general store, and with it came an official U.S. Post Office, which needed a name. Rogers named the post office 'Liberal'. After the railroad was built close by, a plat for the town site was created in 1888. A year later the population was around 800.

Drought would cause some farmers to give up and look for more fertile territory. When the Indian Territory was opened, more settlers headed to the cheap land that would become Oklahoma.

Gas was discovered west of town, in what would become part of the massive Panhandle-Hugoton Gas Field, in 1920. Oil would be discovered southwest of town in 1951. In 1963 the largest helium plant in the world, National Helium, was opened.

[edit] Economy

Agriculture and Energy are the main economic drivers of the area. Hard winter wheat, broom corn, and cattle ranching are the main industries in the area, with milo, alfalfa, sugar beets, and feed stock for cattle and hogs, also being produced. The largest employer in town is beef processing company National Beef Packing, employing around 3,000 workers. Three major feedlots are prominent in town, Lazy EH Feeders, Liberal Feeders and Supreme Feeders. Oil, gas, and helium have also brought in capital to the local economy over the past century. The city has scheduled airline service at Liberal Municipal Airport.

[edit] Geography

Liberal is located at 37°2′36″N, 100°55′41″W (37.043418, -100.928133)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.0 km² (11.2 mi²). 28.6 km² (11.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.25%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 19,666 people, 6,498 households, and 4,756 families residing in the city. The population density was 686.5/km² (1,778.4/mi²). There were 7,014 housing units at an average density of 244.9/km² (634.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.56% White, 4.21% African American, 0.72% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 24.93% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. 43.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,498 households out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% 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 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,482, and the median income for a family was $41,134. Males had a median income of $29,315 versus $22,017 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,108. About 14.3% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Culture

The fifth largest collection of civilian and military aircraft in the United States is located at the Mid-America Air Museum. Started with a gift of 50 planes by Colonel Tom Thomas Jr. the museum has over 100 aircraft. [1]

The Seward County Museum has items from the Native Americans that lived in the area, as well as items from Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's expedition to the area in 1541, and the history of farming and ranching in the county in more recent times. [2]

The local semi-pro baseball team, the Bee Jay's, have won the national championship four times. [3]

Liberal is famous for its annual Pancake Day race that is held in competition with the town of Olney, England for the fastest time between both cities.

Liberal is also home to The Land of Oz exhibit, a recreation of Dorothy's house and the famed Yellow Brick Road, featuring donated bricks bearing the names of such luminaries as Senator Bob Dole, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and Liza Minelli.