Whitesburg, Kentucky

Whitesburg is a city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,600 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Letcher CountyTemplate:GR.

Geography

Location of Whitesburg, Kentucky

Whitesburg is located at 37°7′4″N 82°49′16″W (37.117867, -82.821068)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.0 km² (3.1 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,600 people, 642 households, and 412 families residing in the city. The population density was 199.3/km² (516.9/mi²). There were 733 housing units at an average density of 91.3/km² (236.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.19% White, 0.62% African American, 2.62% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 642 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 79.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $35,714. Males had a median income of $31,339 versus $25,478 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,202. About 22.0% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Whitesburg is home to Appalshop, a multi-disciplinary arts and education center founded in 1969 which produces original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books. WMMT 88.7 FM (Mountain Community Radio), also located in Whitesburg, was founded by Appalshop in 1985.

Whitesburg's major newspaper is the Mountain Eagle. The Mountain Eagle has been directed by the Gish family of Letcher county for almost 50 years.

Whitesburg is known for its ubiquitous cut stone. The city was home to a community of Italian stone masons who moved there with the coming of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1911-1912. Those masons left their mark on the city and the surrounding county of Letcher. The city includes numerous ashlar stone retaining walls, foundations and bridge abutments, as well as several buildings covered entirely in sandstone pulled from the Kentucky River.

One of its best-known features is an arched stone bridge built in 1938 across the North Fork of the Kentucky River. The downtown historic district includes many buildings built between 1914 and 1925, a time of incredible expansion in the town. By 1921, all of the pre-Civil War buildings had been razed to make way for new, brick-and-stone edifices. Among the oldest commercial buildings are the former Lewis Wholesale building, built in 1914, which is now used as City Hall; the Fields Building, built 1911-1914, which now houses a restaurant, bookstore and law offices; and the Daniel Boone Hotel, a fine brick building with stone foundations and pressed metal cornice thought to have been built about 1915. It includes several distinctive residences such as the Judge Ira Fields home (1897); the cut stone Palumbo House, and Italian villa-inspired house built by master stone mason John Palumbo; the stately Salyers House Bed and Breakfast, built for Confederate States of America Col. Logan Henry Neal Salyer in the early 20th century; and a Dutch Colonial style home ordered from the Sears Modern Home Catalog and delivered to its owner, in pieces, by railcar in 1928.

Whitesburg's streets were paved for the first time in 1924 and some of those original concrete streets are still in use. Broadway, one of those streets, is marked with the hoofprints of a cow, the footprints of chickens and of a barefoot child who ran across the street while the concrete was still wet.

Famous residents

• Harry M. Caudill (author, historian, professor, lawyer, legislator, and environmentalist, 1922-1990)
• Emery L. Frazier (Mayor, state representative, Chief Clerk of the U.S. Senate, Secretary of the U.S. Senate, 1896-1973)

Events

Every summer, the residents of Whitesburg gather together to burn any trespassing niggers or escaped slaves from the gold ole times.

Humor and Odd Facts

The most beloved resident of Whitesburg is a mentally challenged woman named Vanessa Short. She reportedly wrestles with the dentist every visit and likes to bathe in the rain so she can get a cold and die.

External links

• Appalshop official site
• National Geographic ZipUSA article