Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown, Kentucky
—  City  —
Nickname(s): G-Town
Location in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Coordinates: 38°12′35″N 84°33′36″W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Counties	Scott
Government
• Mayor	Everette Varney (D)
Area
• Total	15.85 sq mi (25.51 km2)
Elevation	846 ft (258 m)
Population (2011)
• Total	29,690
• Density	1,873.2/sq mi (1,140.7/km2)
• Demonym	Georgetonian
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
ZIP Code	40324
Area code(s)	502
FIPS code	21-30700
GNIS feature ID	0492790
Website	http://www.georgetownky.gov

Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The 2011 population was 29,690 per the United States Census Bureau. It was originally called Lebanon when founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, and was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts college. Georgetown is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city's growth began in the mid-1980s, when Toyota built Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, its first wholly owned United States plant, in the city. The plant, which currently builds the Camry, Camry Hybrid, Venza, and Avalon automobiles, and will build the Lexus ES beginning in 2015, opened in 1988. It is the largest building in terms of acres covered under one building in the United States, with over 200 acres (0.8 km²) occupied. The city previously served as the training camp for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.

History

Ward Hall, a Greek Revival landmark

In late 1785 or early 1786, the city of Georgetown was settled by the Rev. Elijah Craig and other Baptists who migrated with him from elsewhere in what was then part of Virginia. The city was incorporated on December 16, 1790, and the area became part of the new State of Kentucky when it was created in 1792. Craig established some of the first mills west of the Appalachian Mountains. Craig's early mills, which were located on the Royal Spring Branch, manufactured cloth and paper. He founded a distillery in 1789. Elijah Craig also founded a school called Rittenhouse Academy in Georgetown, which became the basis of Georgetown College.

For his military service, Colonel John Floyd was granted by the State of Virginia a total of 1,000 acres (4.0 km²), which included the Cardome property along the north fork of Elkhorn Creek. Later the property was home to several famous people, including Kentucky Governor James F. Robinson. More recently the site was the location of a girl's academy founded by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Visitation.

The historic Ward Hall, now the home of The Ward Hall Preservation Foundation, is located just outside of Georgetown. Ward Hall was the summer home of Junius Ward. The home represents the height of the Greek Revival period of architecture in Kentucky.

The Georgetown business section has a historic district known as the Oxford Historic District.

Geography

Georgetown is located at 38°12′52″N 84°33′20″W (38.214542, -84.555496).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.85 square miles (41 km²), all land.

Climate

Climate data for Georgetown, Kentucky
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F	41	46	55	66	74	83	86	86	79	68	55	44	65
Average low °F	25	28	36	45	54	63	66	65	58	47	37	28	46
Precipitation inches	3.20	3.31	4.07	3.60	5.26	4.44	4.65	3.25	2.91	3.13	3.53	3.93	45.28
Average high °C	5	8	13	19	23	28	30	30	26	20	13	7	18
Average low °C	−4	−2	2	7	12	17	19	18	14	8	3	−2	8
Precipitation mm	81.3	84.1	103.4	91.4	133.6	112.8	118.1	82.6	73.9	79.5	89.7	99.8	1,150.1
Source: The Weather Channel

Demographics

Cardome Centre

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,684		—
1870	1,570		−6.8%
1880	2,061		31.3%
1900	3,823		—
1910	4,533		18.6%
1920	3,903		−13.9%
1930	4,229		8.4%
1940	4,420		4.5%
1950	5,516		24.8%
1960	6,986		26.6%
1970	8,629		23.5%
1980	10,972		27.2%
1990	11,414		4.0%
2000	18,040		58.1%
2010	29,098		61.3%
U.S. Census Bureau

As of the 2010 Census, there were 29,098 people 10,733 households, and 7,452 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,836.4 per square mile (709.0 /km²). There were 11,957 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 7.0% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.3% of the population. According to the 2010 census, Georgetown is Kentucky's ninth largest city.

There were 10,733 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.09.

The age distribution was 27.9% under 18 and 8.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.7 years. The median income for a household in the city was $50,467. The per capita income for the city was $25,594. About 13.9% of the population was below the poverty line.

Crime

Scott County Courthouse

Georgetown City Hall

Kentucky State Police crime statistics for 2011 list the crime rate (per 100,000 population) for Georgetown as follows:

Crime	Georgetown	Kentucky
Arson	5	426
Assault Offenses	84	26,978
Bribery	0	67
Burglary/Breaking & Entering	76	22,028
Counterfeiting/Forgery	18	8,924
Destruction/Vandalism of Property	44	18,634
Drug/Narcotic Offenses	172	35,665
Embezzlement	0	0
Extortion/Blackmail	1	27
Fraud Offenses	32	7,100
Gambling Offenses	0	10
Homicide Offenses	0	223
Kidnapping/Abduction	2	459
Larceny/Theft	135	55,765
Motor Vehicle Theft	13	4,400
Pornography/Obscene Material	15	2,590
Prostitution	0	112
Sex Offenses (Forcible)	23	8,033
Sex Offenses (Nonforcible)	0	550
Stolen Property Offenses	13	3,401
Weapon Law Violations	4	1,723
Total	638	198,889

Economy

The best selling car in the United States, the Toyota Camry, is manufactured in Georgetown, Kentucky

Top employers

According to the Georgetown/Scott County Chamber of Commerce 2012 Community Profile, the top employers in the city were:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky	7,900
2	Scott County School System	1,045
3	Johnson Controls	803
4	Georgetown Community Hospital	320
5	Georgetown College	313
6	Walmart	300
7	Scott County Government	250
8	Aichi Forge	230
9	Qualex Manufacturing	200
10	Georgetown City Government	190

Education

Giddings Hall on campus of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Georgetown College is a private liberal arts college located in the downtown area of Georgetown.

Public education in Georgetown and Scott County consists of seven elementary schools (grades K-5), three middle schools (grades 6-8) and one high school (grades 9-12). These eleven schools are all part of the Scott County School system. Plans have been in progress for an additional high school and middle school within the city limits for several years due to the expanding population. Scott County High School also houses a separate (though still attached) wing for students in the ninth grade, called the Ninth Grade Center, which was developed to ease the transition for students between middle school and high school. An extended campus of the high school, Elkhorn Crossing School, provides some sophomores and juniors with a curriculum that integrates academic and career-based disciplines. Another unique feature, the Alternative School, is also part of the Scott County High School educational complex. The Alternative School strives to educate students who may have difficulties in a normal classroom setting (for example, those with disciplinary or other concerns).

Public schools located within Georgetown and Scott County include:

• Garth Elementary
• Northern Elementary
• Southern Elementary
• Eastern Elementary
• Western Elementary
• Anne Mason Elementary
• Stamping Ground Elementary
• Royal Spring Middle School
• Georgetown Middle School
• Scott County Middle School
• Scott County High School (which includes the Ninth Grade Center, the Alternative School, and Elkhorn Crossing School)

Private education in Georgetown and Scott County includes St. John elementary and middle school, Providence Christian Academy elementary and middle school, and Keystone Montessori elementary school.

Culture

Georgetown & Scott County Museum

Yuko-En on the Elkhorn

Sister city

Georgetown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Tahara, Japan

News publications

Georgetown's newspaper, the Georgetown News-Graphic, prints on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Residents of the area commonly subscribe to this locally-geared newspaper in addition to the larger Lexington daily newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Royal Spring, the main source of water for Georgetown, Kentucky since the earliest settlement as McClelland's Station in 1775.

Notable residents

Notable past and current residents include:

• Benjamin Franklin Bradley - politician, representative to the Confederate States Congress from Kentucky. Born in Georgetown in 1825.
• Stephen G. Burbridge - U.S. Army major general during the Civil War. Born in Georgetown in 1831.
• J. Campbell Cantrill - politician, U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born in Georgetown in 1870.
• Elijah Craig, early Baptist preacher, educator and entrepreneur. Worked on protecting religious freedom with James Madison of Virginia.
• Basil W. Duke - lawyer and Confederate general during the Civil War. Born in Georgetown in 1838.
• William H. Hatch - politician, U.S. Representative from Missouri. Born in Georgetown in 1833.
• Tom L. Johnson - U.S. Representative from Ohio 1891-95, Mayor of Cleveland 1901-1909. Born in Georgetown in 1854.
• James F. Robinson - politician, 22nd Governor of Kentucky. Federal Governor during the Civil War. Cardome in Georgetown was his family home.
• John McCracken Robinson - politician, United States Senator from Illinois. Born in Georgetown in 1794.
• Gustavus W. Smith - General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Confederate Secretary of War in 1862.
• Barton W. Stone, influential Presbyterian and Restorationist preacher of the Second Great Awakening; founded the Restoration Movement with Alexander Campbell
• Steve Zahn - Actor, lives on a 330-acre (1.3 km²) horse farm
• Margie M. Rigney - Writer and Painter, authored two books about her life as a resident of Georgetown, Ky.

External links

• Official city government site
• Official tourism site
• Georgetown/Scott County Chamber of Commerce
• Scott County Public Library
• Georgetown Police Department