Eminence is a home rule class city in Henry County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the United States. The population was 2,498 at the 2010 census, up from 2,231 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Eminence Historic Commercial District. Eminence is the largest city in Henry County. Eminence is home to the loudspeaker manufacturing company, Eminence Speaker. The area was home to Eminence Male and Female High School which grew to become Eminence College. Eminence's school teams compete as the Warriors.

History

The area post office, established in 1836, was moved to Eminence in 1850, and named for its supposed location at the highest point on the railroad line between

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and Lexington. The city was formally incorporated in 1851. The Eminence Historic Commercial District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. With

Geography

Eminence is located in southern Henry County and is bordered to the south by Shelby County. Kentucky Route 55 is Main Street through Eminence. KY 55 leads north to New Castle, the Henry County seat, and south to Shelbyville.

U.S. Route 421 U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highwa ...

passes east of Eminence; it leads north to New Castle and southeast to Frankfort, the state capital. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city of Eminence has a total area of , of which , or 1.70%, is water. The city is located on high ground, with elevations up to , where several watersheds converge. The source of the Little Kentucky River, a tributary of the Kentucky River, is just west of Eminence, while Town Creek to the north and Drennon Creek to the east also rise in Eminence and flow north to the Kentucky River. Fox Run rises in the southern part of Eminence and flows south via Bullskin Creek and Brashears Creek to the Salt River. The Kentucky and the Salt River are both tributaries of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,231 people, 944 households, and 623 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 998 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 11.65%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 2.11% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.81% of the population. There were 944 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.91. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,323, and the median income for a family was $36,053. Males had a median income of $30,893 versus $21,042 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,337. About 14.9% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Education in Eminence is administered by the Eminence Independent School District. Eminence's school mascot is the Warriors. They have played the Eels of Eminence Junior-Senior High School in the Eminence, Indiana. Eminence has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, the Henry County Public Library.

Arts and culture

The city is home to the Highland Renaissance Festival, which runs from May through July. Eminence also hosts a Celtic Fest in September.

Notable people

Anne Braden Anne McCarty Braden (July 28, 1924 – March 6, 2006) was an American civil rights activist, journalist, and educator dedicated to the cause of racial equality. She and her husband bought a suburban house for an African American couple during ...

(1924–2006), civil rights activist * Jim Green, track star and first African American athlete to graduate from the University of Kentucky * Hollis Summers, (1916–1987), poet, novelist, short story writer

References

External links

*
Eminence Independent Schools
{{authority control Cities in Kentucky Cities in Henry County, Kentucky Louisville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1851 1851 establishments in Kentucky