LaCenter,Commonwealth of Kentucky. Ballard County.

". Accessed 5 August 2013. formerly and often informally written as La Center, is a home rule-class city in Ballard County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, in the United States. The population was 1,009 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous community in the county. It is part of the

Paducah micropolitan area The Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties – three in the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky, a fourth Kentucky county bordering the Purchase, and one in ...

History

The Kentucky Secretary of State is unclear upon the city's date of incorporation,Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "LaCenter, Kentucky". Accessed 5 August 2013. but the LaCenter Woman's Club states it was originally named Merriville after the daughter of Maggie Davis, the land owner who sold the property for the new city to its developer, the La Center Land Company, in 1902.La Center Woman's Club. Historical Marker. After the Postal Service rejected this name for the new post office, the postmaster requested "LaCentre" for the city's central location within Ballard County, and later settled for "LaCenter."Robert M. Rennick,
Kentucky Place Names
' (University Press of Kentucky, 2013). One of the land developers, Stokely T. Payne, may have suggested the name, claiming the new city to be the "center of the universe," and possibly in the hopes that it would someday become the county seat.

Geography

LaCenter is located northeast of Wickliffe at (37.074782, -88.975091). It is geographically significant because of its proximity to the confluence of the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

rivers. The city is concentrated primarily around the intersection of U.S. Route 60, which connects LaCenter with

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

to the east and Wickliffe to the southwest, and Kentucky Route 358. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 1,038 people, 419 households, and 261 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 492 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.40%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 9.06%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.29% Asian, and 1.16% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.58% of the population. There were 419 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,188, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $32,813 versus $20,417 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,317. About 13.9% of families and 16.5% 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 t ...

, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Bob DeWeese, served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1993 to 2016, representing the 48th district Emily Nowselski - College campus ministry leader at Florida Atlantic University. Provided daily lunches to starving college students, Bible studies, Free Disney trips, support and a lending ear to any FAU student. Died August 1, 2022 at 97 years old. Married to Tony Nowselski. Buried at Lacenter cemetery.

References

External links

*
City of LaCenter Elected Officials
at Ballard County website {{authority control Cities in Ballard County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Paducah micropolitan area Populated places established in 1903 1903 establishments in Kentucky