La Cygne (pronounced ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in
Linn County, Kansas
Linn County (county code LN) is a county located in east-central Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,591. Its county seat is Mound City, and its most populous city is Pl ...
, United States,
and situated along the
Marais des Cygnes River
The Marais des Cygnes River ( , ) is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 in eastern Kansas and western Miss ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population of the city was 1,050.
The city is named after the
Marais des Cygnes River
The Marais des Cygnes River ( , ) is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 in eastern Kansas and western Miss ...
which is a French translation of an
Osage appellation meaning "marsh of the swans".
History
La Cygne was founded in 1869 as soon as the people were assured of the building of a track for the Missouri River, Ft. Scott & Gulf Railroad. A town company was organized and purchased of land, but had only laid out as a town site. La Cygne was incorporated on January 14, 1870, and a board of trustees was appointed. In the fall of that year the town had grown so that it had inhabitants enough to organize as a city of the third class, and F. A. Foote was elected the first mayor. The first school was taught in 1869 in Cady's hall. It was a private subscription school and was kept open until 1870, when the public school house was built. It was a commodious two-story brick building containing the graded and high schools. The Methodist church organized in 1870 and soon after built a house of worship. The Presbyterian church was organized the same year but had no building for a year afterward.
At an early date La Cygne became a manufacturing point. A flour mill was built in 1870; a bank was started in 1871; the La Cygne organ factory was another early commercial enterprise, but it did not flourish. In 1881 a coal mine was opened, after which it became an important point for the industry. The first newspaper in the town was the ''Weekly Journal'', which first appeared in June 1870.
The suspicious
death of Alonzo Brooks in 2004 was featured in the fourth episode "No Ride Home" of the
fifteenth season of ''
Unsolved Mysteries
''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Ka ...
'' TV series in 2020.
Geography
La Cygne is situated on the east bank of the
Marais des Cygnes River
The Marais des Cygnes River ( , ) is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 in eastern Kansas and western Miss ...
and only a few miles southwest of the city of
Linn Valley. It is four miles (6 km) west of
U.S. Route 69 on K-152; La Cygne Lake is east of US-69. A track for
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
passes through the city. 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 the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, La Cygne has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
2010 census
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 incl ...
of 2010, there were 1,149 people, 454 households, and 303 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 517 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.3%
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 on ...
, 0.6%
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 ...
, 0.9%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
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 1.7% of the population.
There were 454 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.08.
The median age in the city was 37 years. 28.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census, there were 1,115 people, 459 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 507 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 96.68%
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 on ...
, 1.43%
Native American, 0.27%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
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 ...
, 0.27%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.27% from other races, and 1.08% from
two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
.
Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...
of any race were 0.72% of the population.
There were 459 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.
The
median income for a household in the city was $34,479, and the median income for a family was $44,118. Males had a median income of $30,900 versus $19,803 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 $15,880. About 5.0% of families and 9.2% 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 4.9% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The community is served by
Prairie View USD 362
Prairie View USD 362 is a public unified school district headquartered in La Cygne, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of La Cygne, Cadmus, Centerville, Fontana, Linn Valley, Parker, and nearby rural areas.
Schoo ...
public school district with four schools serving more than 1,000 students. The four schools located in the school district are:
* La Cygne Elementary School, grades PreK–5
* Parker Elementary School, grades PreK-5
* Prairie View Middle School, grades 6–8
* Prairie View High School, grades 9–12
The Prairie View High School mascot is Prairie View Buffalos. Prior to school unification, the La Cygne High School mascot was La Cygne Indians.
["Morans Old Problem", The Iola Register, 31 January 1959, p.4.]
Notable people
*
Alonzo Brooks (1980-2004), victim of a suspected homicide. He was visiting from
Gardner.
*
John Robinson (born 1943), serial killer, con man, embezzler, kidnapper, forger
References
Further reading
External links
City of La Cygne
La Cygne - Directory of Public OfficialsLa Cygne city map KDOT
{{Authority control
Cities in Kansas
Cities in Linn County, Kansas
1869 establishments in Kansas