La Harpe 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 Allen County,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 480.

History

La Harpe was founded by the Fort Scott, Wichita & Western Railroad company (later the Missouri Pacific), and was platted in 1881. It was named after

La Harpe, Illinois La Harpe is a town in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2010 census, down from 1,385 at the 2000 census. History During the 18th century, French explorers headed by Bernard de la Harpe were forced to spend ...

and they both commemorate a prominent French explorer of the southern Great Plains of North America,

Bernard de la Harpe Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

When

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

was discovered in the immediate vicinity in 1899 the city began to grow more rapidly and soon rose to be a city of importance. It was incorporated as a city of the second class, and in 1910 had some of the largest zinc smelters in the world, two banks, an opera house, several good mercantile establishments, a newspaper, and all the municipal improvements usually found in cities of that class. The population that year was 2,080. Its post office, first opened in November 1881, was authorized to issue international money orders, and two rural routes supplied mail to the surrounding country.

Geography

La Harpe is located at (37.915631, -95.299729). Situated along

U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific and ...

in the central part of Allen County, La Harpe is about miles east of the city of Iola (the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

), miles east of

Gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

, and about seven miles west of the junction of U.S. Routes 54 and 59 and the city of Moran. 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 of it land.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 578 people, 234 households, and 161 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was . There were 273 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.6%

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 ...

, 1.4%

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 ...

, 1.2% Native American, 0.9%

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 ...

, 1.0% 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 1.9% 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 1.6% of the population. There were 234 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.2% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age in the city was 42.2 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.1% male and 47.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 706 people, 268 households, and 191 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 298 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.77%

, 0.99%

, 2.12% Native American, and 3.12% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.85% of the population. There were 268 households, out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,219, and the median income for a family was $32,981. Males had a median income of $22,102 versus $16,058 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 $12,196. About 8.9% of families and 13.4% 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 16.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

La Harpe is a part of

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

257 Iola. The Iola High School mascot is Mustangs. La Harpe schools were closed through school unification. The La Harpe High School mascot was La Harpe Panthers."LaHarpe Items", The Iola Register, 7 December 1944, p.6.

Notable people

* Ad Brennan, baseball player

References

External links

City of La Harpe

La Harpe - Directory of Public Officials

USD 257
local school district
La Harpe city map
KDOT {{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Allen County, Kansas Populated places established in 1881 1881 establishments in Kansas