La Grange is a home rule-class city in Oldham 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 10,067 at the time of the 2020 U.S. census. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of its

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. A unique feature of the city is the

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

street-running A street running train is a train which runs on a Railway track, track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being ref ...

mainline track on Main Street that sees multiple trains in both directions.

History

La Grange was founded in 1827 when the Oldham County seat was relocated from Westport at the suggestion of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

William Berry Taylor. The new town was named for Château de la Grange-Bléneau, the French country estate of Gilbert du Motier, the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

ary hero better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, who had visited the area in 1824. Accessed May 16, 2010. For unknown reasons, the county seat returned to Westport from 1828 to 1838 before settling at La Grange. The city was formally incorporated by the state legislature on January 23, 1840.Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "La Grange, Kentucky". Accessed August 1, 2013.

Geography

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 has a total area of , of which are land and (1.17%) is covered by water. CSXT LaGrange 1

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, La Grange has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.

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 2010, there were 8,082 people, 2,964 households, and 2,087 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,189 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.3%

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 ...

(83.5% non-Hispanic), 4.7%

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 ...

, 0.27% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.16%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.6% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.9% of the population. There were 2,964 households, out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% 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, 15.5% had a single female householder, 5.1% had a single male householder, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17. The age distribution was 29.8% under 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

Correctional facilities

The Kentucky Department of Corrections maintains four correctional facilities in La Grange. Construction began on the Kentucky State Reformatory, the largest prison in the state, in 1937, with the prison opening in 1939. Roederer Correctional Complex, which houses the Assessment and Classification Center where male inmates not sentenced to death enter the state prison system, was built in 1976. The Luther Luckett Correctional Complex and Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, both built in the same facility but technically two separate prisons, opened in 1983. Approximately 4,000 inmates of various security levels are housed at these institutions.

Education

La Grange 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 ...

, a branch of the Oldham County Public Library.

Arts and culture

The La Grange historic district contains numerous small businesses such as shops, eateries, and art galleries.

's LCL Subdivision tracks are embedded within Main Street from 4th Avenue to Cedar Avenue creating a unique scenario where the railroad's freight trains join the street's mixed traffic. Discover Downtown La Grange is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting business, history, and community in the city. La Grange hosts a Farmers and Artisan Market, a Kentucky Proud Market, where locally made items are sold. The market is open from mid-May through late October.

Notable people

* Tom Blankenship (aka Two Tone Tommy), bassist for

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...

* D. W. Griffith, film director known for Birth of a Nation * William J. Crowe, former

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

* Roland Isaacs, former

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver * Robert Mallory, U.S. Representative from

* Marvin H. McIntyre, secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt * Buddy Pepper, former

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and actor * Knocked Loose, hardcore punk band founded in 2013.

References

External links

* {{authority control * Cities in Kentucky Cities in Oldham County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Louisville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1827 1827 establishments in Kentucky