Silver Lake is a city in Shawnee County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,345.

History

19th century

Silver Lake was founded in 1868. It was named from the lake upon which it was situated. In the spring of 1871, the city of Silver Lake was incorporated.

20th century

In 1911, a new six room brick school building replaced the original two room structure and the first high school class was organized. In 1928, that building became the elementary school. In 1952, the high school burned and a new high school was completed in 1953. In 1961, a new elementary school was completed. In 1928, a two-lane hard-surfaced road was completed through the city. It was later known as US Highway 40 and later became US Highway 24.

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 is land and is water. Silver Lake is the nearest city to Topeka to the west, along

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

. Recently Silver Lake has experienced a higher proportion of its citizens commuting into Topeka. The next city west along US 24 is Rossville. Silver Lake was originally settled along the northern shore of the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a meandering river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is potentially the southwestern most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is sometimes in turn the northwesternmost portion of ...

; however, in the time since the town's founding, the river has changed course and is located one-quarter of a mile south of the town.

Demographics

Silver Lake is part of the

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2010 census

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 1,439 people, 563 households, and 414 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 601 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.8%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 1.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3% from other races, and 1.9% 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 4.1% of the population. There were 563 households, of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% 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, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.5% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 36.3 years. 29.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,358 people, 538 households, and 394 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 568 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.83%

, 0.07%

, 0.74% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.07%

, 0.59% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population. There were 538 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,788, and the median income for a family was $59,875. Males had a median income of $40,847 versus $28,438 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 $20,290. About 2.2% of families and 4.2% 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 ...

, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The community is served by

Silver Lake USD 372 Silver Lake USD 372 is a public unified school district with headquarters in Silver Lake, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Silver Lake, Kiro, and nearby rural areas. History In 1911, a new six room brick scho ...

public school district, which operates two schools: Silver Lake Jr/Sr High School and Silver Lake Elementary School. There used to be a Silver Lake Kindergarten until 2009, when it merged with the Elementary school. The old Kindergarten building has since been turned into a district office.

Notable people

Lon Kruger Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is an American former college and professional basketball coach (sport), coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for K ...

, college basketball player and coach * Chad Taylor, district attorney and

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

candidate

References

External links

City of Silver Lake

Silver Lake - Directory of Public Officials

Silver Lake city map
KDOT {{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Shawnee County, Kansas Topeka metropolitan area, Kansas