Silver Lake is a city in Shawnee 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 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

Silver Lake is located at (39.102431, -95.859047). 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 , 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 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

. Recently Silver Lake has had 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 river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

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

Demographics

Silver Lake is part of the

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

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 1,439 people, 563 households, and 414 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 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 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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 1.1% Native American, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.3% 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 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 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%

, 0.07%

, 0.59% from

, and 1.47% from two or more races.

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 married couples 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 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 $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 t ...

, 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 is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...

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.

Notable people

Lon Kruger Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State Uni ...

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

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

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