Winchester is a
home rule-class city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Clark 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 ...
, United States.
The population was 19,134 at the
2020 census.
It is part of the
Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located roughly halfway between Lexington and Mt. Sterling.
History
It was named after
Winchester, Virginia.
Geography
Winchester is located northwest of the center of Clark County, east of
Lexington and west of
Mt. Sterling.
Kentucky Route 1958 (Bypass Road) is an outer loop around the town.
Kentucky Route 627 (Boonesborough Road) leads towards
Richmond, to the south and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to the north.
U.S. Route 60 (Winchester-Lexington Road/Lexington Avenue) runs through downtown Winchester.
Interstate 64 passes through the northern part of the city, with access from exits 94 and 96. The
Mountain Parkway turns off I-64 just northeast of Winchester and leads east to
Salyersville.
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 ...
, Winchester has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.67%, 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 system, Winchester has a
humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "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 2000, there were 16,724 people, 6,907 households, and 4,620 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 7,400 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.94%
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 ...
, 8.83%
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 ...
, 0.22%
Native American, 0.25%
Asian, 0.01%
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 ...
, 0.81% from
other races, and 0.94% 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 1.60% of the population.
There were 6,907 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were
married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,254, and the median income for a family was $36,797. Males had a median income of $31,295 versus $21,747 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 $15,611. About 13.1% of families and 15.5% 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 21.1% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Small business
Ale-8-One, a Kentucky-specific brand of soft drink, has been bottled in Winchester since 1926.
Arts and culture
Beer Cheese Festival
Winchester is home to the
Beer Cheese Festival held annually in June.
Beer Cheese was developed in Clark County near Winchester in the 1940s.
Historic sites
*
Bluegrass Heritage Museum
*
Clark County Court House
*
Clark Mansion (Gov. Clark House)
*
Indian old fields
*
Kerr Building
*
Leeds Theater
*
Oakwood Estate
*
Old Providence Church
*
Winchester Opera House
Education
Oliver High School was in Winchester. Berea graduate G. A. Benton was principal.
High school
Winchester students attend
George Rogers Clark High School, located southwest of Winchester in
Clark County.
Higher education
Winchester has been home to several higher education establishments.
Kentucky Wesleyan College was located in the city from 1890 to 1954. When Kentucky Wesleyan left, the local
Churches of Christ organized
Southeastern Christian College on the former Kentucky Wesleyan campus. After Southeastern Christian College folded in 1979, the campus was preserved as a public park. Today, Clark County is home to the Winchester Campus of
Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Public library
Winchester has a lending library, the Clark County Public Library.
Transportation
Interstate 64 runs east–west through the northern part of Winchester.
U.S. Route 60 runs east–west through Winchester.
Kentucky Route 627 runs north–south through Winchester.
Blue Grass Airport, 29 miles to the west, in the western part of
Lexington, is one of the busiest commercial airports in the state.
The
Louisville and Nashville Railroad had run trains east–west and north–south through Winchester. The last L&N passenger train was an unnamed
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
-
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
remnant of the former Cincinnati -
Jacksonville ''
Flamingo;'' it was discontinued on March 7, 1968.
Notable people
*
Armstead M. Alexander (1834–1892),
congressman from
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
*
Chilton Allan (1786–1858), congressman from Kentucky
*
Yeremiah Bell, safety for the
New York Jets NFL team
*
Rex Burkhead, running back for the
Houston Texans NFL Team
*
George French Ecton, second African-American state legislator in Illinois
*
John E. Fryer, psychiatrist whose speech in 1972 as "Dr. Henry Anonymous" helped to get homosexuality removed as a mental disease from the
American Psychiatric Association's ''
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual''
*
Matt Ginter, Professional Baseball 1999–2010 (11 years)
*
William Harrow (1822–1871),
Union general in the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
*
Joel Tanner Hart (1810–1877), sculptor
*
Joseph Jackson (screenwriter), screenwriter and publicist.
*
Preston Knowles, basketball player for the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
*
Homer Ledford (1927–2006), instrument maker and bluegrass musician
*
Matt Long, TV's "Jack & Bobby", "Mad Men", "Helix".
*
Nettie George Speedy (1878–1957), journalist of
Chicago Defender, founder of Chicago Women's Golf Club, the first woman to sit on the trustee board of
Lane College, and the Pioneer of African American golf.
*
Claude Sullivan, sports broadcaster
*
Allen Tate (1899–1979), poet associated with the
Agrarians, a group of Southern poets, and most noted for "
Ode to the Confederate Dead"
*
Helen Thomas, White House press correspondent
*
Frank L. Winn, U.S. Army major general
*
John S. Winn, U.S. Army brigadier general
In popular culture
A 2018 episode of ''
The Dead Files'' was filmed in Winchester.
Sister cities
Winchester has two
sister cities, as designated by
Sister Cities International:
*
Ibarra,
Imbabura, Ecuador
*
Etawah,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, India
References
External links
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{{authority control
Cities in Clark County, Kentucky
Cities in Kentucky
County seats in Kentucky
Lexington–Fayette metropolitan area