Early History of Strong City
by William G. Cutler (1883)
Strong City was organized by the Cottonwood Town Company on February 29, 1872. It is located on the east one-half of the southeast quarter of Section 17, Township 19, Range 8, and the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter (sic) of Section 17, Township 19, Range 8. Emslie's addition was located north of the right of way of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad company completed their line of railroad through the county in the spring of 1872. The county was fortunate in securing it without aid from railroad bonds. Cottonwood station, now Strong, is the objective railroad point in the county.
Cottonwood Falls, the county-seat, had expected to be a main station on the road, but for certain reasons the road was directed from there for more than a mile to the northward, and therefore Strong is a prosperous and rapidly growing city. In all directions around it are inexhaustible quarries of the best of building stone. Here are stone-crushers and stone-sawing establishments that furnish employment to hundreds of men. Here is one of the largest and most metropolitan structures in Central Kansas. It contains a bank, a city hall and D. C. Webb's famous store.
S. F. Jones is President and E. A. Hildebrand is Cashier of the Strong City bank, which has a capital of $100,000. The town has three general stores, three groceries, an extensive hardware store, a druggist, two physicians, two attorneys, two shoemakers, a livery, feed and sale stable, a milliner, a blacksmith, an auctioneer, a drayman, a carpenter and builder, a meat market, a well-driller, a tobacconist, keeper of a hotel and a restaurant. The town has the second best school building in the county, an excellent stone structure of ample proportions. There are in 1882 two teachers employed. The Strong City bank was chartered under State laws.
Geography
Strong City is located at 38°23'41N, 96°32'15W (38.394620, -96.537491). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 584 people, 247 households, and 163 families residing in the city. The population density was 417.6/km² (1,084.3/mi²). There were 287 housing units at an average density of 205.2/km² (532.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.77% White, 1.03% African American, 0.17% Asian, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.
There were 247 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,192, and the median income for a family was $35,833. Males had a median income of $23,523 versus $20,938 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,807. About 5.8% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.
|
