Gourt Home::Gourt :: Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice is a city in Gage County, Nebraska, 40 miles (64 km) south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. The surrounding region is rich agricultural country. Settled in 1859, Beatrice was incorporated as a town in 1871 and became a city two years later. In 1900, 7,875 people lived in Beatrice and 10,883 populated Beatrice in 1940. The population was 12,496 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gage County. Among Nebraskans, the widely accepted pronunciation for Beatrice is "Bee-AT-ris", not "BEE-atris" (as it would be pronounced elsewhere).
Geography
Beatrice is located at (40.268449, -96.743192).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.4 km² (7.5 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,496 people, 5,395 households, and 3,301 families residing in the city. The population density was 643.3/km² (1,666.7/mi²). There were 5,818 housing units at an average density of 299.5/km² (776.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.50% White, 0.34% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.
There were 5,395 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,735, and the median income for a family was $42,472. Males had a median income of $29,976 versus $21,303 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,816. About 7.0% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC)
BSDC, founded in 1887 and located on the far east side of town is home to some 400 individuals with mild to profound retardation. Most of the individuals are also dually diagnosed with other mental disorders.
The primary diagnosis of those served is:
* Mild retardation, 9% * Moderate retardation, 9% * Severe retardation, 8% * Profound retardation, 74%
Related websites.
The West Side Baptist Church Explosion
The West Side Baptist Church in Beatrice is the origin of what, on the surface, appears to be a well-told urban legend; however, the story has been confirmed to be accurate.
At 7:25 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 1950, the church building exploded in what was believed to be a natural gas explosion. This should have resulted in serious injury and/or fatality to the 15 members of the church choir, who normally met at 7:20 p.m. for practice.
However, by some fortuitous coincidence (one would believe "divine intervention", since it was a church), every one of the 15 members were late for one reason or another, as summarized below:
- The pastor (who actually lit the furnace that exploded, but had returned home), and his wife and daughter were late, as the daughter's dress was soiled and the wife was ironing another.
- One choir member, a high-school sophomore, was late due to problems with her geometry homework.
- Two members, sisters, were late as their car would not start, and their alternate ride was the member with the geometry problem.
- Another member and her daughter were late as she had to attend to matters at her mother's house before arriving.
- Yet another member was working on an important letter.
- One member waited until the last possible minute before leaving, due to the cold weather.
- Another member, taking care of his two sons, was delayed and did not realize until the last minute he was late.
- The pianist had planned to arrive 30 minutes early, but fell asleep after dinner, which caused her and her mother (the choir director) to be late.
- Finally, two other members, high-school students, were late as one wanted to catch the end of a radio program, and the other waited for her as they customarily went together to practice.
The full details can be found on the snopes.com website, a link to the story is below: Choir Non-Quorum
The story was a featured segment on the American television series Unsolved Mysteries, hosted by Robert Stack
Notable people
- Robert Taylor, Hollywood Film Actor
- Harold Lloyd, Hollywood Silent Film Star
- Peter Jansen
- Weldon Kees
National Parks
Interesting Beatrice Facts
- Despite Beatrice's population of under 13,000 people, it has managed to maintain two Dairy Queen restaruants, making it the only chain restaurant with two sites in the town.
- Beatrice has a summer league baseball team, the Beatrice Bruins, that has produced many major leaguer players.
- Beatrice's golf course, the Beatrice Country Club, is one of the elite golf courses in the state.
- Beatrice's mascot is an "Orangeman."
External links
Cities in Nebraska | Micropolitan areas of Nebraska | Gage County, Nebraska
"Beatrice, Nebraska"