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Newton is a city and county seat of Harvey County, Kansas. The population was 17,190 at the 2000 census. Newton is located 20 miles (30 km) north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

History

From the earliest beginnings in 1871 to 1873 Newton came to be known as "bloody and lawless-the wickedest city in the west." In 1872 the western terminal for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the railhead for the Chisholm Trail were established here. Shortly after incorporation of the City in 1872, the Newton city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the running at large of buffalo and other wild animals.

The history of Newton is intertwined with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Newton served as the Middle Division dispatching headquarters for the "Santa Fe" until the mid 1980's when all dispatching for the Chicago to Los Angeles system was centralized in the Chicago area. In 1995 the Santa Fe was merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad. Now called the BNSF Railway, it is one of the largest railroads in the US. The BNSF continues to be a large industrial taxpayer although its impact as an employer has decreased in the past decade.

During World War II, the Newton airport was taken over by the US Navy as a seondary Naval Air Station, and the main runway was extended to over 7,000 feet.

Geography

Newton is located at (38.044089, -97.347597).

Newton lies at the "bull's eye" of the North American Continent. U.S. Highway 81, also known as the Meridian Highway, stretches from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico through Central and South America. It passes through Newton, Kansas and is known as "Main Street." U.S. Highway 50 runs past the White House in Washington, DC through Newton, Kansas and continues on to Sacramento, California and ends in San Francisco, California.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.5 km² (10.625 mi²), all land.with the exception of Sand Creek and several small tributaries.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,190 people, 6,851 households, and 4,610 families residing in the city. The population density was 692.8/km² (1,794.0/mi²). There were 7,277 housing units at an average density of 293.3/km² (759.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.73% White, 2.30% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.84% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.73% of the population.

There were 6,851 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population had 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,236, and the median income for a family was $45,703. Males had a median income of $32,308 versus $21,906 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,529. About 5.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Newton is located in Harvey County which is an agricultural and small manufacturing county with 34,361 people. Harvey County Kansas is part of a four county "Metro Area" with about a half million people. The major city in this metro area is Wichita, Kansas, 20 miles (20 minutes) to the South via I-135.

Major highways (I-135, US 50, US 81, KS-15), an airport with a 7,002 foot runway, and the BNSF Railway make Newton a central location for transportation and shipping. Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops in Newton twice each day and provides passenger rail service to either Los Angeles or Chicago.

People from Newton

Media

Newton is served by local media as well as that of Wichita and national media. The following lists include both local media and media from the Wichita MSA.

Print media

The Newton Kansan (Morris Communications) serves Newton and the surrounding area as the daily local newspaper. It is not published on Sundays. The Wichita Eagle is the major newspaper for the region.

Television

Cox Communications supplies Newton with cable Television

Radio

External links

Cities in Kansas | County seats in Kansas | Harvey County, Kansas

Newton (Kansas) | Newton, Kansas

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Newton, Kansas".

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