Aerial View of Baldwin City, Kansas 8-31-2013

Baldwin City is a city in Douglas 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, about south of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Ar ...

, the state's oldest four-year university.

History

Early history

Baldwin City began as a trail stop on the Santa Fe Trail named Palmyra. The small community consisted of a harness shop, blacksmith, hotel, lawyer, drug store, two doctors and a tavern. In 1858, a group of Methodist ministers gathered at Kibbee Cabin and founded

. Palmyra bought land to the south for the university and surrounding city. The first post office was established in June, 1857. A main benefactor of the community was John Baldwin and the town was named in his honor. Baldwin built a saw mill which was at present-day Fifth and Indiana Streets. Baldwin City was incorporated on September 22, 1870. Baldwin City unwittingly found themselves surrounded by the events that led up to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Three miles east of Baldwin was the town site of Black Jack where the Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856. The night before that battle, John Brown stayed in Prairie City. In 1863, Quantrill's raiders passed within three miles (5 km) of Baldwin after the burning of Lawrence.

Midland Railway

In 1867, the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad laid tracks and became the first Kansas railroad south 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 ...

. In 1906, the Santa Fe Depot was built and today the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

offers over 20-mile round trip excursion rides to Ottawa via "Nowhere" and Norwood. Midland's Scout program is one of the few in the country to offer a railroading merit badge and Midland has hosted a

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...

attraction the last few years.

Maple Leaf Festival

Every year since 1957, Baldwin City has hosted the Maple Leaf Festival during the third full weekend in October. It began as a way to celebrate a successful harvest and to view the fall foliage. Today, it is the largest fall family event in the area and features a parade, arts and crafts, quilt show, theatrical performances, history tours, train rides and live music. Annually it draws crowds of 30,000 or more.

Geography

Baldwin City is located at (38.777597, -95.187418). 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 an area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

The area's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool to cold winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Baldwin City has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Baldwin City is part of the Lawrence

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 4,515 people, 1,501 households, and 1,011 families living 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 1,665 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.4%

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 ...

, 2.1%

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 ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% 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 2.7% 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 ...

or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population. There were 1,501 households, of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.6% were non-families. 26.8% 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 2.54 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age in the city was 30.2 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 20.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 20.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,400 people, 1,077 households, and 774 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,165 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.62%

, 1.12%

, 0.74% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.38% from

, and 3.47% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.62% of the population. There were 1,077 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 21.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,269, and the median income for a family was $51,667. Males had a median income of $37,111 versus $25,850 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 $16,698. About 5.6% of families and 7.6% 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 11.0% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Baldwin City government consists of a mayor and five council members. The council meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00pm. * City Hall, 803 Eighth Street.

Education

Primary and secondary education

The USD 348 School District in Baldwin City and serves most of southern Douglas County. It maintains four schools in Baldwin City (Baldwin Elementary, Baldwin Intermediate, Baldwin Junior High and Baldwin High School). On December 13, 2010, the Board of Education voted to close the schools in Vinland and Worden at the end of the 2010–2011 school year. *Baldwin High School is home to the Bulldogs.

College

Baldwin City is home to the main campus of

, a liberal arts university founded in 1858 by United Methodist ministers. It is the oldest four-year university in Kansas and has been

coed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

since it was founded.

Notable people

Gallery

Image:Santa Fe Wagon Ruts.JPG, To the right of the sign are remnants of wagon ruts left from the Santa Fe Trail in the Ivan Boyd Prairie Preserve near Baldwin City. Also was the site of Black Jack. Image:Santa Fe Depot.JPG, The Santa Fe Depot for the Midland Railway in west Baldwin City.