Leavenworth () is the county seat of and the largest city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site of Fort Leavenworth, built in 1827. The city became known in American history for its role as a key supply base in the settlement of the American West. During the Civil War, many volunteers joined the Union Army from Leavenworth. The city has been notable as the location of several prisons, particularly the United States Disciplinary Barracks and United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351.
History
Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first city incorporated in the territory of Kansas. The city developed south of Fort Leavenworth, which was established as Cantonment Leavenworth in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth. Its location on the Missouri River attracted refugee African-American slaves in the antebellum years, who were seeking freedom from the slave state of Missouri across the river. Abolition supporters helped them find refuge. In the years before the Civil War, Leavenworth was a hotbed of anti-slavery and pro-slavery agitation, often leading to open physical confrontations on the street and in public meetings.
On April 3, 1858, the "Leavenworth Constitution" for the state of Kansas was adopted here. Although the federal government never approved this early version of the state constitution, it was considered one of the most radical of the four constitutions drafted for the new territory because it recognized freed black people as citizens.
Refugee African Americans continued to settle in the city during the war. By 1865, it had attracted nearly one-fifth of the 12,000 black people in the state.Richard B. Sheridan, "Charles Henry Langston and the African American Struggle in Kansas", Kansas State History, Winter 1999, accessed 15 December 2008. In 1866, the 10th Regiment of Cavalry, an all-black unit within the U.S. Army, was stood up at Fort Leavenworth. Charles Henry Langston was an African-American leader from Ohio who worked and lived in Leavenworth and northeastern Kansas in the Reconstruction era and afterward. In Kansas, Langston worked for black suffrage and the right of African Americans to sit on juries, testify in court, and have their children educated in common schools. African Americans gained suffrage in 1870 after passage of the federal 15th constitutional amendment, and the legislature voted for their right to sit on juries in 1874.
African Americans continued to migrate to the state of Kansas after the war. There were a total of 17,108 African Americans in Kansas in 1870, with 43,107 in 1880, and 52,003 by 1900, most of whom lived in urban areas.
20th century to present Fred Alexander, a 22-year-old black veteran of the Spanish–American War, was arrested on circumstantial evidence following months of assaults on young white women in late 1900. Witnesses had identified a "large white man" and a "slight black man" as having been seen in the vicinity of the attacks, Police moved him to the penitentiary during questioning, but a lynch mob was forming in Leavenworth. The sheriff needed to bring him to Leavenworth for arraignment at the county court. He refused the governor's offer of state militia, and was unable to protect the prisoner. On January 15, 1901, Alexander was taken from jail by a mob of 5,000 people and to the site of the murder of Pearl Forbes, where he was brutally lynched: burned alive.Christopher Lovett, "A Public Burning: Race, Sex, and the Lynching of Fred Alexander", Kansas State Historical Society, Summer 2010; accessed 02 June 2018 He protested his innocence to the end. An inquest concluded he had been killed by "persons unknown".
His family refused to claim his body for burial. His father Alfred Alexander, an exoduster, said "The people have mutilated him, now let them bury him." The city arranged burial. African Americans in the region were horrified at Alexander's murder by the mob and created the first state chapter of the Afro-American Council, then the only national organization working for civil rights.Shawn Leigh Alexander, "Vengeance Without Justice, Injustice Without Retribution/ The Afro-American Council's Struggle Against Racial Violence", Great Plains Quarterly, Center for Great Plains Studies, Spring 2007; accessed 02 June 2018 (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded a few years later, and absorbed most members of the AAC.)
In 1972 Benjamin Day became the city's first African-American mayor. Day had been elected to the City Commission one year earlier. Leavenworth appoints its mayor from among the members of the commission, and Day was named mayor in 1971. Day was a former educator and principal in Leavenworth.
Fort Leavenworth was located outside the city limits until its territory was annexed by the city on April 12, 1977.
In 2008, an underground series of "vaults" was found in the city, apparently built during the late 19th century.
Geography
Leavenworth is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of U.S. Route 73 and Kansas Highway 92 (K-92), Leavenworth is northwest of downtown Kansas City, south-southeast of Omaha, and northeast of Wichita.
The city lies on the west bank of the Missouri River in the Dissected Till Plains region of North America's Central Lowlands. Four small tributaries of the river flow generally east through the city. From north to south, these are Quarry Creek, Corral Creek, Three Mile Creek, and Five Mile Creek.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Fort Leavenworth occupies the northern half of the city's area.
Leavenworth, along with the rest of Leavenworth County, lies within the Kansas City metropolitan area. Lansing is located to the south.
Climate Leavenworth experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold, drier winters. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest month.
Demographics
Leavenworth is the 10th most populated city in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Racial and ethnic composition +Leavenworth city, Kansas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)26,23024,87225,13074.05%70.56%67.28%Black or African American alone (NH)5,6565,2154,99315.97%14.79%13.37%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2422673460.68%0.76%0.93%Asian alone (NH)5186126421.46%1.74%1.72%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)57731090.16%0.21%0.29%Other race alone (NH)99421480.28%0.12%0.40%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)8181,3032,6892.31%3.70%7.20%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,8002,8673,2945.08%8.13%8.82%Total35,42035,25137,351 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Leavenworth had a population of 37,351, 13,143 households, and 8,369 families. The population density was 1,540.7 per square mile (594.9/km). There were 14,756 housing units at an average density of 608.7 per square mile (235.0/km).
The median age was 35.4 years; 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 9.0% were from 18 to 24, 31.1% were from 25 to 44, 22.2% were from 45 to 64, and 12.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 117.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 120.3 males.
98.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.1% lived in rural areas.
Of the 13,143 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.6% were married-couple households, 21.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.1.
Of the housing units, 10.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.7%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 26,523 71.0% Black or African American 5,145 13.8% American Indian and Alaska Native 405 1.1% Asian 666 1.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 117 0.3% Some other race 742 2.0% Two or more races 3,753 10.0%
Education The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 22.7% of the population.
Income and poverty The 2016–2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $60,870 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,391) and the median family income was $81,133 (+/- $5,077). Males had a median income of $36,795 (+/- $4,066) versus $25,100 (+/- $2,878) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $31,027 (+/- $2,275). Approximately, 7.7% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.4% of those ages 65 or over.
2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 35,251 people, 12,256 households, and 8,129 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,670 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.4% White, 15.1% African American, 0.9% American Indian, 1.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 8.1% of the population.
There were 12,256 households, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.15.
The median age in the city was 34.8 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.9% male and 46.1% female.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,823, and the median income for a family was $61,576. Males had a median income of $49,693 versus $30,888 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,102. About 9.8% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Religion Leavenworth contains a number of religious traditions stemming from its history and international military population. In the mid to late 19th century, Leavenworth had one of the largest Jewish communities in Kansas, made up of immigrants from Europe."Leavenworth", Jewish Encyclopedia Leavenworth had multiple Orthodox congregations by 1870. Over generations many Jews ultimately intermarried and their descendants became Christian."Judaism" , Kansas University
There are two United Methodist Churches, the First United Methodist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church. Other Protestant churches include Lutheran, Episcopal, Southern Baptist, American Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Community Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, Grace and Truth Fellowship, Assemblies of God, and Seventh-Day Adventist. Other religious institutions include a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Islamic Center of Leavenworth, A few churches conduct services in Hangul.