Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. It is about 12 miles (19 km) south of Lawrence. It is about 15 miles (24 km) west of Gardner. In 2020, 4,826 people lived there.[3] The city has Baker University. It is Kansas's oldest four-year university.
History
The Old Castle Museum, the first building constructed for Baker University. To the right is a replica of Kibbee Cabin.
Early history
Baldwin City started as a trail stop on the Santa Fe Trail. It was called Palmyra. It had a harness shop, blacksmith, hotel, lawyer, drug store, two doctors and a tavern. In 1858, a group of Methodistministers came together at Kibbee Cabin and created Baker University. Palmyra bought land to the south for the university and the city. The first post office was built in June 1857.[4]
An important person for Baldwin City was John Baldwin. They named the town "Baldwin City" to honor him.[5] Baldwin built a saw mill. It was at present-day Fifth Street and Indiana Street. Baldwin City was incorporated on September 22, 1870.
Baldwin City was affected by the events that led up to the American Civil War. Three miles east of Baldwin was the town of Black Jack. The Battle of Black Jack happened there 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 Lawrence.
In 2020, there were 4,826 people, 1,651 households, and 1,085 families living in Kansas. Of the households, 65.1% owned their home and 34.9% rented their home. Children under age 18 lived in 34.5% of the households. The median age was 31.5 years. Of the people, 87.7% were White, 2.0% were Black, 1.0% were Native American, 0.7% were Asian, 0.1% were Pacific Islanders, 1.6% were from some other race and 6.9% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the people.[3][8]
2010 census
In 2010, there were 4,515 people, 1,501 households, and 1,011 families living in Lawrence.[9] The people were 93.4% White, 2.1% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. 3.0% of people were Hispanic or Latino.
There were 1,501 households. 37.5% of them had children under 18 years old; 52.6% of them had married people; 10.2% had only a woman as the main person (with no man); 4.5% had only a man as the main person (with no woman); 32.6% were not families. 26.8% were people living alone, and 12.1% were people over 65 years old living alone. The average number of people living in a household was 2.54. The average number of people in a family was 3.08.
24.3% of the people were under 18 years old; 20.9% of the people were between 18 and 24 years old; 22.9% of the people were between 25 and 44 years old; 20.1% of the people were between 45 and 64 years old; 11.9% were 65 years old or older. 51.5% of the people were women, and 48.5% of the people were men.
There were 1,077 households. 39.6% of them had children under 18 years old; 57.8% of them had married people; 10.4% had only a woman as the main person (with no man); 28.1% were not families. 24.8% were people living alone, and 10.0% were people over 65 years old living alone. The average number of people living in a household was 2.59. The average number of people in a family was 3.10.
25.3% of the people were under 18 years old; 21.8% of the people were between 18 and 24 years old; 24.2% of the people were between 25 and 44 years old; 17.4% of the people were between 45 and 64 years old; 11.2% were 65 years old or older. 51.5% of the people were women, and 48.5% of the people were men. The median age was 28 years old. 51.2% of the people were women, and 48.8% of the people were men.
The median income for a household was $43,269. The median income for a family was $51,667. Men had a median income of $37,111. Women had a median income of $25,850. The per capita income was $16,698. About 5.6% of families and 7.6% of all people in Baldwin City lived below the poverty line. This included 11.0% of children under 18 years old and 5.7% of people over 65 years old.
Government
The Baldwin City government has a mayor and five council members. The council meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00pm.[10]
City Hall, 803 Eighth Street.
Education
Primary and secondary education
The USD 348 School District is in Baldwin City. They have most students in southern Douglas County. It has four schools in Baldwin City (Baldwin Elementary, Baldwin Intermediate, Baldwin Junior High, and Baldwin High School). On December 13, 2010, the USD 348 Board of Education voted to close the schools in Vinland and Worden at the end of the 2010-2011 school year.[11]
Baldwin City has Baker University. It is a liberal arts university created in 1858 by United Methodist ministers. It is the oldest four-year university in Kansas. It has been coed since it was created.
Media
Baldwin City had a newspaper, the Baldwin City Sign. It stopped publishing in 2015. It was moved to the Lawrence Journal-World.[12]
Gallery
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.
The Santa Fe Depot for the Midland Railway in west Baldwin City.
