Shepherdsville, Kentucky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shepherdsville is a city in Bullitt County, Kentucky, just south of Louisville. The population was 8,874 at the 2005 census. It is the county seat of Bullitt County^GR6.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Notable residents
5 External links

[edit] History

Shepherdsville was founded by and named after Adam Shepherd in 1793. In its early days, the major industry in Sheperdsville was salt production from the Salt River. The first post office in Shepherdsville opened in 1806. In 1836, a mineral water spa called Paroquet Springs opened. The mineral water supposedly had medicinal properties and so sufferers from a variety of maladies would visit Shepherdsville to drink and bathe in the water. During the American Civil War, the railroad bridge over the Salt River at Shepherdsville was a potential target for sabotage and was guarded by Union troops. In 1879 the Paroquet Springs hotel burned to the ground, but water from the springs continued to be bottled and sold until 1915. Throughout most of the 20th century, Shepherdsville was primarily an agricultural area. With the construction of the Kentucky Turnpike in 1950's and Interstate 65 in the 1980's, people who worked in Louisville, Kentucky could live outside the city. Thus, Shepherdsville experienced a period of rapid growth.

[edit] Geography

Shepherdsville is located at 37°59′17″N, 85°42′50″W (37.988169, -85.713965)^GR1. It is on the banks of the Salt River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.9 km² (10.8 mi²). 27.3 km² (10.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (2.32%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,334 people, 3,177 households, and 2,363 families residing in the city. The population density was 305.6/km² (791.3/mi²). There were 3,402 housing units at an average density of 124.7/km² (323.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.24% White, 0.92% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 3,177 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% 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 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,103, and the median income for a family was $40,878. Males had a median income of $31,324 versus $22,871 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,519. About 13.7% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.