Middlesboro

Middlesboro (locally) is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,334 at the 2010 U.S. census, while its micropolitan area had a population of 69,060. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Cumberland Gap and is the largest city in southeastern Kentucky. Originally funded by English businessmen, the town opened its first post office on September 14, 1888, under the name Middlesborough, presumably in honor of the English town of - at the time - the same name. The city was formally incorporated under that spelling on March 14 two years later, but the post office switched to "Middlesborough" in 1894 and that spelling has since been adopted by the city itself, the city's school district, the Kentucky Land Office, and the Board on Geographic Names. The Middlesboro Country Club was founded as part of Arthur's original development. Its nine-hole course is one of the oldest in the United States and it claims to be the oldest continuously-played course in the country. Pianist Ben Harney is also claimed to have originated ragtime music in Middlesboro, where he played in local saloons in the early 1890s. During this period of life, Middlesboro was featured in newspapers across the country as the deadliest, wildest, and wildest city in America. The town was full of slot machines, saloons, brooons, and saloons.

Name

The town opened its first post office on September 14, 1888, under the name Middlesborough, presumably in honor of the English town of - at the time - the same name. The city was formally incorporated under that spelling on March 14 two years later. The post office switched to "Middlesboro" in 1894 and that spelling has since been adopted by the city itself, the city's school district, the Kentucky Land Office, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Some still contend "M Middlesborough" remains official, however. The town was originally funded by English businessmen, and was named for the town of Middlesborough in England, which was also named for a town in the same region of the United States. It is now a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky, and has a population of more than 100,000. It was founded in 1887 by a group of English businessmen who moved to the area from England and set up a post office in Middlesborough. They later moved the post office to the town's current location, which is just a few miles from the Kentucky State Capitol. It opened its doors to the public in 1891 and was officially incorporated as a city in March of that year. It has been named after a town of that name in Kentucky, also known as Middlesborough or Middlesboro, since 1894, when it became a city. The name Middlesboro is still used by some in the city, but not by the rest of the state.

History

Middlesboro was founded in 1888 by Scottish-born and Canadian-raised engineer and entrepreneur Alexander Arthur. Arthur's project failed by 1893 when the Cumberland Gap turned out to be too steep for locomotives. Middlesboro installed the first electric street cars west of Washington, D.C., to help locals and tourists visiting the city which became known as "Little Las Vegas" in the 1930s. By the 1950s, Middlesboro had a population of roughly 15,000 residents. It was one of the few cities in the Eastern Coal Fields to boast a grand opera house. The city was named an "All Kentucky City" in 1964, '65, '67, and '69, a huge honor for such a small city. In the 1970s, the city's coal industry revived and the city prospered again. A grand centennial celebration was held in 1990 that included a ball, air show, beauty pageant, as well as the dedication of a new park. The Cumberland Tunnel was opened in 1996. The Middlesboro Country Club was founded as part of Arthur's original development. It claims to be the oldest continuously-played course in the country. The first shopping mall was built in the city during the 1960s. The post office was renamed the following year after a local contest selected it as the best entry or after the hometown of the brothers who owned the local English Hotel. The local newspaper, the Middlesboro Daily News, was established in 1911. Despite being the largest city in the county, the development of Middlesboro came too late to avoid Pineville's being the seat of the local courthouse. The Knoxville, Cumberland Pass, & Louisville was bought out by the L&N in 1896.

Geography

Middlesboro is located at 36°3637N 83°4324W (36.610146, -83.723230). The city sits just inside the Cumberland Gap, along U.S. Route 25E, and is located inside of a meteorite crater. The city has a humid subtropical climate with distinct four seasons. Average annual precipitation is 42.8 inches (1,090 mm), with the wettest month being March, averaging 5.25 inches (133 mm). The highest recorded temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) in July 1930, with the lowest recorded temperature in January 1985 at 18°F (28 °C), with an average high of 87 °C (31 °F) The city is located on the Tennessee River, which runs through the center of the city. It has a total area of 7.6 square miles (20 km²), all but 0.09 square miles of which is land. U.S. 25E provides four-lane connection to Interstate 75 at Corbin, 45 miles (72 km) to the northwest, and Interstate 81 at Morristown, Tennessee, 45miles (72km) south. The average annual rainfall in Middlesboro is 42 in (1.090 mm) with the average annual precipitation in March being 5.5 inches (133 mm) The average temperature in the city is 87 °F  (31 °C) with a July high of 88 °C.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,384 people, 4,443 households, and 2,927 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 92.84% White, 4.90% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.02% from two or more races, and 1.19% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population. The city's population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.6 percent from 25 to 44, 23.9 percent from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there are 83.5 males. The per capita income for the city is $13,189. About 24.4% of families and 28.1% of people were below the poverty line, including 41.2% of those under age 18 and 16.5% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size was 2.88. The. median income for a household in theCity was $19,565, and the median income. for a family was $25,016. The. city has a population density of 1,359.1 people per square mile (524.8/km²). There were 4,955 housing units at an average density of 648.5/sq mi (250.4/ km²).

Transportation

Middlesboro's main thoroughfare is U.S. 25E. The city is served by the Middlesboro-Bell County Airport, which is the second oldest airport still in use in Kentucky. The airport was also the home of the famed P-38 Lightning, Glacier Girl, which made her first maiden flight in October 2002. The closest major airport to Middlesboro is the McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, 75.5 miles (121.5 km) away. A man-made canal flows through the heart of the city. The canal is home to numerous populations and species of ducks, all of which are considered to be honorary citizens of Middlesboro. Traffic and pedestrians must yield the right of way to the ducks at all times and anyone caught harming the ducks could face fines or jail time. The Middlesboro Canal serves as the "raceway" for the Downtown Ducky Dash rubber duck race held annually in August by Discover Downtown Middlesboro in the city's downtown area. Many of the streets which run parallel to Cumberland Avenue (east-west) are named for peerages and locales in Britain, while perpendicular (north-south) streets are named numerically. It is one of the few cities in Kentucky that was not built on or near a significant waterway, so it is not reachable by water. The only major body of water near the city is Fern Lake, a small lake that sits on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. It was established in 1944, but the first recorded flight into the city was in 1912. It serves as a home for 26 aircraft and more than 18,000 operations annually.

Education

Middlesboro has a public library, a branch of the Bell County Public Library District. Middlesboro is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy. It is also the home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's football team. The town has a population of 2,000. It has a history of being involved in World War II and the First World War. It also has a long history of involvement in the community's economy. It was the site of the town's first school, which was built in 1854. It's also home to a post office, which opened in 1855. It opened its doors to the public in 1856. It still has a library, which is located in the same building as the city's post office. The city also has an elementary school and a junior high school. it has a high school and middle school, both of which were built in the late 19th and early 20th century. it is in a rural area, and the town has no high school or college. it also has no state or college campuses. it was founded in 1852. it became a city in 1857. it's located in an unincorporated area of Bell County, near the town of Bell. County, in Bell County's central part of the county. The community has a lot of history, including the first public schools, which were established in 1851. It had a post-secondary school in 1858. It now has a college, which it opened in the 1960s.

Economy

Middlesboro is home to Middlesboro Mall, the only enclosed shopping mall in the area. The area also features Middlesboro Crossing, a recently constructed strip mall on the north end of the city. Middlesboro has a population of just over 1,000 people. The city's economy is expected to grow at a rate of about 1.5 percent in the next few years, according to a report by the N.C. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The state's unemployment rate is currently at 3.7 percent, the lowest since records began in 2007. The unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in 2012. The economy is projected to grow by 1.8 percent in 2013. The U.S. economy is predicted to grow 1.9 percent in 2014. The national economy is forecast to grow 2.1 percent in that year, the report says. It's the lowest rate since the early 1990s, when the economy was growing at 2.4 percent. The United States is the world's second largest economy, after the United Kingdom, and the U.K. is the No. 1 economy in the world, the study says. In 2013, the United States had a growth rate of 1.6 percent, up from 0.7% in 2012, the NATIONAL Bureau of Labour and Statistics says. The growth rate is the highest since the mid-1980s, the survey says.

Sports

Middlesboro was home to several minor league baseball teams between 1913-1963. The Middlesboro Athletics were members of the Class D Mountain States League (1949-1954) Earlier, the Middlesboro Colonels played in the, Appalachian League (1813-1914) Middlesboro was an affiliate of the Washington Senators (1961-1962) and both the Chicago Cubs & Chicago White Sox (1963) The teams played at Hilltop Speedway Park. The teams were all based in Middlesboro, North Carolina, and played their home games at the Hilltop Speedway Park, which was built in 1913. The team was a member of the Appalachian League from 1913-1934 and the Mountain States League from 1935-1938. The Middlesborough Senators (1960-1961) and Middlesboro Cubsox (1963) were both affiliates of the Washington Senators and the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. The Cubs and White Sox were the only teams to affiliate with the Senators and Cubs in the same season. The Senators were also the only team to affiliate with the Cubsox in the same year as the Cubs and White Sox. The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox were the only two teams to affiliate with the Cub sox in the 1960s and 1970s. The Washington Senators and Chicago Cubs were the only two teams to affiliate with both Teams in that season.