Berea is a city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 9,851 at the 2000 census, a 2008 estimate put the population at 14,431. It is the fastest growing town in Kentucky and one of the fastest growing in the nation, having increased by 43.4% since 2000. Its most prominent institution is Berea College, which owns a substantial percentage of the city's land.
Due to the high number of arts and crafts produced, Berea is a tourist attraction. It hosts several Crafts Festivals throughout the year. Berea also hosts a Spoonbread Festival in mid-September, which features a cornmeal bread traditionally served with a wooden spoon.
Berea is a principal city of the Richmond–Berea Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Madison and Rockcastle counties.
Geography
Atop East Pinnacle Of Berea College Forest
Berea is located at 37°34′37″N 84°17′37″W / 37.57694°N 84.29361°W / 37.57694; -84.29361 (37.576844, -84.293555)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.2 km²), of which, 9.3 square miles (24.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.32%) is water. Berea is in the Outer Bluegrass Region and on the border of the Cumberland Plateau. The area has a mountainous appearance, but most outcroppings in the area have a max elevation of 2500 ft.
Entering Berea College Forest
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,851 people, 3,693 households, and 2,426 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,055.4 people per square mile (407.7/km²). There were 4,115 housing units at an average density of 440.9/sq mi (170.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.44% White, 5.00% African American, 3.00% Native American, 5.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.00% of the population.
There were 3,693 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88. It is known as a politically progressive community with an active arts and crafts movement and a large number of arts professionals among its residents.
The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24 (primarily students at Berea College), 25.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $5,480, and the median income for a family was $13,505. Males had a median income of $9,763 versus $22,102 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,025. About 14.7% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.
History
In 1850 this area, called the Glade, was a community of scattered farms with a racetrack and citizens sympathetic to emancipation. In 1853, rich and politically ambitious Cassius Marcellus Clay gave Reverend John Gregg Fee a free tract of land in the Glade. With local supporters and other abolitionist missionaries from the American Missionary Association, Fee established two churches (First Christian Church and Union Church), a tiny village, and Berea College. Fee named Berea after a biblical town (today Veria) where the people “received the Word with all readiness of mind.”
Founded in 1855, Berea College was the only integrated and coeducational college in the South for nearly forty years. Fee modeled it on Oberlin College of Ohio, and hoped it would become an academic beacon of the North. Pro-slavery supporters expelled Fee and his followers from Berea in 1859, in the aftermath of John Brown's Raid. Most lived in Cincinnati or nearby northern towns for several years, returning for good after the war.
Starting in 1864, during the American Civil War, John G. Fee applied his energies to improving conditions for former slaves at Camp Nelson who had volunteered for the Union Army. He started with preaching but saw there were other pressing needs for them and their families. He helped arrange for construction of facilities to support them and their families at the camp, including housing, a hospital, church and school. After the war, African-American families came to Berea to take part in its education and interracial vision. For years it included instruction in preparatory grades for college.
In the 1890s, as part of a general heritage movement in the US, there was a growing national interest in the culture and traditions of Appalachia by writers, academics, missionaries, and teachers. In addition to organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Daughters of the Confederacy (DOC) being founded, people had renewed interest in traditional crafts. It was in part a reaction to continuing urbanization and industrialization.[citation needed] Fascinated by the rich culture of Appalachia and dismayed by the region's isolation and poverty, donors to Berea College were enthusiastic about the quality of traditional coverlets brought by students in exchange for tuition.[citation needed]
College President William Frost (1893-1920) took many such coverlets with him on fund-raising trips North. The college had maintained connections with groups in Boston and other cities which had supported it from its earliest days. Frost, perceiving a national market for traditional crafts, established the first Berea College Fireside Industries. Frost encouraged craftspeople to move to Berea. The college built a loom house and hired a supervisor to train and maintain the quality of student work. The first supervisor of weaving was Jennie Lester Hill. She was succeeded in 1911 by Anna Ernberg, a Swedish weaver who at Berea taught several influential figures in the American Handweaving Revival.
Berea has maintained its support for traditional arts and crafts. The recently built Kentucky Artisan Center, located at Exit 77 off Interstate 75 hosts a wide variety of works by Kentucky artisans. In 1922, David Carroll Churchill founded Churchill Weavers, which produced handwoven goods until the spring of 2007.
References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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