Winchester, Kentucky

It was named after Winchester, Virginia.[5]

Winchester is located northwest of the center of Clark County, 18 miles (29 km) east of Lexington and 15 miles (24 km) west of Mt. Sterling. Kentucky Route 1958 (Bypass Road) is an outer loop around the town. Kentucky Route 627 (Boonesborough Road) leads towards Richmond, 21 miles (34 km) to the south and Paris to the north. U.S. Route 60 (Winchester-Lexington Road/Lexington Avenue) runs through downtown Winchester. Interstate 64 passes through the northern part of the city, with access from exits 94 and 96. The Mountain Parkway turns off I-64 just northeast of Winchester and leads 75 miles (121 km) east to Salyersville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Winchester has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.4 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20.3 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.67%, is water.[4]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 16,724 people, 6,907 households, and 4,620 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,187.6 per square mile (844.6/km²). There were 7,400 housing units at an average density of 968.0 per square mile (373.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.94% White, 8.83% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.60% of the population.

There were 6,907 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,254, and the median income for a family was $36,797. Males had a median income of $31,295 versus $21,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,611. About 13.1% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Interstate 64 runs east–west through the northern part of Winchester. U.S. Route 60 runs east–west through Winchester. Kentucky Route 627 runs north–south through Winchester.

Blue Grass Airport, 29 miles to the west, in the western part of Lexington, is one of the busiest commercial airports in the state.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad had run trains east–west and north–south through Winchester. The last L&N passenger train was an unnamed Cincinnati - Atlanta remnant of the former Cincinnati - Jacksonville Flamingo; it was discontinued on March 7, 1968.[15][16]

• Armstead M. Alexander (1834–1892), congressman from Missouri[17]
• Chilton Allan (1786–1858), congressman from Kentucky
• Yeremiah Bell, safety for the New York Jets NFL team
• Rex Burkhead, running back for the Houston Texans NFL Team
• George French Ecton, second African-American state legislator in Illinois[18]
• John E. Fryer, psychiatrist whose speech in 1972 as "Dr. Henry Anonymous" helped to get homosexuality removed as a mental disease from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
• Matt Ginter, Professional Baseball 1999–2010 (11 years)
• William Harrow (1822–1871), Union general in the Civil War
• Joel Tanner Hart (1810–1877), sculptor
• Joseph Jackson (screenwriter), film representative and most successful writers for Hollywood talking films. entered films in 1918 as publicity representative.[19]
• Preston Knowles, basketball player for the University of Louisville
• Homer Ledford (1927–2006), instrument maker and bluegrass musician
• Matt Long, TV's "Jack & Bobby", "Mad Men", "Helix".
• Claude Sullivan, sports broadcaster
• Allen Tate (1899–1979), poet associated with the Agrarians, a group of Southern poets, and most noted for "Ode to the Confederate Dead"
• Helen Thomas, White House press correspondent
• Nettie George Speedy (1878-1957), journalist of Chicago Defender, founder of Chicago Women's Golf Club, the first woman to sit on the trustee board of Lane College,[20] and the Pioneer of African American golf.[21]

A 2018 episode of The Dead Files was filmed in Winchester.[22]

Winchester has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Ibarra, Imbabura, Ecuador
• Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India

Media related to Winchester, Kentucky at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• "Winchester, Ky." . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914. p. 2092.
• "Winchester" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 706.