Lenexa is a city located in Johnson County, Kansas and a suberb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,238. It is well known for being home of "The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle".
Lenexa is located at 38°57'53" North, 94°45'34" West (38.964689, -94.759535).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 89.2 km2 (34.4 mi2). 88.8 km2 (34.3 mi2) of it is land and 0.4 km2 (0.2 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 0.46% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 40,238 people, 15,574 households, and 10,559 families residing in the city. The population density is 453.2/km2 (1,173.8/mi2). There are 16,378 housing units at an average density of 184.5/km2 (477.8/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 89.50% White, 3.26% African American, 0.38% Native American, 3.63% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.60% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. 3.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 15,574 households out of which 35.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% are married couples living together, 7.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% are non-families. 24.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.54 and the average family size is 3.08.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $61,990, and the median income for a family is $76,321. Males have a median income of $50,495 versus $32,166 for females. The per capita income for the city is $30,212. 3.4% of the population and 1.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.9% of those under the age of 18 and 3.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Twelve years before the town of Lenexa was platted in 1869, a young man by the name of James Butler Hickok staked a claim on 160 acres at what is now the corner of 83rd and Clare Road. At about the same time, a census of the Shawnee Indians living in the area was being taken. One of the residents was listed as "Na-Nex-Se Blackhoof," the widow of Chief Blackhoof, who was the second signer of the 1854 treaty that ceded 1.6 million acres (6,500 km2) of the Kansas Shawnee Indian reservation to the U.S.Government. A few miles east in Westport, Missouri, was the start of the Old Santa Fe Trail. It meandered through the southeast part of Lenexa on its way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Life in eastern Kansas was about to change dramatically.
Later, Mr. Hickok became a scout for the Free-State Army, a sharpshooter and eventually, Wild Bill Hickok, legendary lawman of the Old West. In 1865, shortly before Na-Nex-Se died, the Kansas and Neosho Valley Railroad was organized to take advantage of favorable new land laws. It later changed its name to Missouri River, Ft. Scott and Gulf Railroad and in 1869 purchased a right-of-way from C.A. Bradshaw with the stipulation that the railroad build a depot on the property. Mr. Bradshaw then sold 10.5 acres to Octave Chanute, a railroad civil engineer, who platted a town in 1869. Legend states that the town was first proposed to be named Bradshaw, but he modestly refused and the name "Lenexa," a derivation of the name Na-Nex-Se, was adopted.
Source:
LenexaKansas.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS