Liberty, Kentucky
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIB : Liberty, Kentucky
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| City nickname: Home of the World's Largest Apple Pie or Gate Capitol of The World | |
 Location in the Commonwealth of Kentucky | |
| County | Casey County, Kentucky |
| Area - Total - Water | 4.5 km² (1.8 mi²) 0 km² (0 mi²) 0% |
| Population - Total (2000) | 1,850 |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC–5 |
| Location | |
| Mayor | Steve Sweeney |
Liberty is a city in Casey County, Kentucky, United States. It was established in 1806 by several Revolutionary War veterans and named for one of the values of their new country. The population was 1,850 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Casey County[Geographic references#6GR6].
Geography
Liberty is located at (37.321195, -84.930513)[Geographic references#1GR1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 km² (1.8 mi²), all land.{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin:0.9em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" width="300px" align="right" style="border: 1em solid white")
Casey County Apple Festival
Liberty is home to the Casey County Apple Festival, which is the city's most recognizable event, and which gives Liberty the distinction of being "Home of the Worlds Largest Apple Pie".From the first Apple Festival held on a gravel parking lot at a newly-built shopping center in 1975, The Casey County Apple Festival has become one of Kentucky's best street festivals. 2005 marked the 31th anniversary of the Apple Festival.
The first apple festival was held on a Saturday afternoon in the parking lot, and the following year was moved to the high school campus. As visitors flocked to the festival, traffic jams, and a lack of space once again became increasing problems. It was apparent a more suitable place would have to be found if the festival was to continue.
In 1979 the Casey County Apple Festival was moved to the streets of downtown Liberty, where it remains today.
With plenty of entertainment, a full-size carnival, music, numerous pageants, 200 plus vendors, and a 10-ft. giant apple pie as the centerpiece, 30,000 to 40,000 visitors now attend the annual event the last weekend of September.
The 10-ft. giant apple pie is the anchor of the festival. Preparations start on Thursday when volunteers start peeling the apples. After filling the specially-built 10-ft. stainless steel pan with all the ingredients on Friday afternoon, the pie goes in a custom-made oven to bake for 12 hours. On Saturday morning the oven is turned off and the pie continues to bake until it's promptly removed at noon on Saturday.
It's enough apple pie to feed thousands and it's served with a helping of Mayfield ice cream. And best of all, it's free!
In addition, Food Center of Liberty teams up with Duncan Hines to bake a 10-ft. giant chocolate chip cookie on Wednesday night, and Pizza Hut of Liberty bakes a 10-ft. giant pizza on Thursday night. Both are served free to the public.
Lots of other good food abounds at the Apple Festival. Food booths are located around the courthouse square and down Middleburg Street. Enjoy everything from funnel cakes to pork burgers to Greek dishes. And if arts and crafts are your hobby, Hustonville Street is devoted to just those vendors, while Middleburg, Beldon, and Randolph Streets are set aside for commercial and flea market booths.
There's also plenty for the kids to do. A full-size carnival is a main attraction each year, along with a Pedal Tractor Pull, Big Wheel Race, Frog Jumping, Apple Eating, and Ice Cream Eating contests, just to name a few.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 1,850 people, 875 households, and 494 families residing in the city. The population density was 408.2/km² (1,059.8/mi²). There were 979 housing units at an average density of 216.0/km² (560.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.16% White, 0.70% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.There were 875 households out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.65.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 28.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 76.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $18,525, and the median income for a family was $27,105. Males had a median income of $25,954 versus $18,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,269. About 24.9% of families and 28.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.6% of those under age 18 and 28.7% of those age 65 or over.
External links
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