ZIP Code 67357

Parsons was named after Levi Parsons, president of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad. The town was founded in 1870 and incorporated the following year by the railroad. During World War II it was home to the Kansas Ordnance Plant, which later operated for some years as the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. Parsons was the last location of K-14 Kodachrome film and the final frame taken on the final roll of film produced by the company. It is home to Labette Community College and the Parsons State Hospital & Training Center. Parsons is also the home of Dwayne's Photo, which was featured in the 2018 film Zombie, starring Russell Crowe and Julianne Moore. The city was named a 2006 National Trust for Historic Preservation Award winner for its successful efforts in revitalizing its downtown area through historic preservation. It was one of only five cities in the U.S. to receive the award. In 2000, an F3 tornado cut a devastating path of destruction through the center of Parsons. About 700 homes were damaged and about 100 destroyed, about 60 businesses damaged and 11 businesses damaged. The sale of Katy Industries to Union Pacific, in 1988, eventually saw the loss of scores of railroad jobs and, in effect, severed a major part of Parsons' city history. In Spring of 2005, the munitions plant was placed on the BRAC list for closure. The community has rallied behind the current plant operator, Day and Zimmerman, to keep the company on the grounds after closure and keep those jobs and more in the Parsons area.

History

Parsons was named after Levi Parsons, president of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad. The town was founded in 1870 and incorporated the following year by the railroad. During World War II it was home to the Kansas Ordnance Plant, which later operated for some years as the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. Parsons is the home of Dwayne Photo, which was the last K-14 Kodachrome film in the world and was taken on the final frame of the final roll of the film "Zombie" Parsons was named a 2006 Great American Main Street Award winner for its successful efforts in revitalizing its downtown area through historic preservation. The community has rallied behind the current plant operator, Day and Zimmerman, to keep the company on the grounds after closure and to keep those jobs and more in the Parsons area. In the early part of the twentieth century, Parsons operated its own street car system, and also had an interurban electric railroad connecting it to the nearby cities of Cherryvale, Independence, Coffeyville, and Nowata. About 700 homes were damaged and about 100 destroyed in a tornado that hit Parsons on April 19, 2000. The city government received a million dollars to help it recover (and so that it would not file lengthy paperwork opposing the sale and thus delaying it), that money is kept in a fund by the city government, which uses the accrued interest on economic development projects. The only reminder of the Katy Railroad is now found in the local historical society's museum, the annual Katy Days Festival and of course the tracks, over which trains now speed through Parsons.

Geography

Parsons is located at 37°2021N 95°1611W (37.339070, -95.269747) The Kansas Army Ammunition Plant (KSAAP) is located southeast of the city. The facility was completed in 1942 to support World War II operations and consists of 21 separate facilities over 13,727 acres (55.55 km²) The installation is actively used as a munitions loading, assembly, and packing facility. The city has a total area of 10.70 square miles (27.71 km²), of which 10.61 square miles is land and 0.09 sq miles (0.23 sq km) is water. Big Hill Lake is several miles to the west of theCity, and Lake Parsons is situated northwest of the City. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Parsons has a population of 2,715. The population of Parsons in 2010 was 2,816. The largest city in the state was Erie, Kansas, with 2,917 people. The most populous city was Oswego, Kansas with 1,814 people, according to the 2010 Census. It is located on the Kansas Turnpike, which runs through the center of Parsons. The town is located in Neosho County and Labette County, and is the county seat of Labette and Lincoln Counties. It has an elevation of 37.2 meters (95.2 feet) and has a climate of salty-salty cities.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,500 people, 4,351 households, and 2,586 families living in the city. There were 5,034 housing units at an average density of 474.5 per square mile (183.2/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 81.3% White, 18.6% African American, 1.4% Native American, 0.6%, 0.8% Asian, and 4.3%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.7% of the population. The median income for a household in theCity was $28,345, and the median income. for a family was $36,557. About 9.9% of families and 14.6%. of the residents were below the poverty line, including 16.3. of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was2.95. The city's population was 11,514 as of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 4,738 households and 5,359 housing units. The gender makeup ofthe city was 48. 5% male and 51.5%. The average age in the City was 37.8 years, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 9.6. from 18 to 24, 26. 2% from 25 to 44, 20.4%. from 45 to 64, and 17.6! who were 65 years of age or older.

Arts and culture

Katy Days is an annual festival held Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the MissouriKansasTexas Railroad, also known as "the Katy" The founders of the festival are Mary and Pete Hughes. Activities are held in Forest Park, the largest community park in Parsons, and typically include live music, food trucks, and a parade. The festival is free and open to the public, but donations can be made at www.KatyDays.org.

Education

The first public library building in Parsons was the Carnegie Library, established in 1909. The Parsons Public Library moved to a modern facility in 1977. The city is home to a community college and a private Catholic school. Parsons is located in Labette County, which has two public school districts and one private school. It is also home to the Parsons High School and the Labette Community College. The town is also the home of the Parsons School for the Arts, which offers classes in English and French. It also has a private school, St. Patrick Catholic School, for children in pre-K-8 years of age. It has a public school, the Parsons Public School, which serves most of the city of Parsons. The public school district also serves parts of Labette and Erie counties, which have two separate school districts. The community college is in Parsons, and the private school is the Labette School for The Arts, located in the city's downtown area. It offers classes for grades 6-8, 9-12, and 12-13. The school district has a high school, Parsons Senior High School, and a middle school. There are also several private schools in the town, including St.Patrick Catholic School and Meadow View Elementary (K-7) and Lincoln Elementary (PreK-1), as well as two private schools, Parsons Middle and High School (6-8) and Parsons Elementary (4-5) The city's public school system is the Parsons USD 503 school district, which also serves the northern part of the town.

Points of interest

Parsons Arboretum, Tri-City Airport, Big Hill Lake, Oakwood Cemetery, Forest Park, and the historical society museum are points of interest in the area. The town is home to the Parsons Museum and the Parsons Historical Society Museum. The city is also the site of the Parsons State Fishing Lake and the Neosho State fishing lake. It is also home to Big Hill and Little Hill lakes. The community also has a number of parks, trails, and trails. The area is also known for its natural beauty and scenic beauty. It was founded in the 19th century by the Parsons family, who moved to the area in the late 1800s. The name Parsons comes from Parsons, a town in Parsons County, Arkansas, which means "point of interest" or place of interest. The word Parsons is also used to refer to the town's historical significance. It also means "parsons" or "parson" in the local language. The current name of the town is Parsons, and it is used as a reference to the city's history and place of place of prominence in the community. It's also known as "Parson's Park" and "Parkson's Landing" by the city council members and residents of the city of Parsons, Arkansas. The site is also referred to as "The Parsons Arboreum" by some locals. It has been named after the Parsons School of Arts and Science, which was established in the 1920s.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas = 90.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 53. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Parsons = 4.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 9,600 individuals with a median age of 37 age the population dropped by -4.43% in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 900 residents per square mile of area (350/km²). There are average 2.3 people per household in the 4,558 households with an average household income of $32,903 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.30% of the available work force and has growths 2.28% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 36.26%. The number of physicians in Parsons per 100,000 population = 174.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Parsons = 39.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 10.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 90. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 230. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 22.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 32, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas which are owned by the occupant = 56.94%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 63 years with median home cost = $51,880 and home appreciation of 0.46%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.56 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,414 per student. There are 12.3 students for each teacher in the school, 311 students for each Librarian and 299 students for each Counselor. 8.69% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.13% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).