Pleasant Hill, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Pleasant Hill is a city in Cass County
, Missouri
, United States
. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census.
Pleasant Hill is home for the Kansas City
/Pleasant Hill National Weather Service
Forecast Office, which serves 37 counties in northern and western Missouri and seven counties in extreme east-central Kansas
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²), of which, 4.5 square miles (11.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.
Pleasant Hill is located at the convergence of Missouri Highway 7 and Missouri Highway 58. and is approximately 8.7 miles south of US Highway 50.
, there were 5,582 people, 2,070 households and 1,509 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,242.3 per square mile (480.0/km²). There were 2,202 housing units at an average density of 490.1 per square mile (189.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.55% White, 0.21% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.45% from other races
, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.
There were 2,070 households of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples
living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
Age distribution was 30.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median household income
was $48,915, and the median family income was $52,799. Males had a median income of $40,394 versus $24,985 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $21,623. About 4.0% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
, East Lynne
, and portions of unincorporated Cass County
.
Primary School K-2
Elementary School (3-4):
Intermediate School (5-6);
Middle School (7-8):
High School:
After several months of field research through the Kansas City gambling world, Vernon discovered that Kennedy lived and worked in Pleasant Hill. He visited the town, but no one would tell him where Kennedy lived. Kennedy had been raised there, and made the bulk of his money from a crooked gambling game he and his partner Midnight Underwood ran in the upstairs back room of a doctor's office. After persistent questioning, though, Vernon procured the information from a child by buying her an ice cream cone.
Vernon knocked on Kennedy's door on March 20, 1932, and introduced himself as a card cheat who worked the transatlantic cruise ships. Kennedy was wary at first, but Vernon won him over by showing him an impressive array of cheating sleights. Finally, Kennedy showed Vernon the "center deal," which most magicians thought impossible. However, Kennedy had worked on the sleight for years, building up his hands with five years of hand exercises and working out the mechanics through constant card handling.
Vernon brought the center deal back to the rest of the magic world and made it famous. He passed it on to the top magicians in the country but kept it secret from all others. He finally explained it in the 1980s on his famous "Revelations" video series. Vernon told the story of his pursuit of the center deal for decades, and because of Vernon's status, it took on the aura of legend. Vernon died in 1992 at the age of 98.
Kennedy lived in Pleasant Hill until the mid-1930s, after his partner Midnight Underwood died and he moved to Harrisonville, where he fleeced card players at games off the town square. In the late 1950s, however, liquor got the best of Kennedy and he became the town drunk. He died in March, 1961. His body was brought back to Pleasant Hill, where he was buried without a headstone next to his parents.
Cass County, Missouri
Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 99,478. Its county seat is Harrisonville. The county was organized in 1835 as "Van Buren County", renamed in 1848 after Michigan U.S...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census.
Pleasant Hill is home for the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
/Pleasant Hill National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
Forecast Office, which serves 37 counties in northern and western Missouri and seven counties in extreme east-central Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
Geography
Pleasant Hill is located at 38°47′26"N 94°15′58"W (38.790481, -94.266056).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²), of which, 4.5 square miles (11.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.
Pleasant Hill is located at the convergence of Missouri Highway 7 and Missouri Highway 58. and is approximately 8.7 miles south of US Highway 50.
Demographics
At the 2000 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 5,582 people, 2,070 households and 1,509 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,242.3 per square mile (480.0/km²). There were 2,202 housing units at an average density of 490.1 per square mile (189.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.55% White, 0.21% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.45% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.
There were 2,070 households of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
Age distribution was 30.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
was $48,915, and the median family income was $52,799. Males had a median income of $40,394 versus $24,985 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $21,623. About 4.0% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Pleasant Hill is the strongest contributor to the Pleasant Hill R-3 School District, which also includes students from the surrounding areas of StrasburgStrasburg, Missouri
Strasburg is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 136 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Strasburg is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, East Lynne
East Lynne, Missouri
East Lynne is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 300 at the 2000 census. The name was derived from a novel.-Geography:East Lynne is located at ....
, and portions of unincorporated Cass County
Cass County, Missouri
Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 99,478. Its county seat is Harrisonville. The county was organized in 1835 as "Van Buren County", renamed in 1848 after Michigan U.S...
.
Primary School K-2
- Pleasant Hill
Elementary School (3-4):
- Pleasant Hill
Intermediate School (5-6);
- Pleasant Hill
Middle School (7-8):
- Pleasant Hill Middle School
High School:
- Pleasant Hill High SchoolPleasant Hill High School (Missouri)Pleasant Hill High School is a Division 3A public high school serving the town of Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Missouri. The school's mascot is the Rooster. The girls team's mascot is the Chick. Its colors are purple and gold...
Famous residents
In the first half of the 20th century, Pleasant Hill was the home of Allen "Bill" Kennedy, the highly skilled gambler depicted in the book, The Magician and the Cardsharp, by Karl Johnson (Henry Holt, 2005). Magic legend Dai Vernon first heard of the existence of a gambler who could deal any card at will from the center of the deck from a Mexican gambler named Amador Villasenor, who in 1931 was being held for murder in the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita. Vernon went off in search of the man, whose name and whereabouts he didn't know.After several months of field research through the Kansas City gambling world, Vernon discovered that Kennedy lived and worked in Pleasant Hill. He visited the town, but no one would tell him where Kennedy lived. Kennedy had been raised there, and made the bulk of his money from a crooked gambling game he and his partner Midnight Underwood ran in the upstairs back room of a doctor's office. After persistent questioning, though, Vernon procured the information from a child by buying her an ice cream cone.
Vernon knocked on Kennedy's door on March 20, 1932, and introduced himself as a card cheat who worked the transatlantic cruise ships. Kennedy was wary at first, but Vernon won him over by showing him an impressive array of cheating sleights. Finally, Kennedy showed Vernon the "center deal," which most magicians thought impossible. However, Kennedy had worked on the sleight for years, building up his hands with five years of hand exercises and working out the mechanics through constant card handling.
Vernon brought the center deal back to the rest of the magic world and made it famous. He passed it on to the top magicians in the country but kept it secret from all others. He finally explained it in the 1980s on his famous "Revelations" video series. Vernon told the story of his pursuit of the center deal for decades, and because of Vernon's status, it took on the aura of legend. Vernon died in 1992 at the age of 98.
Kennedy lived in Pleasant Hill until the mid-1930s, after his partner Midnight Underwood died and he moved to Harrisonville, where he fleeced card players at games off the town square. In the late 1950s, however, liquor got the best of Kennedy and he became the town drunk. He died in March, 1961. His body was brought back to Pleasant Hill, where he was buried without a headstone next to his parents.
External links
- www.pleasanthill.com
- Historic maps of Pleasant Hill in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of MissouriUniversity of MissouriThe University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
- The Magician and the Cardsharp, by Karl Johnson, in http://www.amazon.com/Magician-Cardsharp-Americas-Sleight---Hand/dp/0805080597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321948856&sr=8-1