Evansville, Indiana
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For other places named Evansville see Evansville (disambiguation).
Evansville is a city located in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,582. The city is the county seat of Vanderburgh County. In 2004 Evansville was named an "All-America City" by the National Civic League.Template:GR.
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Geography
Evansville is located at 37°58'38" North, 87°33'2" West (37.977166, -87.550566)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 105.6 km² (40.8 mi²). 105.4 km² (40.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.15% water. The city faces the Ohio River along its southern boundary.
Demographics
Evansville is Indiana's third largest city and the regional hub for the Tri-State area. According to the census of 2000, there are 121,582 people and 30,527 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,153.4/km² (2,987.0/mi²). There are 57,065 housing units at an average density of 541.3/km² (1,402.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the Evanasville is 86.24% White, 10.92% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 52,273 households out of which 26.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% are married couples living together, 13.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% are non-families. 35.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.24 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the city the population is spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,963, and the median income for a family is $41,091. Males have a median income of $30,922 compared to $21,776 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,388. 13.7% of the population and 10.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.0% of those under the age of 18 and 8.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The first cabin built in Evansville was built in 1809 that was the home of George Miller(Kentucky). Evansville was laid out in 1817, and was named in honor of Robert Morgan Evans (1783-1844), one of its founders, who was an officer under then General William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. It soon became a thriving commercial town, with an extensive river trade, was incorporated in 1819, and received a city charter in 1847. The completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal, in 1843, from Evansville to Toledo, Ohio, a distance of 400 miles, greatly accelerated the city's growth. Evansville's first railroad company,Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad, was built in 1850. Evansville's main street was paved in 1889. In 1932 the first bridge from Evansville crossing the Ohio River was built.
The Evansville Crimson Giants were a National Football League team from 1921-2.
The first Sears department store was opened on October 5, 1925 in Evansville.
Evansville's Bosse Field (opened 1915) is the third oldest baseball stadium still hosting professional games (#2 and #1 being Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914) and Boston's Fenway Park (1912), respectively). Game scenes in A League Of Their Own were filmed there.
Evansville's Mesker Park Zoo opened in 1928. Mesker Park is currently Indiana's oldest and largest zoo.
Famous People from Evansville
- Bud Boetticher, director of western movies and Ohio State University football star
- Calbert Cheaney, NBA basketball player
- Louis J. Koch, creator of Holiday World
- Bob Griese, football player
- Bob Hamilton, professional golfer and winner of the 1944 PGA Championship
- Lee Hamilton, former U.S. Congressman
- Kevin Hardy, football player
- Don Mattingly, baseball player
- Walter McCarty, NBA basketball player
- Robert D. Orr (1917-2004), former governor of Indiana
- Paul Osborn (1901-1988), playwright, including screenplay for East of Eden
- Scott Rolen, baseball player
- Ray Ryan, oil man, property developer, gambler and multi-millionaire
- Michael Michele, model, actress
Events
The West Side Nut Club Fall Festival is a street fair held in the area west of Downtown Evansville. It is held on the first full week of October. According to the West Side Nut Club, the Fall Festival is the second largest street festival in the United States; it is eclipsed only by the famous Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.
In the last weekend of August the popular Frog Follies takes place, when over 4000 street rods converge on the Vanderburgh County 4-H fairgrounds just north of the town.
Other
Though often just two universities are listed for Evansville, the University of Southern Indiana (USI) and the University of Evansville. Indiana University School of Medicine also has a presence in the city. Evansville Center for Medical Education (http://shaw.medlib.iupui.edu/ecme/ecmepage.htm), located on the campus of USI. Ivy Tech State College has a campus on that is located on the north side of town. The ITT Tech trade school is located on the East side of the city.
The city has had an indoor football team since the 2002-2003 season called the BlueCats which plays at Roberts Stadium, and, since 1995, a baseball team called Evansville Otters which plays in the Frontier League at Bosse Field.
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External links
- Frog Follies (http://www.frogfollies.org/)
- "Timline History of Evansville" (http://www.gbgm-umc.org/OldNorthIN/detail1.html)
- Evansville's museum (http://www.emuseum.org/)
- Evansville Otters (http://www.evansvilleotters.com/)
- Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (http://www.evpl.org/)