Muncie, Indiana

Muncie, Indiana

Missing image US-IN-Muncie.gif Location in the state of Indiana
County	Delaware County, Indiana
Area  - Total  - Water	62.7 km^2 (24.2 mi²) 0.04%
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	67,430 1,076.7/km² (2,788.2/mi²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5
Latitude Longitude	40°11'36" N 85°23'17" W (40.193243, -85.388194)Template:GR.
External link: City of Muncie (http://www.cityofmuncie.com/)

Muncie is a city in Delaware County in southeast Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University.

Contents

1 History 2 Demographics 3 Sites of interest 4 Colleges and universities 5 Notable natives 6 Cultural references to Muncie 7 External links 7.1 News & Media

History

The area was first settled in the 1770s by the Delaware Indians, who had been transported from their tribal lands near the east coast to Ohio and eastern Indiana. They founded several towns along the White River including Muncietown, near the site of present-day Muncie. The tribes were forced cede their land to the federal government and move further west in 1818, and in 1820 the area was opened to white settlers. The city of Muncie was incorporated in 1865. Contrary to popular legend, the city is not named after a mythological Chief Munsee, rather it was named after Munsee Town, the white settlers name for the Indian village on the site.

Muncie was dubbed Middletown after a team of sociologists, led by Robert and Helen Lynd, initiated a series of sociological studies in Muncie funded by the Rockefellers' Institute of Social and Religious Research. "The aim... was to study synchronously the interwoven trends that are the life of a small American city." (Lynd and Lynd 1929: 3) Muncie was considered a typical Middle-American community. In 1929, the Lynds published their first study in a book entitled Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture. The Lynds returned to Muncie to re-observe the community during the depression. In 1937 they published Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts. The National Science Foundation then funded a third study resulting in two books by Theodore Caplow, Middletown Families (1982) and All Faithful People (1983). Caplow returned in 1998 to begin another study known as Middletown IV, which became part of a PBS Documentary entitled "The First Measured Century," released in December, 2000. These are only a few of the most notable studies. The Ball State Center for Middletown Studies continues to survey and analyze the social changes occurring in Muncie. An enormous database of Middletown surveys, conducted from 1978 to 1997, is available online from ARDA, American Religion Data Archive.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 67,430 people, 27,322 households, and 14,589 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,076.7/km² (2,788.2/mi²). There are 30,205 housing units at an average density of 482.3/km² (1,248.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 85.72% White, 10.97% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 27,322 households out of which 23.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% are married couples living together, 13.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% are non-families. 34.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.8% 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 2.86.

In the city the population is spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 24.6% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100 females there are 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $26,613, and the median income for a family is $36,398. Males have a median income of $30,445 versus $21,872 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,814. 23.1% of the population and 14.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Sites of interest

• Beneficence
• Wheeler Orchid Collection and Species Bank on the Ball State University campus

Colleges and universities

• Ball State University - External link (http://www.bsu.edu/)
• Ivy Tech State College - External link (http://www.ivytech.edu/muncie/)

Notable natives

• Jim Davis - cartoonist, Garfield comic strip

Cultural references to Muncie

• Knights of the Dinner Table - A comic strip set in Muncie. Parody of Roleplaying groups and Dungeons & Dragons.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The classic science fiction movie is partially set in Muncie.

External links

• City of Muncie (http://www.cityofmuncie.com/)
• Muncie Chamber of Commerce (http://www.muncie.com/)
• Muncie On The Web (http://www.muncieontheweb.com/)
• Muncie Downtown (http://www.munciedowntown.com/)
• Muncie Visitors Bureau (http://www.munciecvb.org/)
• Muncie Public Library (http://www.munpl.org/)
• Delaware County Office of Geographic Information (http://www.co.delaware.in.us/DCGIS)
• The Importance of Being Average (http://www.suck.com/daily/2000/09/26/1.html)

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

News & Media

• The Star Press (http://www.thestarpress.com/) - Muncie's Newspaper
• Newslink Indiana (http://www.newslinkindiana.com/) - Muncie's TV News
• WLBC (http://www.wlbc.com) - Muncie Radio
• The Ball State Daily News (http://www.bsudailynews.com/) - Ball State University's Newspaper