Huntington, Indiana

City of Huntington
—  City  —
Aerial view of Huntington looking northeast.
Nickname(s): "The Lime City"
Location in the state of Indiana, USA
Coordinates: 40°52′55″N 85°29′44″W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Huntington
Government
• Mayor	Steven D. Updike (R)
Area
• Total	8.4 sq mi (21.8 km2)
• Land	8.3 sq mi (21.6 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	748 ft (228 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	17,450
• Density	2,089.9/sq mi (806.9/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Code	46750
Area code(s)	260
FIPS code	18-35302
GNIS feature ID	0436634
Website	http://www.huntington.in.us/

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	594		—
1860	1,664		180.1%
1870	2,925		75.8%
1880	3,863		32.1%
1890	7,328		89.7%
1900	9,491		29.5%
1910	10,272		8.2%
1920	14,000		36.3%
1930	13,420		−4.1%
1940	13,903		3.6%
1950	15,079		8.5%
1960	16,185		7.3%
1970	16,217		0.2%
1980	16,202		−0.1%
1990	16,389		1.2%
2000	17,450		6.5%

Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is a small city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township and Union Township. The population was 17,450 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Huntington is located at 40°52′55″N 85°29′44″W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km²), of which, 8.4 square miles (22 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.07%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,450 people, 6,717 households, and 4,419 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,091.0 people per square mile (806.9/km²). There were 7,262 housing units at an average density of 870.2/sq mi (335.8/km²). The main religion is Roman Catholic, with around 42% of the city attending masses. The racial makeup of the city was 97.83% White, 0.21% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.

There were 6,717 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,600, and the median income for a family was $56,454. Males had a median income of $35,830 versus $26,921 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,242. About 5.2% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Huntington County Community School Corporation serves the city of Huntington and all of Huntington County. The corporation's lone high school; Huntington North High School, is located in Huntington. The two corporation middle schools; Crestview Middle School and Riverview Middle School, and three of the six elementary schools lie just outside the city limits. Private schools include Huntington Catholic School operated by the Roman Catholic Church.

History

Name

Huntington was named by Capt. Elias Murray, a member of the legislature. The name Huntington is derived from Samuel Huntington, a judge, politician, and patriot in the American Revolution. Samuel Huntington is also known for being the 3rd Governor of Connecticut and the 7th President of the Continental Congress. Being a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Huntington took part in voting for and signing the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

Early Settlement

The county of Huntington was formally organized on December 2, 1834. The city of Huntington was first established by a group of pioneers, most notably Capt. Elias Murray. By 1849, Huntington contained 150 houses and a population of 700.

Historical Literature

An small bagful of books have been published about the history of Huntington County, the first being History of Huntington County, Indiana originally published by Brant & Fuller. Two other books about Huntington include History of Huntington County, IN by Frank Sumner Bash in 1914 (describing its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests) and Huntington County, IN: Histories and Families by Turner Publishing Company in 1993 as a result of the Huntington County Historical Society officers and board of directors meeting in the summer of 1992 to discuss the family history of Huntington, the glue that has held together the city and county of Huntington in the heartland of the Midwest for more than 175 years.

Wabash and Erie Canal

The Wabash and Erie Canal was constructed through Huntington County in 1834 and added major economic benefit to the area. In addition to the Wabash River cutting through Huntington (see Forks of the Wabash), this newly opened trade route only sped up the population and economic growth in Huntington.

• 

  Brick building that once sat on the Wabash and Erie Canal. Foreground was once a boat basin.

Economy

Catholic publisher Our Sunday Visitor is based in Huntington.

Huntington Grills Factory

Communications

• Local radio stations
• WBZQ AM 1300 Larko Communications
• WVSH FM 91.9 The Edge, high school station (Huntington North High School)
• WQHU FM 105.5 FUSE FM, Huntington University

Transportation

Huntington Municipal Airport, a small airport for general aviation, lies southeast of the city.

Several highways serve the city:

• U.S. Route 24
• U.S. Route 224
• State Road 5
• State Road 9

Notable natives and former residents

Sports

• Chris Kramer, starter for the Purdue Basketball team and recipient of the Big Ten Defensive Player of The Year
• EJ Tackett, 2011 member of USBC Team and Jr. Team USA (Bowling)

Entertainment

• Denny Jiosa, Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist
• Mick Mars, member of rock band Mötley Crüe

Politics

• J. Danforth Quayle, Vice-President of the United States, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative
• J. Edward Roush, U.S. Representative, father of "911 Emergency System"
• James R. Slack, state senator and Civil War general

Religion

• Archbishop John F. Noll, founder of Our Sunday Visitor a Roman Catholic Newspaper, and publishing company. Former Father of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Other

• Richard Leroy Walters, homeless philanthropist

Points of interest

Huntington County Courthouse

• Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA - National Headquarters
• Huntington County Historical Museum
• Huntington University Arboretum and Botanical Garden
• Huntington University
• J. Edward Roush Lake
• Merillat Centre for the Arts
• Our Sunday Visitor
• Sheets Wildlife Museum and Learning Center
• Sunken Gardens
• The Forks Of The Wabash
• The Indiana Room Genealogy Center
• United States Vice Presidential Museum
• Victory Noll

External links

• City of Huntington, Indiana website
• HuntingtonDaily.com, Huntington news website
• Huntington County Tab newspaper
• Huntington Herald Press daily newspaper
• Huntington County United Economic Development
• Huntington Indiana Information
• The HUFF 50K Trail Run ultramarathon
• VEEP Triathlon
• Info on BBQ grills made in Huntington