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Jasper, Indiana

Coordinates: 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083
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Not to be confused with Jasper County, Indiana.
Jasper, Indiana
City
Dubois County Courthouse
Dubois County Courthouse
Motto: 
"The Nation's Wood Capital"
Location of Jasper in Dubois County, Indiana.
Location of Jasper in Dubois County, Indiana.
Coordinates: 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083
CountryUnited StatesUnited States
StateIndianaIndiana
CountyDubois
TownshipBainbridge, Boone, Madison
Founded1818
Government
 • MayorDean Vonderheide (R) (Jan. 2019 - present)
Area
[1]
 • Total13.34 sq mi (34.55 km2)
 • Land13.25 sq mi (34.32 km2)
 • Water0.09 sq mi (0.23 km2)
Elevation
[2]
466 ft (142 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total16,703
 • Density1,260.51/sq mi (486.68/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
47546, 47547, 47549
Area code812 & 930
FIPS code18-37782[3]
GNIS feature ID436944
Websitehttp://www.jasperindiana.gov

Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County returned to the Eastern Time Zone, after having moved to the Central Time Zone the previous year. Land use in the area is primarily agricultural. The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, which honors players and others associated with the national pastime who were born or lived in Indiana, is located in Jasper.

History

Jasper was founded in 1818.[4] The Enlow family were the first settlers of the town.[5] Jasper was originally going to be named "Eleanor" after the wife of early settler Joseph Enlow, but she opted to suggest a name herself, and named the city after a passage in the Bible (Revelations 21:19).[6]

Jasper was not officially platted until 1830.[7] That year, the community became the new county seat of Dubois County, succeeding Portersville.[8]

The Jasper post office has been in operation since 1832.[9] During the New Deal era, Jessie Hull Mayer won a federal commission to paint a mural as part of the Section of Painting and Sculpture′s projects, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. Indiana Farming Scene in Late Autumn depicts a harvest scene on a farmstead, with no indication of the town.[10] In 1975, the painting was featured as part of a film, Art for Main Street: The Indiana Post Office Murals, produced by the Indiana Historical Society.[11]

Jasper was incorporated as a town in 1866, and was incorporated into a city in 1915.[12][13]

Economy

Jasper is a regional center in Southwestern Indiana, noted for its heavily German Catholic ancestral roots.[14] Jasper has often been called the "Wood Capital of the World", boasting many furniture companies, including Kimball International and Masterbrand Cabinets. Jasper is home to the Southern Indiana Education Center (SIEC), Jasper Engines & Transmissions (largest re-manufacturer in the market), and to a satellite campus of Vincennes University.

In 2022, Jasper won the annual Strong Towns "Strongest Town" competition.[15]

The largest industry sectors by employment in Jasper are manufacturing, retail, and health care & social services.

Top employers

According to the Jasper Chamber of Commerce

# Employer # of Employees
1 Kimball International 3,400
2 MasterBrand Cabinets 2,440
3 Jasper Engines & Transmissions 1,500
4 Memorial Hospital 1,400
5 Jasper Rubber Products 800
6 JasperGroup 1100

Geography

Jasper is located at 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083 (38.391439, -86.930772),[16] and is roughly:

According to the 2010 census, Jasper has a total area of 13.191 square miles (34.16 km2), of which 13.1 square miles (33.93 km2) (or 99.31%) is land and 0.091 square miles (0.24 km2) (or 0.69%) is water.[17] The city is mainly in Bainbridge Township, although city limits also extend into Madison and Boone Townships.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jasper, IN has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Climate data for Jasper, IN
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 37.1
(2.8) 		41.9
(5.5) 		53.3
(11.8) 		65.0
(18.3) 		74.2
(23.4) 		83.2
(28.4) 		86.5
(30.3) 		85.4
(29.7) 		79.5
(26.4) 		67.9
(19.9) 		54.0
(12.2) 		40.5
(4.7) 		64.0
(17.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 20.6
(−6.3) 		24.0
(−4.4) 		32.9
(0.5) 		43.3
(6.3) 		52.6
(11.4) 		62.4
(16.9) 		65.6
(18.7) 		63.2
(17.3) 		55.0
(12.8) 		43.9
(6.6) 		34.5
(1.4) 		24.0
(−4.4) 		43.5
(6.4)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.8
(71) 		2.5
(64) 		3.6
(91) 		4.1
(100) 		5.1
(130) 		4.3
(110) 		4.3
(110) 		3.1
(79) 		3.2
(81) 		3.5
(89) 		4.1
(100) 		3.3
(84) 		43.9
(1,109)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 5
(13) 		3
(7.6) 		2
(5.1) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		3
(7.6) 		13
(33.3)
Average precipitation days 8 8 10 10 11 10 8 7 7 8 9 9 105
Average snowy days 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8
Source: bestplaces.net [18]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1870547—
18801,04090.1%
18901,28123.2%
19001,86345.4%
19102,19617.9%
19202,53915.6%
19303,90553.8%
19405,04129.1%
19505,2153.5%
19606,73729.2%
19708,64128.3%
19809,0975.3%
199010,03010.3%
200012,10020.6%
201015,03824.3%
202016,70311.1%
Source: US Census Bureau
Location of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area in Indiana

Jasper is the principal city of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Dubois and Pike counties[19] and had a combined population of 54,734 at the 2010 census.[3]

2010 census

As of the census[20] of 2010, the population of Jasper was 15,038 and there were 5,994 households. The gender makeup of the city is 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

Ethnicities

The racial makeup of the city was:

Age

Of the total Jasper population:

  • 14.0% were 1-9
  • 12.9% were 10-19
  • 12.1% were 20-29
  • 11.9% were 30-39
  • 14.4% were 40-49
  • 13.6% were 50-59
  • 9.1% were 60-69
  • 6.1% were 70-79
  • 5.4% were 80 or older
  • Median age was 39.3 years. For males it was 36.9 years and for females, 41.6 years.

Income

  • Overall median household income in Jasper is $53,968
  • Median income for a family is $65,903
  • Males had a median income of $37,432
  • Females had a median income of $32,218
  • The per capita income for the city is $28,540
  • About 5.7% of families and 7.6% of the population are below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 and over.

Government

The following persons have held the office of mayor of Jasper, Indiana.

Mayor[21] Term Began Term Ended Political Party
George P. Wagner July 1915 Dec 1934 N/A
John Lorey Jan 1935 July 1937 N/A
Roman Kunkel Aug 1937 Dec 1942 N/A
Charles Bartley Jan 1943 Aug 1945 N/A
Herbert Thyen Sept 1945 Dec 1951 N/A
Edward J. Lorey Jan 1952 Dec 1959 N/A
Edwin B. Knies Jan 1960 Aug 1963 N/A
Francis J. Sermersheim Sept 1963 Dec 1963 N/A
Jack E. Newton Jan 1964 Dec 1971 N/A
Robert E. Parker Jan 1972 Dec 1979 N/A
Jerome "Chick" Alles Jan 1980 Dec 1991 Democrat
William J. Schmitt Jan 1992 Dec 2011 Democrat
Terry Seitz Jan 2012 Dec 2018 Republican
Dean Vonderheide Jan 2019 Present Republican

City parks

The splash fountain at Central Green Park

Jasper, Indiana has a total of 18 city parks covering 355 acres of land.[22]

  • Beaver Lake[23]
  • John Bohnert Park
  • Buehler Park
  • Centennial Park
  • Central Green
  • Church Avenue Park
  • Gutzweiler Park
  • Hochgesang Park
  • Jaycee Park
  • Camp Carnes
  • 30th Street Park
  • Lions Riverview Park
  • Riverwalk/Dave Buehler Plaza
  • Robert E. Parker Park
  • Seng Park
  • State Police Park
  • Northwest Suburban
  • Uebelhor Park
  • Wood Capital Police Park

City infrastructure

Sister city

Jasper participates in the sister cities program, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI).[24]

Arts and culture

Jasper boasts the only municipally supported Arts Council in the state of Indiana; it is part of city government and is supported by the city for its citizens in the same vein as its park board or its street department. The city of Jasper and the Jasper Community Arts Commission have won the Governor's Arts Award twice, once in 1987 and again in 2007, and it is the only group to have garnered this award twice.[25]

The Jasper Strassenfest is a four-day event held annually during the first weekend in August. The "Fest" is a celebration between Jasper and its German sister-city Pfaffenweiler, a small village in southwest Germany. Many citizens of Pfaffenweiler travel to Jasper around this time of year. The street festival encompasses the entire city square, complete with numerous food stands, rides, and a very large Biergarten. On average, over 1,300 pounds of bratwurst are consumed during the four-day event.[citation needed] The Strassenfest culminates in a Sunday parade and evening fireworks. The festival also incorporates a golf tournament, beauty pageant (Miss Strassenfest), box parade, fishing tournament, and a network of German "Polka Masses" at the three Roman Catholic parishes: St. Joseph's, Holy Family, and Precious Blood.

In January 2021, the new Thyen-Clark Cultural Center and public lending library opened.[26]

The fictional town of Orson, Indiana, from the TV series The Middle is based on Jasper.[27]

Media

Newspapers

Jasper has had several newspapers during its history.

  • The American Eagle was the town's first newspaper, and operated 1846–1848.
  • The Jasper Weekly Courier, a Democratic newspaper, was one of the longest running newspapers in the town's history, serving Dubois County residents 1858–1921.[28]
  • The Dubois County Herald has been published from 1895 to the present and circulates about 10,000 copies per day to residents of Dubois, Spencer, and Pike counties. The Herald is one of only 300 independently owned newspapers in the United States.[29]
  • The Jasper News Journal is a newspaper found for free throughout the city that serves the city of Jasper.[30]

Other newspapers published in Jasper included the Democrat (1857), the Times (1865), and another Times (1879–1891).[31]

Radio

The following stations are licensed in the city of Jasper

Education

Front entrance to Jasper High School

In 1970, the school system of Ireland, an unincorporated town west of Jasper along State Route 56, was consolidated into that of Jasper.

  • Jasper High School (public, grades 9 to 12)
  • Jasper Middle School (public 6 to 8)[32]
  • Ireland Elementary School (public pre-K to 5)[33]
  • Jasper Elementary School (public pre-K to 5)[34]
  • Holy Trinity Catholic School
    • West Campus at St. Mary's Ireland (private pre-K)[35]
    • Central Campus at Precious Blood (private pre K to 2)[36]
    • East Campus at Holy Family (private 3 to 8)[37]
  • Vincennes University (Jasper Campus)[38]

The city has a free lending library, the Jasper-Dubois County Public Library. In January 2021, the library moved into a new building that it shares with the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center.[26]

Notable people

National Register of Historic Places

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Jasper is home to 5 of 12 locations or buildings in Dubois County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See also

References

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  3. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ "Jasper, Indiana". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  5. ^ "History". Jasper Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Wilson, George R. (1910). History of Dubois County from Its Primitive Days to 1910. Published by the author. pp. 161.
  7. ^ Wilson, George R. (1910). History of Dubois County from Its Primitive Days to 1910. Published by the author. pp. 160.
  8. ^ "Portersville History". Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  9. ^ "Dubois County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Carlisle, John C. (1995). A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-87195-110-6.
  11. ^ "Post Office Mural Featured in Film". Jasper, Indiana: The Herald. May 16, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 17 March 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "About Our City". Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  13. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  14. ^ Wilson, George R. (1910). History of Dubois County from Its Primitive Days to 1910. Windmill Publications. pp. 356.
  15. ^ Declan, Loftus. ""Jasper Wins 2022 Strongest Town Contest"". 14 News. 14 News. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  16. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  17. ^ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  18. ^ "Jasper, IN". March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  19. ^ MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-07-27.
  20. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  21. ^ "Mayor / Jasper, IN". Jasperindiana.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  22. ^ http://www.jasperindiana.gov/egov/documents/6e48b4ff_ab9d_6966_fcf9_cf0a4f4ffdcb.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  23. ^ "Beaver Lake / Jasper, IN". www.jasperindiana.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  24. ^ "Sister Cities International". Archived from the original on 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  25. ^ "IAC: Governor's Arts Awards - Past Recipients". 8 September 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Jasper Public Library's new location now open".
  27. ^ "ABC's 'The Middle' Loaded With Hoosier Connections". RTV6. 2012-05-09. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  28. ^ "A history of the Jasper Weekly Courier from Indiana Historic Newspaper Digitization blog". 4 September 2013.
  29. ^ "About us - Dubois County Herald".
  30. ^ "The Jasper News Journal - Kentucky Publishing Inc". www.ky-news.com. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  31. ^ Miller, John W. (1982). Indiana Newspaper Bibliography. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society.
  32. ^ "Jasper Middle School".
  33. ^ "Ireland Elementary".
  34. ^ "Jasper Elementary".
  35. ^ "Holy Trinity Catholic School Western Campus".
  36. ^ "Holy Trinity Catholic School Central Campus".
  37. ^ "Holy Trinity Catholic School Eastern Campus".
  38. ^ "Vincennes University Jasper Main Page". Archived from the original on 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
  39. ^ "Lindauer appointed District 63 state representative". Dubois County Free Press. October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Jasper, Indiana.

Media related to Jasper, Indiana at Wikimedia Commons Jasper, Indiana travel guide from Wikivoyage

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