Upland, Indiana

Upland, Indiana
—  Town  —
Location of Upland in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 40°28′2″N 85°30′0″W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Grant
Township	Jefferson
Area
• Total	3.9 sq mi (10.2 km2)
• Land	3.9 sq mi (10.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	935 ft (285 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	3,845
• Density	967.1/sq mi (373.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	46989
Area code(s)	765
FIPS code	18-77966
GNIS feature ID	0445158
Website	http://upland.in.gov/

Upland is a town in Jefferson Township, Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,845 at the 2010 census. It is most notable for being the home of Taylor University, a Christian college with 1,920 students, as of 2011.

History

The first White resident of the Upland area was John Oswalt, who came to Jefferson Township in the early 1830s and purchased 2,240 acres (9.1 km²) including almost all the land which is now a part of Upland. He bought this large amount of land because, as a speculator, he thought that an Indianapolis to Fort Wayne canal might pass through or near his property. Jacob Bugher, who moved to the township in 1851, purchased land from Oswalt. Sixteen years later, when the first railroad (the Indiana Central Railroad) passed through the township, Bugher planned the beginnings of Upland as a depot point for the railroad. The name of the town came from its reputed location as the highest point on the rail line between Columbus and Chicago. Gradually, the town grew in population and organization. By the late 1870s, it had thirty families, 150 in total population, one grade school, two churches, three dry-goods stores, one sawmill, and a blacksmith shop.

A guest-preaching engagement in 1882 in the Upland Methodist Church afforded Taylor University president Thaddeus Reade the chance to meet the minister of Upland Methodist Church, Rev. John C. White. Because the school was having financial difficulties at its location in Fort Wayne, White and Upland citizen J.W. Pittinger worked to bring the school to Upland. In the spring of 1893 White negotiated an agreement between the Taylor trustees and the Upland Land Company, whereby the university agreed to move to Upland, and the company agreed to provide Taylor with $10,000 in cash and 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land. In the summer of 1893, Taylor University relocated to Upland. White was able to find the resources to support Taylor University because of the recent discovery of large deposits of natural gas in the area. The gas boom of central Indiana began in 1886 and continued through the 1890s before the supply began to decline at around 1900. The first gas discoveries in Upland were in 1888, and three years later the Upland Land Company came into existence to take advantage of the newly found resources by promoting the development of the town.

When Taylor University moved to the community in 1893, the incorporated town of 1,000 inhabitants could boast of improved streets and carbon street lights, water and gas lines, a major glass bottle manufacturing plant, and a zinc factory. In 1915, Taylor paid seven thousand dollars to purchase 70 acres (280,000 m²) more from Charles H. and Bertha Snyder. The university added another 80 acres (320,000 m²) to its present location in the early 1920s when the Lewis Jones farm was purchased.

During the 1960s, the infrastructure of the town was improved. Interstate 69 was completed. The public schools were consolidated into the Eastbrook School District and Eastbrook Junior High and High School were built. The municipality constructed a new water and sewage system. In the early 1990s, a new building was built by the Avis Industrial Corporation, across from Taylor University. The Avis-Taylor Prairie Restoration Project was also begun.

Upon the celebration in 1993 of Taylor's 100th anniversary in Upland, the university worked with the community to purchase and relocate a train depot from Muncie to Upland to serve as a local museum. The depot together with a new town hall and library were major developments in the downtown renewal project of Our Town Upland, Inc.

Source

Taylor University: The First 150 Years by William C. Ringenberg. Upland: Taylor University Press, 1996.

Geography

Upland is located between Fort Wayne (one hour north by car) and Indianapolis (1¼ hours south). It is about 30 minutes from Muncie, where Ball State University is located. It is about 20 minutes from Marion, where Indiana Wesleyan University is located.

Upland is located at 40°28′2″N 85°30′0″W (40.467146, -85.500120).

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,803 people, 789 households, and 569 families residing in the town. The population density was 967.1 people per square mile (373.6/km²). There were 824 housing units at an average density of 209.5 per square mile (81.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.40% White, 1.53% African American, 0.68% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.

There were 789 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 13.3% under the age of 18, 51.9% from 18 to 24, 13.9% from 25 to 44, 12.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,827, and the median income for a family was $44,712. Males had a median income of $32,019 versus $21,845 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,761. About 7.4% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Description

Ivanhoe's - Upland's most famous restaurant

Besides Taylor University, Upland is most well-known for Ivanhoe's, a restaurant known for its 100+ sundaes and 100+ shakes as well as great food. Upland is also the home of the late Barton Rees Pogue, well-known author, poet, speaker, preacher and teacher.

In addition to Ivanhoe's and Taylor University, Upland includes a historic train depot and 1923 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose, four community parks, a sports complex, three gas stations, three banks, a post office, library, town hall, general store, fire station, police station, three churches, a funeral home, a barber, three beauty salons, a realtor, two car-repair shops, a car wash, a medical clinic/pharmacy,an animal shelter, World Headquarters of Avis Industrial, Pierce Company manufacturing, numerous other small businesses and two traffic lights.

Upland is served by the Upland Police Department, Grant County Sheriff's Department, Upland Volunteer Fire Department and Medic 8 Ambulance Service. Government is town board with current president, Mike Cooper, town clerk-treasurer, Jane Rockwell, and town manager, Chip Long.

Upland is located off Interstate 69 at exit 59 where a number of businesses are located, including three gas stations, a doctor's office, three hotels, Burger King, KFC/Taco Bell, Cracker Barrel, East of Chicago Pizza, Casa Grande, China One, Payne's Coffee and Custard, and Starbucks. Upland is also known for a local pizza establishment called T.O.P.P.I.T., which stands for "The Only Pizza Place In Town", although technically it hasn't been for a while. T.O.P.P.I.T. is a local favorite for university students and Upland residents alike.^{[citation needed]}

Active organizations include; Upland Area Historical Society, Upland Junior Historical Society, Upland Chamber of Commerce, Upland Lions Club, "Our Town Upland," Upland Masonic Lodge, Jefferson Alumni Association, Muddobbers Motorcycle Club, Upland Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, Upland Brownies and Girl Scouts, Upland 4-H Club, Grant United Soccer, Blackford Youth Soccer, Timeless Treasures Red Hat Club and Tri A Dice Club.

Culture

Town highlights include:

• The Labor Day weekend festival.
• On the Saturday before Labor day, the town comes alive when hundreds of households hold yard sales throughout the town.
• On the day before Labor day there is an annual car show at the Community Park.
• The Upland Lion's club has music, vendors and track events at the Lions Club Park throughout the weekend.
• On Labor Day Monday, the annual Labor day parade is held down main street. The parade usually lasts at least an hour with over 100+ entries.
• Upland also hosts a festival called "Blooms and Berries" the second Saturday in June.
• The Annual Indiana Poetry Festival is held in April in honor of Barton Rees Pogue.
• Olde Tyme Christmas in Upland is held the first Sunday after the first Saturday in December.
• Another Town highlight is the softball/baseball diamonds located at the park.
• Through the ball season the park lights up with active kids competing against one another in America's favorite pastime.

Religion

Upland's population is predominantly Christian.^{[citation needed]} The largest church in town is Upland Community Church which is associated with the "Fellowship of Evangelical Churches." Mark Biehl is currently the teaching pastor.

Rob Neel is pastor at Upland United Methodist Church.

Curt Blasiman is pastor at Upland Friends Church

Other Churches include the Jefferson Christian Church and the Upland Christian Church.

Lightrider and Wandering Wheels are two Christian ministries which are headquartered in Upland. Wandering Wheels specializes in coast-to-coast cycling trips and has been in existence since 1964. Lightrider is a mobile retreat ministry that uses a 40-foot (12 m), double-decker motor coach equipped with seats and bunk beds. Next to Lightrider, is the "Red Barn" - a youth outreach center and the Gray Barn, a facility catering to senior activities.

Education

Upland residents attend:

• Eastbrook South Elementary School
• Eastbrook Jr. High and Eastbrook High School (located four miles north of Upland)

Media

The county newspaper is the Marion Chronicle-Tribune. Also, two local weekly papers are issued: The Courier and SEG-way News. Both provide information specific to the Upland and Matthews communities, including town events, personal milestones, school information, advertisements, fire and police calls, and more.

External links

• Town of Upland, Indiana website
• Taylor University Official Website
• Ivanhoe's Website
• Upland Area Veterinary Clinic