Spencer, Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spencer is a town in Owen County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,508 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Owen County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Spencer is located at 39°17′13″N, 86°45′51″W (39.286848, -86.764225)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,508 people, 1,090 households, and 659 families residing in the town. The population density was 768.5/km² (1,984.6/mi²). There were 1,193 housing units at an average density of 365.6/km² (944.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.52% White, 0.20% African American, 0.40% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.

There were 1,090 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,664, and the median income for a family was $36,921. Males had a median income of $29,679 versus $21,531 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,843. About 8.4% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Spencer was named after Captain Spier Spencer who died November 11, 1811 in the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Town of Spencer was laid out in 1820 and the first auction for lots took place. The first court house was a built of logs and replaced in 1825 with a brick courthouse. That courthouse stood until 1910 when the current courthouse was constructed to replace it. In 1890 a steam driven dynamo was installed in Spencer for carbon arc street lights.