Connersville, Indiana

City of Connersville, Indiana
—  City  —
Location in the state of Indiana
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Indiana
County Fayette
Government
 • Mayor Leonard E. Urban (R)
Area
 • Total 8.1 sq mi (21.1 km2)
 • Land 8.1 sq mi (21.1 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 823 ft (251 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 15,411
 • Density 1,895.6/sq mi (731.9/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 47331
Area code(s) 765
FIPS code 18-14932[1]
GNIS feature ID 0432888[2]
Website http://www.connersvillein.gov

Connersville is a city in Fayette County, Indiana, United States. The population was 15,411 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of and the only incorporated community wholly in Fayette County[3]. The East Central Education Service Center is located in Connersville.

Contents

Geography

Connersville is located at (39.653931, -85.137709)[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.1 square miles (21 km2), of which, 8.1 square miles (21 km2) of it is land and 0.12% is water.

History

Connersville is named for settler John Conner, brother of William Conner, an early Indiana settler and politician. In the early 20th century, the town became known as "Little Detroit" because of its importance to the automobile industry. Automobiles manufactured in Connersville include Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Ansted, Empire, Lexington and McFarlan.

The Roots blower was manufactured in Connersville for many years.

Elmhurst, an estate south of town on St. Rd. 121, was the home of Caleb Blood Smith, who served in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet.

The Connersville High School Spartans boys' basketball team won the state tournament in 1972 and 1983. The girls' gymnastics team won state in 1987, 1988, and 1989.

On July 29, 2009, Carbon Motors Corporation announced plans to relocate their headquarters to Connersville and to invest $350 million to re-use a former Visteon plant there.[5][6]

MusicFest

The Heritage MusicFest takes place in June at a campground by the Whitewater River. Local bands ranging in style from bluegrass to rock perform. The Connersville/Fayette County Chamber of Commerce sponsors the event, which began in 2005.

First high school marching band

During the school year 1906-07, Dr. W. Otto Miessner established the first high school marching band in the U.S. at Connersville High School.[7]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 596
1850 1,396 134.2%
1860 2,119 51.8%
1870 2,496 17.8%
1880 3,228 29.3%
1890 4,548 40.9%
1900 6,836 50.3%
1910 7,738 13.2%
1920 9,901 28.0%
1930 12,795 29.2%
1940 12,898 0.8%
1950 15,550 20.6%
1960 17,698 13.8%
1970 17,604 −0.5%
1980 17,023 −3.3%
1990 15,550 −8.7%
2000 15,411 −0.9%
2010 13,481 −12.5%
Source: US Census Bureau

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 15,411 people, 6,382 households, and 4,135 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,894.5 people per square mile (731.9/km²). There were 6,974 housing units at an average density of 857.3/sq mi (331.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.10% White, 2.48% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 6,382 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34, and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,911, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $31,239 versus $21,836 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,839. About 7.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Rail transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Connersville.

Amtrak Train 51, the westbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Connersville at 3:05 a.m. on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with a service to Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer, Dyer and Chicago Union Station.

Amtrak Train 50, the eastbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Connersville at 1:26 a.m. on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with a service to Cincinnati, Maysville, South Portsmouth, Ashland, Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery, Thurmond, Prince, Hinton, Alderson, White Sulphur Springs, Clifton Forge, Staunton, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria and Washington, DC, and continuing on to New York City.

Media

Connersville has a daily newspaper called The News Examiner.

Radio station WIFE-AM 1580 also operates with local programming. For many years Connersville simulcast AM/FM WCNB/WIFE radio. The FM which was located at 100.3 was sold to Radio One Communications for $18 million in 2006 and re-located to Cincinnati, Ohio. There is now a new FM radio station (94.3), whose tower is located in Rush County, Indiana.

Connersville High School's daily TV news program, CHS Today, was the first student-produced TV news program in the United States.[8] It began in 1970 with presenters Dennis Sullivan and Ron Stevens. At first, it was broadcast only to the school via closed-circuit TV. Later it expanded; it now airs live at 11:00 a.m. weekdays to the community and re-airs twice in the evening at 6:45 & 10:45pm via TV3 on local cable. Teacher Joseph Glowacki started and still runs the program.

Notable people

See also

References

External links