De Witt, Nebraska

De Witt, Nebraska
—  Village  —
Sign at the edge of De Witt
Location of De Witt, Nebraska
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Nebraska
County Saline
Area
 • Total 0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2)
 • Land 0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 1,289 ft (393 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 513
 • Density 1,370.3/sq mi (529.1/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 68341
Area code(s) 402
FIPS code 31-13015[1]
GNIS feature ID 0828616[2]

De Witt is a village in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 513 at the 2010 census. The town was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in February 1857.[3]

Contents

Geography

De Witt is located at (40.394982, -96.920790)[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 572 people, 243 households, and 164 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,370.3 people per square mile (525.8/km²). There were 254 housing units at an average density of 608.5 per square mile (233.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.60% White, 0.17% African American, 0.35% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 243 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,056, and the median income for a family was $48,021. Males had a median income of $26,583 versus $22,778 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,684. About 3.6% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

A popular tool, called the Vise-Grip, was first manufactured in De Witt. The Vise-Grip was originally manufactured in De Witt by Petersen Manufacturing, founded by Danish immigrant William Petersen. Petersen, a blacksmith by trade, invented the first locking pliers and began selling them from the trunk of his car to farmers and people in surrounding towns. In 1985 American Tool Companies Inc. was formed by the Petersen family, and it in turn acquired Petersen Manufacturing. In 1993 American Tool acquired Irwin Industrial. The company operated under the Irwin Industrial name beginning in 2002 when it was purchased by Newell Rubbermaid.[1] On October 31, 2008 the plant was closed and 330 jobs were lost when manufacturing of Vise-Grips and other tools moved to China. [2]

In 2009 Gerry Durnell writing in Automobile Quarterly said: "The original Vise-Grip manufacturing plant now sits vacant. One auction has already taken place, another is contemplated, and the building is for sale. More than 330 people from the town of Dewitt (sic) and surrounding communities are no longer employed by Newell Rubbermaid, which owns the company and chose to take Vise-Grip production overseas." [5]

References

  1. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ (1912) Bulletin. Issues 2. Nebraska State Legislature. p. 7.
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  5. ^ Automobile Quarterly, Vol 49 No.4, 4th quarter 2009, frontispiece.

External links