Rushville, Indiana

Rushville is a city in Rushville Township, Rush County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,341 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Rush County^[3]. It was the campaign headquarters for Wendell Willkie's 1940 presidential campaign against Franklin D. Roosevelt. Willkie is buried in the city's East Hill Cemetery. It, like the county, was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, who signed the Declaration of Independence.^[4]==Geography== Rushville is located at (39.614482, -85.448657)^[5], along the Flatrock River.^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 5,995 people, 2,434 households, and 1,552 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,668.8 people per square mile (1,028.7/km²). There were 2,597 housing units at an average density of 1,156.1 per square mile (445.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.45% White, 1.58% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.40% of the population.

There were 2,434 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,233, and the median income for a family was $36,646. Males had a median income of $30,127 versus $22,440 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,072. About 8.1% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Leonidas Sexton was from Rushville.
• Wendell Willkie claimed residence in and ran his unsuccessful 1940 presidential campaign from Rushville. He remains the only native of Indiana to be nominated as the presidential candidate for a national party. He is buried in the East Hill Cemetery. His wife, Edith Wilk, was a native of Rushville.
• Frazier Thomas was born in Rushville, Indiana on June 13, 1918 and died in Chicago, Illinois on April 3, 1985. He was an American television personality. He is best known for having hosted the long-running children's television program Garfield Goose and Friends on WGN-TV. He also hosted various radio and television programs in a long career that spanned from before World War II until his death. He hosted Family Classics and took over as circus manager on Bozo's Circus after the retirement of ringmaster Ned Locke, both shows on WGN-TV.
• Tony Stewart Current NASCAR driver, former IRL Champion is also referred to as the "Rushville Rocket". Stewart grew up in Columbus, Indiana but started his racing career while living in Rushville. There is a small drive next to Rushville Consolidated High School named Tony Stewart Drive after the famous NASCAR driver.
• Philip Willkie, Indiana politian and businessman

References