Rushville, Indiana

City of Rushville
City
The John K. Gowdy House in Rushville
Location in the state of Indiana
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Rush
Township	Rushville
Government
• Mayor R	Mike Pavey (R)
Area
• Total	3.09 sq mi (8.0 km2)
• Land	3.09 sq mi (8.0 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2)  0%
Elevation	958 ft (292 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,341
• Density	2,668.8/sq mi (1,028.7/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	46173
Area code(s)	765
FIPS code	18-66438
GNIS feature ID	0442410
Website	http://www.cityofrushville.in.gov/

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. 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.

History

Rush County was formed from the unorganized Delaware County April 1, 1822. On July 29 town lots were sold and the town started to form. A school had already been started in 1821 by Dr. W.B. Laughlin, who was a member of the Legislature when the county was formed, and is considered the founding father of the town. A jail was built, Charles Veeder, was the first postmaster in 1822, and a courthouse was built in 1823. The Dog Fennel Gazette was published in 1823. The railroad was built in 1850 and after that a bank, factories, mills, and grain elevators sprang up.

Geography

Rushville is located at (39.614482, -85.448657), along the Flatrock River.

According to the 2010 census, Rushville has a total area of 3.09 square miles (8.00 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	742		—
1860	972		31.0%
1870	1,696		74.5%
1880	2,515		48.3%
1890	3,475		38.2%
1900	4,541		30.7%
1910	4,925		8.5%
1920	5,498		11.6%
1930	5,709		3.8%
1940	5,960		4.4%
1950	6,761		13.4%
1960	7,264		7.4%
1970	6,686		−8.0%
1980	6,113		−8.6%
1990	5,533		−9.5%
2000	5,995		8.3%
2010	6,341		5.8%
Est. 2014	6,158		−2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census 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.

Rushville from the air, looking west.

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 people

• Leonidas Sexton, 19th Century politician, 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 on June 13, 1918 and died in Chicago, Illinois on April 3, 1985. He was a television personality best known for having hosted the long-running children's television program Garfield Goose and Friends on WGN-TV. In a long career that spanned from before World War II until his death, he also hosted Family Classics and took over as circus manager on Bozo's Circus after the retirement of ringmaster Ned Locke, both shows also on WGN-TV.
• Tony Stewart, 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 in his honor.
• Philip Willkie, Indiana politician and businessman
• Janet Gray Hayes, Mayor of San Jose, California
• Carmelita Geraghty, silent film actress
• Knowles Shaw, author, composer
• Samuel Bigger, 7th Governor of Indiana
• Joe Hogsett, former Secretary of State of Indiana, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. Current Mayor of Indianapolis.
• Wesley Green, 6'6" SF for the Rushville Lions. Started out his career at Butch Bartlett Courts.

External links

• City of Rushville website
• "Wendell Willkie, Presidential Contender" from C-SPAN's The Contenders, broadcast from Rushville