Noblesville, Indiana

Noblesville, Indiana
City
City of Noblesville
Motto: The Heart of Hamilton County

Location in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 40°3′0″N 86°1′17″W / 40.05000°N 86.02139°W / 40.05000; -86.02139Coordinates: 40°3′0″N 86°1′17″W / 40.05000°N 86.02139°W / 40.05000; -86.02139
Country United States
State Indiana
County Hamilton
Government
 • Mayor John Ditslear (R)
 • Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke
Area[1]
 • Total 32.79 sq mi (84.93 km2)
 • Land 31.37 sq mi (81.25 km2)
 • Water 1.42 sq mi (3.68 km2)  4.33%
Elevation 772 ft (235 m)
Population (2010)[2]
 • Total 51,969
 • Estimate (2012[3]) 55,075
 • Density 1,656.6/sq mi (639.6/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 46060, 46061, 46062
Area code(s) 317
FIPS code 18-54180[4]
GNIS feature ID 0440192[5]
Website http://www.cityofnoblesville.org/

Noblesville is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States,[6] located just north of Indianapolis. The population was 51,969 at the 2010 census making it the 14th largest city/town in the state, up from 19th in 2007. The city is part of Delaware, Fall Creek, Noblesville, and Wayne townships.

Noblesville is also home to the Klipsch Music Center, an outdoor music venue, and the Indiana Transportation Museum.

History

Potter's Bridge

Noblesville's history dates back to 1818 when the land, which is now Hamilton County, was purchased by the government from the Native Americans in this area. William Conner, the only settler living in the area at the time, and his wife Mekinges Conner, a Lenape, established the first trading post in central Indiana in 1802 and lived in the first log cabin in the area. William Conner and Josiah Polk laid out what is now downtown Noblesville in 1823, which was designated as the Hamilton County seat in 1824 and incorporated in 1851. Conner's 1823 home is now one of a village of historic buildings making up Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, a living history museum south of Noblesville in Fishers.

Noblesville was named either for James Noble, one of the first two US senators from Indiana, or, according to legend, for Lavina Noble of Indianapolis, to whom Josiah Polk was engaged.

The Peru and Indianapolis Railroad was completed through town in 1851, strengthening the town economically and causing the population to increase. In 1875 work was begun on the town's second railroad, the Anderson, Lebanon and St. Louis, later known as the Midland.[7]

The city's first large growth period came during the Indiana gas boom with the discovery, in 1888, of Noblesville's first natural gas well near 11th and Pleasant streets. Many Victorian homes, as well as the vast majority of the downtown commercial district, were built during this time of prosperity. The city has undergone another increase recently as its population grew from 28,590 in 2000 to 51,969 in 2010. This growth echos the increase in population of much of southern Hamilton County as a due to its proximity to Indianapolis.

Noblesville was once noted for its flour mills, the mostly widely known of which was the Noblesville Milling Company, producer of Diadem and Kismet flours. In 1925, the manager of the company offered to buy uniforms for the local high school athletic team in exchange for school adopting the nickname “Millers.” The nickname persists to this day.[8]

Other prominent businesses of the past include the Union Sanitary Manufacturing Company, the American Strawboard Company and Firestone Industrial Products.

Among the notable disasters to have struck the town are the Great Flood of 1913, an interurban wreck on the courthouse square in 1919,[9] and the Goeke fire of 1967. The fire, which began at the Paul Goeke auto dealership just off the square, destroyed two buildings and took the life of one firefighter.

The old Hamilton County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail on the southwest corner of the courthouse square in downtown Noblesville is now the home of the Hamilton County Museum of History, but as a working jail it once housed Charles Manson as a teenager and D. C. Stephenson, former Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan. The Stephenson trial, which took place in the adjoining Hamilton County courthouse in 1925, broke the power of the Klan in Indiana and drew national attention to Noblesville. Stephenson was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Madge Oberholtzer.

During the early 1920s, Noblesville was one of several Indiana towns in which the Ku Klux Klan was active, but the Klan’s influence quickly faded in the wake of Stephenson’s conviction. In 1973 Klansmen staging a march in Noblesville were met by counter-demonstrators carrying anti-Klan placards.[10]

In 1995, a local contractor stumbled across a trunk containing Klan paraphernalia and membership records from the 1920s era. The discovery sparked a debate over how to handle the sensitive issue and again put Noblesville in the national spotlight.[11] The Hamilton County Historical Society, to which the materials had been donated, opted to not make it possible for the general public to see the names of those who had been local Klan members.

Noblesville also attracted national media attention in 1965 when Noblesville Daily Ledger editor James T. Neal was charged with contempt by Hamilton County Circuit Court judge Ed New. Neal’s fight for the First Amendment went before the Indiana Supreme Court.[12]

Architecture

Hamilton County Courthouse

The centerpiece of downtown Noblesville is the Courthouse Square, the location of the Hamilton County Courthouse (completed in 1879) and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Residence and Jail (constructed in 1876). Both buildings are fabulous examples of the Second Empire style featuring mansard roofs. There are also several sites and buildings in Noblesville that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Hamilton County Courthouse Square, the Catherine Street Historic District, Cole-Evans House, Conner Street Historic District, William Houston Craig House, Daniel Craycraft House, Dr. Samuel Harrell House, Holliday Hydroelectric Powerhouse and Dam, Nickel Plate Road Steam Locomotive No. 587, Noblesville Commercial Historic District, Noblesville Milling Company Mill, South 9th Street Historic District, Judge Earl S. Stone House, and Robert L. Wilson House.[13]

Geography

Noblesville is located at 40°3′0″N 86°1′17″W / 40.05000°N 86.02139°W / 40.05000; -86.02139 (40.049935, −86.021462).[14]

According to the 2010 census, Noblesville has a total area of 32.785 square miles (84.91 km2), of which 31.37 square miles (81.25 km2) (or 95.68%) is land and 1.415 square miles (3.66 km2) (or 4.32%) is water.[1]

Noblesville is known as the middle of the Corn Belt. According to the 2000 U.S. Census the mean population of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa can be found in Noblesville.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1850664—
18601,11567.9%
18701,43528.7%
18802,22154.8%
18903,05437.5%
19004,79256.9%
19105,0735.9%
19204,758−6.2%
19304,8111.1%
19405,57515.9%
19506,56717.8%
19607,66416.7%
19707,548−1.5%
198012,05659.7%
199017,65546.4%
200028,59061.9%
201051,96981.8%
Est. 201559,093[15]13.7%
Source: US Census Bureau

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $73,395, and the median per capita income was $33,732. Approximately 45.22% of the population has a higher education degree with over 87.3% of the population at least having a high school diploma or GED. The median housing value is $171,272 with a total of 17,915 housing units.

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 51,969 people, 19,080 households, and 13,989 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,656.6 inhabitants per square mile (639.6/km2). There were 21,121 housing units at an average density of 673.3 per square mile (260.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.1% White, 3.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population.

There were 19,080 households of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.15.

The median age in the city was 33 years. 30.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33% were from 25 to 44; 21.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

Tourism

There are many recreational amenities in Noblesville including 7 public and private golf courses, the Belfry Theater, Downtown Noblesville shopping and historic sightseeing, the vast public park system including Forest Park and Dr. James A. Dillon Park, the Hamilton County Artist Association Birdie Gallery, Hamilton Town Center, the Indiana Transportation Museum, Morse Park and Beach, Klipsch Music Center, and the White River Canoe Company.

Hamilton Town Center, a shopping mall, opened in 2008.

Sister Cities

Notable people

Schools

Most Noblesville students attend Noblesville Schools while some attend Hamilton Southeastern Schools

References

  1. 1 2 "G001 – Geographic Identifiers – 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  2. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  3. ↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  4. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  7. ↑ Campbell, Frank S., The Story of Hamilton County, p.122.
  8. ↑ http://nhs.noblesvilleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=197048&sessionid=
  9. ↑ Campbell, Frank S., The Story of Hamilton County Indiana, p. 126.
  10. ↑ The Noblesville Daily Ledger, April 9, 1973, p. 1.
  11. ↑ Safianow, Allen “You Can’t Burn History”: Getting Right With the Klan in Noblesville, Indiana” Indiana Magazine of History, June 2004, Volume 100, issue 2, pp. 109–154.
  12. ↑ Foland, John A., Remembrances, p.155.
  13. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  14. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  15. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Noblesville.
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