New Castle, Indiana

History

New Castle was platted in 1823, and named after New Castle, Kentucky. A post office was established at New Castle in 1823.

The town was quickly established as the seat of Henry County upon the county's organization in 1823, cementing its importance as a center for trade and government in the region. The Maxwell automobile factory, later owned and operated by Chrysler Motor Corp. was, at the time of construction (1907), the largest automotive manufacturing plant in the nation.

The Chrysler Enclosure, Gen. William Grose House, Henry County Courthouse, and New Castle Commercial Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, New Castle has a total area of 7.311 sqmi, of which 7.29 sqmi (or 99.71%) is land and 0.021 sqmi (or 0.29%) is water.{{cite web |access-date=2015-07-29 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213055021/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1852740 |archive-date=2020-02-13 |url-status=dead

Climate

Climate is designated as Humid continental, and this region typically has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfa". (Hot Summer Continental Climate).

|Jan record high F = 72 |Feb record high F = 75 |Mar record high F = 84 |Apr record high F = 89 |May record high F = 93 |Jun record high F = 107 |Jul record high F = 102 |Aug record high F = 100 |Sep record high F = 101 |Oct record high F = 93 |Nov record high F = 82 |Dec record high F = 72

|Jan avg record high F = 56.9 |Feb avg record high F = 60.0 |Mar avg record high F = 71.0 |Apr avg record high F = 79.6 |May avg record high F = 85.8 |Jun avg record high F = 89.9 |Jul avg record high F = 90.5 |Aug avg record high F = 89.8 |Sep avg record high F = 88.8 |Oct avg record high F = 82.1 |Nov avg record high F = 69.1 |Dec avg record high F = 59.4 |year avg record high F = 92.5

|Jan avg record low F = -5.4 |Feb avg record low F = -1.1 |Mar avg record low F = 11.0 |Apr avg record low F = 23.5 |May avg record low F = 34.2 |Jun avg record low F = 45.6 |Jul avg record low F = 50.7 |Aug avg record low F = 48.8 |Sep avg record low F = 38.9 |Oct avg record low F = 27.0 |Nov avg record low F = 17.7 |Dec avg record low F = 3.8 |year avg record low F = -8.4

|Jan record low F = -26 |Feb record low F = -19 |Mar record low F = -9 |Apr record low F = 12 |May record low F = 24 |Jun record low F = 38 |Jul record low F = 44 |Aug record low F = 38 |Sep record low F = 27 |Oct record low F = 18 |Nov record low F = -10 |Dec record low F = -21

|Jan snow depth inch = |Feb snow depth inch = |Mar snow depth inch = |Apr snow depth inch = |May snow depth inch = |Jun snow depth inch = |Jul snow depth inch = |Aug snow depth inch = |Sep snow depth inch = |Oct snow depth inch = |Nov snow depth inch = |Dec snow depth inch = |year snow depth inch =

|access-date = June 12, 2024 |access-date = June 12, 2024

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the census of 2020, there were 17,396 people, 6,951 households, and 2,701 families living in the town. The population density was 2375.20 PD/sqmi. There were 8,606 housing units at an average density of 1164.55 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 92.1% White, 1.8% African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native, 0.1% from other races, and 0.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.

There were 6,951 households, 40.5% were married couples living together, 31.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 19.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 8.4% were non-families. 51.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.09.

30.5% of the population had never been married. 43.1% of residents were married and not separated, 7.2% were widowed, 17.7% were divorced, and 1.6% were separated.

The median age in the city was 39.2. 5.8% of residents were under the age of 5; 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 76.1% were age 18 or older; and 17.9% were age 65 or older. 9.4% of the population were veterans.

The most common language spoken at home was English with 98.8% speaking it at home, 0.6% spoke Spanish at home, 0.5% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.1% spoke other languages. 0.3% of the population were foreign born.

The median household income in Henry County was $42,803, 23% less than the median average for the state of Indiana. 20.7% of the population were in poverty, including 26.8% of residents under the age of 18. The poverty rate for the town was 7.8% higher than that of the state. 23.3% of the population were disabled and 8.5% had no healthcare coverage. 47.6% of the population had attained a high school or equivalent degree, 19.9% had attended college but received no degree, 7.5% had attained an Associate's degree or higher, 8.8% had attained a Bachelor's degree or higher, and 5.4% had a graduate or professional degree. 10.8% had no degree. 51.6% of New Castle residents were employed, working a mean of 40.4 hours per week. The median gross rent in New Castle was $690 and the homeownership rate was 63.2%. 1,056 housing units were vacant at a density of 143.87 /sqmi.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 18,114 people, 7,769 households, and 4,660 families residing in the city. The population density was 2481.4 PD/sqmi. There were 9,002 housing units at an average density of 1233.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95.1% White, 1.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 7,769 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.93.

The median age in the city was 39.5 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,780 people, 7,462 households, and 4,805 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,987.5 PD/sqmi. There were 8,042 housing units at an average density of 1,351.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.37% White, 1.85% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.

There were 7,462 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. Some 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,688, and the median income for a family was $37,463. Males had a median income of $32,624 versus $20,554 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,587. About 10.6% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

New Castle is a third class city and has a seven-member city council chaired by the mayor. One council member is elected from each of the city's five districts and two are elected at-large. The clerk-treasurer and city judge are also elected offices. City elections are held every four years in the year preceding presidential elections.

The mayor is elected by popular vote and appoints the police chief, fire chief, city attorney, and department heads of the various municipal agencies.

Education

• New Castle Community School Corporation
• New Castle Career Center
• Ivy Tech Community College

The city has a public library, the New Castle-Henry County Public Library.

Other attractions

• Nine of the eleven largest high school gyms in the United States are in Indiana. The largest of these is the New Castle Fieldhouse at New Castle High School. The fieldhouse has a capacity of 9,325. The fieldhouse is notable for a 1961 State Sectional Game between New Castle and Lewisville (now part of South Henry School Corporation) in which the fans attending the game were snowed in. The next morning food was delivered to the Fieldhouse by a local bakery and a church service was piped into the gym. The gym has also played host to the 2006 Indiana Class 3A Basketball Champs and the 2007 Class 4A Volleyball Champions.
• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is located near New Castle High School.
• Next to New Castle High School is a Native American mound dated to approximately 2000 BP. This mound contains depressions which align to sunrise/sunset during the equinoxes as well as aligning with depressions in similar mounds tens of miles away. A mound complex (from between 800 B.C. and A.D 1400) was discovered on Elliott Avenue, and the more extensive "New Castle Site" is north of the city, on the east side of the Blue River
• Thornhaven Manor, built in 1845, is advertised as "a curious haunt" and featured on the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures, Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks, and Destination America's Ghost Brothers. The address is 2172 Spiceland Road, New Castle. Built in Italianate architectural style, it was thought to be a stop on the Underground Railroad.

International relations

The town attended a World Summit of towns called Newcastle held in Newcastle-under-Lyme in England for six days from 17 June 2006

Notable people

• Steve Alford, NCAA basketball player and coach
• Tom Allen, NCAA head football coach
• Trey Ball, baseball player
• Kent Benson, NBA basketball player
• Major General Omar Bundy, United States Army officer who fought in the Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, and World War I, where he commanded the 2nd Division in 1918
• Trevor Chowning, pop artist and former Hollywood talent agent/producer
• Richard Crane, actor
• William Grose, American Civil War general
• Tracy Hines, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and United States Auto Club driver
• Vern Huffman, basketball and football player for Indiana University
• Robert Indiana, artist
• Fred Luddy businessman
• Peter Malnati, golfer
• David Lee Roth, singer
• Doreen Canaday Spitzer (1914–2010), archaeologist

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. {{GNIS. 2395191
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. For an overview of New Castle manufacturing in various historical periods (including the industries listed here), see Herbert L. Heller, ''Historic Henry County,'' 3 vols. (New Castle, Ind.: Courier-Times, 1982).
6. Herbert L. Heller, ''Historic Henry County'', vol. 3: 1880-early 1940s), pp. 329-331.
7. Hazzard, George. (1906). "Hazzard's History of Henry County, Indiana, 1822-1906". G. Hazzard, author and publisher.
8. "Henry County". Jim Forte Postal History.
9. Forkner, J. T. (1916). ''History of Henry County, Indiana''. Forkner Publishing Company. pp. 317–318. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015024476043&view=1up&seq=357
10. Herbert L. Heller, 'Historic Henry County, vol. 3: 1800-early 1940s (New Castle, Ind.: Courier-Times, 1982), p. 528.
11. {{NRISref
12. "New Castle, Indiana Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
13. "New Castle Demographic Statistics". Indiana Demographics by Cubit.
14. "New Castle city, Indiana - Census Bureau Profile". [[The United States Census Bureau]].
15. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
16. "Indiana public library directory". Indiana State Library.
17. [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2004-02-25-ten-great-hoops-newcastle_x.htm News article], paragraph three, from [https://www.usatoday.com/ USA Today], February 25, 2004.
18. "Pre-Historic Indian Burial Mound Discovered in City," (New Castle) ''Courier-Times'' (April 26, 1967), p. 1
19. Beth McCord, "1999 Excavations at Mounds State Park (12-M-2) and the New Castle Site (12-Hn-1) (Reports of Investigation, No. 73) (Muncie, Ind.: Applied Anthropology Publications, 2008) and Beth McCord, "The New Castle Site Revisited" (Reports of Investigation, No. 54) (Muncie, Ind.: 1999)--reports available at https://www.bsu.edu/academics/centersandinstitutes/applied-anthropology-laboratories/publications (accessed 2/12/2020).
20. "Indianapolis Star".
21. Thomas St. Myer, Muncie Star-Press. (2013-03-05). "New Castle baseball star Trey Ball trades aluminum for wood at the plate". USA Today.
22. "From Broke To Billionaire: How Fred Luddy Built The World's Most Innovative Company".
23. "Peter Malnati". PGA.