Earl Park
Earl Park
Coordinates: 40°41′4″N 87°24′57″W / 40.68444, -87.41583
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Benton
Township	Richland
Area
- Total	0.9 sq mi (2.4 km²)
- Land	0.9 sq mi (2.4 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation [1]	807 ft (246 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	485
- Density	514.5/sq mi (198.7/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	47942
Area code(s)	219
FIPS code	18-19450[2]
GNIS feature ID	0449649[3]

Earl Park is a town in Richland Township, Benton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 485 at the 2000 census.

History

Earl Park was laid out July 31, 1872, by Adams D. Raub and named for his uncle, Adams Earl, one of the promoters of the Big Four railway from Lafayette to Kankakee. It consisted of 217 lots, the public sale of which on August 8 attracted some 2,000 people. Free lunch and free transportation on a special train of freight cars from Lafayette was provided. The town's first building was a grain elevator, the second the railway station. Elias Wees opened the first general store, providing residents with groceries and provisions.^[4]

Earl Park's first school, a one-story frame building, was erected around 1874 and expanded to a second story around 1878. The town gained a Catholic church in 1880, and a Methodist one in 1881, each costing about $2,500 to build and furnish.^[5]

Geography

Earl Park is located at 40°41′4″N, 87°24′57″W (40.684428, -87.415872)^[6] in Richland Township. U.S. Route 52 skirts around the northeast edge of town, and the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad along the southwest. The Upper Sugar Creek flows to the town's north and west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 485 people, 168 households, and 111 families residing in the town. The population density was 514.5 people per square mile (199.2/km²). There were 177 housing units at an average density of 187.8/sq mi (72.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.97% White, 0.21% African American, 0.82% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 168 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,981, and the median income for a family was $37,188. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $22,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,369. About 8.7% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ USGS detail on Earl Park. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
2. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
4. ^ Birch, Jesse Setlington [1928] (1942). "Towns of the County", History of Benton County and Historic Oxford. Oxford, Indiana: Craw & Craw, p. 202. 
5. ^ Mossman, Ed (1883). "History of Benton County: Past Events -- Present Condition", Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. Chicago: F. A. Battey & Co.. 
6. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• EarlParkIndiana.com Online Home of Earl Park, Indiana

• Earl Park, Indiana is at coordinates 40°41′04″N 87°24′57″W / 40.684428, -87.415872 (Earl Park, Indiana)Coordinates: 40°41′04″N 87°24′57″W / 40.684428, -87.415872 (Earl Park, Indiana)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Benton County, Indiana County seat: Fowler Cities and towns Ambia | Boswell | Earl Park | Fowler | Otterbein | Oxford Townships Bolivar | Center | Gilboa | Grant | Hickory Grove | Oak Grove | Parish Grove | Pine | Richland | Union | York Unincorporated communities Atkinson | Barce | Chase | Dunn | Dunnington | Free | Freeland Park | Handy | Lochiel | Raub | Swanington | Talbot | Templeton | Wadena