Depauw is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Blue River Township and Spencer Township, Harrison County,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The population of Depauw is officially unknown but is estimated to be 120 as of 2020 and is slowly decreasing.

History

Depauw was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted by Felician Henriott on April 8, 1884. According to one source, the community may be named for Washington C. DePauw. Violent tornadoes that were recorded in Depauw include one on April 3, 1903, two on April 3, 1974, one on April 5, 1985, and one on June 2, 1990. On April 3, 1974, at around 3:20 PM, an F5 tornado hit Depauw, leaving some of the mobile homes and houses completely demolished. This tornado had formed near New Boston, IN. It kept heading east passing just west of Frenchtown, IN and then the tornado hit Depauw. Many of the Depauw locals who didn't have a basement quickly rushed to people's homes that did have one. The tornado went through Depauw and then it headed northeast towards Palmyra, IN after Depauw. The tornado killed 6 people and injured 76 people in the 68 miles (110 km) it was on the ground. The Depauw tornado was 1.6 miles (2.5 km) wide and was the first of many other F5 tornadoes that were to form on that same day in the midwest. The series of tornadoes that occurred on that day was part of what was known as the

1974 Super Outbreak The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From Apri ...

.Weather.gov Tornado outbreak
/ref>

Geography

Depauw is located in northwest Harrison County at .

References

Unincorporated communities in Harrison County, Indiana Unincorporated communities in Indiana Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Indiana {{LouisvilleMSA-stub