Roanoke is a town in
Jackson Township,
Huntington 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 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The population was 1,762 at the
2020 census. Roanoke is governed by a town council. Town offices include the clerk treasurer, utilities department, police department, and volunteer fire department. The town has a public elementary school.
WOWO
WOWO (1190 AM) – branded News/Talk WOWO 1190 AM 107.5 FM – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving primarily the Fort Wayne metropolitan area. Currently owned by Federated Media via licensee Pathfinder ...
and
WRNP
WRNP (94.1 FM) is a non-commercial FM gospel radio station licensed to Roanoke, Indiana, serving the Fort Wayne area. It is owned by Taylor University Broadcasting, and airs an urban gospel radio format, known as "Rhythm & Praise 94.1".
Taylor ...
have transmitter towers in Roanoke, along
U.S. Highway 24. For many years, television station
WPTA
WPTA (channel 21) is a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, affiliated with ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CW+ affiliate WISE-TV (channel 33). Both stations share studios on Butler Road ...
was licensed to Roanoke, though that station's studios and transmitter have always been located in nearby
Fort Wayne.
History
Once the hunting and fishing grounds of the
Miami Indians
The Miami ( Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central Indi ...
, Roanoke became a prosperous commercial center in the mid-19th century. Kiilhsoohkwa (meaning "sun-woman"), the granddaughter of
Chief Little Turtle
Little Turtle ( mia, Mihšihkinaahkwa) (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader ...
, lived in Roanoke and was known by locals as “the last of the Miami tribe.”
Roanoke had its start in about 1848, soon after the building of the
Wabash and Erie Canal
The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was th ...
through that territory. The completion of the canal through Jackson Township enticed European-American settlers to the area. In the wake of the canal's completion, the town became an important shipping point in the region and a source of supplies for neighboring towns in Allen, Huntington, and Whitley counties.
One of the earliest settlers in the area was Jarred Darrow who arrived in 1837. Between 1840 and 1847 the area's population swelled and included a large number of persons belonging to the United Brethren Church, the Methodist Church, and the Lutheran Church.
Roanoke was incorporated as a town in 1874. The town was named after
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
.
Geography
Roanoke is located at (40.964252, -85.374431).
According to the 2010 census, Roanoke has a total area of , of which (or 99.5%) is land and (or 0.5%) is water.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 1,722 people, 680 households, and 487 families living in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 756 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.1%
Native American, 0.5%
Asian, 0.5% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.7% of the population.
There were 680 households, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were
married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.4% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.
The median age in the town was 36.8 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 1,495 people, 589 households, and 411 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 630 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.66%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.27%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.13%
Native American, 0.20%
Asian, 0.20% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.54% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.94% of the population.
There were 589 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were
married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $47,250, and the median income for a family was $54,306. Males had a median income of $39,375 versus $23,750 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $20,373. About 2.7% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Roanoke is home to the Roanoke Elementary School, a primary school which covers kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Huntington County School Corporation The town also has a lending library, the Roanoke Public Library.
Notable people
*
Gene Hartley
Leslie Eugene "Gene" Hartley (January 28, 1926 – March 13, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He was born and died in Roanoke, Indiana.
Hartley was the son of midget car driver Ted Hartley, who competed into his 60s. , Indy Car Driver
*
Kiilhsoohkwa, Granddaughter of
Myaamia Chief Mihšihkinaahkwa (var. ''Little Turtle'')
References
External links
Roanoke Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Towns in Huntington County, Indiana
Towns in Indiana