Fountain City, formerly Newport, is a town in New Garden Township, Wayne County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 was 796 at the 2010 census.

History

Fountain City was originally called New Garden, and under the latter name was laid out in 1818. New Garden became Newport in 1834, which was renamed Fountain City in 1878, named for its natural springs. It was incorporated as a town in 1844. The Fountain City post office has been in operation since 1878.

Historic site

Levi Coffin House, front and southern side

The Levi Coffin House, home of Quaker abolitionist

Levi Coffin Levi Coffin (October 28, 1798 – September 16, 1877) was an American Quaker, Republican, abolitionist, farmer, businessman and humanitarian. An active leader of the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio, some unofficially called Coffin the " ...

and his wife Catherine, was an important stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. Coffin was sometimes known as the "president" of the Underground Railroad. It is now operated as an Indiana State Historic Site.

Geography

Fountain City is located at (39.954525, -84.919890). According to the 2010 census, Fountain City has a total area of , all land.

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 796 people, 311 households, and 221 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 343 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.2%

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 ...

, 0.9%

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% Asian, and 1.8% 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 ...

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 0.1% of the population. There were 311 households, of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the town was 37.6 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 735 people, 291 households, and 212 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 309 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.69%

, 0.68%

, 0.27% Asian, 0.27% 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 1.09% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.27% of the population. There were 291 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,722, and the median income for a family was $40,865. Males had a median income of $32,031 versus $21,000 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 $15,669. About 7.4% of families and 8.8% 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 10.3% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

, abolitionist and conductor of the

* Charles Conner, painter. *

William Penn Nixon William Penn Nixon, Sr., (1832 – February 20, 1912) was an American publisher and politician from Indiana. Following an extensive private education, Nixon graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and became involved in Ohio politics. He se ...

, publisher and politician. * Stephen Venard, lawman. *Laysha Ward, businesswoman, leader, executive leader at Target Corp.

References

{{authority control Towns in Indiana Towns in Wayne County, Indiana Populated places on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Indiana