Oakland City is the third-largest city in Gibson 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, after

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

and

Fort Branch Fort Branch was a fort built by the Confederate Army especially to defend against attacks from the Union Army along the Roanoke River in North Carolina. The fort was originally built in 1862 along Rainbow Banks in Martin County, southeast of H ...

. It is the site of

Oakland City University Oakland City University (OCU) is a private university affiliated with the General Baptist Church and located in Oakland City, Indiana Oakland City is the third-largest city in Gibson County, Indiana, United States, after Princeton and Fort ...

. The population was 2,279 at the 2020 census.

History

Oakland City was laid out and

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 in 1856. It was probably named for the presence of oak trees. The Oakland City post office was established in 1860. The William M. Cockrum House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978.

Geography

Oakland City is located at (38.337953, -87.347356). According to the 2010 census, Oakland City has a total area of , of which (or 99.82%) is land and (or 0.18%) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010

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 ...

, there were 2,429 people, 973 households and 568 families living in the city. 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 1,157 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up 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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 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 1.1% 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 2.0% of the population. There were 973 households, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.6% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 36.1 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 16.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 21.7% were from 25 to 44, 23.8% were from 45 to 64 and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The sex make-up of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 2,588 people, 1,031 households and 642 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up was 97.60%

, 0.73%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.50%

, 0.43% from

, and 0.54% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.55% of the population. There were 1,031 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86. 20.6% of the opulation were under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64 and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

was $28,532 and the median family income was $37,440. Males had a median income of $30,500 and females $24,602. 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 ...

was $13,806. About 7.6% of families and 11.9% 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 14.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Higher education

Oakland City is the site of

, the only

General Baptist General Baptists are Baptists who hold the ''general'' or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, which distinguishes them from ...

-affiliated university, with a global campus providing over 40 degrees from associate, bachelor, master and doctorate studies and Oakland City University School of Adult and Extended Learning with programs that specialize in busy adult students. Oakland City University was established in 1885 as Oakland City College. It attained university status and changed its name in the latter part of the 20th century. Oakland City University sports teams are the Mighty Oaks.

K-12 education

Oakland City is headquarters of the

East Gibson School Corporation The East Gibson School Corporation is the smallest of the three public school governing institutions in Gibson County in both land area and student body with just over 1,000 students. The EGSC is responsible for a district including three towns ...

. Oakland City Elementary School, Waldo J. Wood Memorial Junior High School and Waldo J. Wood Memorial High School are all located on South Franklin Street. The Oakland City Elementary sports teams are the Acorns (relating to the Oaks above). The Waldo J. Wood Memorial Junior High teams and Waldo J. Wood Memorial High School teams are the Trojans. Other schools in the East Gibson School Corporation are Barton Township Elementary School, located in Mackey, and Francisco Elementary School, located in Francisco.

Public library

The town has a lending library, the Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library.

Notable people

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

, Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman, attended college at Oakland City College *

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a ...

, Cincinnati Reds outfielder in Baseball Hall of Fame, was born in Oakland City. *

Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with th ...

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

drummer, was born in Oakland City.

References

{{authority control 1856 establishments in Indiana Cities in Indiana Cities in Gibson County, Indiana Evansville metropolitan area Communities of Southwestern Indiana Populated places established in 1856