Orland is a town located in the northwest corner of Steuben County, Indiana in Millgrove Township at the intersection of State Road 120 and State Road 327. The population was 434 at the 2010 census.

History

Orland is recognized as the first settlement in Steuben County, populated by immigrants from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

and originally known as Vermont Settlement. Each year in late July, Orland celebrates this heritage with the Vermont Settlement Festival. Orland was settled in 1834 after a Vermont man named John Stocker had gone prospecting for his family and the families of his neighbors. Stocker chose this particular piece of land because of the rich burr-oak openings he found. Pioneers coming from Windham County, Vermont arrived shortly thereafter and built a Baptist church. The town established a post office in 1837. In the decades leading up to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, Orland was a 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. ...

, sheltering and protecting runaway slaves until they could complete the journey to Windsor, Upper Canada. The home of Russell Brown was said to contain a secret apartment on the second floor, complete with a separate stairway, in which 15 to 20 slaves might hide. S. U. Clark's hotel also was said to have a secret hiding place behind a basement cupboard, while the Butler family south of Orland "fed and sheltered scores of them and then took them on to other stations." At one time or another during the period leading up to the Civil War, Brown, Clark, Benjamin Waterhouse, and Captain Samuel Barry were arrested for violating the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most con ...

. Both Waterhouse and Barry were convicted, with Barry serving one hour in jail and paying a $30 fine (although other sources put the fine at $1000).

Fawn River State Fish Hatchery Fawn River State Fish Hatchery, also known as the Orland Fish Hatchery, is a historic hatchery located at Orland and Millgrove Township, Steuben County, Indiana. It was developed between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, and ded ...

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 1997. During the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, confirmed cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

were reported on May 2, 2020, at a local meat processing plant run by Miller Poultry which resulted in

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

of the plant & the implementation of safety measures such as temperature checks,

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...

& available

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ...

for workers.

Geography

Orland is located at . According to the 2010 census, Orland 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 inc ...

of 2010, there were 434 people, 168 households, and 117 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.3%

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 ...

, 1.2%

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 ...

, 1.6% from other races, and 0.9% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 9.0% of the population. There were 168 households, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age in the town was 40.2 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.4% were from 25 to 44; 29% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 341 people, 137 households, and 90 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 153 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.83%

, 0.29% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.29% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.29% of the population. There were 137 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,542, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $33,438 versus $20,893 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 $15,188. About 9.2% of families and 7.9% 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 ...

, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town has a lending library, the Joyce Public Library.

Notable natives and former residents

* Rollie Zeider (1883–1967), major league baseball player, 1910–1918, played for Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Chi-Feds, Chicago Whales and Chicago Cubs. He was born in Cass County, grew up in Auburn, operated a restaurant in Garrett after retiring from baseball and moved to Orland in 1959 where he lived until just before his death. *

Azariah Southworth Azariah Southworth (born May 13, 1986) is an American writer and former television presenter of ''The Remix -'' a syndicated reality show on the NRB, TBN, JCTV, and VTN networks. ''The Remix'' featured Christian artists such as Jars of Clay ...

(May 13, 1986), Television producer/personality 2006–2008. *Andy Lee Graham, of "The Hobo Traveller"

Footnotes

References

* Butler, Marvin Benjamin (1914) ''My story of the Civil War and the Underground Railroad'', United Brethren Publishing Establishment, Huntington, Ind. * Goodspeed, Weston A.; ''Indiana Historical and Biographical Atlas'', F.A. Battey and Company Publishers, Chicago, 1882. * Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Underground Railroad site: Orland
, access August 16, 2008. * Sauer, Lee

KPC News.net, accessed August 18, 2008. * Taylor, Robert M.; Stevens, Errol Wayne; Ponder, Mary Ann (1990) ''Indiana: A New Historical Guide'', Indiana Historical Society, .

External links

Portal for Town of Orland
{{authority control Towns in Steuben County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Populated places on the Underground Railroad