Cambridge City is a town in Jackson 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 so ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The population was 1,870 at the 2010 census.

History

Cambridge 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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1836. The community was named after the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The Cambridge City post office has been in operation since 1835. Cambridge City experienced growth when the Whitewater Canal was extended to that point in 1846. Situated along the historic

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

(

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

), Cambridge City is currently a prominent destination for antique seekers. The Cambridge City Historic District,

Conklin-Montgomery House Conklin-Montgomery House is a historic home located at Cambridge City, Indiana, Cambridge City, Wayne County, Indiana. It was built between about 1836 and 1838, and is a two-story, five-bay, brick hip and end gable roofed townhouse. It feature ...

, and Lackey-Overbeck House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Cambridge City has a total area of , of which (or 99.02%) is land and (or 0.98%) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,870 people, 785 households, and 514 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 893 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 785 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were

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

living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the town was 39.8 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 17% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,121 people, 904 households, and 602 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 956 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.34%

, 0.33%

, 0.09% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.14% from other races, and 0.05% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 904 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were

living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $41,731. Males had a median income of $35,602 versus $23,100 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $17,691. About 6.9% of families and 8.6% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

The town celebrates its history and heritage during the second weekend in each September during the annual Canal Days festival, which commemorates the importance of the Whitewater Canal to the formation and growth of Cambridge City in the 19th century.

Education

Cambridge City has two schools: an elementary school and a middle/high school that serve the surrounding areas. * Western Wayne Elementary School * Lincoln Middle/High School The town has a lending library, the Cambridge City Public Library.

Economy

Just south of

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

, Cambridge City is home to the Indiana Gateway Industrial Park which is home to Taconic Biosciences, Dot Foods and Sugar Creek Packaging Co. (replacing Really Cool Foods which closed in December 2011).

Notable people

Alice Williams Brotherton Alice Williams Brotherton (, Williams; April 4, 1848 – February 9, 1930) was an American author of poetry, essays, reviews, children's stories, and lyrics. Though she hailed from Indiana, she lived most of her life in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving ...

(1848-1930), writer * Larry Crockett (1926-1955), Indy car driver *

Solomon Meredith Solomon Meredith (May 29, 1810 – October 2, 1875) was an Indiana farmer, politician, and lawman who became a controversial Union Army general in the American Civil War. One of the commanders of the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, ...

(1810-1875), a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

general in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

* Virginia Claypool Meredith (1848-1936), "Queen of American Agriculture"; ran a farm in Cambridge City * The Overbeck Sisters - four daughters of John and Sarah Overpeck who hand-produced their internationally known Overbeck Art Pottery in Cambridge City from 1911 to 1955

References

External links

Chamber of Commerce

Official website
{{authority control Towns in Indiana Towns in Wayne County, Indiana National Road Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in Indiana