Dana is a town in Helt Township, Vermillion County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 555 at the 2020 census. It is primarily a farming community.

History

Dana was

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 1874 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was named for Charles Dana, a railroad promoter. A post office has been in operation at Dana since 1874. Dana was incorporated in 1886. In 1886, Dana was declared a rapidly growing and vibrant community, due to its railroad, businesses, and agriculture.

Geography

Dana is located in the central part of the county, on Indiana State Road 71 less than north of U.S. Route 36. According to the 2010 census, Dana has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

While 2020 census figures are not finalized, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Dana's population has dropped from 608 to 570. Poverty and joblessness remain an issue in the town.

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 608 people, 241 households, and 173 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 290 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.5%

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, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.0% 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 1.3% of the population. There were 241 households, of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.2% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% 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 3.00. The median age in the town was 40.7 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.2% male and 53.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 662 people, 252 households, and 187 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.58%

, 0.60%

, 0.30% Asian, 0.76% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.66% of the population. There were 252 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,750, and the median income for a family was $38,182. Males had a median income of $30,313 versus $21,875 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 $15,603. About 6.6% of families and 9.9% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

In late 2020, '' The Tribune-Star'' reported that Dana is planning a downtown community center that would serve as a hub for resident services and programming for children, families, and senior adults. Dana received a $10,000 grant from the Vermillion County Community Foundation to go toward the project.

Education

It is in the South Vermillion Community School Corporation. That school district operates South Vermillion High School.

Notable people

Famed

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

war correspondent Ernie Pyle was born on a tenant farm near Dana. Pyle won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 1944 for his Correspondence entry. Bert Shepard, a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators who had lost his leg in WWII, was also born in Dana. American author Dana Trent moved to Dana as an infant.

References

External links

"Writings of Ernie Pyle", broadcast from Dana, Indiana
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' American Writers'' {{authority control Towns in Vermillion County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Populated places established in 1874 Terre Haute metropolitan area 1874 establishments in Indiana