Dugger is a town in Cass Township, Sullivan 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 920 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Dugger was settled in 1879, and was named after its founder, F.M. Dugger. The Dugger post office has been in operation since 1881.

Geography

Dugger is located at (39.070911, -87.260116). According to the 2010 census, Dugger has a total area of , all land.

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 920 people, 383 households, and 249 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 439 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.7%

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 ...

and 0.3% 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 0.4% of the population. There were 383 households, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% 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, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the town was 38.8 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 955 people, 397 households, and 271 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 445 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.85%

, 0.21% Native American, 0.31% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population. There were 397 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,071, and the median income for a family was $39,583. Males had a median income of $27,039 versus $19,000 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 $15,255. About 4.6% of families and 7.8% 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 ...

, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dugger is also home to Union High School, a small school that was formerly in the Northeast School Corporation of Sullivan County. In December 2013, NESC voted to close Union High School and Dugger Elementary. The school became a charter school and operates as Dugger Union Community Schools. Dugger has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Sullivan County Public Library.

Arts and culture

Dugger is home to the Dugger Coal Museum, which contains local photographs and artifacts related to coal mining in and around Dugger and Sullivan County, Indiana. Just east of Dugger is the Redbird State Riding Area which is owned and operated by the Indiana Department Of Natural Resources. The Redbird mining operation produced 2 million tons of coal, until Redbird closed operations in 1950. Today the former mining land has been converted into camping and for off-road sports. The Redbird riding area features of professionally marked, managed and maintained OHV riding trails. Trails range from mild to wild and there is a trail that will fit anyone's skill level. Redbirdsra.com is owned and maintained by the Redbird Foundation.

Dead Turbo of Dugger

Dugger is home to an abandoned

RTG Turboliner The Turboliners were a family of gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak in the 1970s. They were among the first new equipment purchased by Amtrak to update its fleet with faster, more modern trains. The first batch, known as RTG, were built by ...

formerly used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

from 1973 to 1981. Found along Indiana State Road 54, the power car (numbered 59) and 2 coaches is nicknamed "The Dead Turbo of Dugger." It was supposed to be sent for scrap in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, but for unknown reasons, stayed there. As of 2017, it still sits there, but the brush has almost completely covered it up.

In the media

Dugger is one of the teams that plays against Hickory High in the motion picture '' Hoosiers''.

References

{{authority control Towns in Sullivan County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Terre Haute metropolitan area