Eaton is a town in Union Township, Delaware 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 ...

, along the

Mississinewa River The Mississinewa River is a tributary of the Wabash River in eastern Indiana and a small portion of western Ohio in the United States. It is long and is the third largest tributary behind the White and Little Wabash Rivers, only slightly larger ...

. The population was 1,595 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muncie Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Eaton 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 1854. The town was incorporated September 10, 1873, soon after the railroad had been built through the neighborhood. The first discovery of

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

in Indiana occurred in the town of Eaton in 1876. The discovery set off the

Indiana Gas Boom The Indiana gas boom was a period of active drilling and production of natural gas in the Trenton Gas Field, in the US state of Indiana and the adjacent northwest part of Ohio. The boom began in the early 1880s and lasted into the early 20th cent ...

, leading to two decades of rapid regional growth. Eaton-indiana-from-above

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Eaton has a total area of , of which (or 98.4%) is land and (or 1.6%) is water.

Demographics

2020 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 2020, there were 1,595 people, 661 households, and 379 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 779 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.2%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American or

Alaskan Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlin ...

, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, 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 1.1% of the population. There were 661 households, of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% 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, 23.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 6.9% were non-families. 51.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.01. 27.5% of the population had never been married. 41.7% of residents were

married 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 ...

and not separated, 8.1% were

widowed A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for ...

, 18.9% were

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d, and 3.6% were separated. The median age in the town was 34.6. 6.8% of residents were under the age of 5; 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 77.3% were age 18 or older; and 17.6% were age 65 or older. 9.4% of the population were

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

. The only language spoken at home was

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at 100%. None of the population were

foreign born Foreign-born (also non-native) people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically ...

. The median household income in Eaton was $45,385, 19.2% less than the median average for the state of

. 10.4% of the population were in poverty, including 13.9% of residents under the age of 18. The poverty rate for the town was 2.5% lower than that of the state. 17.0% of the population was

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

and 6.1% had no

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

coverage. 40.8% of the population had attained a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

or equivalent degree, 25.7% had attended

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

but received no degree, 13.6% had attained an

Associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

or higher, 6.4% had attained a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

or higher, and 3.7% had a graduate or

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

degree. 9.8% had no degree. 56.0% of Eaton residents were employed, working a mean of 39.7 hours per week. The median gross rent in Eaton was $648 and the homeownership rate was 73.6%. 118 housing units were vacant at a density of .

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 1,805 people, 696 households, and 508 families living in the town. The

was . There were 824 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.8%

, 0.1%

, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 696 households, of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.0% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age in the town was 36.3 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.1% male and 48.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,603 people, 619 households, and 459 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 661 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.75%

, 0.25% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population. There were 619 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were

living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,563, and the median income for a family was $35,625. Males had a median income of $31,573 versus $20,645 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 $13,833. About 9.5% of families and 11.1% 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 13.9% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Delaware Community School Corporation. Eaton Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Eaton. The school is a part of the Delaware Community School Corporation and serves around 275 students in grades kindergarten to 5th grade. There is Delta Middle School, and the comprehensive high school of that district is Delta High School. Eaton Public Library is a non-profit library funded wholly by memberships and donations. Through the support of volunteer staff, the library is open 7 days a week. The library offers family and individual memberships for the year, 3 months, or even just the day for an individual. Memberships are open to all residents of East-Central Indiana.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Towns in Delaware County, Indiana Towns in Indiana 1873 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1873