Gaston is a town in Washington 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 ...

, United States. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muncie Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Gaston was originally called Snag Town and then New Corner, and under the former name 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 on February 27, 1855 by David L. Jones. The name Gaston was adopted when the railroad was built through the town in 1901 during a local gas boom. In late 1904, Gaston was officially incorporated as a town. Gaston currently has a preschool, elementary, and high school in the Wes-Del community school district. It also has a few churches, an ice cream parlor/restaurant called The Barking Cow, a funeral home and a few cemeteries located outside of the town center, a volunteer fire department and police department, a

Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 8, 2024, Dollar General operated 19,643 stores in the contiguous United States and Mexico. The company began in 1939 in ...

and several small businesses. The town has also had a newspaper, ''The Voice'', which was released every other week until it was discontinued in May 2016 after producing a total of 8 volumes and 124 newspapers for over 10 years. Wes-Del Middle/High School has produced WDN, a weekly video featuring students reporting the current events occurring in the school, and released it on

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. Wes-Del Middle/High School also became the first school to let students work on personal projects to be released to the school if desired and give out awards

red carpet A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by Very Important Person, VIPs and celebrity, celebrities at formal events. History ...

style in 2016. The motorcade transporting Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

and

Karen Pence Karen Sue Pence ( Batten, formerly Whitaker; born January 1, 1957) is an American schoolteacher who was the second lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She is married to the 48th vice president of the United States, Mike Pence. Pence w ...

passed through Gaston on May 18, 2019. The motorcade passed in front of Wes-Del High School where contestants and volunteers in the school's first color run had gathered and the vice president was saluted by volunteer fireman and Gaston police as he made his way to deliver a speech at

Taylor University Taylor University is a Private university, private, Interdenominationalism, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the United Stat ...

's graduation. He also delivered a speech at the nearby Delta High School. Gaston is hoping to grow by opening new businesses and attractions. The town is hoping to reach a population goal of 2,500 by 2025. Gaston-indiana-from-above

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Gaston has a total area of , all land.

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 796 people, 351 households, and 138 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 378 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.0%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 5.3% 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 3.3% of the population. There were 351 households, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% 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, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 16.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 11.7% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.23. 24.3% of the population had never been married. 50.7% 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, 7.2% 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 ...

, 16.5% 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 1.3% were separated. The median age in the town was 35.9. 5.1% of residents were under the age of 5; 32.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 67.6% were age 18 or older; and 17.8% were age 65 or older. 7.4% 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 most common 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 ...

with 97.3% speaking it at home, 1.8% spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

at home and 0.9% spoke an

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n or

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 ...

language at home. 1.7% 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 Gaston was $47,250, 18.9% less than the median average for the state of

. 16.9% of the population were in poverty, including 20% of residents under the age of 18. The poverty rate for the town was 4% higher than that of the state. 17.6% of the population were

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 6.5% 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. 38.1% 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, 29.4% 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, 6.5% 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, 11.6% 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 3.9% 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. 10.5% had no degree. 59.6% of Gaston residents were employed, working a mean of 38.1 hours per week. The median gross rent in Gaston was $736 and the homeownership rate was 81.6%. 27 housing units were vacant at a density of .

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 871 people, 331 households, and 230 families living in the town. The

was . There were 392 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.0%

, 0.1%

, 0.1% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population. There were 331 households, of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were

living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.5% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% 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 3.06. The median age in the town was 34.4 years. 29.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.8% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,010 people, 351 households, and 261 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 376 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.22%

, 0.59%

, and 1.19% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.20% of the population. There were 351 households, out of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were

living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,853, and the median income for a family was $37,583. Males had a median income of $28,558 versus $23,281 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 $15,357. About 10.5% of families and 11.8% 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 18.3% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Wes-Del Community Schools. Wes-Del Middle/High School is the comprehensive secondary school. In 1957 there was a school in Gaston, and there was proposed new elementary and high school facility to replace it.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Towns in Delaware County, Indiana Towns in Indiana