Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Huntington 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. It is in Huntington and Union townships. It is also part of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

's metropolitan area. The population was 17,022 at the 2020 United States census, down from 17,391 in the 2010 United States census.

History

Name

Huntington was named by Captain Elias Murray, a member of the legislature. The name ''Huntington'' is derived from Samuel Huntington, a judge, politician, and patriot in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Samuel Huntington is also known for being the third governor of Connecticut and the seventh president of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. Being a delegate to the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

, Huntington took part in voting for and signing the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

and the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

Early settlement

The county of Huntington was formally organized on December 2, 1834. The city of Huntington was first established by a group of pioneers, most notably Captain Elias Murray. By 1849, Huntington contained 150 houses and a population of 700.

Historical literature

A small number of books have been published about the history of Huntington County, the first being ''History of Huntington County, Indiana'' originally published by Brant & Fuller. Two other books about Huntington include ''History of Huntington County, IN'' by Frank Sumner Bash in 1914 (describing its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests) and ''Huntington County, IN: Histories and Families'' by Turner Publishing Company in 1993 as a result of the Huntington County Historical Society officers and board of directors meeting in summer 1992 to discuss the family history of Huntington, the glue that has held together the city and county of Huntington in the heartland of the Midwest for more than 175 years. Huntington Indiana Wabash n Erie Canal Brick Bldg

Huntington Indiana Wabash n Erie Canal Brick Bldg

Wabash and Erie Canal

The Wabash and Erie Canal was constructed through Huntington County in 1834 and added a major economic benefit to the area. In addition to the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

cutting through Huntington (see Forks of the Wabash), this newly opened trade route accelerated the population and economic growth in Huntington.

Geography

Huntington is located on the Wabash River. According to the 2010 census, Huntington has a total area of , of which (or 98.48%) is land and (or 1.52%) is water.

Climate

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 17,391 people, 6,566 households, and 4,197 families living in the city. 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 7,487 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.4%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% 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 2.4% of the population. There were 6,566 households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% 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, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. Of all households 30.4% were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age in the city was 33.4 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 17,450 people, 6,717 households, and 4,419 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 7,262 housing units at an average density of . The main religion is Roman Catholic, with around 42% of the city attending masses. The racial makeup of the city was 97.83%

, 0.21%

, 0.45% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population. There were 6,717 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. Of all households 29.0% were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,600, and the median income for a family was $56,454. Males had a median income of $35,830 versus $26,921 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 city was $21,242. About 5.2% of families and 7.1% 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 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Huntington County Community School Corporation serves the city of Huntington and all of Huntington County. The corporation's lone high school, Huntington North High School, is located in Huntington. The two corporation middle schools, Crestview Middle School, Riverview Middle School, and three of the five elementary schools lie just outside the city limits. The elementary schools include Flint Springs, Horace Mann, Lincoln, Roanoke, and Salamonie. Private schools include Huntington Catholic School operated by the Roman Catholic Church. The town has a lending library, the Huntington City-Township Public Library.

Economy

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

publisher

Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, ...

is based in Huntington.

Communications

Local radio stations

* WJCI FM 102.9 *

WBZQ WBZQ is an AM radio station located in Huntington, Indiana. The station operates on the AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio ...

AM 1300 La Jefa Radio (Spanish) * WVSH FM 91.9 The Edge, high school station ( Huntington North High School) * WQHU FM 105.5 FUSE FM, Huntington University

Transportation

Huntington Municipal Airport, a small airport for general aviation, lies southeast of the city. Several highways serve the city: * * * *

Notable people

Sports

* Gary Dilley, swimmer, Olympic silver medalist * Dusty Fahrnow, Indy Car driver * Josh Hart, NHRA race car driver * Lauren Johnson, professional runner * Harry Mehre, football player * E. J. Tackett, professional bowler on the PBA Tour * Addison Wiley, American middle-distance runner

Politics

* U. S. Lesh, 24th

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is ...

* Lambdin P. Milligan, Civil War-era insurrectionist *

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

, former

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

, U.S. senator, U.S. representative * J. Edward Roush, U.S. representative, father of "911 Emergency System" * James R. Slack, state senator and Civil War general * Andy Zay, member of the

Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...

Other

* Dan Butler, actor * Elizebeth (Smith) Friedman (1892–1980), author and pioneer in cryptology * Jennifer Lancaster, author *

Mick Mars Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known professionally as Mick Mars, is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, being the oldest of the four origin ...

, guitarist of Mötley Crüe * John F. Noll, archbishop and newspaper founder * Brian Peck, sex offender, former actor, dialogue coach, director and producer * Carrie M. Shoaff (1849–1939), artist, author, potter, playwright, correspondent * Richard Leroy Walters, homeless philanthropist

Points of interest

Huntington County Courthouse in Huntington from the northwest

* Church of the United Brethren in Christ National Headquarters * David Alonzo and Elizabeth Purviance House * Drover Town Historic District * Forks of the Wabash * Hawley Heights Historic District * Hotel LaFontaine *Huntington County Historical Museum * Huntington Courthouse Square Historic District * Huntington University Arboretum and Botanical Garden * Huntington University * J. Edward Roush Lake * Merillat Centre for the Arts * Moore/Carlew Building * North Jefferson Street Historic District * Old Plat Historic District *''

'' *

Quayle Vice Presidential Learning Center The Quayle Vice Presidential Learning Center, commonly referred to as the Dan Quayle Museum, is located at 815 Warren Street in Huntington, Indiana, where former Vice President of the United States, Vice President Dan Quayle attended high school ...

* Samuel Purviance House * St. Peter's First Community Church *Sheets Wildlife Museum and Learning Center * Sunken Gardens * Taylor-Zent House
The Indiana Room Genealogy Center
* Victory Noll-St. Felix Friary Historic District * William Street School

References

External links

City of Huntington, Indiana website

HuntingtonDaily.com, Huntington news website

Huntington County Tab newspaper

Huntington Herald Press daily newspaper

Huntington County United Economic Development

Huntington Indiana Information

Huntington County Community School Corporation

Huntington City-Township Public Library
{{authority control 1834 establishments in Indiana Cities in Huntington County, Indiana Cities in Indiana County seats in Indiana Micropolitan areas of Indiana Populated places established in 1834