Kentland is a town in Jefferson Township,

Newton County, Indiana Newton County is a county located near the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 13,830. This county is part of Northwest Indiana as well as the Chicago metropolitan area. The county seat is Kentl ...

, United States. The population was 1,641 at the 2020 census.

History

The town was founded in 1860 as "Kent", though this name was soon lengthened to Kentland. The name honors Alexander J. Kent, who acquired the then marshy plat and prepared it for development. The town is 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 Newton County. Kentland is the birthplace of famous turn-of-the-century humorist George Ade, author of such plays as '' The College Widow'', ''Artie'', and ''The Sultan of Sulu''.

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Ross–Ade Stadium Ross–Ade Stadium is a stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the campus of Purdue University. It is the home field of Purdue Boilermakers football. History The stadium was built in 1924 to replace Stuart Field, which had been hosting Pur ...

, home of the Boilermakers football team, is named for him and fellow Purdue benefactor David Ross. Disgraced Indiana governor Warren McCray, convicted of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

and forced to resign in 1924, also hailed from Kentland. The Newton County Courthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2008.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Kentland has a total area of , all land. The Kentland crater, a probable

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

, is located between Kentland and Goodland.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,748 people, 695 households, and 450 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 782 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.2%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 2.6% from other races, and 1.8% 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 8.0% of the population. There were 695 households, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.3% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% 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 3.02. The median age in the town was 40.9 years. 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.4% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,822 people, 733 households, and 477 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 793 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.30%

, 0.11%

, 0.27% Asian, 0.82% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.96% of the population. There were 733 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,732, and the median income for a family was $45,043. Males had a median income of $32,734 versus $20,714 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,797. About 4.7% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town has a lending library, the Kentland-Jefferson Township Public Library.

Notable people

* George Ade, columnist and author;

is named for him. * Alice Chancellor, Army engineer * Jethro A. Hatch, was the first physician in Kentland and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

. * Warren T. McCray, 30th Governor of

. * Tracy Smith, former Arizona State baseball coach.

References

* George Pence and Nellie C. Armstrong (1933). ''Indiana Boundaries: Territory, State and County''. Indiana Historical Society.

External links

* "Warren T. McCray" https://web.archive.org/web/20081204174258/http://www.countyhistory.com/doc.gov/033.htm * "Earth Impact Database: Kentland" https://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/images/kentland.htm
Official website
{{authority control Towns in Newton County, Indiana County seats in Indiana Northwest Indiana Populated places established in 1860 1860 establishments in Indiana Towns in Indiana