Mooresville is a town in Brown Township, Morgan County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The town is notable for being where the current

flag of Indiana The current flag of Indiana was designed by Paul Hadley and officially adopted by the U.S state of Indiana on May 31, 1917. It is the state's third official state flag, flag and has remained unchanged except for the creation of a statute to sta ...

was created. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 9,411.

History

Mooresville was founded in 1824 by Samuel Moore after he had bought the area for $2 per acre. The town is named for him. A post office has been in operation at Mooresville since 1826. The Mooresville Commercial Historic District, Mooresville Friends Academy Building, and Mooresville Gymnasium are 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 ...

. The town was home to Paul Hadley, a

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

, who in 1916, had designed the current Indiana state flag for a flag contest sponsored by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

during the state's 1916 centennial anniversary. Hadley's flag design was adopted as the official state ''banner'' on May 31, 1917, and was later renamed to the official state ''flag'' in 1955. On April 8, 2020, an EF1 tornado hit downtown, with significant winds around . From this tornado, a building on the southeast corner of Indiana and Main streets had partially collapsed in on itself. There were no injuries from the event. The building sat ruined for several months before being torn down. Due to the building's old age, the damages could not have been repaired. On July 3, 2020, a group of 100

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

protesters marched through the streets of the town. This protest was met with quick counter protesting from a group of town locals. The two groups of protesters stood at a face off across the road on 31 S Indiana Street, with the situation escalating to the point where a small group of men camped out on a nearby roof of a business wielding multiple guns. Police at the scene were aware of the men with guns, but they couldn't do anything as the men were on their private property. The scene played out for several hours, only being held back by the police on both sides of the road. In November 2023, the retail supermarket store

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

in collaboration with

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

had released a Monopoly board game themed after the town of Mooresville titled "Mooresville-Opoly." This board game sold for a limited time at the Camby Walmart store only.

Geography

Mooresville is in northeastern Morgan County; the northern border of the town follows the

Hendricks County Hendricks County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 174,788. The county seat is the town of Danville. Hendricks County is the third most populous county in the Indianapolis- Carme ...

line. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Mooresville has a total area of , of which , or 0.84%, are water. The center of Mooresville sits between White Lick Creek to the west and its East Fork to the east. White Lick Creek flows south to join the White River north of Martinsville.

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 9,326 people, 3,715 households, and 2,558 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 3,930 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.5%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.2% 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 3,715 households, of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% 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, 14.2% had a female householder with no male present, 5.6% had a male householder with no female present, and 31.1% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the town was 38.6 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 9,273 people, 3,535 households, and 2,594 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 3,688 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.52%

, 0.09%

, 0.30% Native American, 0.40% 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 ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. There were 3,535 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no male present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% 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 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $47,292, and the median income for a family was $52,543. Males had a median income of $37,763 versus $26,520 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 $21,504. About 4.2% of families and 4.3% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Every year, in early August, the town holds an "Old Settlers Fair" that involves a parade through downtown Mooresville and carnival attractions at Pioneer Park. The event usually lasts between three and four days. The first of these events, originally called Old Settlers Reunion and Picnic, was held on August 9, 1870, and was original held at Old Town Park in Mooresville after the land was donated by Samuel Moore. Old Town Park was used to hold this event every year, except for 1943, until 1995. Pioneer Park become the center for this event after 1995. The town has a lending library, the Mooresville Public Library.

Education

Mooresville schools are part of the Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation. Schools include: * Newby Memorial Elementary * Neil A. Armstrong Elementary, named after the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

astronaut of the same name * Northwood Elementary * North Madison Elementary * Waverly Elementary * Paul Hadley Middle School, named after the designer of the Indiana state flag * Mooresville High School

Private school

* Mooresville Christian Academy, founded in 1975

Mooresville Friends Academy

The Mooresville school system began with the Friends Academy, which was built in 1861. The Academy Building, one of the first high schools in the state of Indiana, was a boarding school with students renting rooms from area residents. The school building sits on the Newby Memorial Elementary School campus, has been restored, and is listed on the

. The building now serves as a local

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

as well as the offices of the Community Foundation of Morgan County, Inc. Also on the Newby campus is the "old Newby gym" or the "Newby Dome." The gym was built in the early 1900s with help from Mooresville residents who each contributed $100 to help build the facility. The campus also includes the Mooresville Veterans Memorial, which honors Mooresville's fallen soldiers from World War I and beyond. The Memorial also honors Sammy Lee Davis, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. Davis is known as "The Real Forrest Gump" since his Vietnam story is mirrored in the movie

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...

and his Medal of Honor ceremony footage is used in the movie.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mooresville is served by

Indiana State Road 67 State Road 67 in the U.S. state of Indiana cuts a diagonal route from southwest to northeast across the state from the north side of Vincennes to Indianapolis to the Ohio state line, where it becomes State Route 29 east of Bryant. Route descr ...

Indiana State Road 42 State Road 42 (SR 42) is an east–west road in Central Indiana. Its western terminus is at US 40 in Terre Haute. Its eastern terminus is at State Road 67 and State Road 144 in Mooresville. Route description From the western te ...

and

Indiana State Road 144 State Road 144 (SR 144) in the U.S. state of Indiana is a highway that exists in two short disconnected segments south of Indianapolis. Route description The western segment of SR 144 begins at an intersection with SR 42 and SR ...

end at SR 67 southeast of the town center.

Health care

Mooresville is served by Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville, formerly known as Kendrick Hospital and St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville. The full-service hospital includes an emergency department, labor and delivery, cancer care, and it is home to the Joint Replacement Surgeons of Indiana Research Foundation.

Notable people

William G. Bray William Gilmer Bray (June 17, 1903 – June 4, 1979) was an American lawyer and World War II veteran who served twelve terms as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana from 1951 to 1975. Early life W ...

, Republican, elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and served from the 82nd to 93rd Congress. * Herbert Carter (1910–2007), American biochemist *

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...

, gangster and bank robber who used Mooresville, his hometown, as a hideout. * Paul Hadley, designer of the Indiana state flag. * Julia D. Nelson, elected to the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

in 1921, the first woman elected to the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...

. *

Amos Rusie Amos Wilson Rusie (May 30, 1871 – December 6, 1942), nicknamed "the Hoosier Thunderbolt", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), w ...

, member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

. *

Ruth Hinshaw Spray Ruth Hinshaw Spray (February 16, 1848 – February 26, 1929) was an American peace activist. Spray was prominent as a teacher in the public schools and work for the protection of children and animals. She was also active in the work of child labo ...

, peace activist. * Nan Whaley, mayor of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Indiana Towns in Morgan County, Indiana Indianapolis metropolitan area