Oakland City is the second-largest city, but third largest community in Gibson 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, after

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and the town of

Fort Branch Fort Branch was a fort built by the Confederate Army especially to defend against attacks from the Union Army along the Roanoke River in North Carolina. The fort was originally built in 1862 along Rainbow Banks in Martin County, southeast of Ha ...

. It is the site of

Oakland City University Oakland City University (OCU) is a private university affiliated with the General Baptist Church and located in Oakland City, Indiana. It is the only General Baptist Church-affiliated college or university in the United States. Founded in 1885, ...

. The population was 2,279 at the 2020 census.

History

Oakland City 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 1856. It was probably named for the presence of oak trees. The Oakland City post office was established in 1860. The William M. Cockrum House 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 1978.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Oakland City has a total area of , of which (or 99.82%) is land and (or 0.18%) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010

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 ...

, there were 2,429 people, 973 households and 568 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 1,157 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up was 97.2%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% 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 2.0% of the population. There were 973 households, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.6% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 36.1 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 16.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 21.7% were from 25 to 44, 23.8% were from 45 to 64 and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The sex make-up of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 2,588 people, 1,031 households and 642 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up was 97.60%

, 0.73%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population. There were 1,031 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86. 20.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64 and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $28,532 and the median family income was $37,440. Males had a median income of $30,500 and females $24,602. 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 ...

was $13,806. About 7.6% of families and 11.9% 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 14.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Higher education

Oakland City is the site of

, the only

General Baptist General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...

-affiliated university, with a global campus providing over 40 degrees from associate, bachelor, master and doctorate studies and Oakland City University School of Adult and Extended Learning with programs that specialize in busy adult students. Oakland City University was established in 1885 as Oakland City College. It attained university status and changed its name in the latter part of the 20th century. Oakland City University sports teams are the Mighty Oaks.

K-12 education

Oakland City is headquarters of the

East Gibson School Corporation The East Gibson School Corporation is the smallest of the three public school governing institutions in Gibson County in both land area and student body with just over 1,000 students. The EGSC is responsible for a district including three town ...

. Oakland City Elementary School, Waldo J. Wood Memorial Junior High School and Waldo J. Wood Memorial High School are all located on South Franklin Street. The Oakland City Elementary sports teams are the Acorns (relating to the Oaks above). The Waldo J. Wood Memorial Junior High teams and Waldo J. Wood Memorial High School teams are the Trojans. Other schools in the East Gibson School Corporation are Barton Township Elementary School, located in Mackey, and Francisco Elementary School, located in Francisco.

Public library

The town has a lending library, the Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library.

Notable people

Gil Hodges Gilbert Raymond Hodges (born Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Broo ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

first baseman, attended college at Oakland City College *

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a t ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

outfielder in

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 ...

, was born in Oakland City. *

Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

drummer, was born in Oakland City.

References

{{Authority control 1856 establishments in Indiana Cities in Indiana Cities in Gibson County, Indiana Evansville metropolitan area Communities of Southwestern Indiana Populated places established in 1856