Orland is a town located in the northwest corner of
Steuben County, Indiana
Steuben County is a County (United States), county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census the county population was 34,435. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Angola, Indiana, Ango ...
in
Millgrove Township at the intersection of
State Road 120 and
State Road 327. The population was 389 at the 2020 census.
History
Orland is recognized as the first settlement in Steuben County,
populated by migrants from
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
and originally known as Vermont Settlement. Each year in late July, Orland celebrates this heritage with the Vermont Settlement Festival. Orland was settled in 1834 after a Vermont man named John Stocker had gone prospecting for his family and the families of his neighbors. Stocker chose this particular piece of land because of the rich burr-oak openings he found. Pioneers coming from Windham County, Vermont, arrived shortly thereafter and built a Baptist church. The town established a post office in 1837.
In the decades leading up to the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Orland was a stop on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
, sheltering and protecting runaway slaves until they could complete the journey to
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places
*Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region
Australia New South Wales
*Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
, Upper Canada. The home of Russell Brown was said to contain a secret apartment on the second floor, complete with a separate stairway, in which 15 to 20 slaves might hide. S. U. Clark's hotel also was said to have a secret hiding place behind a basement cupboard, while the Butler family south of Orland "fed and sheltered scores of them and then took them on to other stations."
At one time or another during the period leading up to the Civil War, Brown, Clark, Benjamin Waterhouse, and Captain Samuel Barry were arrested for violating the
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was a law passed by the 31st United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers.
The Act was one ...
. Both Waterhouse and Barry were convicted, with Barry serving one hour in jail and paying a $30 fine (although other sources put the fine at $1000).
Fawn River State Fish Hatchery
Fawn River State Fish Hatchery, also known as the Orland Fish Hatchery, is a historic hatchery located at Orland and Millgrove Township, Steuben County, Indiana. It was developed between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, and de ...
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 1997.
During the
2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, confirmed cases of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
were reported on May 2, 2020, at a local meat processing plant run by Miller Poultry which resulted in
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
of the plant and the implementation of safety measures such as temperature checks,
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...
& available
personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...
for workers.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Orland has a total area of , all land.
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 434 people, 168 households, and 117 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 190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.3%
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 ...
, 1.2%
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 ...
, 1.6% from
other races, and 0.9% 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 9.0% of the population.
There were 168 households, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% 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, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 28.6% 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 2.58 and the average family size was 3.16.
The median age in the town was 40.2 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.4% were from 25 to 44; 29% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.
2000 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 2000, there were 341 people, 137 households, and 90 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 153 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.83%
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 ...
, 0.29%
Native American, 0.29%
Asian, 0.29% from
other races, and 0.29% 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 0.29% of the population.
There were 137 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% 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, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% 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 3.10.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,542, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $33,438 versus $20,893 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 $15,188. About 9.2% of families and 7.9% 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 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The town has a lending library, the Joyce Public Library.
Notable natives and former residents
*
Azariah Southworth
Azariah Southworth (born May 13, 1986) is an American writer and former television presenter of ''The Remix -'' a Broadcast syndication, syndicated Reality television, reality show on the NRB Network, NRB, Trinity Broadcasting Network, TBN, JCTV, ...
(May 13, 1986), Television producer/personality 2006–2008.
*
Rollie Zeider
Rollie Hubert Zeider (November 16, 1883 – September 12, 1967) was an American professional baseball player. An infielder (playing over 100 games at all four infield positions in his career), he played nine seasons in the major leagues ...
(1883–1967), major league baseball player, moved to Orland in 1959
Footnotes
References
* Butler, Marvin Benjamin (1914) ''My story of the Civil War and the Underground Railroad'', United Brethren Publishing Establishment, Huntington, Ind.
* Goodspeed, Weston A.; ''Indiana Historical and Biographical Atlas'', F.A. Battey and Company Publishers, Chicago, 1882.
* Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Underground Railroad site: Orland, access August 16, 2008.
* Sauer, Lee
KPC News.net, accessed August 18, 2008.
* Taylor, Robert M.; Stevens, Errol Wayne; Ponder, Mary Ann (1990) ''Indiana: A New Historical Guide'', Indiana Historical Society, .
External links
Portal for Town of Orland
{{authority control
Towns in Steuben County, Indiana
Towns in Indiana