Otwell is an unincorporated

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in Jefferson Township, Pike 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 ...

History

Otwell was originally called Pierceville, being named after President Franklin Pierce, and under this name was laid out in 1855. The name was changed to Otwell in 1864 by a popular petition of its residents. The name had to be changed when the post office came because there was already a Pierceville in Indiana. The name Otwell is derived from the middle name of Robert Otwell Brown, the son of an early settler. A post office has been in operation at Otwell since 1864.

Geography

Otwell is located along Indiana State Road 257 and is approximately 1 mile from Indiana State Road 56.

Education

There is one school district in the county, Pike County School Corporation. Otwell has a charter school, Otwell Miller Academy, which was established in 2017, after the Pike County school corporation closed its elementary school, Otwell Elementary School. Otwell Miller Academy currently enrolls 88 students for the 2018/19 school year. Grace College sponsors the charter. Prior to 1974, Otwell had its own high school. The school colors were blue and white, and the mascot was the Millers. In 1937, it took students from Velpen High School. In 1974, it merged into Pike Central High School. Otwell has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Pike County Public Library.

Demographics

References

Census-designated places in Pike County, Indiana Census-designated places in Indiana Jasper, Indiana micropolitan area {{PikeCountyIN-geo-stub