Sharpsville, Indiana
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Sharpsville is a town in Liberty Township, Tipton 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 ...
of
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 community is part of the
Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, Sharpsville's population is 607.


History

The town was named after founder E.M. Sharp, who originally was from
Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington, Pe ...
. Sharp moved to
Morgan County, Illinois Morgan County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 32,915. Its county seat is Jacksonville, Illinois, Jacksonville. Morgan Co ...
in 1831, prior to relocating to
Jennings County, Indiana Jennings County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 27,613. The county seat is Vernon. History Jennings County was formed in 1817. It was named for the first Governor of Indiana and a nine-term c ...
in 1838. In spring 1849, he moved to Liberty Township. The town was
platted 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 Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
on May 24, 1850, under the assumption that Sharpsville would become 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 ...
for Tipton Township (which became
Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...
). A town square was incorporated into the town layout which became a public
park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
rather than the location of a place of government.Pershing, p. 127
/ref> The town was incorporated in 1873, but it ceased to be incorporated by vote in 1881 and regained village status.Pershing, p. 129
/ref> The Sharpsville post office has been in operation since 1851. Many of the first buildings were churches. The First
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
church in Sharpsville was built in 1852 and the Richland Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1857.Pershing, p. 197
/ref> In 1873, the Hopewell Presbyterian Church was founded 2.5 miles east of Sharpsville, with a building being completed for the congregation in 1874.Pershing, p. 210
/ref> As the need for local education arose in 1852, Martha Ann Grishaw would become teacher of the first school in Sharpsville. School was held in a wooden cabin. The second school was taught by Lizzie Smith in a small house on the south-side of the town square. The earliest schools were subscription schools where citizens paid a fee to have their children educated. Later a
Secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
was founded as Sharpsville-Prairie High School. In 1970 the High School, along with Windfall High School, merged to form Tri-Central Middle/High School. Sharpsville was home to participants in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. On August 9, 1861, a company assembled in Sharpsville that would join the 26th Indiana Infantry Regiment as Company C. In all, 78 listed on the Company C Roster listed Sharpsville as their town of residence. The 26th Infantry participated in military actions including the
Battle of Prairie Grove The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas. A division of Union troops in the Army of the Fronti ...
and the
Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
. In 1871 a four-story grain elevator was built to give local farmers a way to store grain. The silos had a capacity of 18,500 bushels. While the silos still stand, the elevator was razed in 1990 due to aging of equipment. The granary was serviced by the
Nickel Plate Road The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States from 1881 to 1964. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of ...
, a railroad that later become part of
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
. The now abandoned tracks once connected Sharpsville to Kokomo and Tipton. A train station that once stood on the southeast corner of Meridian Street and North Street was razed in 1967. In the early 20th century, Sharpsville was serviced by an
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
rail line operated by Union Traction Company. The line connected Sharpsville with
Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,073 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Miami County. Peru is loc ...
, to the north and
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
to the south. As with most interurbans, the Sharpsville stop fell out of use by the mid 1920s. The Sharpsville Cemetery, founded in 1875, is located southeast of the town.


Geography

According to the 2010 census, Sharpsville has a total area of , all land. Sharpsville is bound on the south by Broad Creek a stream that connects Mud Creek going East and Barr Ditch going West.


Climate

July is typically the warmest month in Sharpsville, when highs average 84 °F (29 °C) and lows average 62 °F (17 °C). January is coldest, when the high temperatures average 30 °F (-1 °C) and the lows average 15 °F (-9 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 110 °F (43 °C) in 1936, and the lowest was -26 °F (−32 °C) in 1925. The record snowfall for Sharpsville is 16.4" on February 14, 2007, during the
February 2007 North American blizzard The February 2007 North American blizzard was a massive winter storm that affected most of the eastern half of North America, starting on February 12, 2007, and peaking on Valentine's Day, February 14. The storm produced heavy snowfalls across th ...
.


Demographics


Early census

As of 1914, Sharpsville had a population of approximately 700.Pershing, p. 130
/ref>


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 607 people, 227 households, and 168 families residing 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 255 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 ...
, 0.2%
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 ...
, 0.7% from other races, and 1.6% 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 227 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% 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, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the town was 38.2 years. 28% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.2% were from 25 to 44; 30% were from 45 to 64; and 9.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.4% male and 50.6% 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 618 people, 232 households, and 179 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 243 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.54%
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 ...
, 0.32%
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 ...
, 0.16% Asian, 0.32%
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 ...
, 0.49% from other races, and 0.16% 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 1.29% of the population. There were 232 households, out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $52,292, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $46,389 versus $30,417 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 $22,480. About 1.2% of families and 2.8% 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 1.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Historically, agriculture was the primary industry in Sharpsville.
Corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
and
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
were popular crops. Reuben Jackson opened the first
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
in the south part of Sharpsville. That store closed, and another store was opened in 1853 by Madison and Washington Grishaw.Pershing, p. 128
/ref> That store was destroyed by fire in 1856, however, many other merchants opened up shop in Sharpsville, with over 15 merchants in the town by the start of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. By 1873, the town had two blacksmith shops. In 1902 The Sharpsville Bank was chartered.


Manufacturing and industry

In the early 20th century, the Sharpsville Canning Company was the largest employer, followed by a flour mill and a lumber yard. Sharpsville was home to G.W. Invader Corporation, a boat manufacturer, owned and operated from the early 1960s through 1980s by Arne Gray and George Wooldridge.


Tourism

The first hotel to open in Sharpsville was in 1853. By the 1860s there were three hotels in town.


Infrastructure


Utilities

Sharpsville is provided natural gas by Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO), a division of
NiSource NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands ...
. Electric energy is provided by
Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...
. Water and Sewage is supplied by the Sharpsville Water Utilities Department.


Healthcare

Sharpsville has two hospitals within a 10-mile radius, Community Howard Regional Health and
Indiana University Health Indiana University Health, formerly known as Clarian Health Partners, is a nonprofit healthcare system located in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in Indiana, with 16 hospitals under its IU H ...
Tipton Hospital.


Education

Students in Sharpsville attend Tri-Central Community Schools.


Public safety

Law enforcement in the town is provided by the Sharpsville Marshal’s Office and the Tipton County Sheriff's Office. Fire and Emergency Medical Services are provided by the Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department and the Sharpsville Ambulance Service.


References


Footnotes


Sources

* Pershing, Marvin W. "History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions". Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen (1914).


External links


Official website
{{authority control Towns in Tipton County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area Populated places in Tipton County, Indiana