Noblesville, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Noblesville is a city in and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Hamilton County
Hamilton County, Indiana
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded a population of 274,569. The county seat is Noblesville....

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, located just north of Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

. The population was 51,969 at the 2010 census making it the 14th largest city/town in the state, up from 19th in 2007. The city is part of Delaware
Delaware Township, Hamilton County, Indiana
Delaware Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 28,268. Records show the township to have 43,352 residents as of 2007.-Geography:...

, Fall Creek
Fall Creek Township, Hamilton County, Indiana
Fall Creek Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 17,079. An estimated 32,151 residents are living in the township as of 2007.-Geography:...

, Noblesville
Noblesville Township, Hamilton County, Indiana
Noblesville Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 34,534. Records show that the township had 44,503 residents as in 2007.-Geography:...

, and Wayne
Wayne Township, Hamilton County, Indiana
Wayne Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, USA and serves as one of two townships within Noblesville, Indiana's jurisdiction. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,415. That number is expected to increase greatly in the next few years as Noblesville continues to...

 townships.

Noblesville is also home to the Klipsch Music Center
Verizon Wireless Music Center (Indiana)
The Klipsch Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater, owned by Live Nation, located in Noblesville, Indiana. The center is the largest outdoor music venue in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of central Indiana, with 6,000 seats under a pavilion and 18,000 general admission lawn seats...

, an outdoor music venue, and the Indiana Transportation Museum
Indiana Transportation Museum
The Indiana Transportation Museum is a railroad museum located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana...

.

History

Noblesville's history dates back to 1818 when the land, which is now Hamilton County, was purchased by the government from Indians native to this area. William Conner
William Conner
William Conner was an American trader, interpreter, scout, community leader, entrepreneur, and politician...

, the only settler living in the area at the time, and his wife, a Delaware Indian
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

, established the first trading post in central Indiana in 1802 and lived in the first log cabin in the area. William Conner and Josiah Polk laid out what is now downtown Noblesville in 1823, which was designated as the Hamilton County seat in 1824 and in corporated in 1851. Conner's 1823 home is now one of a village of historic buildings making up Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement
Conner Prairie
Conner Prairie is an Interactive History Park, or living history museum, in Fishers, Indiana, USA, that preserves the William Conner home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and recreates part of life in Indiana in the 19th century on the White River.-History and...

, a living history museum south of Noblesville in Fishers
Fishers, Indiana
Fishers is a town located in Fall Creek and Delaware townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, with a population of 76,794, according to the 2010 census. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidly in recent decades: about 350 people lived there in 1963, 2,000 in 1980, and only 7,200 as recently...

.

Noblesville was named either for James Noble, a state senator, or according to legend, for Lavinia Noble of Indianapolis, to whom Josiah was engaged. The Peru and Indianapolis Railroad was completed through town in 1851, strengthening the town economically and causing the population to increase.

These two stories are the most likely namesakes for the city, but another local rumor says that perhaps a great woman named Kate O'linn once visited the town. The town was so impacted by her noble composure and lifestyle, they immediately changed the name of the city in her honor. This is just a rumor, but many of the older members (a.k.a. most trustworthy) swear by it.

The city's first large growth boom came in 1888 with the discovery of Noblesville's first natural gas well near 11th and Pleasant streets. Many Victorian homes, as well as the vast majority of the Downtown Commercial District, were built during this time of prosperity. The city's second large growth was particularly recent increasing its population from 28,590 in 2000 to 51,969 in 2010. This growth echos the increase in population of much of southern Hamilton County as a preferable place for people to live who enjoy a close proximity to the Indianapolis area.

Just as the rest of Indiana Noblesville has some remnants of the past that are not exactly attractive but important historically nonetheless. In 1995, a large trunk was discovered in an abandoned barn. The trunk contained over 1,000 membership cards and dues receipts revealing the names of citizens of the local chapter of the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

, as well as hoods, sashes and other equipment, according to Allen Safianow, professor of history at Indiana University
Indiana University Kokomo
Indiana University Kokomo is a regional campus in the Indiana University system in Kokomo, Indiana.-Academics:As of 2010, there were over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students at IU Kokomo and 81 full-time faculty...

's Kokomo
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....

 campus.http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/1996/9611/9611not1.cfm

In the lead article in the June issue of the Indiana Magazine of History
Indiana Magazine of History
The Indiana Magazine of History is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the history and changing culture of Indiana and the Midwest. It has been published for more than a century and is one of the oldest historical journals in the United States...

, Safianow describes in detail the effects of the discovery. They ranged from calls for public disclosure of the names to comments that the finder of the trunk, a local building contractor named Don Roberts, should have burned its contents and kept his discovery secret. Instead, Roberts donated all of the Klan materials to the Hamilton County Historical Society, where they are preserved as a valuable resource for those seeking a better understanding of the Klan's operations in Indiana.

"You can't burn history," Roberts said later in explaining his decision. "That's what is wrong today. Too many people are trying to bury history, and history is history. You may have liked to change it, but it's gone, it's behind us."

Despite the strong KKK presence in Noblesville from the 1910s through 1930s, the Noblesville courthouse was the site of the 1925 trial of Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon D. C. Stephenson
D. C. Stephenson
David Curtiss "Steve" Stephenson was an American Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in the U.S. state of Indiana and 22 other Northern states. He is considered to have been one of the most successful Klan leaders up until his downfall after his conviction for murder...

, leader of the Indiana Klan
Indiana Klan
The Indiana Klan was a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, a secret society in the United States that practiced racism and terrorism against minority ethnic and religious groups. The Indiana Klan rose to prominence beginning in the years after World War I when rising levels of eastern and southern European...

, who kidnapped and raped an Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 Statehouse secretary. He was found guilty and given the maximum prison sentence. Upon realizing his political allies would not come to his aid, he started revealing everyone's dirty laundry. The scandal resulted in the indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

 of many Indiana politicians, including Governor Ed Jackson.http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main7.html

Architecture

The centerpiece of downtown Noblesville is the Courthouse Square, the location of the Hamilton County Courthouse (completed in 1879) and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Residence and Jail (constructed in 1876). Both buildings are fabulous examples of the Second Empire style featuring mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...

s. There are also several sites and buildings in Noblesville that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Hamilton County Courthouse Square, the Catherine Street Historic District, Conner Street Historic District, William Houston Craig House, Daniel Craycraft House, Holliday Hydroelectric Powerhouse and Dam, Noblesville Commercial Historic District and the Noblesville Milling Company Mill.

Geography

Noblesville is located at 40°3′0"N 86°1′17"W (40.049935, -86.021462).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 19.1 square miles (49.5 km²), of which, 17.9 square miles (46.4 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (6.03%) is water.

Noblesville is known as the middle of the Corn Belt
Corn Belt
The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States where corn has, since the 1850s, been the predominant crop, replacing the native tall grasses. By 1950, 99% of the corn was grown from hybrids. Most corn is fed to livestock, especially hogs and poultry. In recent decades soybeans have...

. According to the 2000 U.S. Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 the mean population of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 can be found in Noblesville. Whether Noblesville retains this distinction remains to be seen. Reduced employment and emigration from the Detroit region may shift the population towards Bloomington, IL.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2010, there were 51,969 people and 17,915 households in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,624 people per square mile (627.6/km²). There were 17,915 housing units at an average density of 559.8 per square mile (216.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.07% White, 2.15% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.33% from two or more races.

There were 17,915 households out of which 40.97% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city, the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $73,395, and the median per capita income was $33,732. Approximately 45.22% of the population has a higher education degree with over 87.3% of the population at least having a high school diploma or GED. The median housing value is $171,272 with a total of 17,915 housing units.

Tourism

There are many recreational amenities in Noblesville including 7 public and private golf courses, the Belfry Theater, Downtown Noblesville shopping and historic siteseeing, the vast public park system including Forest Park and Dr. James A Dillon Park, the Hamilton County Artist Association Birdie Gallery, Hamilton Town Center, the Indiana Transportation Museum, Morse Park & Beach, Verizon Wireless Music Center and the White River Canoe Company.

Notable natives and residents

  • David Boudia
    David Boudia
    David Alasdair Boudia is an American diver.He now lives in Noblesville, Indiana. He started diving in 2000, and has been a member of the U.S National Diving Team since 2005. He has been named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in the 10-meter platform and synchronized 10-meter platform events. His...

    , Olympic
    Olympic Games
    The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

     diver
  • Bryan Clauson
    Bryan Clauson
    Bryan Clauson, is an American auto racing driver. He went to Noblesville High School in Noblesville, Indiana.-Career:...

    , IndyCar
    IndyCar
    IndyCar is the trade name of an American-based open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body. IndyCar sanctions three racing series, the premier IZOD IndyCar Series with its centerpiece Indianapolis 500, and developmental series Firestone Indy Lights and the U.S...

    , NASCAR
    NASCAR
    The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

    , and USAC
    USAC
    USAC may refer to:* Unified Speech and Audio Coding, an audio compression scheme and MPEG-4 Audio Object Type* United States Army Cadet Corps, a non-profit youth education organization...

     driver
  • Conor Daly
    Conor Daly
    Conor Daly is an American racing driver from Noblesville, Indiana. He is the son of Irish former Formula One and Champ Car driver Derek Daly.-Racing career:...

     Race Car Driver
  • Derek Daly
    Derek Daly
    Derek Daly is a former racing driver from the Republic of Ireland. He won the 1977 British Formula Three Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on April 2, 1978. He scored a total of 15...

    , F1, Indy 500 author, driver
  • William Dudley Pelley
    William Dudley Pelley
    William Dudley Pelley was an American extremist and spiritualist who founded the Silver Legion in 1933, and ran for President in 1936 for the Christian Party.-Family:...

    , leader of the Christian Party and fascist Silver Legion
  • Ashley Prange
    Ashley Prange
    Ashley Prange is a professional golfer and winner of the reality television program The Big Break V: Hawaii.-College and amateur career:...

    , professional golfer
    Professional golfer
    In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...

     and winner of The Big Break
    The Big Break
    The Big Break is the Golf Channel's reality television program. The show's premise is to award an aspiring professional golfer exemptions into selected events on certain tours. The series debuted on October 6, 2003, and has become very popular. As of November 2011, Big Break is in its 16th...

  • Roger Stern
    Roger Stern
    Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...

     Superman Comic Book Writer: Death of Superman
  • Rex Stout
    Rex Stout
    Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...

    , creator of Nero Wolfe
    Nero Wolfe
    Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...

    , the popular detective series
  • Steve Wariner
    Steve Wariner
    Steven Noel "Steve" Wariner is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has released eighteen studio albums, including six on MCA Records, and three each on RCA Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records...

    , country music
    Country music
    Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

     singer and songwriter
    Songwriter
    A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

  • Billy Wease
    Billy Wease
    Billy Wease from Noblesville, Indiana is a driver in USAC. He is also the development driver for Penske Racing South. Wease's first stock car race was in June 2006 at the Michigan International Speedway. He placed second, though a lap down to NASCAR Cup Series driver David Stremme. Wease was also...

    , NASCAR
    NASCAR
    The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

     driver
  • Wes Whisler
    Wes Whisler
    Wesley Guy Whisler is a Major League Baseball pitcher, currently playing in the Chicago White Sox organization. He is currently pitching for the Low A Kannapolis Intimidators....

     Selected by Chicago White Sox
    Chicago White Sox
    The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

     in 2nd Round (53rd overall) of 2004 amateur entry draft
  • Daniel Brock
    Daniel Brock
    Dan Brock is an American philosopher and bioethicist. He is currently the Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics in the at Harvard Medical School, the Director of the at the Harvard Medical School, and the of the Harvard University...

     Political activist known for starting the infamous Crowbar Crü

Schools

Most Noblesville students attend Noblesville Schools while some attend Hamilton Southeastern Schools
Hamilton Southeastern Schools
Hamilton Southeastern School District is the primary school system for students living in Fishers, Indiana and portions of neighboring Noblesville, Indiana. The district consists of twelve elementary schools , three intermediate schools , three junior high schools , and two high schools...

 and Hamilton Heights Schools
Hamilton Heights School Corporation
Hamilton Heights School Corporation is a four star public school district serving the northeastern rural communities in Hamilton County. It covers over of mostly farmland within Jackson and White River townships. Some of the small communities that are within HHSC are Cicero, Arcadia, and Atlanta...

.
  • Noblesville High School
    Noblesville High School
    thumb|rightNoblesville High School is a public high school in Noblesville, Indiana, United States. Opened in 1996, the school is the third for the city. The first two are still in use today for the city with the last high school becoming Noblesville Middle School. The school has approximately...

     Main Campus [10-12]
  • Noblesville High School Freshman Campus [9]
  • Noblesville Middle School [7-8]
  • Noblesville Intermediate School [5-6]
  • Durbin Elementary [K-4] (Hamilton Southeastern Schools
    Hamilton Southeastern Schools
    Hamilton Southeastern School District is the primary school system for students living in Fishers, Indiana and portions of neighboring Noblesville, Indiana. The district consists of twelve elementary schools , three intermediate schools , three junior high schools , and two high schools...

    )
  • Forest Hill Elementary [K-4]
  • Hazel Dell Elementary [K-4]
  • Hinkle Creek Elementary [K-4]
  • Noble Crossing Elementary [K-4]
  • North Elementary [K-4]
  • Stony Creek Elementary [K-4]
  • White River Elementary [K-4]
  • Our Lady of Grace School [K-8] (private)
  • St. Theodore Guerin High School [9-12] (private)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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