Perrysville, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Perrysville is a town in Highland Township
, Vermillion County
, Indiana
, United States
. The population was 456 at the 2010 census.
. It became a local center for shipping products to New Orleans on flatboats via the Wabash, Ohio
, and Mississippi
Rivers, and it was also able to receive heavy equipment and manufactured items on steamboats. Prior to the advent of the railroad in the second half of the nineteenth century, the town's location on the river made for a thriving community; it is reputed to have been the largest town between Chicago
and Terre Haute
at the height of its success. The arrival of the Wabash and Erie Canal
enhanced its importance even further; a sidecut with locks allowed boats to be towed across the river to the town. Various roads intersected here, including a plank toll road from Danville, Illinois
to the west, and stagecoach traffic became frequent. However, when the railroads did arrive, and failed to pass through the town, it spelled the eventual end of the vital river traffic, and of the importance of the town of Perrysville.
The Town is named for Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry
, the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie
.
. According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 502 people, 198 households, and 139 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,995.4 people per square mile (775.3/km²). There were 208 housing units at an average density of 826.8 per square mile (321.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.40% White, and 0.60% from two or more races.
There were 198 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples
living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,929, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $15,455. About 5.1% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
Highland Township, Vermillion County, Indiana
Highland Township is one of five townships in Vermillion County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,655.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Highland Township covers an area of ; of this, or 0.95 percent is water....
, Vermillion County
Vermillion County, Indiana
Vermillion County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River. It was officially established in 1824 and was the 50th Indiana county to be formed. It is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Newport.According to the 2010...
, 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...
. The population was 456 at the 2010 census.
History
Perrysville was platted and surveyed in 1825 by James Blair on a bluff on the west side of the Wabash RiverWabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
. It became a local center for shipping products to New Orleans on flatboats via the Wabash, Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
Rivers, and it was also able to receive heavy equipment and manufactured items on steamboats. Prior to the advent of the railroad in the second half of the nineteenth century, the town's location on the river made for a thriving community; it is reputed to have been the largest town between Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
at the height of its success. The arrival of the Wabash and Erie Canal
Wabash and Erie Canal
The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico...
enhanced its importance even further; a sidecut with locks allowed boats to be towed across the river to the town. Various roads intersected here, including a plank toll road from Danville, Illinois
Danville, Illinois
Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...
to the west, and stagecoach traffic became frequent. However, when the railroads did arrive, and failed to pass through the town, it spelled the eventual end of the vital river traffic, and of the importance of the town of Perrysville.
The Town is named for Commodore
Commodore (USN)
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...
Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
, the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...
.
Geography
Perrysville is located at 40°3′8"N 87°26′7"W (40.052188, -87.435178) on the western banks of the Wabash RiverWabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
. 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 town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 2000, there were 502 people, 198 households, and 139 families residing in the town. 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 1,995.4 people per square mile (775.3/km²). There were 208 housing units at an average density of 826.8 per square mile (321.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.40% White, and 0.60% from two or more races.
There were 198 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,929, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $15,455. About 5.1% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.