Elwood, Indiana

Elwood is a city in Madison and Tipton counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. It was incorporated as a city in 1891.

A post office was established under the name "Duck Creek" in 1855, was renamed to Elwood in 1869, and has been operating since. The first railroad was constructed in Elwood in 1857.

On August 17, 1940, the Republican National Committee held a formal notification ceremony to recognize Elwood-born Wendell Willkie as its nominee for President of the United States to run against Franklin Roosevelt. Held at Callaway Park on the outskirts of town, the ceremony drew 150,000 people for what would become the largest political rally in American history at the time. People came in 60,000 automobiles, 63 special trains, 300 Pullmans, and 1,200 buses. The Indiana University band led a parade in which 249 other bands also marched in the procession. When Willkie stepped onto the platform, the crowd cheered him for ten minutes before he could begin his speech. However, oppressive heat and Willkie's underwhelming, flat speech left many disappointed by the end of the day.

Sundown town

By the 1880s, Elwood had become a sundown town, prohibiting Black people from residing within the town. In 1897, when a number of Black families attempted to settle in the town and were driven out, The Evening Times in Washington, D.C., reported that for more than two decades Black people had not been "permitted to remain any length of time." This prohibition remained in place for most of the 20th century. Other Black people were discouraged from attempting to attend the rally at all due to the sundown signs posted at the city limits. These signs and policies remained in place for decades afterwards.

By the late twentieth century sundown policies were less strictly enforced, although as recently as 2002 law enforcement in nearby Marion considered Elwood to still be unwelcoming of Black people.

Indiana State Road 28 passes through the city as Main Street, leading east to Alexandria and west to Tipton. State Road 13 (Anderson Street) crosses SR 28 in the center of Elwood; it leads north to Point Isabel and south to Lapel. State Road 37 crosses the southeast corner of the city limits, leading northeast to Marion and southwest to Noblesville. Anderson, the Madison county seat, is southeast of Elwood by local roads.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Elwood has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Elwood had a population of 8,410. The median age was 41.1 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,529 households in Elwood, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.5% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The Elwood Downtown Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Education

It is in the Elwood Community School Corporation.

Notable people

David Canary, actor
Jared Carter, poet
Joseph Clancy, 24th director of the U.S. Secret Service
James J. Davis, U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. senator from Pennsylvania
Ryan Keene (aka "Fry Guy"), computer hacker
Don Mellett, newspaper editor
John Mengelt, professional athlete, NBA
Philip Sharp, congressman from Indiana
Ray Still, contemporary classical oboist
Wallace D. Wattles, writer
Edward Willkie, Olympic wrestler
Wendell Willkie, 1940 Republican presidential candidate

References

External links

Glass Festival Information Center