Fremont is a town in Fremont Township, Steuben County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

A post office was established under the name Brockville in 1837, and was renamed to Fremont in 1848. The post office is currently in operation.

The town of Fremont was officially incorporated in 1867.

In 1914, the first hospital in Steuben County was opened in Fremont by Dr. Wade.

Geography

Fremont is located four miles east of the interchange between Interstate 69 and the Indiana Toll Road (Interstate 80/90) on State Road 120.

According to the 2010 census, Fremont has a total area of , of which (or 99.55%) is land and (or 0.45%) is water.

As an oddity, someone traveling due east from Fremont crosses into Michigan—not into Ohio. This is due to the early 19th century Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute over Toledo (q.v. Toledo War for details).

Demographics

thumb|The [[Erastus Farnham House, just south of Fremont, on State Road 827. Built c. 1849, it is reported to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.]]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Fremont had a population of 2,034. The median age was 37.2 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 839 households in Fremont, of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.1% were married-couple households, 17.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 2,138 people, 815 households, and 561 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 878 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.6% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.

There were 815 households, of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.2% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.08.

The median age in the town was 33.1 years. 29.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.8% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census

  • City Park hosts a farmers' market on Saturday mornings during the summer months.
  • Pokagon State Park sponsors a deer hunt in the autumn of most years to help control the population.
  • Vistula Park is home to Fremont's little league baseball and softball diamonds. It also has basketball hoops, a pavilion and over a mile of paved walking trails in its woods.

Education

thumb|The Fremont Public Library

thumb|One of several sculptures created by local artists and installed at the Fremont Public Library.

Fremont Community Schools oversees three schools in its district: Fremont High School, Fremont Middle School and Fremont Elementary School. Enrollment in each building ranges between 350 and 400 students annually. Several extracurricular athletic programs are available at the middle and high school levels, including football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cross country, track and golf. FHS also fields teams for tennis, baseball and softball.

According to the State of Indiana Department of Education, Fremont Community Schools has been awarded an "A" grade designation for their Exemplary Student Performance for the 2011-2012 School Year.

The town has a lending library, the Fremont Public Library. The library offers a variety of programming for its patrons, including book clubs, classic movie nights, weekly yoga sessions, story time with snacks and crafts, and a new book coffee hour for sharing and discussing the library's newest acquisitions. It also has a local history room.

Manufacturing

Fremont is home to several manufacturing facilities, including Carver Non-woven Technologies LLC, Cold Heading, Swager Communications, New Horizons Baking Company, Health Equipment Mfg., Inc. and Dexter Axle. Among others is Cardinal IG, which came to Fremont in March 1998. Cardinal IG, manufacturers of glass products, have been recognized as a green company, recycling virtually all of the plastic, paper and cardboard used in manufacturing processes.

<!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|300px|left|Historical Marker for the Town of Fremont, Indiana. Fremont was originally settled as Willow Prairie in 1834 and platted as Brockville in 1837. It officially changed its name to Fremont in 1848, named after [[John C. Frémont. This marker was dedicated on the United States Bicentennial, July 4, 1976.]] -->

Downtown Revitalization

In December 2010, Fremont was awarded $500,000 (~$ in ) from the State of Indiana for its downtown revitalization project. According to the Town of Fremont website, the plan included improvements for pedestrian traffic, new street lighting and signage options, and reverse angle parking along Toledo Street for two blocks between Tolford and Pleasant Streets. Construction began in September 2011 and was finished roughly 90 days later.

References

  • Dodge, Dick "The Dodge Report", June 13, 2006, accessed August 18, 2008.
  • Indiana Department of Natural Resources, "Underground Railroad Sites: Fremont ", accessed August 24, 2009.
  • McClew, Maurice (1956) "The Underground Railroad in Steuben County", Harvey Morley, editor, The 1955 History, Complete County Atlas, pictorial and Biographical Album of Steuben County, Indiana, Angola, Indiana, pp.&nbsp;352–354.
  • Sauer, Lee "Freedom Trail: The Underground Railroad ran through northeast Indiana, KPC News.net, accessed August 18, 2008.
  • Taylor, Robert M.; Stevens, Errol Wayne; Ponder, Mary Ann (1990) Indiana: A New Historical Guide, Indiana Historical Society, .
  • Town of Fremont, Indiana website
  • Fremont Chamber of Commerce
  • Fremont Community Schools website
  • Fremont Public Library
  • Pokagon State Park