Griffith is a town in North and St. John townships in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 16,420 in 2020. The town's population is currently declining at a rate of 0.69% annually. Griffith has the 11th largest population and 17th largest area by size of incorporated municipalities in Lake County, Indiana.
History
The Griffith State Bank, E.J. and E. Griffith Interlocking Tower and Griffith Grand Trunk Depot are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2018, citizens of Griffith voted by a margin of 98% to 2% to leave Calumet Township, in part because of the high property taxes they pay to the township, which also includes Gary, relative to the services received. The town is now part of North Township.
Geography
Griffith is above sea level. The town's boundaries encompass part of the ancient Calumet shorelines of Lake Michigan. Griffith has a total area of , all land.
Griffith borders the town of Highland to the west, the city of Hammond to the northwest, the city of Gary to the northeast, the town of Schererville to the south, and unincorporated Calumet Township to the east. The small old downtown area of Griffith is located at the intersection of Broad and Main Streets.
Education
Griffith Public Schools, which covers most of the city, operates four local public schools (one high school, one middle school, and two elementary schools).
- Griffith Senior High School (9–12)
- Griffith Middle School (6–8)
- Beiriger Elementary School (3–5)
- Wadsworth Elementary School (K–2)
St. Mary Catholic Elementary & Junior High School is located in Griffith.
Residents who live in the southeastern section of Griffith within the St. John Township are serviced by schools that belong to the Lake Central School Corporation.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|13,738
|11,459
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|9,805
|79.25%
|67.83%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|59.32%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,734
|2,775
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|2,784
|10.00%
|16.43%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|16.84%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|42
|38
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|18
|0.24%
|0.22%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|0.11%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|136
|121
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|135
|0.78%
|0.72%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|0.82%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|5
|4
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|1
|0.03%
|0.02%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|0.01%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|17
|16
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|59
|0.10%
|0.09%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|0.36%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|201
|232
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|662
|1.16%
|1.37%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|4.01%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|1,461
|2,248
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|3,064
|8.43%
|13.31%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|18.54%
|-
|Total
|17,334
|16,893
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|16,528
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style="background: #ffffe6;"|100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Griffith had a population of 16,528. The median age was 37.9 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,846 households in Griffith, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 21.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. there were 16,893 people, 6,668 households, and 4,559 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 7,070 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 75.8% White, 16.9% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 3.9% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.3% of the population.
Of the 6,668 households, 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.06.
The median age in the town was 39 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.8% were from 25 to 44; 27.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, while the closest South Shore Line station is East Chicago station.
Broad Street, the major north–south road through Griffith, used to be designated Indiana State Route 73. It was what has come to be called a "feeder road," connecting US 6 at the north end to US 30 at the southern end, and at the southern end of the downtown area crossed over the six intersecting rail lines' 13 tracks, creating what was known for a time as the busiest railroad crossing in the country. SR 73 was the shortest state route in Indiana, and was the only Indiana state route to exist in only one town. Technically, a part of it straddled the border between St. John township and Schererville, but since the entire right of way did not reside in either, that part which did lie entirely within the borders of any designated area, were only in Griffith, and hence the appellation stuck. As the railroad traffic decreased and truck traffic increased US 30 was moved south to its present divided 4 lane route, and the old road became known as "Old US 30," Joliet Road, and SR 330. Also, US 6 was removed from its route along Ridge Road at the northern terminus of SR 73 to the Borman Expressway. Its importance diminished and its major connections removed, the Indiana legislature felt that a road that lay entirely within a single town (or at least did not have a portion that sat entirely in another town), should not be provided state funding as its primary source of upkeep. As such, SR 73 was decommissioned as an Indiana state route on September 26, 1969.
References
External links
- Town of Griffith, Indiana website