Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. It is the home of Winchester Speedway.
History
Winchester was laid out in 1818 as the county seat of Randolph County, after five early settlers donated land for that purpose; the town was almost certainly named for Winchester, Virginia. The County government was organized in August of that year in the cabin of Benjamin Cox, a Quaker settler from North Carolina. A post office has been in operation at Winchester since 1820.
During the mid-1800s, Randolph County, and thus Winchester, became notable for its role in abolitionism and the Underground Railroad. The county was home to three distinct settlements of free African Americans, and documentary evidence shows that many local homes and churches served as stops on the Underground Railroad..
The Gen. Asahel Stone Mansion, Winchester Courthouse Square Historic District, and Winchester Residential Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2024 tornado outbreak
At 7:58pm on March 14, 2024, a quarter-mile wide EF3 tornado hit Winchester during a severe weather outbreak. Severe damage was dealt to the Goodwill, The Lodge at Summers Pointe, and Strip Mall. The Freedom Life Church and Taco Bell were flattened. Thirty-eight were injured and three were left critically injured; one of the three died weeks later.
As of June 2024, three months after the tornado's touchdown, the remainder of the Strip Mall was demolished as a result of its ultimate destruction from the tornado. It was subsequently rebuilt into a Wendy's restaurant about a year later. Summers Pointe and Taco Bell both underwent repairs and eventually reopened.
A similar situation occurred at 5:53 pm on May 13, 2025, when an EFU landspout tornado touched down unexpectedly near the area but caused no damage.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Winchester has a total area of , of which (or 99.61%) is land and (or 0.39%) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Winchester had a population of 4,843. The median age was 41.2 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.2 males age 18 and over.
98.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,087 households in Winchester, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.4% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Of the 2,051 households 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.5% were non-families. 32.2% of households were one person and 14.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.89.
The median age was 40.2 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 18.9% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 5,037 people, 2,171 households, and 1,350 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,377 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.31% White, 0.24% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41%. Schools, all part of the Randolph public school district, include:
- O.R. Baker Elementary School
- Willard Elementary School
- Driver Middle School
- Winchester Community High School
The town has a lending library, the Winchester Community Public Library.
Notable people
- Thomas McLelland Browne, lawyer, prosecutor, Union Army officer, and politician
- Harold Falls (1909–2006), ophthalmologic geneticist, was born in Winchester
- James P. Goodrich, Governor of Indiana, 1917–1921, born in Winchester
- Randy Jo Hobbs, musician born in Winchester
- I. Marlene King, creator of the ABC Family original series Pretty Little Liars
- Greg Leffler, Indy car driver
- Troy Puckett, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1911, born in Winchester
- James Eli Watson, U. S. Senator
- Robert Wise, film director, born in Winchester