Marengo, Indiana

Marengo, Indiana
—  Town  —
Location of Marengo in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 38°22′14″N 86°20′36″W / 38.37056°N 86.34333°W / 38.37056; -86.34333Coordinates: 38°22′14″N 86°20′36″W / 38.37056°N 86.34333°W / 38.37056; -86.34333
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Crawford
Township	Liberty
Area
– Total	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
– Land	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	597 ft (182 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	828
– Density	1,083.5/sq mi (418.3/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	47140
Area code(s)	812
FIPS code	18-46746[1]
GNIS feature ID	0451197[2]

Marengo is a town in Liberty Township, Crawford County, Indiana, United States. The population was 828 at the 2010 census. One of the tourist attractions and sources of revenue for the town is Marengo Cave, a U.S. National Landmark. Originally discovered in 1883 by two school children, it today offers guided tours.

Marengo was devastated by an F3 tornado in 2004, resulting in damage to nearly 75 percent of the town and the death of one resident.^[3]

Geography

Marengo is located at 38°22′14″N 86°20′36″W / 38.37056°N 86.34333°W / 38.37056; -86.34333 (38.370579, -86.343425)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 829 people, 363 households, and 218 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,083.5 people per square mile (415.7/km²). There were 403 housing units at an average density of 526.7 per square mile (202.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.31% White, 0.24% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.

There were 363 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,542, and the median income for a family was $32,019. Males had a median income of $27,109 versus $19,211 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,194. About 13.6% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.9% of those under age 18 and 26.1% of those age 65 or over.

Interesting facts

Formations seen during a tour of Marengo Cave.

• The movie Madison (2001), starring Jim Caviezel and Jake Lloyd, shot a scene in downtown Marengo.^[5]
• The movie Fire from Below (2008), starring Kevin Sorbo, filmed at Marengo Cave.^[5]
• The Marengo Warehouse and Distribution Center, an underground facility, has space leased by the United States Department of Defense as well as the Center for Disease Control, whose contract specified that the contents of their space did not have to be revealed to the warehouse management.

Points of interest

• Marengo Cave
• The Marengo Cottage
• Patoka Lake
• West Baden Springs Hotel

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Small Indiana town rallies to surmount a tornado's wrath, by Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2008-06-28.
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Courier Press. Retrieved on 2008-06-09