South Whitley, Indiana

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Town of South Whitley, Indiana




image_

settlement_type = Town

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imagesize =
image_caption = South Whitley, State Street and water tower

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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Located in the state of Indiana


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = Indiana
subdivision_name2 = Whitley
subdivision_type3 = Township
subdivision_name3 = Cleveland
established_title =
established_date =
government_type =
leader_title = Town
leader_name =
area_footnotes =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 1.9
area_land_km2 = 1.9
area_water_km2 = 0.0
population_as_of = 2000
population_note =
population_total = 1782
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
area_total_sq_mi = 0.7
area_land_sq_mi = 0.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
elevation_m = 244
elevation_ft = 801
latd = 41 |latm = 5 |lats = 9 |latNS = N
longd = 85 |longm = 37 |longs = 38 |longEW = W
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 46787
area_code = 260
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 18-71612GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0443869GR|3
footnotes =
website =

South Whitley is a town in Cleveland Township, Whitley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,782 at the 2000 census. South Whitley is a town in the Midwestern tradition of red brick buildings and tree-lined streets.

Geography

South Whitley is located at coor dms|41|5|9|N|85|37|38|W|city (41.085697, -85.627222)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,782 people, 742 households, and 482 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,423.2 people per square mile (929.8/km²). There were 791 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6/sq mi (412.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.16% White, 0.22% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.

There were 742 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,114, and the median income for a family was $42,438. Males had a median income of $34,653 versus $21,221 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,766. About 7.0% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town is served by Whitko Community School Corporation and contains South Whitley Elementary and Whitko High School.

Notable natives and former residents

*Janie Fricke, country music artist, was born in South Whitley in 1947.
*Will Cuppy (1884-1949), humorist and journalist, spent summers when he was a boy at the farm of his grandmother, Sarah Collins Cuppy, near South Whitley. Sarah Collins Cuppy on the other hand, with her husband, ran a station on the underground railroad. The house still exits today on St. Rd. 5 through the main strip of South Whitley. The house is still standing and as beautiful as ever. Many secret passages and hidden rooms exist within the walls of the old house. The doors of the home are not open to the public and the home is privately owned. Undiscovered passages and hidden rooms are thought to be still in existence.

Note of Interest

*Trivial Pursuit, the game introduced in 1982, had a question concerning this small town and its annual festival, in particular the bed races. Gripco, a nut and bolt factory that employed many of the townspeople, sponsored most of the events in the Fall Festival, culminating in the bed races in which four people push a bed on wheels down the main street of town with one person riding on the bed. The game cited South Whitley as the bed race capitol of the United States.
*The Whitko High School basketball team of 1990-1991 advanced to the final four of the state tournament, losing in the semifinal game. [http://www.ihsaa.org/b-basketball_frame.htm IHSAA State Finals Scores] This feat was accomplished when the state tournament was open to all schools, before class basketball was instated, leading some to make comparisons to the Milan High team of 1954, on which the movie Hoosiers is loosely based, because of Whitko's small size relative to the usual finals schools.
*The Whitko high School football team of 1986 advanced to the class 2A state finals, where they defeated Tell City 28 to 0 to win the state championship. The victory is, as of the 2008-2009 athletic season, Whitko's only state championship.

References

External links