Linton, Indiana

City of Linton, Indiana
City
Location in the state of Indiana
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Greene
Township	Stockton
Government
• Mayor	Tom L. Jones (D)
Area
• Total	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
• Land	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	531 ft (162 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	5,774
• Density	1,951/sq mi (753.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	47441
Area code	812
FIPS code	18-44190Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0437969Template:GR

Linton is a small town in Stockton Township, Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,774 at the 2000 census. A coal mining town, it is located southeast of Terre Haute, Indiana. The current mayor is Tom Jones.

Linton is part of the Bloomington, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Linton was essentially founded around the entrepreneuring of John W. Wines, who first sold goods in the Linton area, briefly in 1831. Although he would later relocate to Fairplay, Indiana, he returned and opened a general store in Linton in 1837. He would later build a small horse mill as well as a tannery, and started a recurring fur trade with the French in Vincennes, Indiana. The town itself was officially chartered and named in June 1850, laid out by Hannah E. Osborn and Isaac V. Coddington. In the late 1800's small underground coal mines began to appear near and almost inside the town and population growth expanded rapidly. At the turn of the 20th century the population was larger than it is today. At one point in the 1920's there were at least 35 drinking establishments and an equal number of churches.

In the '20's small surface mines began to predominate and their small, unreclaimed hills and strip-pit lakes still surround the town. The lakes have provided a regular if limited amount of fishing tourism for decades. Signs of the underground mines remain as well, including tipples on private land and sinkholes that appear regularly on private property, roads and even within the city limits. By the 1940's the underground mines were gone and the small surface mines had moved on or been gobbled up by large corporations such as Peabody Mining. These mines were the primary employers well into the 1980's.

In 1952 General Electric built a factory on the southeast side of the town. This factory employed several hundred until the mid 80's, when General Electric phased out most of their small motors production in the US. The building remains empty due to EPA regulations.

Today the City of Linton is counting on what is known as the Goose Pond Project to generate tourism income in place of the defunct factories and limited mining. Goose Pond is a wetlands reclamation project south of the city, which has had some success at restoring marginal farmland to its natural condition. The goal is to encourage hunting, fishing and naturalist excursions.

"You'll Like Linton".

Geography

Linton is located at 39°2′11″N 87°9′56″W (39.036271, -87.165537)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 5,774 people, 2,450 households, and 1,526 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,949.7 people per square mile (753.2/km²). There were 2,792 housing units at an average density of 942.8/sq mi (364.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.30% White, 0.09% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.

There were 2,450 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,477, and the median income for a family was $36,138. Males had a median income of $32,213 versus $17,304 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,554. About 8.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

At the start of this millennium, and throughout most of the twentieth century, Linton has been home to virtually no African-American homeowners. Greene County itself has attracted few African-American families, a reality that may have had much to do with a history of exclusionary practices.

Art and Entertainment

Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center of Greene County (CHAC) Mission Statement "To preserve, nurture and display our community's heritage as well as promote appreciation, education and the participation in the visual, literary and musical arts of Greene County." The group is responsible for preserving and maintaining the historic 1908 "Margaret Cooper Public Library" Carnegie Library building, which also houses the town's Phil Harris and Alice Faye memorabilia collection. In 1904, bandleader/actor Phil Harris was born in Linton.

Linton Music Festival The tagline for the Linton Music Festival is "Mayberry meets Woodstock." In 2008, over 10,000 people attended. The festival prides itself in being a free, non-exclusive event that offers entertainment for all ages.

The festival operates as a non-profit entity that strives to promote the musical arts thanks to grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and Bloomington Arts Council.

Freedom Festival Linton has been celebrating independence day since 1905. Events include the largest independence day parade in Indiana--bringing over 40,000 people to this small town, a week-long visit from a traveling carnival, local music and entertainment, and fireworks on the fourth of July.

External links

• Template:Mapit-US-cityscale
• Linton Chamber of Commerce
• Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center of Greene County
• Linton Music Festival
• Social Network for Linton
• Linton Public Library
• Linton-Stockton School Corporation
• Greene County Daily World Newspaper
• Local landmarks
• Greene County Economic Development Corporation
• The Lintonian