Elkhart

Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is located 15 miles (24 km) east of South Bend, 110 miles (180 km) north of Chicago, Illinois, and 150 miles (240 km)north of Indianapolis. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. Despite the shared name and being the most populous city in the county, it is not the county seat of ElkhART County; that position is held by the city of Goshen, located about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Elkart. In 1851, the first rail line through town was built by the Southern Indiana Railroad Company. Today, Norfolk Southern has the biggest railroad presence in town, although it has two other railroads, as well as a hydroelectric dam across the St. Joseph River. The city is also home to the Capitol Limited and Capitol Lake Shore Limited, both of which stop at the city's train station. In the late 19th and early 20th century, musical instrument factories, Miles Medical Company, and numerous mills set up shop and became the base of the economy. In 1934 the first recreational vehicle factory opened in the city, and the economy continued to grow until the rationing of materials in World War II. By 1949, Elkhar was officially dubbed the "RV Capital of the World." In 1852, the Michigan and Michigan Railroad Company built the first passenger train through town. In 1870, Elkar Hydraulic Company built a hydro electric dam across. the St Joseph River, powered by the first hydroelectric plant.

History

Elkhart County was founded exclusively by immigrants from New England. In 1867, Elkhart Hydraulic Company built the first hydroelectric dam across the St. Joseph River. In 1889, the world's second electric streetcar system began operating on the city's streets. In 1934, the first recreational vehicle factory opened in the city. By 1949, the city was officially dubbed the "RV Capital of the World" The city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Young Women's Christian Association and Young Christian Women's Association are listed in the U.S. National Park Service's National Park System. The city's name is disputed as being German or Germanic, e.g. "Elkart" or "Ekhart" The name of the city is also disputed as a Germanic name, "Ekkart," which means "castle" in German and "Eckart" in English. The town was named after the half-French, half-Native American Potawatomi Chief Pierre Moran, who was half French, half Native American, and was a rival settler of Dr. Havilah Beardsley in 1821. The first post office was established in Pulaski, Indiana, in 1839, and the town was first plotted with 48 lots on April 30, 1832. In the late 1880s and early 1890s Irish and German migrants began moving into ElkhART County, but rather from other areas in the Midwest where they had already been living, particularly Ohio.

Geography

Elkhart is located at 41°4059N 85°588W (41.683149, -85.968798) The city sits on the St. Joseph and Elkhart Rivers. The city has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers. According to the 2010 census, it has a total area of 24.417 square miles (63.24 km²), of which 23.45 sq miles (60.74 km²) (or 96.04%) is land and 0.967sq miles (2.50 km²) (or 3.96%) is water. The town has a population of 2,816. It is located on the U.S. Army base at Fort Sill, in the state of South Dakota. It has an elevation of 41.683 metres (85.588 feet) (1,738.7 meters) The town is home to the U University of North Dakota, which has a campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The U.N. campus is located in the town's downtown area. It also has a base of the National Park Service, which is located just north of the city. It was the site of the first American settlement in the 17th century, and was later the location of the U of N's first post office. The area is known for its large number of small lakes, many of which can be seen from the city's main street.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 50,949 people, 19,261 households, and 11,942 families residing in the city. The city's population was spread out, with 28.4% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.16. The median income for a household in the City was $34,863. The per capita income for the city is $17,890. The U.S. Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. The 2020 census will be the first time the city has been included in the US Census since it was added in the 1950s. It will also be the city's first time since the city had been added to the census in the 1940s. The population is expected to rise to 50,000 by the end of the 2020 census. It is expected that the city will have a population of 50,500 by the mid-20th century. It has a population density of 2,172.7 inhabitants per square mile (838.9/km²).

Economy

Elkhart is home to many Recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturers, boat manufacturers, and van conversion companies. The city is also home to the Robert Young Rail Yards, which are the second-largest freight classification yards in the world. The unemployment rate reached 18.8% in April 2009 and due to Elkhart's economic troubles, the city and some of its unemployed residents were featured on the February 8, 2009, edition of ABC News. The Unemployment rate rebounded over the next decade and has remained below the national average since 2013. Many residents prefer to shop and dine in neighboring Mishawaka due to that city's larger selection of stores and restaurants. In 1884, Dr. Franklin Miles launched the Miles Medical Co. in ElkhART, which in later decades produced products such as Alka-Seltzer and Flintstones Vitamins. In 1979, the Miles medical Co. was purchased by the German company Bayer, and was consolidated into the larger Pittsburgh-based Bayer, Inc. by 1995. By 2006, Bayer had pulled all manufacturing out of Elkharts. Most of the facilities were torn down while just a few buildings remained, mostly unused. Elkharted is home of NIBCO Inc. (Northern Indiana Brass Company), which has been a fifth-generation family business for over 100 years. NIBCo Inc. manufactures and markets flow control products. In 1999, Bayer Consumer Care moved out of elkhart. In 2003, the company was absorbed into the Conn-Selmer conglomerate.

Arts and culture

The Elkhart Jazz Festival is a three-day event that takes place in late June. Woodlawn Nature Center is a small natural history museum and activity center that includes 10 acres of woods. The city is served by the ElkhART Public Library, which operates four branches. The library has over 6,000 works of art in its collection and offers 8-10 temporary showings per year. The RV/MH Hall of Fame & Museum was once located in the city but has now been moved to a new facility along the toll road. The Ruthmere Museum was the mansion once occupied by Albert R. and Elizabeth Baldwin Beardsley, the descendants of the city's founder. This museum features a world-class fine arts collection and a historical recreation of the home as it was in the 1910s and 20s. It is unclear whether the show is on hiatus or gone for good after being canceled in 2007 due to financial issues. It was once known as the RV Capital of the World, but now it is just known as "Elkhart County" The city was founded in 1848 by the daughter of the founder of the town, Havilah Beardley, and was named after the town's first postmaster. The town is located on the New York Central Railroad, which is now owned by Norfolk Southern. It has a population of about 3,000 people, and is home to the Midwest Museum of American Art, which has more than 8,000 pieces of art.

Sports

The Elkhart Miracle was a proposed independent minor league baseball team that was scheduled to begin to play in the Northern League in 2015. The stadium was to be located on the city's southwest side on State Road 19. As of December 2017, the stadium had not yet been built, and the team was not formed, due to construction delays. The franchise began operation in 2006 and won the International Title in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In January 2010, head coach and founder Daimon Beathea announced that the Express would return for the 2010 season, but those plans never came to fruition. The Express were a semi-professional men's basketball team in the International Basketball League. Their home games were played at North Side Gymnasium, located inside ElkhART's North Side Middle School. The Elkharts Express officially released news that they were folding under bankruptcy on January 5, 2009. In January 2011, the Express announced that they would be returning to the NBA for the 2011 season, though the team did not play in that year's season. The team was sold to a private company in August 2011, and has since been inactive. It was not known whether or not the franchise would ever return to the basketball league. The club was sold by the company to a third party in January 2012, and it has not been confirmed if the team will ever play again. It is believed that the franchise will be sold to another company in the near future, but it is not known if this will be the case.

Parks and recreation

The city has 35 different facilities including parks, pavilions, a waterpark, a public pool, a softball complex, two skateparks, greenways, and the downtown riverwalk. The NIBCO Water and Ice Park in downtown Elkhart was dedicated in 2007. Rainbow Park is notable because it is both a park and a residential front yard. Wellfield Botanic Gardens on North Main Street is a 36-acre "living museum" offering over 20 individually themed gardens and public events throughout the year. A spray park was built at McNaughton Park in 2007 and is a popular recreation destination for the house owners and their houseguests. The city also has a skate park, which is open to the public in the winter and a splash pad in the summer. It is also possible to skate on the city's riverwalk, which now features an ice-skating/roller-blading path (depending on the time of year) The city has a public library, which offers free Wi-Fi in the evenings and weekends. It also has an ice skating rink, with an ice rink in winter and an ice skate path in summer. The ElkhART Riverwalk is also available in winter for ice skating and rollerblading. It was built in the 1990s and has a path that can be used for both ice skating/rollerblading and for walking on the riverwalk at different times of the year, depending on the weather. There is also an ice hockey rink, which can also be used in winter or summer, and a spray park.

Government

The mayor of Elkhart is Rod Roberson, a Democrat, and the first African American to be elected mayor. The government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. The city council consists of nine memberssix are elected from individual districts, while three are elected at large.

Education

The Elkhart Community Schools serve most of the city and the populated northwest side of the county. Four private religious schools serve the city. Ivy Tech Community College is a statewide system of community colleges, as well as the second largest institution of higher education in the state of Indiana. Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary has been at its south-side location since 1958. The Montessori School of Elkharts runs from pre-K through Grade 6. The city is home to Indiana University South Bend, which is the third largest of the Indiana University campuses. It is also home to the Indiana Institute of Technology, which has a small operation on Middlebury Street on the city's east side. It also has a location off County Road 17, a fast-growing commercial and industrial corridor. There are no public high schools in the city, but there are several alternative schools and a career center. There is no public library in the town, but it does have a branch of the University of Indiana at South Bend's South Bend campus. The town has a number of libraries, including one that is open to the public in the evenings and one that opens in the morning. It has a large number of churches, many of which are non-denominational, and many of them are located on the east and west sides of the town. The only public high school is a private one, which was founded in the early 1900s. It was named after the town's first post-secondary school.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana = 42.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Elkhart = 3.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 53,923 individuals with a median age of 32.8 age the population grows by 0.54% in Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,960.27 residents per square mile of area (756.86/km²). There are average 2.56 people per household in the 20,189 households with an average household income of $37,312 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 17.40% of the available work force and has dropped -8.51% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 5.58%. The number of physicians in Elkhart per 100,000 population = 127.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Elkhart = 35.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 36.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 127. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 177. 84 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 17 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 49, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana which are owned by the occupant = 48.55%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 45 years with median home cost = $93,750 and home appreciation of -3.65%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $9.30 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,254 per student. There are 17.3 students for each teacher in the school, 564 students for each Librarian and 616 students for each Counselor. 4.00% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 9.23% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.08% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).