Anderson, Indiana

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson University. Highlights of the city include the historic Paramount Theatre and the Gruenewald House.

History

Prior to the organization of Madison County, William Conner entered the land upon which Anderson is located. Conner later sold the ground to John and Sarah Berry, who donated of their land to Madison County on the condition that the county seat be moved from Pendleton to Anderson. John Berry laid out the first plat of Anderson on November 7, 1827. In 1828 the seat of justice was moved from Pendleton to Anderson.
The city is named for Chief William "Adam" Anderson, whose mother was Lenape and whose father was of Swedish descent. Chief Anderson's name in Lenape was Kikthawenund, meaning "creaking boughs". The Lenape village was known as "Anderson's Town", though the Moravian missionaries called it "The Heathen Town Four Miles Away". Anderson was also known as "Andersonton" before being formally organized as Anderson.
Introduction of internal improvements by the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act caused a growth in the population in 1837. In December 1838, Anderson was incorporated as a town with 350 inhabitants. The Central Canal, a branch of the Wabash and Erie Canal, was planned to come through Anderson. Work continued on the canal during 1838 and the beginning of 1839, but the work was soon suspended by the state following effects of the Panic of 1837. The town again became a sleepy village until 1849, when it was incorporated a second time as a town. Many new commercial ventures located around the courthouse square.
This incorporation was short-lived, and Anderson once again went back to village status in 1852. However, with the completion of the Indianapolis Bellefontaine Railroad, as well as their station in 1852, Anderson burst to life. The third incorporation of Anderson as a town occurred on June 9, 1853. The population continued to increase. On August 28, 1865, with a population of nearly 1,300 people, Anderson was incorporated as a city.
Between 1853 and the late 19th century, twenty industries of various sizes located there. On March 31, 1887, natural gas was discovered in Anderson. As the Indiana gas boom began, this discovery led new businesses that could use natural gas, such as glass-making, to move to the city. Anderson grew to such proportions that a Cincinnati newspaper editor labeled the city "The Pittsburgh on White River". Other appellations were "Queen City of the Gas Belt" and "Puncture Proof City".
In 1897 the Interurban Railroad was born in Anderson. Charles Henry, a large stock holder, coined the term "Interurban" in 1893. It continued to operate until 1941. The Commercial Club was the forerunner of the present chamber of commerce.
The year 1912 spelled disaster for Anderson: the natural gas ran out. The city had left its gas-powered lights on day and night, and there are stories of a pocket of natural gas being lit in the river and burning for a prolonged period for the spectacle of it. The result of the loss of natural gas was that several factories moved out. The whole city slowed down.
This club persuaded the Remy brothers to stay in Anderson and others to locate there. For decades, Delco Remy and Guide Lamp, which during World War II built the M3 submachine gun and the FP-45 Liberator pistol for the Allies, were the top two employers in the city. From 1913 through the 1950s, the Ward-Stilson Company was one of the country's largest producers of uniforms, regalia, furniture and props for the Freemasons, the Odd Fellows, and dozens of other U.S. fraternal organizations.
The Church of God of Anderson located its world headquarters in Anderson in 1905. Anderson Bible School was opened in 1917, and this was separated from Gospel Trumpet in 1925. At the same time, it became known as Anderson Bible School and Seminary. In 1925, the name was changed to Anderson College and eventually to Anderson University in 1988.
Over the years, 17 different types of automobiles were manufactured in Anderson, with the Lambert family among the city's leaders in its development and the Buckeye Gasoline Buggy the Lambert product. Many other inventions were perfected in Anderson, including the gas regulator, the stamp vending machine, clothes presser, "Irish Mail" handcars, flower car for funeral homes, Sisson choke, and the vulcanizing process to retread tires.
Anderson hosted a National Basketball Association franchise for the 1949–50 season, being one of the smaller cities to have had a major league franchise in a Big Four American sport. The Anderson Packers were a founding member of the NBA, but folded after one season.
Like most other industrial cities in Indiana and the Rust Belt as a whole, Anderson suffered tremendously from deindustrialization in the 1970s and 1980s. For example, nearly 22,000 people were employed by General Motors in the 1970s in Anderson; by 2006 this number had declined to fewer than 2,600. Anderson has since struggled with higher rates of poverty and unemployment.

Geography

Anderson is located in south-central Madison County at. The city of Anderson occupies all of Anderson Township except for the much smaller communities of Country Club Heights, Edgewood, River Forest, and Woodlawn Heights, as well as small parts of five other townships: Lafayette, Richland, Union, Adams, and Fall Creek.
Indiana State Road 32 crosses the city center, leading east-northeast to Muncie and west-southwest the same distance to Noblesville. State Road 9 crosses the east side of the city, leading north to Alexandria and southwest to Pendleton. Interstate 69 crosses the southeast corner of the city, with access from Exit 226. I-69 leads southwest to Indianapolis and northeast to Fort Wayne.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Anderson has a total area of, of which are land and, or 0.27%, are water. The White River flows east to west through the northern part of the city.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were people, households, and families living in the city. The population density was. There were housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 78.8% White, 15.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 2.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population.
Of the extant households 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.8% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% 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 2.91.
The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were people, households, and families living in the city. The population density was. There were housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 81.99% White, 14.88% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.
There were 25,274 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% 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 2.87.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there

Government

The city government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor is elected in citywide vote. The city council consists of nine members. Six are elected from individual districts. Three members are elected at large.

Economy

When General Motors closed its operations in Anderson, the city was dealt a major economic blow, as GM was the biggest employer in Anderson. Nevertheless, in 2007, Anderson was ranked 98th in the Forbes List for 100 Best Places for Businesses among Smaller U.S. Metro areas. However, a more recent appraisal of Anderson from the Indiana Business Review was mixed, noting that "long-term trends are negative", citing "a long-term downward trend in area employment" and "acceleration in the number of food stamp recipients". More recent unemployment has been reduced, but improvements still lag behind the rest of the state.
For 2013, estimated household median income was $33,574. Per capita money income was $18,216. 25.8% of the city's population was estimated at living below poverty level, vs. a statewide estimation of 15.4%. Madison County, of which Anderson is the seat, has nearly three times as many food stamps recipients per capita as does Indiana as a whole.
As of February 2019, the ten largest employers in Madison County were:

Rank	Employer	# of employees
1	Community Hospital Anderson	1,980
2	St. Vincent Health	1,410
3	Nestlé	790
4	Hoosier Park	785
5	Carter Express	680
6	Anderson University	530
7	Continuum	500
8	Kroger/Pay Less Super Markets	440
9	Greenville Technology Inc.	395
10	Walmart	365