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Roanoke, Indiana
Location of Roanoke in Huntington County, Indiana.
Location of Roanoke in Huntington County, Indiana.
Country  United States
State  Indiana
County Huntington
Township Jackson
Area
 • Total 1.21 sq mi (3.13 km2)
 • Land 1.20 sq mi (3.12 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation
784 ft (239 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 1,762
 • Density 1,464.67/sq mi (565.56/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
46783
Area code(s) 260
FIPS code 18-65016
GNIS feature ID 2396885

Roanoke is a town in Jackson Township, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,762 at the 2020 census. Roanoke is governed by a town council. Town offices include the clerk treasurer, utilities department, police department, and volunteer fire department. The town has a public elementary school. WOWO and WRNP have transmitter towers in Roanoke, along U.S. Highway 24. For many years, television station WPTA was licensed to Roanoke, though that station's studios and transmitter have always been located in nearby Fort Wayne.

History

Once the hunting and fishing grounds of the Miami Indians, Roanoke became a prosperous commercial center in the mid-19th century. Kiilhsoohkwa (meaning "sun-woman"), the granddaughter of Chief Little Turtle, lived in Roanoke and was known by locals as “the last of the Miami tribe.”

Roanoke had its start in about 1848, soon after the building of the Wabash and Erie Canal through that territory. The completion of the canal through Jackson Township enticed European-American settlers to the area. In the wake of the canal's completion, the town became an important shipping point in the region and a source of supplies for neighboring towns in Allen, Huntington, and Whitley counties. One of the earliest settlers in the area was Jarred Darrow who arrived in 1837. Between 1840 and 1847 the area's population swelled and included a large number of persons belonging to the United Brethren Church, the Methodist Church, and the Lutheran Church. Roanoke was incorporated as a town in 1874. The town was named after Roanoke, Virginia.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Roanoke has a total area of 1.206 square miles (3.12 km2), of which 1.2 square miles (3.11 km2) (or 99.5%) is land and 0.006 square miles (0.02 km2) (or 0.5%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1860 270
1870 627 132.2%
1880 597 −4.8%
1890 532 −10.9%
1900 536 0.8%
1910 699 30.4%
1920 760 8.7%
1930 849 11.7%
1940 808 −4.8%
1950 905 12.0%
1960 935 3.3%
1970 858 −8.2%
1980 891 3.8%
1990 1,018 14.3%
2000 1,495 46.9%
2010 1,722 15.2%
2020 1,762 2.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,722 people, 680 households, and 487 families living in the town. The population density was 1,435.0 inhabitants per square mile (554.1/km2). There were 756 housing units at an average density of 630.0 per square mile (243.2/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.1% White, 0.2% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 680 households, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.4% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age in the town was 36.8 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

Education

Roanoke is home to the Roanoke Elementary School, a primary school which covers kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Huntington County School Corporation The town also has a lending library, the Roanoke Public Library.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Roanoke (Indiana) para niños

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