Evansville, Indiana
Evansville | ||
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Downtown Evansville skyline from Dreier Boulevard | ||
ZIP codes 40 total ZIP codes:
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U.S. Highways | ||
Major State Roads | ||
Waterways | Ohio River, Pigeon Creek | |
Airports | Evansville Regional Airport | |
Website | City of Evansville |
Evansville is a city in and the
Situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, the city is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City". Early French explorers named it La Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The area has been inhabited by various indigenous cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years. Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of the Mississippian culture from AD 1000 to around AD 1400. The European-American city was founded in 1812.
Evansville anchors a regional economic hub based primarily on trade, transportation, and utilities; professional and business services; education and health services; government; leisure and hospitality; and manufacturing.) are also headquartered in Evansville.
Evansville is home to
History
Establishment and early history
There has been a continuous human presence in the area that became Evansville from at least 8,000 BC by Paleo-Indians. Archaeologists have identified several archaic and ancient sites in and near Evansville, with the most complex at Angel Mounds. This was built and occupied from about AD 900 to about AD 1600, just before the arrival of Europeans to North America.[7]
Following the abandonment of Angel Mounds between the years 1400 and 1450, tribes of the historic Miami, Shawnee, Piankeshaw, Wyandot, Delaware and other Native American peoples were known to be in the area. French hunters and trappers were among the first Europeans to come to the area, using Vincennes as a base of operations for fur trading. As a testament to the Ohio River's grandeur, early French explorers named it La Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The land encompassing Evansville was formally relinquished by the Delaware in 1805 to General William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indiana Territory.
The city of Evansville, Indiana was founded in 1812 and incorporated in 1817. It is situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, and is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City".
On March 27, 1812, Hugh McGary Jr. purchased about 441 acres and named it "McGary's Landing". In 1814, to attract more people, McGary renamed his village "Evansville" in honor of Colonel Robert Morgan Evans. Evansville incorporated in 1817 and was designated as the county seat on January 7, 1818. The county was named for Henry Vanderburgh, a deceased chief judge of the Indiana Territorial Supreme Court.[8][9]
Evansville became a thriving commercial town with a river trade, and the town began to expand outside of its original footprint. Evansville's west side was for many years cut off from the city's main part by Pigeon Creek and the factories that developed along it, making the creek an industrial corridor. The land comprising the former town of Lamasco was platted in 1837 and was annexed in 1870.
18th and 19th centuries
Evansville's economy received a boost in the early 1830s when Indiana unveiled plans to build the
The era of Evansville's greatest growth occurred in the second half of the 19th century, following the disruptions of the Civil War. The city was a major stop for steamboats along the Ohio River, and it was the home port for a number of companies engaged in trade via the river.[11] Coal mining, manufacturing, and hardwood lumber was a major source of economic activity. By 1900, Evansville was one of the world's largest hardwood furniture centers, with 41 factories employing approximately 2,000 workers. Railroads eventually became more important and in 1887 the L&N Railroad constructed a bridge across the Ohio River.[12] Along with a major rail yard southwest of Evansville in Howell, which was annexed in 1916 and completed the city's counterclockwise march around the horseshoe bend.
Throughout this period, Evansville's main ethnic groups consisted of Protestant Scotch-Irish from the South, Catholic Irish coming for canal or railroad work, New England businessmen, Germans fleeing Europe after the 1848 revolutions, and
20th and 21st centuries
The Graham brothers, Ray, Robert, and Joseph, got their start with a successful glass factory in Evansville. After they sold it in 1907, the glass factory became Libbey-Owens-Ford. In 1916, seeing the need for a dependable truck, the Graham brothers entered the truck chassis business. Evansville was home to Graham Brothers Trucks from then until 1929. The dependability of Graham trucks was due in part to their use of Torbensen internal gear drive rear axles.
In 1921, after the death of both Dodge brothers, Graham Brothers started selling 1.5 ton pickups through Dodge dealers. (Dodge did not manufacture trucks at the time). These vehicles had Graham chassis and some Dodge parts. Dodge Brothers bought a controlling interest in Graham Brothers in 1925, picking up the rest in 1926.[15]
The city saw exponential growth in the early twentieth century with the production of lumber and the manufacturing of furniture. By 1920, Evansville had more than two dozen furniture companies. In the decades of the 1920s and 1930s, city leaders attempted to improve Evansville's transportation position and successfully lobbied to be on the Chicago-to-Miami "Dixie Bee Highway" (U.S. Highway 41). A bridge was built across the Ohio River in 1932 and in that same decade steps were taken to develop an airport.
But the Ohio River flood of 1937 covered 500 city blocks in Evansville, resulting in a major crisis.[16] With steamboats less necessary to the local economy, city and federal officials responded to the flood and its destruction by constructing more and higher levees: construction that penned and hid the Ohio River behind a barrier of earthen berms and concrete walls.[17]
During
After the war, Evansville's manufacturing base of automobiles, household appliances, and farm equipment benefited from growing post-war demand. A growing housing demand also caused residential development to leap north and east of the city. However, between 1955 and 1963, a nationwide recession hit Evansville. Among other closures, Servel (which produced refrigerators) went out of business and Chrysler ended its local operations. The economy was saved from near total collapse by 28 businesses that moved into the area, including Whirlpool, Alcoa, and General Electric.
During the final third of the 20th century, Evansville became the hub of the tri-state region's commercial, medical, and service industries. A 1990s economic spurt was fueled by the growth of the
On December 6, 2022, in recognition of the city's massive production efforts during World War II, it was announced that Evansville had been designated Indiana's American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service.
Geography
The
According to the 2010 census, Evansville has an area of 44.622 square miles (115.57 km2), of which 44.15 square miles (114.35 km2) (or 98.94%) is land and 0.472 square miles (1.22 km2) (or 1.06%) is water.[20]
Topography
The city's southern boundary lies on an oxbow in the Ohio River. Most of the city lies in a shallow valley surrounded by low rolling hills. The city's west side is built on these rolling hills and is home to
Cityscape
For more details on this topic, see List of tallest buildings in Evansville
Evansville's original downtown plat was made on about 200 acres, with streets running parallel to the river from northwest to southeast. Other streets nearby were later laid out on the cardinal points, due north–south, and east–west. Thus, anyone entering or leaving downtown finds the street makes a confusing oblique-angle turn in one direction or another.[21] In the 1970s, the city suffered from problems such as decreased economic activity and suburban flight, but city-sponsored revitalization has improved downtown conditions.
The business district and riverfront feature land-based casino gambling, restaurants, bars, and shops that attract tens of thousands of visitors each year. Although much of the outer city's architecture is typical suburban design,
Neighborhoods
Evansville has thirteen neighborhoods that have qualified as historic districts and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Climate
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Evansville lies within the northern limits of the
Climate data for Evansville Regional Airport, Indiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1897−present)[a] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 76 (24) |
79 (26) |
87 (31) |
91 (33) |
98 (37) |
107 (42) |
111 (44) |
105 (41) |
104 (40) |
96 (36) |
86 (30) |
77 (25) |
111 (44) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 63.4 (17.4) |
69.2 (20.7) |
76.5 (24.7) |
83.1 (28.4) |
89.3 (31.8) |
94.4 (34.7) |
96.0 (35.6) |
95.6 (35.3) |
93.0 (33.9) |
85.8 (29.9) |
74.4 (23.6) |
65.6 (18.7) |
97.6 (36.4) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 41.7 (5.4) |
46.7 (8.2) |
56.8 (13.8) |
68.4 (20.2) |
77.3 (25.2) |
85.7 (29.8) |
88.6 (31.4) |
87.9 (31.1) |
81.9 (27.7) |
70.1 (21.2) |
56.2 (13.4) |
45.6 (7.6) |
67.2 (19.6) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 33.6 (0.9) |
37.6 (3.1) |
46.6 (8.1) |
57.2 (14.0) |
66.9 (19.4) |
75.5 (24.2) |
78.7 (25.9) |
77.3 (25.2) |
70.3 (21.3) |
58.6 (14.8) |
46.3 (7.9) |
37.5 (3.1) |
57.2 (14.0) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.5 (−3.6) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
36.4 (2.4) |
46.1 (7.8) |
56.6 (13.7) |
65.3 (18.5) |
68.8 (20.4) |
66.7 (19.3) |
58.6 (14.8) |
47.1 (8.4) |
36.5 (2.5) |
29.5 (−1.4) |
47.1 (8.4) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 5.0 (−15.0) |
10.4 (−12.0) |
18.6 (−7.4) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
40.9 (4.9) |
51.7 (10.9) |
58.8 (14.9) |
56.6 (13.7) |
43.8 (6.6) |
30.9 (−0.6) |
21.2 (−6.0) |
10.9 (−11.7) |
1.7 (−16.8) |
Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) |
−23 (−31) |
−9 (−23) |
23 (−5) |
28 (−2) |
41 (5) |
47 (8) |
43 (6) |
31 (−1) |
21 (−6) |
−3 (−19) |
−15 (−26) |
−23 (−31) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.35 (85) |
3.22 (82) |
4.60 (117) |
5.14 (131) |
5.12 (130) |
4.44 (113) |
4.38 (111) |
3.07 (78) |
3.31 (84) |
3.39 (86) |
4.11 (104) |
3.78 (96) |
47.91 (1,217) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 3.4 (8.6) |
3.1 (7.9) |
1.1 (2.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.2 (0.51) |
2.8 (7.1) |
10.8 (27) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.4 | 9.7 | 11.2 | 11.7 | 12.6 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 10.4 | 118.0 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 8.3 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
71.6 | 71.0 | 68.4 | 64.7 | 67.7 | 67.5 | 70.9 | 72.8 | 73.4 | 69.4 | 71.2 | 74.2 | 70.2 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 143.9 | 149.1 | 201.9 | 232.5 | 283.2 | 317.8 | 321.5 | 304.5 | 250.4 | 223.1 | 145.2 | 128.3 | 2,701.4 |
Percent possible sunshine | 47 | 49 | 54 | 59 | 64 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 67 | 64 | 48 | 43 | 61 |
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)[25][28][29] |
Pollution
In August 2018, the mayor of Evansville sent a letter to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORVWSO) opposing a proposal to eliminate pollution control standards for the Ohio River. Evansville is located downstream from the river's origin. Sources of pollution that affect water quality include
Six very large
A large portion of the downtown and north side areas were declared contaminated by lead and arsenic because of factory dumping dating back to the Civil War. Contractors have been working for more than 20 years to dig up the lawns of residents to make them safe for children to play. About 18 inches of contaminated dirt is dug up from each yard then dumped in a nearby landfill. The work has many more years to go.[34][35]
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1820 | 993 | — | |
1830 | 1,120 | 12.8% | |
1840 | 3,317 | 196.2% | |
1850 | 3,235 | −2.5% | |
1860 | 11,484 | 255.0% | |
1870 | 21,830 | 90.1% | |
1880 | 29,280 | 34.1% | |
1890 | 50,756 | 73.3% | |
1900 | 59,007 | 16.3% | |
1910 | 69,647 | 18.0% | |
1920 | 85,264 | 22.4% | |
1930 | 102,249 | 19.9% | |
1940 | 97,962 | −4.2% | |
1950 | 128,636 | 31.3% | |
1960 | 141,543 | 10.0% | |
1970 | 138,764 | −2.0% | |
1980 | 130,496 | −6.0% | |
1990 | 126,272 | −3.2% | |
2000 | 121,582 | −3.7% | |
2010 | 117,429 | −3.4% | |
2020 | 118,414 | 0.8% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[36] 2018 Estimate[37] |
2020 census
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[39] | Pop 2010[40] | Pop 2020[41] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH)
|
104,066 | 94,961 | 87,008 | 85.59% | 80.87% | 74.18% |
Black or African American alone (NH)
|
13,209 | 14,672 | 15,834 | 10.86% | 12.49% | 13.50% |
Alaska Native alone (NH)
|
236 | 269 | 273 | 0.19% | 0.23% | 0.23% |
Asian alone (NH) | 864 | 1,149 | 1,438 | 0.71% | 0.98% | 1.23% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 49 | 72 | 590 | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.50% |
Other race alone (NH) | 227 | 295 | 558 | 0.19% | 0.25% | 0.48% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 1,539 | 2,997 | 6,589 | 1.27% | 2.55% | 5.62% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,392 | 3,014 | 5,008 | 1.14% | 2.57% | 4.27% |
Total | 121,582 | 117,429 | 117,298 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
The U.S. Census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race.
According to the
The racial and ethnic makeup (where Hispanics are excluded from the racial counts and placed in their own category) was 74.18% (87,008)
As of the 2010 census,
There were 50,588 households, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.5% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.
Median household income was $36,330 (2016), with the per capita income being $21,368 (2016). Poverty level was 21.7%.
The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 25.8% were from 45 to 64, and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.
Economy
Evansville is the regional center for a large trade area in Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The largest industry sectors in size in Evansville are healthcare, finance, education, and manufacturing. Other major industries by employment are energy, warehousing and distribution, and retail.
Corporate headquarters in Evansville include
Evansville was the headquarters of natural gas and electric utility Vectren from its 2000 founding to its 2019 merger into CenterPoint Energy.
Evansville has emerged as the
Educational institutions such as Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana also contribute thousands of jobs to the tri-state annually.
Evansville's strategic location on the
Evansville is also a regional energy hub because of regional energy-related facilities such as
The city of Evansville offers a tax structure for companies locating inside the Evansville urban enterprise zone. Established in 1984 as one of five enterprise zones in the state, the 2.1-square-mile (5.4 km2) area offers inventory tax credits and other tax credits to eligible businesses.[49]
Arts and culture
Entertainment venues
Historic Bosse Field, a 7,180-seat baseball stadium in Garvin Park, was built in 1915 and is the third-oldest ballpark still in regular use in the United States. It is surpassed only by Fenway Park (1912) in Boston and Wrigley Field (1914) in Chicago.
The
A wide variety of concerts, plays, conventions, expositions and other special events are held at the 2,500-seat auditorium and convention center at the Old National Events Plaza downtown.[51]
Victory Theatre is a vintage 1,950-seat venue that is home to the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra.[52] Each year, the orchestra presents a seven-concert classics series, four double pops performances, and special event concerts, as well as numerous educational and outreach performances.[53] The theater also hosts local ballet and modern dance companies, theater companies, and touring productions.
The
The Evansville Civic Theatre is southern Indiana's longest-running community theater, dating from the 1920s when the community theater movement swept across the country. From its humble beginnings at the old Central High School auditorium, the theatre has had many homes – Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum, Bosse High School, the Rose Room of the McCurdy Hotel, the Elks Ballroom, and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1974, Evansville Civic Theatre acquired the historic Columbia Movie Theater as its permanent home.[55]
Annual festivals
The
The Germania Männerchor Volksfest is a three-day German heritage festival which takes place every August in the historic Germania Mannerchor building on the city's west side. The festival includes food, drink, dance, and music. Many of the city's residents with German ancestry also wear historic German attire. On the last weekend of August, 4,000 hot rods converge on the Vanderburgh County 4-H fairgrounds north of the city for "Frog Follies."[57]
Museums
Angel Mounds State Park is nationally recognized as one of the best preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the United States.[58] From AD 1100 to 1450, a town near this site was home to people of the middle Mississippian culture. Several thousand people lived in this town protected by a stockade made of wattle and daub. Because Angel Mounds was a chiefdom (the home of the chief), it was the regional center of a large community.
The Children's Museum of Evansville opened its doors to the public in September 2006.[59] The museum is the result of two years of planning and was constructed in the historic Central Library downtown. The Art Deco building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum offers visitors three floors of interactive exhibits and galleries.
The Evansville African American Museum was established to continually develop a resource and cultural center to collect, preserve, and educate the public on the history and traditions of African American families, organizations, and communities. The museum is in the last remaining building of Lincoln Gardens, the second federal housing project created under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in 1938.
The
The Reitz Home Museum is Evansville's only Victorian House Museum. It is noted as one of the country's finest examples of second French empire architecture. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
In October 2005, the
The Evansville Wartime Museum was opened on the weekend of Memorial Day in 2017. The Museum features exhibits commemorating Evansville's role in the Allied war effort during World War II and other conflicts. These exhibits include the Evansville built P-47 Thunderbolt fighter ‘Hoosier Spirit II’, the operational 1943 Sherman tank ‘Rosie’s Revenge’, other military vehicles and wartime displays.[62]
Mesker Park Zoo
The
Libraries
Evansville is home to the
An independent private institution, Willard Library, is also in Evansville. Willard was formed in 1881 to serve the public, regardless of race, a progressive mission in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The library houses local archives and genealogical materials, in addition to its collection of standard publications. The building is constructed in the Gothic Revival style and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Sports
Evansville is home to two NCAA Division I athletic programs. The Evansville Purple Aces basketball team plays at the Ford Center. The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles basketball team plays on campus at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Evansville is home to several professional teams as well. The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team in the Frontier League and have played at Bosse Field since 1995. The Evansville Thunderbolts are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the SPHL and play at the Ford Center. There was also a junior hockey team named the Evansville Jr. Thunderbolts in the NA3HL and played at Swonder Ice Arena from 2015 to 2019. The Evansville Coliseum is home to the WFTDA league, the Demolition City Roller Derby. In 2021, the city saw the formation of two minor league soccer clubs: the Evansville Legends FC and the Midwest Hooligans. The Legends compete in the Ohio Valley Premier League on Old National Bank Field at Goebel Soccer Complex. The Hooligans compete in the United Premier Soccer League and play at Double Cola Soccer Complex near the demolition site of Roberts Stadium.
Club | Sport | Founded | League | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Evansville Otters | Baseball | 1995 | Frontier League | Bosse Field |
Evansville Thunderbolts | Ice hockey | 2016 | SPHL | Ford Center |
Evansville Legends FC | Soccer
|
2021 | OVPL | Old National Bank Field |
Midwest Hooligans | Soccer | 2021 | United Premier Soccer League | Double Cola Soccer Complex |
From 1957 to 1975, and then again in 2002, 2014, 2015, 2019, and from 2021 to 2025 Evansville hosted the
Evansville used to play host to the top tier boat racing circuit of H1 Unlimited when it hosted Thunder on the Ohio along the Ohio River in downtown Evansville, which was hosted continuously from 1979 to 2009. Evansville had also previously hosted Thunder on the Ohio from 1938 to 1940. The two-mile Evansville tri-oval was known as one of the fastest hydroplane courses in the world, as various world records were set on the Evansville course. Hydroplane racing returned to Evansville in 2017, with the introduction of the Evansville Hydrofest, an American Power Boat Association event.[67]
Goebel Soccer Complex is on 70 acres (280,000 m2) of land and features nine Olympic-size irrigated Bermuda grass fields and one Olympic-size AstroPlay turf field. Additionally, Double Cola Soccer Complex provides twin soccer fields and stadium seating for the high school regular season and postseason matches. Swonder Ice Arena is a double-rink facility that opened in the fall of 2002 and features a fitness center, a skate park, and party rooms. High schools in the EVSC district used Lloyd Pool for SIAC swimming and diving meets before its shutdown and demolition plans in 2021.[68] The Deaconess Aquatic Center replaced Lloyd as the local hub for swim and dive in October 2021.[69]
Evansville has hosted Drums on the Ohio, a Drum Corps International Summer tour competition at the Reitz Bowl, since 1978 with a brief hiatus from 2008 to 2013. The event normally takes place in June, and draws over 3,000 spectators. It is the only DCI event within a 100-mile radius.[70]
Parks and recreation
Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve is a National Natural Landmark containing approximately 200 acres (0.8 km2) of virgin bottomland hardwood forest, the largest tract of virgin forest inside any city limits in the United States.[71] The Nature Center features exhibits, events, wildlife observation areas, meeting rooms, library, and gift shop. Adjacent to the Nature Preserve, Wesselman Park features a Par 3 golf course, basketball courts, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, softball fields, and a playground.[72]
Evansville has a municipal park system with 65 parks and 21 special facilities encompassing more than 2,300 acres (9 km2) of land in the city of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. A bicycle and pedestrian trail extend into adjacent counties and links to the American Discovery Trail. This trail system includes the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage, a 6.75 mi (10.86 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail.[73] The city's operates four public golf courses, two disc golf courses, Garvin Park, Lloyd Pool, the Goebel Soccer Complex, Swonder Ice Arena and the C.K. Newsome Community Center.
Anchored by the Four Freedoms Monument and the Bally's Evansville, Dress Plaza along the riverfront offers a brick paved walkway above, and tiered seating below with a view of the Ohio River.
Government
The mayor of Evansville, Stephanie Terry,
Ward | Member | Took Office | Party | Other Titles |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ben Trockman | 2020 | Democratic | |
2 | Missy Mosby | 2008 | Democratic | |
3 | Zachary Heronemus | 2020 | Democratic | |
4 | Alex Burton | 2020 | Democratic | President |
5 | Angela Koehler Lindsey | 2023 | Republican | |
6 | Jim Brinkmeyer | 2016 | Democratic | Vice President |
At-Large | Paul Green | 2024 | Democratic | |
At-Large | Courtney Johnson | 2024 | Democratic | |
At-Large | Mary Allen | 2024 | Democratic |
The county has eight state trial courts of original jurisdiction. One circuit court and seven superior courts. The judge's offices are non-partisan in terms of six years. A judge must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judges are assisted by magistrates that are appointed. circuit court.[75] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana maintains a permanent division in the city.
Vanderburgh County's delegation to the Indiana State House of Representatives comprises four representatives: Matt Hostettler (District 64), Wendy McNamara (District 76), Ryan Hatfield (District 77), and Tim O'Brien (District 78). Evansville and Vanderburgh County are represented by two state senators. The western half of the county is a part of District 49, currently held by Jim Tomes. The townships of Knight and Center are in District 50, which extends to the east, a seat held by Vaneta Becker.
The region is in the 8th District of Indiana[76] and served by U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon.
Evansville is the county seat of Vanderburgh County. Some of the city's governmental functions are shared with Vanderburgh County officials. In recent years various bi-partisan groups have advocated merging the Evansville city and Vanderburgh County governments, as was done in other surrounding cities such as Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville.[77] Evansville and Vanderburgh County already have a number of notable merged government functions. The school system is consolidated countywide in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and the library system is consolidated countywide in the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. Additional countywide authorities are in place for the Evansville Regional Airport and for flood control via the countywide levee authority.
Mayors
Education
Higher education
Evansville is home to several institutions of higher learning. The
.The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside Evansville's city limits. Founded in 1965 as a satellite campus of Indiana State University, the school has an enrollment of 11,021 students (2019) and is among the fastest growing comprehensive state universities in Indiana.[78] USI's athletic teams, the Screaming Eagles, participate in the NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference. The school transitioned to Division I sports in the 2022–2023 school year, having previously been a member of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference.[79]
Evansville's campus of the Ivy Tech Community College System received its charter in 1969 as the Lincolnland Technical Institute. Today it occupies the building of the former Rex Mundi High School on First Avenue.
A branch campus of the Indiana University School of Medicine opened in 1972 on USI's campus; it moved downtown in 2018 into a new interdisciplinary academic health science education and research building (the Stone Family Center for the Health Sciences) in partnerships with UE, USI, and Ivy Tech.
Other campuses in the city include Oakland City University's School of Adult and Extended Learning.
Primary and secondary education
The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation consists of five public high schools, 11 middle schools, and 20 elementary schools. In addition, there are two parochial, two charter, and one private school. Catholic education is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville.
Public schools
- Academy for Innovative Studies
- Benjamin Bosse High School
- Central High School
- Francis Joseph Reitz High School
- North High School
- Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center
- William Henry Harrison High School
Roman Catholic schools
Charter school
Private schools
- Evansville Day School offers grades JPK-12.[81]
- Evansville Christian School offers grades PK-12 [82]
Media
The Evansville Courier & Press, owned by Gannett, serves the Evansville area. The newspaper also publishes the monthly magazines Evansville Business Journal[83] and eWoman Magazine, and it owns the Henderson Gleaner in neighboring Henderson, Kentucky. Evansville Living[84] and Evansville Business,[85] published locally by Tucker Publishing Group, are bi-monthly local magazines showcasing the people, businesses, and communities in the area. Other media publications include Maturity Journal, a free monthly newspaper aimed at senior citizens, and News4U,[86] a free monthly entertainment magazine.
The Evansville area is primarily serviced by radio stations in Indiana and Kentucky. The two main radio groups in Evansville that control the majority of its radio stations are Townsquare Media and Midwest Communications.[87][88] Radio stations providing coverage to Evansville include:[89][90] WSWI/820, WGBF/1280, WBGW/1330, WEOA/1400, WABX/107.5, WDKS/106.1, WJPS/107.1, WGBF-FM/103.1, WIKY-FM/104.1, WJLT/105.3, WKDQ/99.5, WLYD/93.5, WNIN-FM/88.3, WSTO/96.1, WBKR/92.5 WJWA/91.5 and WPSR/90.7.
As of the 2022-23 rankings, Evansville is the 106th-largest
Local Broadcast Television:
Station | Network affiliation | Virtual channel (PSIP) | Digital channel |
---|---|---|---|
WTVW | CW | 7.1 | 22 |
WTVW | Bounce TV | 7.2 | |
WTVW | Ion Mystery | 7.3 | |
WTVW | Ion Television | 7.4 | |
WNIN | PBS
|
9.1 | 9 |
WNIN | Create
|
9.2 | |
WFIE | NBC | 14.1 | 26 |
WFIE | MeTV | 14.2 | |
WFIE | Circle
|
14.3 | |
WFIE | Grit | 14.4 | |
WFIE | Dabl | 14.5 | |
WFIE | True Crime Network | 14.6 | |
WYYW-CD | Telemundo | 15.1 | 15 |
WYYW-CD | The Family Channel
|
15.2 | |
WYYW-CD | Retro TV | 15.3 | |
WTSN-CD | Antenna TV | 20.1 | 20 |
WTSN-CD | The Family Channel
|
20.2 | |
WEHT | ABC | 25.1 | 12 |
WEHT | Laff | 25.2 | |
WEHT | Cozi TV | 25.3 | |
WEHT | Rewind TV | 25.4 | |
WEVV-TV | CBS | 44.1 | 28 |
WEVV-TV | Fox & MyNetworkTV | 44.2 |
Infrastructure
Transportation
Immediate access to many major forms of
Evansville has a growing interstate system.
Public transit includes the
Evansville has historically been a center for
Today, the city is served by four major freight railroads, CSX (with a major yard in the Howell area), Evansville Western Railway, the Indiana Southwestern Railway, and the Norfolk Southern Railway. The Howell Yard in Evansville sorts and makes up trains, and has intermodal facilities to handle 3,000 cargo containers and piggyback trailers per month
Three public and several private port facilities receive year-round service from five major
Utilities
Electricity and natural gas are both provided to Evansville by CenterPoint Energy. Water and sewer services are provided by the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility, which provides water to more than 75,000 customers in Evansville and the surrounding area. The Ohio River provides for most of the city's source of drinking water. Water is drawn from the river and filtered at a 60 million gallon per day treatment plant.[96] There are approximately 1,000 miles of water mains in the system and includes approximately 6,000 fire hydrants.
Police
From 1818 to 1847, law enforcement was administered by the Warrick County sheriff, and from 1847 to 1863, the city marshal shared policing duties with the police department. In 1863, the Evansville Police Department was founded.[97]
Notable people
In popular culture
Film and television
Game scenes in the 1992 film
All exterior shots on the 1988-2018
The Daily Show has featured Evansville in two episodes. The first featured a story about comedian Carrot Top's reopening of the historic Victory Theatre. The second poked fun at former mayor Russell Lloyd Jr. for skipping out on a city meeting to attend Cher's Farewell Tour concert being performed on the same night at Roberts Stadium.
Evansville was also featured in
Evansville and neighboring Newburgh was the featured location for the feature film Back in the Day filmed in 2014.[100]
Evansville is mentioned several times in the
In 2021, an episode of HBO's "We're Here" was filmed in Evansville.[101]
Literary media
Evansville is featured in a section of Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita, as well as Walker Percy's 1962 novel The Moviegoer, and Robert Silverberg's 1969 science fiction novel To Live Again.
Evansville is the primary location in the historical fiction novel, Invitation to Valhalla by Mike Whicker, published in 2004. The novel is based on the records of German spy Erika Lehmann's attempt to infiltrate the LST shipyards during WWII.
An Evansville couple is the focus of "Hungarian Rhapsody: An Adoption Story" by James Derk, based on a series of stories in the Evansville Courier & Press.[102]
Evansville, under the name Vansul, appears as a slapstick satire in the
Evansville is the hometown of the protagonist, Jack Crabb, in Thomas Berger's 1964 book Little Big Man. This is not mentioned in the 1970 cinematic adaption, Little Big Man.
Sister cities
Evansville has three
- Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany
- Tizimín, Yucatán, Mexico
- Tochigi City, Japan
Notes
References
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Indiana Radio Stations - Indiana Radio Station List". Usnpl.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
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Further reading
- Lawrence M. Lipin, Producers, Proletarians, and Politicians: Workers and Party Politics in Evansville and New Albany, Indiana, 1850-87. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994.