Sharpsville, Indiana

Sharpsville is a town in

The town was named after founder E.M. Sharp, who originally was from

The Sharpsville post office has been in operation since 1851.[7]

Many of the first buildings were churches. The First

As the need for local education arose in 1852, Martha Ann Grishaw would become teacher of the first school in Sharpsville. School was held in a wooden cabin.[10] The second school was taught by Lizzie Smith in a small house on the south-side of the town square. The earliest schools were subscription schools where citizens paid a fee to have their children educated.^[11] Later a Secondary school was founded as Sharpsville-Prairie High School. In 1970 the High School, along with Windfall High School, merged to form Tri-Central Middle/High School.

Sharpsville was home to participants in the American Civil War . On August 9, 1861, a company assembled in Sharpsville that would join the 26th Indiana Infantry Regiment as Company C.^[10][12] In all, 78 listed on the Company C Roster listed Sharpsville as their town of residence.^[13] The 26th Infantry participated in military actions including the Battle of Prairie Grove and the Siege of Vicksburg.

In 1871 a four-story grain elevator was built to give local farmers a way to store grain. The silos had a capacity of 18,500 bushels. While the silos still stand, the elevator was razed in 1990 due to aging of equipment.^[14] The granary was serviced by the Nickel Plate Road, a railroad that later become part of Norfolk Southern Railway. The now abandoned tracks once connected Sharpsville to Kokomo and Tipton. A train station that once stood on the southeast corner of Meridian Street and North Street was razed in 1967.^[15] In the early 20th century, Sharpsville was serviced by an interurban rail line operated by Union Traction Company. The line connected Sharpsville with Peru, Indiana, to the north and Indianapolis to the south. As with most interurbans, the Sharpsville stop fell out of use by the mid 1920s.^[16]

The Sharpsville Cemetery, founded in 1875, is located southeast of the town.

According to the 2010 census, Sharpsville has a total area of 0.24 square miles (0.62 km²), all land.^[17] Sharpsville is bound on the south by Broad Creek a stream that connects Mud Creek going East and Barr Ditch going West.

July is typically the warmest month in Sharpsville, when highs average 84 °F (29 °C) and lows average 62 °F (17 °C). January is coldest, when the high temperatures average 30 °F (-1 °C) and the lows average 15 °F (-9 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 110 °F (43 °C) in 1936, and the lowest was -26 °F (−32 °C) in 1925.^[18] The record snowfall for Sharpsville is 16.4" on February 14, 2007, during the February 2007 North American blizzard.^[19]

As of 1914, Sharpsville had a population of approximately 700.^[21]

As of the

There were 227 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.05.

The median age in the town was 38.2 years. 28% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.2% were from 25 to 44; 30% were from 45 to 64; and 9.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

As of the

There were 232 households, out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,292, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $46,389 versus $30,417 for females. The

Historically, agriculture was the primary industry in Sharpsville.

In the early 20th century, the Sharpsville Canning Company was the largest employer, followed by a flour mill and a lumber yard.[21]

Sharpsville was home to G.W. Invader Corporation, a boat manufacturer, owned and operated from the early 1960s through 1980s by Arne Gray and George Wooldridge.^[24]

The first hotel to open in Sharpsville was in 1853. By the 1860s there were three hotels in town.^[6]

Sharpsville is provided natural gas by Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO), a division of NiSource. Electric energy is provided by Duke Energy. Water and Sewage is supplied by the Sharpsville Water Utilities Department.^[25]

Sharpsville has two hospitals within a 10-mile radius, Community Howard Regional Health and Indiana University Health Tipton Hospital.

Students in Sharpsville attend Tri-Central Community Schools.

Law enforcement in the town is provided by the Sharpsville Marshal’s Office and the Tipton County Sheriff's Office. Fire and Emergency Medical Services are provided by the Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department and the Sharpsville Ambulance Service.^[26]

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Sources

• Pershing, Marvin W. "History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions". Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen (1914).

External links

• Official website