Richmond

History

In 1806 the first European Americans in the area, Quaker families from the state of North Carolina, settled along the East Fork of the Whitewater River. This was part of a general westward migration in the early decades after the American Revolution. John Smith and Jeremiah Cox were two of the earliest settlers, and the area that was to become Richmond was originally divided into the towns of Smithville and Coxborough (also known as Jericho). Richmond is still home to several Quaker institutions, including Friends United Meeting, Richmond Friends School, Earlham College and the Earlham School of Religion.

In 1818, Smithville amalgamated with Coxborough and incorporated as the town of Richmond. The name is believed to refer to the area's "rich soil" (from the Old French riche (rich/wealthy) and mont (hill)). The first post office in Richmond was established in 1818 with Robert Morrison as the first postmaster. The town was officially incorporated as a city in 1840, with John Sailor elected the first mayor.

Early cinema and television pioneer Charles Francis Jenkins grew up on a farm north of Richmond, where he began inventing useful gadgets. As the Richmond Telegram reported, on June 6, 1894, Jenkins gathered his family, friends and newsmen at his cousin's jewelry store in downtown Richmond and projected a filmed motion picture for the first time in front of an audience. The motion picture was of a vaudeville entertainer performing a butterfly dance, which Jenkins had filmed himself. Jenkins filed for a patent for the Phantoscope projector in November 1894 and it was issued in March 1895. A modified version of the Phantoscope was later sold to Thomas Edison, who named it Edison's Vitascope and began projecting motion pictures in New York City vaudeville theaters, raising the curtain on American cinema.

Joseph E. Maddy is credited with founding the country's first complete high school orchestra at Richmond, and later founded the National High School Orchestra Camp, which became the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.

Hoagy Carmichael recorded "Stardust" for the first time in Richmond at the Gennett recording studio. Famed trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong was first recorded at Gennett as a member of King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band. Many other internationally famous musicians recorded at Gennett's Richmond facility, including Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, and Fats Waller. Gennett also recorded Klan musicians.

Downtown explosion

On April 6, 1968, an explosion triggered by a natural gas leak destroyed or damaged several downtown blocks and killed 41 people; more than 150 were injured. The event is documented in the book Death in a Sunny Street: The Civil Defense Story of the Richmond, Indiana Disaster, April 6, 1968, compiled by Esther Kellner.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Richmond has a total area of 24.067 square miles (62.33 km2), of which 23.91 square miles (61.93 km2) (or 99.35%) is land and 0.157 square miles (0.41 km2) (or 0.65%) is water.

Richmond is located about 12 miles S of Hoosier Hill, the highest point in Indiana.

Cityscape

Richmond is noted for its rich stock of historic architecture. In 2003, a book entitled Richmond Indiana: Its Physical Development and Aesthetic Heritage to 1920 by Cornell University architectural historians, Michael and Mary Raddant Tomlan, was published by the Indiana Historical Society. Particularly notable buildings are the 1902 Pennsylvania Railroad Station designed by Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago and the 1893 Wayne County Court House designed by James W. McLaughlin of Cincinnati. Local architects of note include John A. Hasecoster, William S. Kaufman and Stephen O. Yates.

The significance of the architecture has been recognized. Five large districts, such as the Depot District, and several individual buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Richmond had a population of 35,720. The median age was 39.4 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.0 males age 18 and over.

99.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 15,167 households in Richmond, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.6% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 17,429 housing units, of which 13.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.9%.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 36,812 people, 15,098 households, and 8,909 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,539.0 inhabitants per square mile (594.2/km2). There were 17,649 housing units at an average density of 737.8 per square mile (284.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.9% White, 8.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population.

There were 15,098 households, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.

The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% 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 census of 2000, there were 39,124 people, 16,287 households, and 9,918 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,685.3 inhabitants per square mile (650.7/km2). There were 17,647 housing units at an average density of 760.2 per square mile (293.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.78% White, 8.87% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.09% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.03% of the population.

There were 16,287 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,210, and the median income for a family was $38,346. Males had a median income of $30,849 versus $21,164 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,096. About 12.1% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Hayes Arboretum

Cope Environmental Center

Wayne County Historical Museum

Richmond Art Museum

Indiana Football Hall of Fame

Gaar Mansion (house museum)

Joseph Moore Museum at Earlham College

Glen Miller Park and Madonna of the Trail statue

Richmond Downtown Historic District

Old Richmond Historic District

Starr Historic District

Richmond Railroad Station Historic District

Reeveston Place Historic District

East Main Street-Glen Miller Park Historic District

Don McBride Stadium baseball ballpark built in 1936

Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church (Louis Comfort Tiffany-designed interior and windows, Hook and Hastings organ)

Bethel AME Church (oldest AME church in Indiana: founded 1868)

Old National Road Welcome Center (convention and tourism bureau)

Whitewater Gorge Park and Gennett Walk of Fame

Cardinal Greenway hiking trail

Education

Richmond is home to four colleges: Earlham College, Indiana University East, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute – Richmond. It is also home to two seminaries, the Quaker Earlham School of Religion and Church of the Brethren Bethany Theological Seminary.

Richmond High School includes the Richmond Art Museum and Civic Hall Performing Arts Center. Seton Catholic High School, a junior and senior high school, is a religious high school. It is based in the former home of St. Andrew High School (1899–1936) and, more recently, St. Andrew Elementary School, adjacent to St. Andrew Church of the Richmond Catholic Community.

The town has a lending library, the Morrisson Reeves Library.

Religious groups

Richmond is the headquarters of Friends United Meeting, and hosts the Quaker Hill Conference Center, of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Media

The daily newspaper is the Gannett-owned Palladium-Item.

Full-power radio stations include WKBV, WFMG, WQLK, WKRT, and Earlham College's student-run public radio station WECI. Richmond is also served by WJYW which is repeated on 94.5 and 97.7. Area NPR radio stations include WBSH in Hagerstown, Indiana, and WMUB in Oxford, Ohio.

Richmond is considered to be within the Dayton, Ohio, television market and has one full-power television station, WKOI, which is an Ion owned and operated station. The city also has one county-wide public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable television station, Whitewater Community Television. Richmond's Xfinity system supplements the area with Indianapolis stations.

Transportation

Richmond Municipal Airport is a public-use airport five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) southeast of Richmond's central business district. It is owned by the Richmond Board of Aviation Commissioners. It is also an exclave of Richmond. Richmond's closest airport with commercial service is Dayton International Airport.

Richmond is served by Interstate 70 at exits 149, 151, 153, and 156.

Established in 1902, Richmond's Pennsylvania Railroad station was a hub for Pennsylvania Railroad, and later, Penn Central trains into the late 1960s. The last train at the station was Amtrak's National Limited between Kansas City and New York City, which ended service in 1979. Richmond was also home to a Chesapeake and Ohio Railway station.

Public transit service is provided by city-owned Roseview Transit, operating daily except Sundays and major holidays.

Sister cities

Serpukhov, Russia

Unnan, Shimane Prefecture, Japan