Fairmount, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Fairmount is a town in Fairmount Township
, Grant County
in the east central part of the U.S. state
of Indiana
. The population was 2,992 at the 2000 census. It is ninety kilometers (fifty-five miles) northeast of Indianapolis
. Largely a bedroom community to its three thousand citizens, Fairmount is best known as the boyhood home of actor James Dean
, who is buried there.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all of it land.
was 2,033.0 people per square mile (785.9/km²). There were 1,325 housing units at an average density of 900.3 per square mile (348.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.30% White
, 0.17% Black
or African American
, 0.70% Native American
, 0.20% Asian
, 0.07% from other races
, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino
of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 1,226 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,843, and the median income for a family was $44,033. Males had a median income of $31,136 versus $23,041 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $18,029. About 7.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
from North Carolina
. The town was laid out in 1850 and named for Fairmount Park
in Philadelphia
; it was formally incorporated in 1870.
After a large deposit of natural gas was found in 1887, Fairmount became part of the Indiana Gas Boom
and a center of the glass industry
for the rest of the 19th century. Shortly after the depletion of the gas
in 1900 the automobile industry
set up factories in the nearby large cities, and Fairmount became a bedroom community, restoring some of its lost prosperity.
In the 1940s, James Dean
lived with an uncle on a farm north of Fairmount. He attended Fairmount High School, graduating in 1949. After his death in 1955 James Dean
was brought back to Fairmount and buried in Park Cemetery. In 1996 a small memorial park north of the town's business district was dedicated to him.
During the prosperity of the 1960s, Fairmount enjoyed a time of building with a new town hall, water works, post office and elementary school. At the end of the decade the local school district merged with a neighboring one, forming the Madison
-Grant
united school district. A new high school was built for this district, and Fairmount High School became a middle school
. When a new junior high school
was opened in 1986, the Fairmount High School building was closed for good.
Fairmount was hit very hard by the recession
of 1980–1982, which brought the permanent loss of factory jobs and the failure of many farms. Yet the town managed to spring back later in the decade. Fairmount is still relatively prosperous despite the ill fortunes of nearby industrial cities and a steady loss of population.
British singer Morrissey
shot the video for his single "Suedehead
" in Fairmount, tracing the steps of James Dean. Included in the video are the high school and farm Dean lived on and Park Cemetery, in which he is buried.
Fairmount Township, Grant County, Indiana
Fairmount Township is one of thirteen townships in Grant County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,239.-Geography:Fairmount Township covers an area of ; of this, or 0.18 percent is water. The streams of Back Creek, Winslow Ditch, Barren Creek, Fowlerton Drain, New Prairie...
, Grant County
Grant County, Indiana
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 70,061. The county seat is Marion. Important paleontological discoveries dating from the Pliocene epoch have been made at Pipe Creek Sinkhole in Grant County.-Geography:According to the 2010...
in the east central part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The population was 2,992 at the 2000 census. It is ninety kilometers (fifty-five miles) northeast of Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. Largely a bedroom community to its three thousand citizens, Fairmount is best known as the boyhood home of actor James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, who is buried there.
Geography
Fairmount is located at 40°25′4"N 85°38′56"W (40.417702, −85.648942).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,992 people, 1,226 households, and 859 families residing in the town. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,033.0 people per square mile (785.9/km²). There were 1,325 housing units at an average density of 900.3 per square mile (348.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.30% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.17% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.70% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.20% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.07% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 1,226 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,843, and the median income for a family was $44,033. Males had a median income of $31,136 versus $23,041 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $18,029. About 7.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
History
The Fairmount area was settled in the 1830s mostly by QuakersReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The town was laid out in 1850 and named for Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
; it was formally incorporated in 1870.
After a large deposit of natural gas was found in 1887, Fairmount became part of the Indiana Gas Boom
Indiana Gas Boom
The Indiana Gas Boom was a period of active drilling and production of natural gas in the Trenton Gas Field, in the US state of Indiana and the adjacent northwest part of Ohio The boom began in the early 1880s and lasted into the early twentieth century....
and a center of the glass industry
Glass production
Glass production involves two main methods - the float glass process, which produces sheet glass, and glassblowing which produces bottles and other containers.-Glass container factories:...
for the rest of the 19th century. Shortly after the depletion of the gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
in 1900 the automobile industry
Automaker
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
set up factories in the nearby large cities, and Fairmount became a bedroom community, restoring some of its lost prosperity.
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
lived with an uncle on a farm north of Fairmount. He attended Fairmount High School, graduating in 1949. After his death in 1955 James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
was brought back to Fairmount and buried in Park Cemetery. In 1996 a small memorial park north of the town's business district was dedicated to him.
During the prosperity of the 1960s, Fairmount enjoyed a time of building with a new town hall, water works, post office and elementary school. At the end of the decade the local school district merged with a neighboring one, forming the Madison
Madison County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 133,358 people, 53,052 households, and 36,234 families residing in the county. The population density was 295 people per square mile . There were 56,939 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile...
-Grant
Grant County, Indiana
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 70,061. The county seat is Marion. Important paleontological discoveries dating from the Pliocene epoch have been made at Pipe Creek Sinkhole in Grant County.-Geography:According to the 2010...
united school district. A new high school was built for this district, and Fairmount High School became a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
. When a new junior high school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
was opened in 1986, the Fairmount High School building was closed for good.
Fairmount was hit very hard by the recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
of 1980–1982, which brought the permanent loss of factory jobs and the failure of many farms. Yet the town managed to spring back later in the decade. Fairmount is still relatively prosperous despite the ill fortunes of nearby industrial cities and a steady loss of population.
British singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
shot the video for his single "Suedehead
Suedehead
"Suedehead" was the debut solo single from Morrissey, released in February 1988.The single charted higher than any of the singles released by his former band The Smiths, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart. It charted at #30 in The Netherlands and at #8 in New Zealand...
" in Fairmount, tracing the steps of James Dean. Included in the video are the high school and farm Dean lived on and Park Cemetery, in which he is buried.
Notable residents
- James DeanJames DeanJames Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, famed actor, was raised in Fairmount. Dean graduated from Fairmount High School, and is buried in Park Cemetery in Fairmount. - Jim DavisJim Davis (cartoonist)James Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
, famed cartoonistCartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
of the comic stripComic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
GarfieldGarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
, was raised in Fairmount. Davis graduated from Fairmount High School in 1963. - Phil Jones is known throughout the U.S. for his work as a television journalist; Jones has been seen most recently on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's 48 Hours48 Hours (TV series)48 Hours is a documentary and news program broadcast on the CBS television network since January 19, 1988. The program originally presented documentaries of various events related to a particular subject occurring within a 48-hour period, and is credited as one of the first to air a "reality show"...
. Jones graduated from Fairmount High School in 1955. - Robert Sheets is the former director of the National Hurricane CenterNational Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...
in Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
. Sheets is a 1955 graduate of Fairmount High School and attended Ball State UniversityBall State UniversityBall State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
in nearby MuncieMuncie, IndianaMuncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
. - Mary Jane Ward authored several books including The Snake PitThe Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
, a Book of the Month Club selection which became a major motion picture starring Olivia de HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
. Ward was born in Fairmount in 1905.