Hanover, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Hanover is a town in Hanover Township
, Jefferson County
, Indiana
, along the Ohio River
. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College
, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School
. The "Point," located on the campus of Hanover College, is the only place along the Ohio River that three bends can be viewed in the river.
, which originally consisted of the later states of Ohio
, Indiana, Michigan
, Illinois
, Wisconsin
, and parts of Minnesota
. At that time, there were few European settlements on the northern bank of the Ohio River. Kentucky
, on the southern banks of the Ohio, originally included as a part of Virginia
, and in 1792 granted statehood
, was more densely settled by Europeans. It is likely that prior to the early nineteenth century European settlement of the Hanover area, its predominant inhabitants were Shawnee
.
Captain George Logan (1780-May 12, 1875) grew up in a farming household in the area of Lexington, Kentucky
. In the late winter of 1801, young Logan loaded a barge with produce and embarked on a journey westward on the Ohio River, ultimately to sell the produce in New Orleans. At the time, he later noted, there were no European settlements in the area between present-day Carrollton, Kentucky
and Louisville
. According to Logan, both banks of the river were covered in thick forest. He also reported seeing Native American hunters and fishermen, a large number of buffalo
and deer, and heard the cries of coyotes.
Faced with heavy winds and harsh weather towards the end of February, Logan was forced to stop his procession. He stopped his barge roughly a half mile west of the present-day area of Hanover Beach
. After waiting for several days, he reportedly grew bored and decided to head ashore. Present-day Hanover is located on a hill overlooking the river valley below. Armed with a rifle, Logan decided to explore and he climbed this hill to the spot today known as Logan's Point. This was the first recorded instance of a European exploring the area of Hanover. Logan was so enamored with the view from atop Logan's Point that he resolved he would some day move there. He carved his initials on a beech tree along with the date, March 1, 1801. It would be another fourteen years before he would return to settle permanently.
(December 25, 1781-November 11, 1854), from Mercer County, Kentucky
, was 27 when, on November 28, 1808, he purchased the land area of modern Hanover from the federal government. The following year, in 1809, Dunn resettled his entire family to the area, and they became the first residents of a town called "Dunn's Settlement," which would later come to be known as Hanover. A steady flow of settlers then followed, most of whom were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians
. These early settlers had largely emigrated from Ireland
to Virginia, then to Kentucky, and finally to the area of Hanover. Among these early settlers in Dunn's Settlement was Christopher Harrison
(1780–1868), who would later serve as Indiana's first lieutenant governor
and would play a key role in the planning of the state capital in Indianapolis
. Harrison built a homestead at Logan's Point, the very spot where George Logan had hoped to build a home years before. When in 1815 Logan returned to attempt to find the spot that he had marked in 1801, the two men met. Logan bought the land and settled there permanently, while Harrison moved to Salem, Indiana
. The next year he would be elected as lieutenant governor.
Although most of the fledgling town's population was Presbyterian, initially the nearest church was located in Charlestown, Indiana
, 25 miles to the west. In 1819, a Presbyterian minister by the name of Thomas C. Searle (January 15, 1787-October 15, 1821) moved to nearby Madison
. While he served religious needs of Presbyterians in a wide area of land in southern Indiana, he quickly realized that a large portion of those he proselytized to was the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Dunn's Settlement. As a matter of fact, according to historian Frank Baker, "by 1820, there were 21,000 Baptists, 20,000 Methodists, but only 2,700 Presbyterians in Kentucky." While this statistic refers to Kentucky and not Indiana, it is nonetheless indicative of a similar situation across the river in Indiana. Therefore, while Dunn's Settlement was small, the concentration of Presbyterians living there was significant when considering the overall small number of Presbyterians in the area. On March 4, 1820, Searle founded the Hanover Presbyterian Church. His wife, a native of Hanover, New Hampshire
, was greatly admired by the church's congregants; therefore, the church adopted the name it did. Before long, the town also adopted the name "Hanover," although officially it could only be named "South Hanover" because a post office was already in existence in Shelby County
for a town of "Hanover." When the other town of Hanover ceased to support a post office, then South Hanover's name was shortened to Hanover.
Following the founding of the church, plans quickly were initiated for the construction of a church edifice. Williamson Dunn donated land and funding for the cause. However, in October 1821, Searle died, and the ministerial post at the Hanover Presbyterian Church remained unfilled until 1823.
(June 16, 1787-January 17, 1860) was born in Greene County, Tennessee and grew up in Tennessee
and Missouri
. He grew up in a Presbyterian household, although he was not terribly religious. However, after meeting some Presbyterian elders who had moved from North Carolina to his area in Missouri, Crowe became interested in pursuing a religious education. He attended Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, and then continued his education at Princeton Theological Seminary
in Princeton, New Jersey
. After completing his Masters of Divinity in 1815, Crowe accepted his first ministerial assignment in Shelbyville, Kentucky
. While there, Crowe became actively involved in the abolitionist movement. He established a Sunday School for African-American children, although he could not find a location in the area that would permit such a school to meet. On May 7, 1822, he began publication of the Abolition Intelligence and Missionary Magazine. Crowe's abolitionist sympathies alienated him from his slave-holding neighbors, and it was not long before he lost access to the printing press.
On April 2, 1823, John M. Dickey, moderator of a church session that also seated Williamson Dunn and George Logan as elders, sent a letter to Crowe inviting him to serve at the Hanover Presbyterian Church. Sickened by the increasingly hostile attitude of his neighbors in Kentucky towards his abolitionist views, Crowe accepted the position, relieved to move to a state where the possession of slaves was illegal. Shortly after his arrival in Hanover, Crowe began construction of a residence, known today as the Crowe-Garritt House. Located just north of the present-day Hanover Presbyterian Church, the Crowe-Garritt House was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1980.
Not long after his arrival at the Hanover Presbyterian Church, Crowe began petitioning church members to sponsor the founding of a seminary. While congregants were reluctant at first to take on the task, ultimately he prevailed, and a religious school opened in Hanover on January 1, 1827. Initially, classes met in the Presbyterian Church's old stone church building, which was located in the present-day area of the Hanover Firehouse. Within a year, however, the school had outgrown this location, and Williamson Dunn then donated land for the construction of a new college edifice. In 1829, the state of Indiana granted a charter for a Hanover Academy, while the Presbyterian Synod of Indiana recognized the theological segment of the school as the Indiana Seminary. While the Hanover Academy grew exponentially over the ensuing years, the seminary stagnated; the two entities split in 1836, and in 1841 the seminary moved to New Albany, Indiana
. Ultimately, faced with money problems and a split amongst students on the issue of slavery, in 1859 the seminary once again moved, this time reopening as McCormick Theological Seminary
in Chicago, Illinois. Meanwhile, the Hanover Academy in 1833 received a charter from the state of Indiana to form a college by the name of Hanover College.
as a whole, Baptists and Methodists largely outnumbered Presbyterians during the early nineteenth century. Therefore, it became inevitable that competing churches would spring up in Hanover. The Hanover United Methodist Church was founded in 1846; the Hanover Baptist Church soon followed. The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was founded in 1974.
The Hanover African Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1885, and is the oldest continuously functioning predominantly African American congregation in Jefferson County. Many of the church's early trustees, including Owen Anderson, Simon Gray, Elijah Anderson, Chapman Harris, John Forcen, Mason Thompson, and Freeman Anderson, had in their earlier lives been prominent conductors of the underground railroad
. The church building itself was constructed from the timbers of the former Graysville Methodist Church, which served the small now-defunct African American community of Graysville, located in nearby Madison Township. Under the trusteeship of Owen Anderson and John Forcen, the congregation changed its name to St. Stephen's African Methodist Episcopal Church towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 2000, the church was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 2,834 people, 1,068 households, and 760 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,349.2 people per square mile (521.1/km²). There were 1,144 housing units at an average density of 544.6 per square mile (210.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.58% White, 2.05% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races
, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population.
There were 1,068 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,944, and the median income for a family was $42,574. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,384 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $16,520. About 5.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
, Woody Boyd
, was born and raised in Hanover. The show made numerous jokes at Hanover's expense, poking fun at its small size and rural setting. The actor who portrayed Boyd was Woody Harrelson
, who attended Hanover College
and was active in the drama department as well as work-study in the college library.
Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana
Hanover Township is one of ten townships in Jefferson County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 5,409.-Geography:Hanover Township covers an area of ; of this, or 1.14 percent is water...
, Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Indiana
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,428. The county seat is Madison.-History:Jefferson County was formed in 1811...
, 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...
, along the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School (Hanover, Indiana)
Southwestern High School is located in Hanover, Indiana. There are approximately 480 students in grades 9 through 12.-History:Southwestern High School was founded in 1960 with the consolidation of Saluda and Hanover high schools...
. The "Point," located on the campus of Hanover College, is the only place along the Ohio River that three bends can be viewed in the river.
Logan's Point
During the late eighteenth century, the area today known as the state of Indiana was a part of the Northwest TerritoryNorthwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
, which originally consisted of the later states of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Indiana, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and parts of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. At that time, there were few European settlements on the northern bank of the Ohio River. Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, on the southern banks of the Ohio, originally included as a part of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and in 1792 granted statehood
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...
, was more densely settled by Europeans. It is likely that prior to the early nineteenth century European settlement of the Hanover area, its predominant inhabitants were Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
.
Captain George Logan (1780-May 12, 1875) grew up in a farming household in the area of Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. In the late winter of 1801, young Logan loaded a barge with produce and embarked on a journey westward on the Ohio River, ultimately to sell the produce in New Orleans. At the time, he later noted, there were no European settlements in the area between present-day Carrollton, Kentucky
Carrollton, Kentucky
Carrollton is a town in Carroll County, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Kentucky River. Its population was 3,846 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County....
and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. According to Logan, both banks of the river were covered in thick forest. He also reported seeing Native American hunters and fishermen, a large number of buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
and deer, and heard the cries of coyotes.
Faced with heavy winds and harsh weather towards the end of February, Logan was forced to stop his procession. He stopped his barge roughly a half mile west of the present-day area of Hanover Beach
Hanover Beach, Indiana
Hanover Beach is an unincorporated town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana.-Geography:Hanover Beach is located at .People come to Hanover Beach to swim, and go boating in the Ohio River....
. After waiting for several days, he reportedly grew bored and decided to head ashore. Present-day Hanover is located on a hill overlooking the river valley below. Armed with a rifle, Logan decided to explore and he climbed this hill to the spot today known as Logan's Point. This was the first recorded instance of a European exploring the area of Hanover. Logan was so enamored with the view from atop Logan's Point that he resolved he would some day move there. He carved his initials on a beech tree along with the date, March 1, 1801. It would be another fourteen years before he would return to settle permanently.
Dunn's Settlement
Judge Williamson DunnWilliamson Dunn
Williamson Dunn was a judge and politician in the early history of Indiana. He served as the third Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives. Dunn is credited with having founded the town of Hanover, Indiana, as well as having contributed funds towards the founding of Hanover...
(December 25, 1781-November 11, 1854), from Mercer County, Kentucky
Mercer County, Kentucky
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 20,817. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county is named for General Hugh Mercer...
, was 27 when, on November 28, 1808, he purchased the land area of modern Hanover from the federal government. The following year, in 1809, Dunn resettled his entire family to the area, and they became the first residents of a town called "Dunn's Settlement," which would later come to be known as Hanover. A steady flow of settlers then followed, most of whom were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
. These early settlers had largely emigrated from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Virginia, then to Kentucky, and finally to the area of Hanover. Among these early settlers in Dunn's Settlement was Christopher Harrison
Christopher Harrison
Christopher Harrison was the first Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, serving with Governor Jonathan Jennings. Harrison was briefly acting governor while Jennings' was conducting negotiation with the native tribes in northern Indiana, and later resigned from office over a dispute with Jennings...
(1780–1868), who would later serve as Indiana's first lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana is a constitutional office in the US State of Indiana. Republican Becky Skillman, whose term expires in January 2013, is the incumbent...
and would play a key role in the planning of the state capital in 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...
. Harrison built a homestead at Logan's Point, the very spot where George Logan had hoped to build a home years before. When in 1815 Logan returned to attempt to find the spot that he had marked in 1801, the two men met. Logan bought the land and settled there permanently, while Harrison moved to Salem, Indiana
Salem, Indiana
Salem is a city in Washington Township, Washington County, Indiana, United States. Salem serves as the county seat, and its downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places...
. The next year he would be elected as lieutenant governor.
Although most of the fledgling town's population was Presbyterian, initially the nearest church was located in Charlestown, Indiana
Charlestown, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,993 people, 2,341 households, and 1,615 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,570.0 people per square mile . There were 2,489 housing units at an average density of 1,067.4 per square mile...
, 25 miles to the west. In 1819, a Presbyterian minister by the name of Thomas C. Searle (January 15, 1787-October 15, 1821) moved to nearby Madison
Madison, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...
. While he served religious needs of Presbyterians in a wide area of land in southern Indiana, he quickly realized that a large portion of those he proselytized to was the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Dunn's Settlement. As a matter of fact, according to historian Frank Baker, "by 1820, there were 21,000 Baptists, 20,000 Methodists, but only 2,700 Presbyterians in Kentucky." While this statistic refers to Kentucky and not Indiana, it is nonetheless indicative of a similar situation across the river in Indiana. Therefore, while Dunn's Settlement was small, the concentration of Presbyterians living there was significant when considering the overall small number of Presbyterians in the area. On March 4, 1820, Searle founded the Hanover Presbyterian Church. His wife, a native of Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, was greatly admired by the church's congregants; therefore, the church adopted the name it did. Before long, the town also adopted the name "Hanover," although officially it could only be named "South Hanover" because a post office was already in existence in Shelby County
Shelby County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,445 people, 16,561 households, and 12,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 105 people per square mile . There were 17,633 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
for a town of "Hanover." When the other town of Hanover ceased to support a post office, then South Hanover's name was shortened to Hanover.
Following the founding of the church, plans quickly were initiated for the construction of a church edifice. Williamson Dunn donated land and funding for the cause. However, in October 1821, Searle died, and the ministerial post at the Hanover Presbyterian Church remained unfilled until 1823.
Founding of Hanover College
John Finley CroweJohn Finley Crowe
John Finley Crowe was a Presbyterian minister and the founder of Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana.-References:...
(June 16, 1787-January 17, 1860) was born in Greene County, Tennessee and grew up in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He grew up in a Presbyterian household, although he was not terribly religious. However, after meeting some Presbyterian elders who had moved from North Carolina to his area in Missouri, Crowe became interested in pursuing a religious education. He attended Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, and then continued his education at Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
. After completing his Masters of Divinity in 1815, Crowe accepted his first ministerial assignment in Shelbyville, Kentucky
Shelbyville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,085 people, 3,822 households, and 2,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.5 people per square mile . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile...
. While there, Crowe became actively involved in the abolitionist movement. He established a Sunday School for African-American children, although he could not find a location in the area that would permit such a school to meet. On May 7, 1822, he began publication of the Abolition Intelligence and Missionary Magazine. Crowe's abolitionist sympathies alienated him from his slave-holding neighbors, and it was not long before he lost access to the printing press.
On April 2, 1823, John M. Dickey, moderator of a church session that also seated Williamson Dunn and George Logan as elders, sent a letter to Crowe inviting him to serve at the Hanover Presbyterian Church. Sickened by the increasingly hostile attitude of his neighbors in Kentucky towards his abolitionist views, Crowe accepted the position, relieved to move to a state where the possession of slaves was illegal. Shortly after his arrival in Hanover, Crowe began construction of a residence, known today as the Crowe-Garritt House. Located just north of the present-day Hanover Presbyterian Church, the Crowe-Garritt House was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1980.
Not long after his arrival at the Hanover Presbyterian Church, Crowe began petitioning church members to sponsor the founding of a seminary. While congregants were reluctant at first to take on the task, ultimately he prevailed, and a religious school opened in Hanover on January 1, 1827. Initially, classes met in the Presbyterian Church's old stone church building, which was located in the present-day area of the Hanover Firehouse. Within a year, however, the school had outgrown this location, and Williamson Dunn then donated land for the construction of a new college edifice. In 1829, the state of Indiana granted a charter for a Hanover Academy, while the Presbyterian Synod of Indiana recognized the theological segment of the school as the Indiana Seminary. While the Hanover Academy grew exponentially over the ensuing years, the seminary stagnated; the two entities split in 1836, and in 1841 the seminary moved to New Albany, Indiana
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
. Ultimately, faced with money problems and a split amongst students on the issue of slavery, in 1859 the seminary once again moved, this time reopening as McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary is one of eleven schools of theology of the Presbyterian Church . It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois...
in Chicago, Illinois. Meanwhile, the Hanover Academy in 1833 received a charter from the state of Indiana to form a college by the name of Hanover College.
Religion
Although the Hanover was largely founded by Presbyterians, it was not long before people of other religious persuasions began moving into the area. In the United States west of the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
as a whole, Baptists and Methodists largely outnumbered Presbyterians during the early nineteenth century. Therefore, it became inevitable that competing churches would spring up in Hanover. The Hanover United Methodist Church was founded in 1846; the Hanover Baptist Church soon followed. The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was founded in 1974.
The Hanover African Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1885, and is the oldest continuously functioning predominantly African American congregation in Jefferson County. Many of the church's early trustees, including Owen Anderson, Simon Gray, Elijah Anderson, Chapman Harris, John Forcen, Mason Thompson, and Freeman Anderson, had in their earlier lives been prominent conductors of the underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. The church building itself was constructed from the timbers of the former Graysville Methodist Church, which served the small now-defunct African American community of Graysville, located in nearby Madison Township. Under the trusteeship of Owen Anderson and John Forcen, the congregation changed its name to St. Stephen's African Methodist Episcopal Church towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 2000, the church was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
Geography
Hanover is located at 38°42′53"N 85°28′19"W (38.714748, -85.471917).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 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,834 people, 1,068 households, and 760 families residing in the town. The population density
Population 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 1,349.2 people per square mile (521.1/km²). There were 1,144 housing units at an average density of 544.6 per square mile (210.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.58% White, 2.05% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.35% 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 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population.
There were 1,068 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,944, and the median income for a family was $42,574. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,384 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 $16,520. About 5.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
Pop culture
Fictional bartender at CheersCheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, Woody Boyd
Woody Boyd
Huckleberry Tiberius "Woody" Boyd is a lovable, albeit extremely naive and unsophisticated, character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Woody Harrelson. Woody came to Cheers at the beginning of the fourth season of Cheers in 1985....
, was born and raised in Hanover. The show made numerous jokes at Hanover's expense, poking fun at its small size and rural setting. The actor who portrayed Boyd was Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
, who attended Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
and was active in the drama department as well as work-study in the college library.