Tell City, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Tell City is a city in Troy Township
, Perry County
, Indiana
, along the Ohio River
, Indiana's southern border. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat
of Perry County
.
, in November 1856. A group of Swiss-German immigrants met there to organize a society known as the "Swiss Colonization Society." Its purpose was to obtain affordable homesteads for mechanics, shopkeepers, factory workers and small farmers in a location where all could live in harmony.
The Society decided to purchase a tract of land three miles (5 km) square to be surveyed into a city plot. The group sent out to purchase the land was told to keep in mind a healthful climate, fertile soil, good water, ample timber, and a location near a navigable river and a railroad, if possible. Purchase of such a site was made in July 1857. The tract, containing 4152 acres (16.8 km²), was laid out in 392 town blocks with 7,328 building lots and 294 garden lots.
Before the settlers arrived, a name for the new town was selected. Initially called Helvetia, it was soon renamed Tell City, a name easier to pronounce and remember for English-speaking people. It was named for the legendary Swiss hero and liberator, William Tell
.
Indicative of the foresightedness of Tell City's founders are the wide streets. They are named for great persons of the military, arts, letters and science: DeKalb
, Watt
, Winkelreid
, Steuben
, Payne
, Herrman
, Reubens, Lafayette, Schiller
, Tell
, Fulton
, Jefferson
, Mozart
, Franklin
, Humboldt
, Pestalozzi
, Washington
, Blum
and Gutenberg.
With 100 years of recorded history, the citizens of Tell City held a centennial celebration August 10–17, 1958 in honor of the early settlers and the founding of Tell City. After the success of the Centennial, the Tell City Historical Society decided to sponsor a festival in 1959 to determine if the community would support it as an annual event. The festival, appropriately named Schweizer Fest (Swiss Fest), was a great success. Today, the festival remains one of Indiana's longest-running community festivals.
On March 17, 1960, Northwest Orient Airlines
Flight 710
, a Lockheed Electra
turboprop airliner flying from Chicago to Miami lost a wing due to aerodynamic flutter and crashed in southern Indiana near Tell City. All 63 on board, including the crew, perished. The victims were impacted in a 30 feet (9.1 m) crater, which became their final resting place. A monument with the names of the victims and the date of the tragedy marks the grave.
guard, future University of Kentucky
star Tommy Kron
. The coach that season was Orlando 'Gunner' Wyman, an Indiana Hall of Fame head coach who won the State Championship at Vincennes Lincoln High in 1981.
The Marksmen also boast of three other Indiana Hall of Fame head coaches, Ray Eddy, Andy Taff and Bob Lochmueller. Eddy went on to coach the Madison, Indiana
Cubs to a state final appearance in 1949 and the state championship in 1950. He then returned to his alma mater, Purdue University
where he was the head coach for fifteen seasons.
Taff, a former star for Eddy at Madison, began his high school coaching career in the 1950-51 season at Tell City; winning an IHSAA
Sectional behind the play of Burke Scott, a future Indiana University guard; was a starter on the 1953 Indiana University NCAA Championship squad.
In 2011, Scott a 1951 graduate of Tell City High School will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
.
Steve Lochmueller, Bob's son, is also a Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
center and former University of Kentucky star. The Marksmen football team has won nine sectionals, four regionals and one semi-state, with the latter being in 1986 when they lost the state championship final.
The Marching Marksmen band currently competes in ISSMA Class D and are 20-time state finalists.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (1.08%) is water.
of 2000, there were 7,845 people, 3,404 households, and 2,161 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,721.4 people per square mile (664.2/km²). There were 3,700 housing units at an average density of 811.9 per square mile (313.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.65% White, 0.27% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races
, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 3,404 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples
living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,045, and the median income for a family was $41,300. Males had a median income of $31,908 versus $21,232 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,443. About 8.0% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana
Troy Township is one of seven townships in Perry County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 12,129 .-Geography:...
, Perry County
Perry County, Indiana
Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. The county seat is Tell City. It is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties of in Indiana as it features more than of Hoosier National Forest...
, 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...
, Indiana's southern border. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Perry County
Perry County, Indiana
Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. The county seat is Tell City. It is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties of in Indiana as it features more than of Hoosier National Forest...
.
History
Tell City traces its 150+ year old roots to a meeting in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, in November 1856. A group of Swiss-German immigrants met there to organize a society known as the "Swiss Colonization Society." Its purpose was to obtain affordable homesteads for mechanics, shopkeepers, factory workers and small farmers in a location where all could live in harmony.
The Society decided to purchase a tract of land three miles (5 km) square to be surveyed into a city plot. The group sent out to purchase the land was told to keep in mind a healthful climate, fertile soil, good water, ample timber, and a location near a navigable river and a railroad, if possible. Purchase of such a site was made in July 1857. The tract, containing 4152 acres (16.8 km²), was laid out in 392 town blocks with 7,328 building lots and 294 garden lots.
Before the settlers arrived, a name for the new town was selected. Initially called Helvetia, it was soon renamed Tell City, a name easier to pronounce and remember for English-speaking people. It was named for the legendary Swiss hero and liberator, William Tell
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
.
Indicative of the foresightedness of Tell City's founders are the wide streets. They are named for great persons of the military, arts, letters and science: DeKalb
Johann de Kalb
Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb , born Johann Kalb, was a German soldier who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:...
, Watt
James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
, Winkelreid
Arnold von Winkelried
Arnold von Winkelried or Arnold Winkelried is a legendary hero of Swiss history.According to 16th century Swiss historiography, Winkelried's sacrifice brought about the victory of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the Battle of Sempach against the army of the Habsburg Duke Leopold III of Austria.-The...
, Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben , also referred to as the Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born military officer who served as inspector general and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, Payne
Payne (surname)
The surname Payne originates in France and is a variation of the name Payen . It is one of the most revered and ancient surnames of the noblesse families of France. The original family lived in Payen, Normandy, where they held Family seats in Payen and Dauphine...
, Herrman
Johann Hermann
Johann, or Jean, Hermann was a French physician and naturalist. He was professor of medicine at the University of Strasbourg. He was the author of Tabula affinitatum animalium and Observationes zoologicae quibus novae complures, published posthumously in 1804...
, Reubens, Lafayette, Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, Tell
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
, Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
, Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....
, Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Blum
Robert Blum
thumb|Painting by August Hunger of Robert Blum between 1845 and 1848Robert Blum was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism and it was his strong...
and Gutenberg.
With 100 years of recorded history, the citizens of Tell City held a centennial celebration August 10–17, 1958 in honor of the early settlers and the founding of Tell City. After the success of the Centennial, the Tell City Historical Society decided to sponsor a festival in 1959 to determine if the community would support it as an annual event. The festival, appropriately named Schweizer Fest (Swiss Fest), was a great success. Today, the festival remains one of Indiana's longest-running community festivals.
On March 17, 1960, Northwest Orient Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
Flight 710
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, disintegrated in-flight and crashed near Cannelton, Indiana on March 17, 1960. The flight carried 57 passengers and 6 crew members. There were no survivors....
, a Lockheed Electra
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed Model 188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a design...
turboprop airliner flying from Chicago to Miami lost a wing due to aerodynamic flutter and crashed in southern Indiana near Tell City. All 63 on board, including the crew, perished. The victims were impacted in a 30 feet (9.1 m) crater, which became their final resting place. A monument with the names of the victims and the date of the tragedy marks the grave.
Schools
Tell City is home to the Tell City High School Marksmen. The school is in Class 2A for football, basketball, and baseball. The boys basketball team was a traditional power, winning 34 sectionals, five regionals and one semi-state, the latter coming in 1961 when the Marksmen won the southern semi-state, thus reaching the state championship round. The Marksmen were led by Indiana Basketball Hall of FameIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. It honors men and women associated with high school, college and professional basketball in Indiana....
guard, future University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
star Tommy Kron
Tommy Kron
Thomas M. "Tommy" Kron was an American former professional basketball player. A 6-5 guard, Kron, nicknamed "Tommy," played his rookie season with the St...
. The coach that season was Orlando 'Gunner' Wyman, an Indiana Hall of Fame head coach who won the State Championship at Vincennes Lincoln High in 1981.
The Marksmen also boast of three other Indiana Hall of Fame head coaches, Ray Eddy, Andy Taff and Bob Lochmueller. Eddy went on to coach the Madison, Indiana
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...
Cubs to a state final appearance in 1949 and the state championship in 1950. He then returned to his alma mater, Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
where he was the head coach for fifteen seasons.
Taff, a former star for Eddy at Madison, began his high school coaching career in the 1950-51 season at Tell City; winning an IHSAA
Indiana High School Athletic Association
The Indiana High School Athletic Association is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the State of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana based on the school's enrollment. The divisions, known as...
Sectional behind the play of Burke Scott, a future Indiana University guard; was a starter on the 1953 Indiana University NCAA Championship squad.
In 2011, Scott a 1951 graduate of Tell City High School will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. It honors men and women associated with high school, college and professional basketball in Indiana....
.
Steve Lochmueller, Bob's son, is also a Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. It honors men and women associated with high school, college and professional basketball in Indiana....
center and former University of Kentucky star. The Marksmen football team has won nine sectionals, four regionals and one semi-state, with the latter being in 1986 when they lost the state championship final.
The Marching Marksmen band currently competes in ISSMA Class D and are 20-time state finalists.
Geography
Tell City is located at 37.953036°N 86.761372°W.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 city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (1.08%) is water.
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 7,845 people, 3,404 households, and 2,161 families residing in the city. 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 1,721.4 people per square mile (664.2/km²). There were 3,700 housing units at an average density of 811.9 per square mile (313.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.65% White, 0.27% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.14% 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 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 3,404 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% 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, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,045, and the median income for a family was $41,300. Males had a median income of $31,908 versus $21,232 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 city was $17,443. About 8.0% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- City of Tell City, Indiana website
- The Tell City/Perry County Forum
- The one who brought the Bretzel to AmericaGloorGloor is a family name from Aargau, a canton in northern Switzerland. Many members of this family emigrated to the US, mainly to Texas, Indiana, New York and California, starting in the 17th century....
- Perry County News, local newspaper