Martinsville, Indiana

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Martinsville
Nickname : City of Mineral Water
Courthouse Square in downtown Martinsville, 2010
Courthouse Square in downtown Martinsville, 2010
Location in Indiana
Morgan County Indiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Martinsville Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1822
State : United States
State : Indiana
County : Morgan County
Coordinates : 39 ° 25 ′  N , 86 ° 25 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 25 ′  N , 86 ° 25 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 11,828 (as of 2010)
Population density : 496.8 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 24.10 km 2  (approx. 9 mi 2 ) of
which 23.81 km 2  (approx. 9 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 184 m
FIPS : 18-47448
GNIS ID : 438684
Website : martinsville.in.gov
Downtown Martinsville from SE.JPG
Martinsville's downtown from above, 2007

Martinsville is the county seat of Morgan County in Indiana . The small town was a well-known health resort at the turn of the century . A racially motivated murder in the 1960s gave the city, where few blacks live, a bad name. In 2010 Martinsville had 11,828 residents.

geography

Martinville is located in the White River Valley , about 50 km southwest of Indianapolis . The city is located in Washington Township .

history

Martinsville was founded in 1822 when a state commissioned commission was looking for a location for the county’s administrative seat. The city was named after the oldest commissioner, John Martin. At that time the settlement did not exist, only a Lenape path led through the wooded area. After the founding, more and more white settlers settled there, around 1850 Martinsville was a small market. Food produced there was transported to the south via the river. In 1853 the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad was the first railroad to reach the town. In 1863 the municipal administration was founded.

In 1887, a mineral spring was found in Martinsville while drilling natural gas . Just a year later, the Barnard Sanitarium opened as the first sanatorium in town. Within a short time Martinsville developed into a popular health resort that flourished thanks to tourism. The guests came to Martinsville by rail, and later also by an electric interurban connection. Between 1902 and 1903 there was the Clark's Sanatorium, the only sanatorium for African-Americans who were not allowed to use the other baths during the times of racial segregation . In 1930 there were a total of ten spas in the city. The decline of the spa began with the global economic crisis , new developments in medicine and changed leisure and traffic habits. The last sanatorium closed in 1968.

The Ku Klux Klan had been active across Indiana since the 1920s, including Martinsville. In 1967 he held a demonstration in the city. A year later, the young African American Carol Jenkins was brutally murdered while peddling encyclopedias . The murder remained unsolved for a long time and cemented the city's reputation as the so-called Sundown Town . Several racist scandals later became public in the city: for example, the home games of the local high school basketball team were suspended in 1998 after players from a visiting team were racially insulted. In the late 1990s, a civil society initiative was founded to organize and support anti-racism projects. In 2017, a plaque was inaugurated on the town hall to commemorate Jenkins' murder.

Population development
Census Residents ± in%
1830 175 -
1840 400 128.6%
1850 525 31.3%
1860 640 21.9%
1870 1131 76.7%
1880 1943 71.8%
1890 2680 37.9%
1900 4038 50.7%
1910 4529 12.2%
1920 4895 8.1%
1930 4962 1.4%
1940 5009 0.9%
1950 5991 19.6%
1960 7525 25.6%
1970 9723 29.2%
1980 11,311 16.3%
1990 11,677 3.2%
2000 11,698 0.2%
2010 11,828 1.1%
Data from 1830-1850, then census

Politics and civil society

The Martinsville City Council (as of 2020) consists of two general MPs and representatives from five council districts. The mayor is Kenneth Costin.

Martinsville's population is overwhelmingly white, with only 24 blacks in the city at the 2010 census . The city is still considered racist today and is the subject of several city ​​legends , according to which, among other things, the Ku Klux Klan was founded in Martinsville.

After the death of George Floyd in 2020, a new anti-racism initiative was founded in the city that aims to improve the city's bad reputation. At a demonstration by the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of that year, there were counter-protests, but the situation remained peaceful.

Culture and sights

Martinsville has many historic buildings, including the Italianate-style Morgan County Courthouse, built in 1857–59 . The Martinsville Sanitarium from 1924/25 is one of the city's partially preserved spas. Parts of the city center and two residential areas ( East Washington Street and Martinsville Northside ) are designated as Historic Districts . Several other structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places .

The public Jimmy Nash City Park is a public park in the north of the city. There are also sports facilities and an outdoor swimming pool on the approximately 45 hectare site .

Infrastructure

Martinsville is on the Indianapolis- Bloomington road , which is also Interstate 69 and Indiana State Route 37 . State highways 39 , 252 and 44 branch off from this street in Martinsville .

Martinsville has seven public elementary schools , two middle schools, and one high school .

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Martinsville, Indiana  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Charles Blanchard (Ed.): History of Morgan, Monroe & Brown Counties . FA Battey & Company, Chicago 1884, p. 81–99 (English, archive.org [accessed August 14, 2020]).
  2. ^ Henry Gannet: The origin of certain place names in the United States . 2nd Edition. Washington 1905, p. 201 ( archive.org [accessed August 14, 2020]).
  3. ^ A b Morgan County Courthouse: Continuation Sheet . In: National Park Service (Ed.): National Register Information System . 1995, p. 9-11 (American English, nps.gov [accessed August 14, 2020]).
  4. ^ Martinsville Sanitarium: Continuation Sheet . In: National Park Service (Ed.): National Register Information System . 2003, p. 8–9 (American English, nps.gov [accessed August 14, 2020]).
  5. a b c Will Higgins: 'We need to acknowledge it': Martinsville tries to remake its racist image. In: IndyStar. December 19, 2019, accessed August 14, 2020 (American English).
  6. Michele Norris: Indiana Town: From Racist Past to Primary Present. In: NPR . April 30, 2008, Retrieved August 14, 2020 (American English).
  7. a b c Lydia Gerike: KKK rumors have persisted about Martinsville for decades. But where do they come from? In: The Indianapolis Star. July 31, 2020, accessed August 14, 2020 (American English).
  8. ^ City Council. Retrieved August 14, 2020 (American English).
  9. Mayor's Office. Retrieved August 14, 2020 (American English).
  10. ^ Department of Parks and City Properties. Retrieved August 14, 2020 (American English).
  11. ^ History. Retrieved August 14, 2020 (American English).