Dana is a town in Helt Township, Vermillion County,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. It is primarily a farming community.

History

Dana was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1874 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was named for Charles Dana, a railroad promoter. A post office has been in operation at Dana since 1874. Dana was incorporated in 1886. In 1886, Dana was declared a rapidly growing and vibrant community, due to its railroad, businesses, and agriculture.

Geography

Dana is located in the central part of the county, on Indiana State Road 71 less than north of

U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection in ...

. According to the 2010 census, Dana has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

While 2020 census figures are not finalized, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Dana's population has dropped from 608 to 570. Poverty and joblessness remain an issue in the town.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 608 people, 241 households, and 173 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 290 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population. There were 241 households, of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.2% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the town was 40.7 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.2% male and 53.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 662 people, 252 households, and 187 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.58%

, 0.60%

, 0.30% Asian, 0.76% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.66% of the population. There were 252 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were

living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,750, and the median income for a family was $38,182. Males had a median income of $30,313 versus $21,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $15,603. About 6.6% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and Recreation

In late 2020, '' The Tribune-Star'' reported that Dana is planning a downtown community center that would serve as a hub for resident services and programming for children, families, and senior adults. Dana received a $10,000 grant from the Vermillion County Community Foundation to go toward the project.

Notable people

Famed

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

war correspondent Ernie Pyle was born on a tenant farm near Dana. Pyle won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

in 1944 for his Correspondence entry.

Bert Shepard Bert Robert Shepard (June 28, 1920 – June 16, 2008) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who pitched in one game for the Washington Senators in 1945 after having had his right leg amputated after his fighter plane was sh ...

, a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators who had lost his leg in WWII, was also born in Dana. American author

Dana Trent Dana Trent (née Lewman / lumən / ; born April 11, 1981), known professionally as J. Dana Trent, is an American author, teacher, and minister . Trent is a full-time Humanities faculty member at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, North Carol ...

moved to Dana as an infant.

References

External links

"Writings of Ernie Pyle", broadcast from Dana, Indiana
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

's ''

American Writers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

'' {{authority control Towns in Vermillion County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Populated places established in 1874 Terre Haute metropolitan area 1874 establishments in Indiana