Montezuma is a town in Reserve Township, Parke County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 s ...

. The population was 1,022 at the 2010 census. It is located approximately 66 miles west of Indianapolis

History

Montezuma was laid out in about 1824. The town was named for Moctezuma II, ruler of Mexico. A post office has been in operation at Montezuma since 1825. On June 17, 2021, Montezuma experienced an earthquake that measured 3.8 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

. Nobody was hurt. Some plates rattled. A cat looked bored, then sat down again.

Geography

Montezuma is located at (39.792172, -87.370328); it lies along the

Wabash River The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...

on the western border of Parke County, where U.S. Route 36 crosses the river. Most of the town is in Reserve Township, but the south edge extends into Wabash Township. According to the 2010 census, Montezuma has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 1,022 people, 417 households, and 274 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was . There were 514 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.1%

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 o ...

, 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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.6% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.3% 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 forme ...

or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population. There were 417 households, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the town was 38.5 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 15% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.5% male and 49.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,179 people, 476 households, and 343 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 527 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.95%

, 1.95%

, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 0.76% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.76% of the population. There were 476 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,111, and the median income for a family was $35,313. Males had a median income of $29,803 versus $19,219 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 $13,754. About 16.9% of families and 20.1% 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 t ...

, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town has a lending library, the Montezuma Public Library.

Notable people

Gordon Allport Gordon Willard Allport (November 11, 1897 – October 9, 1967) was an American psychologist. Allport was one of the first psychologists to focus on the study of the personality, and is often referred to as one of the founding figures of personali ...

(1897–1967), a noted personality theorist; born in Montezuma. * James W. Hawkes (1853–1932), minister, a missionary in Qajar Iran, and a founder of a school; born in Montezuma.James W. Hawkes Collection
Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, Indiana State Library.

References

External links

Town of Montezuma, Indiana website
{{authority control Towns in Parke County, Indiana Towns in Indiana 1824 establishments in Indiana