Riley, once known as Lockport, is a town in Riley Township, Vigo 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 221 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

History

The original town of Lockport was platted on November 23, 1836, by Nathaniel Donham. It was known as Lockport due to its importance during the building of the

Wabash and Erie Canal The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was th ...

from 1847–1850. The canal town became a significant trading point along the waterway. Though the canal closed in 1873, the building of several different railroads kept the community as a place for trade. The town originally had various

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and tanneries, but all were burned at different times. It was also notable in the

grain market The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

. In 1911, the town took the name of its post office and became Riley. For several decades, Riley sustained a healthy coal mining industry including a

strip mine Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...

just south of town, operated by the Maumee Colleries Company as late as 1936. In the second half of the twentieth century, Riley included a small suburban residential community.

Geography

Riley is located at (39.389838, -87.300420). At one time, the

ran through Riley and there are remnants of locks and the canal in several places. According to the 2010 census, Riley has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

At the 2020

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 ...

, there were 221 people, 93 households and 57 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 103 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the town was 100%

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%

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% Native American, and 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 forme ...

or Latino of any race were 0% of the population. There were 93 households, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.7% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age in the town was 32.8 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 18.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The sex make-up of the town was 50.7% male and 49.3% female.

2000 census

At the 2000

, there were 160 people, 76 households and 44 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 83 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the town was 99.38%

, and 0.62% from two or more races. There were 76 households, of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.76. 21.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

was $28,333 and the median family income was $35,833. Males had a median income of $31,667 and females $23,750. 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 $13,616. About 15.0% of families and 12.0% 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 13.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 22.2% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Vigo County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Terre Haute metropolitan area