Claypool is a town in Clay Township, Kosciusko 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 so ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The population was 396 at the 2020 census.

History

Claypool 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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1873. The post office at Claypool has been in operation since 1841. Claypool was previously an important rail transportation hub because it was located at the junction of the Big Four and the

Nickel Plate The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States from 1881 to 1964. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of ...

railroad lines. Claypool is the hometown of two of Indiana's basketball greats,

Judi Warren Judi Warren is an American former basketball player. After Title IX's passage in 1972, Warren became an important figure in the history of high school women's basketball in Indiana. She was the first Indiana Miss Basketball in 1976. Warren was bor ...

, who became the first

Indiana Miss Basketball Each year the Indiana Miss Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school girls basketball player in the U.S. state of Indiana. Award winners Schools with multiple winners See also *Indiana Mr. Basketball award Refere ...

in 1976, and Kevin Ault,

Indiana Mr. Basketball The Indiana Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school basketball player in the state of Indiana. The award is presented annually by ''The Indianapolis Star''. The first Indiana Mr. Basketball was George Crowe George Daniel Crowe ( ...

of 1996. Both played for

Warsaw Community High School Warsaw Community High School (WCHS) is a public high school located in Warsaw, Indiana (U.S.), the county seat of Kosciusko County. It is in the Warsaw Community Schools district. The principal of WCHS is Troy Akers. The current building locate ...

. Judi Warren was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 2002. The town was also notable for the controversial local house church established for a time in the 1970s by Hobart Freeman. Claypool was featured in an article in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine in its September 8, 1980, issue. In 2006 Claypool was selected by Louis Dreyfus Agriculture Industries, a French Corporation, as the location for a new biodiesel manufacturing plant. When completed, it will be the largest biodiesel manufacturing plant in the state. Biofuels plant to benefit Indiana Farmers Crushing and flaking equipment from Damman-Croes Belgium has been selected.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Claypool has a total area of , of which (or 96%) is land and (or 4%) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 431 people, 155 households, and 115 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.1%

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

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.1% of the population. There were 155 households, of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were

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

living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.8% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.13. The median age in the town was 33 years. 26.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 311 people, 112 households, and 88 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.75%

, 0.96% Native American, 0.96% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population. There were 112 households, out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were

living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.15. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,833, and the median income for a family was $34,792. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $18,333 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $12,021. About 7.9% of families and 9.5% 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 8.0% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Town flag

As of April 17, 2018, Claypool has had an official town flag. The flag was created by students at Claypool Elementary and presented to the town council, who voted to approve the flag design. The flag consists of two solid black lines representing the railroad tracks which run through the town, and were important in the town's history as mentioned above. The three stars represent the three main crops grown in the area; corn, wheat, and soybeans. The colors of the flag are orange, black, and white symbolizing the former Claypool High School and current Claypool Elementary School. Orange also represents basketball as the town is home to the state's first Miss Basketball and the 1996 Mr. Basketball. The date, 1873, shows when the town was platted.

References

{{authority control Towns in Kosciusko County, Indiana Towns in Indiana