Logansport, Indiana

Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,396 at the 2010 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana, at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northeast of Lafayette.

History
Logansport was settled circa 1826 and named for a half Shawnee soldier named James Renick-Logan, better known as “Captain Logan”  who served as a scout for U.S. forces in the surrounding area during the War of 1812.

Logansport is home to a refurbished Dentzel Carousel. This carousel is the most complete Dentzel carousel in the United States. The carousel resides in Riverside Park, which is located in the central part of the town on the banks of the Eel River. While on the carousel you can still try to grab the brass ring, which today serves as the basis of the local economic-development slogan “Logansport – Cass County: Grab the brass ring”. The Carousel is on the National Register of historic places and is a national landmark.

Logansport High School is the home of the first school mascot in Indiana. A stuffed Felix the Cat doll was brought to a basketball game in 1926. Ever since Felix has served as the official mascot for all LHS sports teams. .

Logansport also has a diverse transportation history. The Wabash and Erie Canal reached Logansport in 1837, contributing the “port” to Logansport's name, as in “Logan's port”. The Historic Michigan Road runs through Logansport. Michigan Road was one of the first roads in Indiana. It runs from Madison, Indiana (South), to Michigan City, Indiana (North).There are many different names for the road, including Michigan Road, State Road 29, and US 421. Also several different passenger and freight train routes also served Logansport. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Ladies Auxiliary held its 1935 convention here. Logansport still has two active railroads and a switch yard, as well as a small refurbished depot downtown, although the much larger Pan Handle Depot was demolished in 1962.

Early in the 20th century, Logansport was home to the pioneering brass era automobile company Rutenber that had been based previously in Chicago and that renamed itself the Western Motor Company when it moved to Logansport. Edwin Rutenber started the Western Motor Company after inventing the first four-cylinder automobile engine. Rutenber was a prolific inventor who held dozens of patents ranging from the first automobile four-cylinder engine and distributor cap system to many electric home appliances, whose modern versions are still in use today.

Mount Hope Cemetery is located north of the city, with the main entrance on Pleasant Hill. It encompasses over 225 acre of area. It is the third largest in the state of Indiana, with a list of over 82,000, an average of 200 interments per year. This cemetery is very beautiful with its rolling hills and dotted with numerous trees. It was established in 1857 with Mr. Benjamin Peters as its first interment. You can still read the inscription on Mr. Peters monument as it reads “The first monument erected in Mount Hope”. There are sections dedicated to veterans, including Grand Army of the Republic, Union veterans of the American Civil War. A free grave is donated to any veteran to be buried in Veteran's Circle. Two large mausoleums were built in 1912, another in 1913, with space still available. A chapel seating for 70 people is available upon request for a nominal fee, winter or summer.

Ninth Street Cemetery is located east of the city nestled between 9th and 10th streets. It was established in 1828 with a small child interred, no name given. It is less an acre. There are several pioneers buried in this cemetery. There are 80 veterans interred here from each of the following wars: The Spanish American War, American Revolutionary War, American Civil War, Blackhawk War, Mexican American War, World War I, World War II, and Korean War. An extensive repair program to the stones is underway.

Renewal
In 2009, Logansport was designated a Preserve America Community. This designation was bestowed upon Logansport by former First Lady Laura Bush, as one of her last unofficial duties before leaving the White House. Preserve America Executive Order Signed by President George W. Bush on March 3, 2003, Executive Order 13287, "Preserve America," complements the Preserve America initiative.

Preserve America Community designations are awarded to communities that:
 * protect and celebrate their heritage;
 * use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization; and
 * encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism program.

Logan's Landing is a nonprofit economic development organization that focuses on the downtown of Logansport between the junction of the southmost terminus of the Eel River as it joins the Wabash River. The Logansport – Cass County Economic Development Foundation is another nonprofit economic development organization that focuses on development outside of the downtown area, such as industrial parks, available commercial buildings other than downtown buildings, and other available undeveloped land. The Logansport – Cass County Chamber of Commerce is a forum for local business leadership, as an interface between businesses and the local community.

Community events
Logansport is home to the McHale Performing Arts Center, adjacent to Logansport High School. As a fine facility and technically one of the best equipped auditoriums in the state, McHale PAC plays host to the annual Winter Fantasy Production, as sponsored by a union of the organizations in the Logansport High School Performing Arts Department. These musicals are held every year during the last weekend piror to the Thanksgiving holiday. The facility also holds the rest of the department's annual events, including the LHS Tony Awards, SNL, the All School Production and various music department concerts. Out-of-town live soloists and troupes also put on several live-performance shows per year at McHale. As a modern facility for the performing arts, Loganport's McHale is comparable to similar-sized venues in similar-sized towns and cities throughout the Great Lakes region, such as the Honeywell Center in Wabash, Indiana, The Tibbets Opera House in Coldwater, Michigan, The Croswell Opera House in Adrian, Michigan, The Opera House of Sandwich in Sandwich, Illinois, the Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee, Indiana, and the Williams Theatre on the campus of IPFW in Fort Wayne. The loaning of the facility's equipment is in high demand by many amateur as well as professional venues throughout the state.

Logansport also has the oldest art organization in Indiana. The Logansport Art Association (LAA) was founded in February 1911. What began as a Neightborhood Art Club in 1894 is now an art center that offers art classes, show opportunities, art supplies, and special events. The LAA holds annual fine art competitions and shows that draw local and state-wide artists. This includes the Black & White Show in February, Youth Art Shows in March and April, Fine Arts Show in May and June, The Photography Competition in October, and our Members Invitational in November.

Logansport hosts an annual arts festival Art on the Avenue, every September, which is the largest art festival in the region. Many of the area's festivals and events are held at Little Turtle Waterway. Little Turtle Waterway is a architect-designed public space and trail system along the Wabash River in downtown Logansport. Logansport also hosts the annual Med Flory Jazz Festival every spring in downtown Logansport. Med Flory is a well-known jazz musician and actor from Logansport. Until recent years, to honor its rich railroad history, Logansport held its annual Iron Horse Festival. When many of the trains were taken out of the area, the festival had turned into a Heritage Festival, but then eventually canceled. Other annual festivals in Logansport include:
 * Light up Logansport Parade, held the Friday evening after Thanksgiving to usher in the Christmas season, and
 * the Taste Of Cass County held every August in downtown Logansport.

Education
Logansport is the home of a regional campus of Indiana’s Ivy Tech community colleges. This new campus opened in January 2010 along the US24/US35 southern bypass after moving from its previous location along Market Street. The former Ivy Tech campus on Market St is now home to a satellite campus of Trine University.

Logansport High School itself has recently undergone a multi-million dollar makeover, with the addition of its vocational-technical wing: The Century Career Center. Logansport also has four elementary schools, two middle schools and the one high school all working under the Logansport Community School Corporation. Despite also having Felix the Cat as their official mascot and de facto logo throughout academic and athletic programs, the moniker of Logansport High School's athletic teams is the Loganberries, which is a pun regarding on the city's name vis a vis the loganberry hybrid of a blackberry and a red raspberry. The basketball gymnasium at Logansport High School furthers the pun by being officially named the Berry Bowl. The Berry Bowl is adjacent via an interior sloped ramp to the McHale Performing Arts Center, which boasts a beautiful view of the adjacent courtyard and entrance hall.

Geography
Logansport is located at 40.75348°N, -86.36048°W (40.753478, -86.360485). The farmland to the south is generally flat, but there are some shallow hills to the north and east of Logansport that form a ridge through northern Cass and Miami counties. Similar nearby ridges—such as surrounding the nearby towns of Fowler and Goodland—have been found suitable for multi-hundred-megawatt wind farms, such as the nearby Fowler Ridge I & II Wind Farms and Goodland I Wind Farm.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,684 people, 7,604 households, and 4,737 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,383.0 people per square mile (920.1/km2). There were 8,026 housing units at an average density of 971.6 per square mile (375.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 89.79% White, 2.08% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.63% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.58% of the population.

There were 7,604 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,483, and the median income for a family was $40,497. Males had a median income of $28,785 versus $21,660 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,085. About 6.4% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

 * Dr. Gregory Bell, 1956 Olympic Gold Medalist, Long Jump. Resides and practices dentistry in Logansport.
 * Thomas Hall Bringhurst, businessman, freemason, Civil War Colonel and delegate to the first national convention of the Republican Party.
 * Samuel P. Bush, patriarch of the Bush political family, worked here as a railroad mechanic.
 * Nig Cuppy, baseball pitcher
 * Graham N. Fitch, Indiana pioneer senator
 * Meredith Irwin 'Med' Flory, born August 27, 1926, TV actor, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist
 * Helen Thornton Geer, author; Professor of Library Science; granddaughter of Henry Clay Thornton
 * Isaac Wheeler Geer, prominent railroad executive; father of Helen T. Geer
 * Edna Goodrich, Broadway/Silent Screen star; married to comedian Nat Goodwin; member of Thornton family
 * Arthur Martin Graffis, Interim President, Elcar Automotive; member, Thornton family
 * Aaron Heilman, professional baseball pitcher.
 * Tony Hinkle, inventor of orange basketball
 * Clara Ingram Judson, children's author
 * Greg Kinnear, actor
 * Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the federal judge and first Commissioner of Baseball, grew up in Logansport, where at the age of 17 he played on and managed the Logansport High School baseball team.
 * Mark Racop, nationally recognized 1966 Batmobile replica builder and film director. In September 2010 became the first Batmobile builder to be officially licensed by DC Comics.
 * Edwin Rutenber, inventor of the first 4 cylinder automobile engine
 * Henry Clay Thornton, lawyer; father of Henry Worth Thornton; legal mentor to William Wheeler Thornton
 * Sir Henry Worth Thornton, President, Canadian National Railways; Vanderbilt football coach
 * Joseph Lyle Thornton, educator; President, Ohio Valley Paper Company
 * William Patton Thornton, Ohio physician, politician
 * William Wheeler Thornton, Deputy Attorney General, State Supreme Court Librarian, author
 * John Tipton, responsible for the Potawatomi Trail of Death
 * George Winter, pioneer artist
 * Ted Bishop, Vice President of the Professional Golf Association

Previous and current mayors of Logansport

 * Jordan Vigus – 1838
 * Nicholas Grover – 1839
 * John S. Patterson – 1840
 * John Lytle – 1984-1843
 * Spear Tipton – 1844
 * James H. Kintner – 1845-1846
 * Jacob Bemisdarfer – 1847
 * Jordan Vigus – 1848
 * James Kintner – 1849
 * William Culbertson - 1850
 * John W. Wright – 1851-1852
 * Thomas Bringhurst – 1853-1855
 * George Adams – 1856
 * S.A. Hall – 1857-1860
 * S.L. McFadin – 1861-1864
 * James W. Dunn – 1865 (resigned)
 * George Bevan – 1866
 * Robert Groves – 1867-1868
 * S.L. McFadin – 1869-1870
 * Amos Hall – 1871-1872
 * S.L. McFadin – 1873-1874
 * John B. Shultz – 1875-1876
 * Samuel Jacobs – 1877-1882
 * C.B. Lasselle – 1883-1884
 * Thomas H. Bringhurst – 1885-1886
 * J.C. Nelson – 1887-1888
 * W.F. Cullen – 1889-1890
 * B.C.D. Read – 1891-1894
 * George P. McKee – 1894-1902
 * S.A. Vaughn – 1902-1904
 * George P. McKee – 1904-1909
 * David Fickle – 1910-1913
 * Frank Guthrie (D) – 1914-1917
 * James I. Barnes (R) – 1918-1921
 * Frank Guthrie (D) – 1922-1929
 * William O. Fiedler (R) – 1930-1938
 * Russell Leonard (R) – 1939-1946
 * Leland Smith (R) – 1947
 * George Muehlhausen (R) – 1948-1955
 * Ralph Eberts (D) – 1956-1959
 * Otto Neumann (D) – 1960-1963
 * Clarence Settlemyre (R) – 1964 (died in office)
 * Oscar Beasey (R) – 1964-1967
 * Martin E. Monahan (D) – 1968-1979
 * Jone Wilson (R) – 1980-1983
 * John R. Davis (D) – 1984-1991
 * William A. Vernon (D) – 1992-1999
 * Richard L. Hettinger (R) – 2000-2003
 * Michael E. Fincher (D) – Current

(R) = Republican (D) = Democrat