Upland, Indiana

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Upland is a town in Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,803 at the 2000 census. It is home to Taylor University, a Christian college with 1900 students in 2006.

Taylor University Bell Tower

U.S. News and World Report’s 2007 guide to America’s Best Colleges ranked Taylor University #3 in the Midwest Region of Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors which includes 107 schools. It was ranked #6 overall of 320 colleges and universities in this category nationally.

Besides Taylor, Upland is most well-known for Ivanhoe's, a Main Street restaurant known for its 100 sundaes and 100 shakes as well as sandwiches and salads.

In addition to Ivanhoe's and Taylor University, Main Street includes the historic train depot, three gas stations, two banks, the post office, Dollar$mart, the fire station, the police station, three churches, a barber, a realtor, a car-repair shop, a car wash, a medical clinic, a pharmacy, the Avis building and a number of other small stores.

Town highlights include the Saturday of Labor Day weekend when hundreds of people hold yard sales. On Labor Day Monday, a parade is held with over 100 floats and bands. The fire engines begin the parade and horses close it. The town little league fields and a large playground sit at the corner of W. Washington and N. 8th Street. During the summer, children enjoy swimming in the Taylor University Lake.

Going out of town to the west on Reade Avenue, cars enjoy the hilly "Devil's backbone."

The largest church in town is Upland Community Church which is associated with the "Fellowship of Evangelical Churches." Jay Kesler, former president of Taylor University, is currently the teaching pastor.

Lightrider and Wandering Wheels are two Christian ministries which are headquartered in Upland. Wandering Wheels specializes in coast-to-coast cycling trips and has been in existence since 1964. Lightrider is a mobile retreat ministry that uses a 40 foot, double-decker motor coach equipped with seats and bunk beds. Next to Lightrider, is the "Red Barn" - a youth outreach center.

The exit for Upland off interstate 69 is exit 59. At this exit, a number of eateries are located including Burger King, Cracker Barrel, Fish N' More, Taste of Texas, China One, and Payne's Coffee and Custard. The new Starbucks (January 2007) is located on the west side of 69 so is technically in Gas City.

Ivanhoe's - Upland's most famous restaurant

In town many people also frequent TOPPIT (which stands for "The Only Pizza Place In Town"). This is a bit of misnomer though with the Noble Roman's inside of one of Upland's gas stations.

The Super 8 and Best Western hotels at the intersection of 69 and 22 are also part of Upland. On the way, to Upland from 69, Upland True Value Hardware Store is located.

Upland residents attend Eastbrook Jr. High and High School which is located in Marion. Upland Elementary School is located in Upland.

The local newspaper is the Marion Chronicle-Tribune.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

This history section is based on information from the book Taylor University: The First 150 Years by William C. Ringenberg. Upland: Taylor University Press, 1996.

The first White resident of the Upland area was John Oswalt, who came to Jefferson Township in the early 1830s and purchased 2,240 acres including almost all the land which is now a part of Upland. He bought this large amount of land because, as a speculator, he thought that an Indianapolis to Fort Wayne canal might pass through or near his property. Jacob Bugher, who moved to the township in 1851, purchased land from Oswalt. Sixteen years later, when the first railroad (the Indiana Central Railroad) passed through the township, Bugher planned the beginnings of Upland as a depot point for the railroad. The name of the town came from its reputed location as the highest point on the rail line between Columbus and Chicago. Gradually, the town grew in population and organization. By the late 1870s it had thirty families, 150 total population, one grade school, two churches, three dry-goods stores, one sawmill, and one blacksmith shop.

A guest-preaching engagement in 1882 in the Upland Methodist Church afforded Taylor University president Thaddeus Reade the chance to meet the minister of the church, Rev. John C. White. Because the school was having financial difficulties at its location in Fort Wayne, White and Upland citizen J.W. Pittinger worked to bring the school to Upland. In the spring of 1893 White negotiated an agreement between the Taylor trustees and the Upland Land Company whereby the university agreed to move to Upland and the company agreed to provide Taylor with $10,000 in cash and ten acres of land. In the summer of 1893, Taylor University relocated to Upland. White was able to find the local resources to support the university because of the recent discovery in the area of large deposits of natural gas. The gas boom of central Indiana began in 1886 and continued through the 1890s before the supply began to decline about 1900. The first gas discoveries in Upland were in 1888, and three years later the Upland Land Company came into existence to take advantage of the newly found resources by promoting the development of the town.

When Taylor University moved to the community in 1893, the incorporated town of one thousand inhabitants could boast of improved streets and carbon street lights, water and gas lines, a major glass bottle manufacturing plant, and a zinc factory.

In 1915, Taylor paid seven thousand dollars to purchase 70 more acres from Charles H. and Bertha Snyder. The university added another eighty acres to its present location in the early 1920s when the Lewis Jones farm was purchased.

During the 1960s, the infrastructure of the town was improved. Interstate Highway #69 was completed. The public schools were consolidated into the Eastbrook School District and Eastbrook Junior High and High School were built. The municipality constructed a new water and sewage system.

In the early 1990s, a new building was built by the Avis Industrial Corporation, led by Leland and LaRita Boren, across from Taylor University. The Avis-Taylor Prairie Restoration Project was also begun.

Upon the celebration in 1993 of Taylor's 100th year in Upland, the university worked with the community to purchase and relocated from Muncie the Upland train depot to serve as a local museum. The depot together with the new town hall and library were major developments in the downtown renewal project of Our Town Upland, Inc.

More recently the Upland Health and Diagnostic Center has been built.

[edit] Geography

Upland is located between Ft. Wayne (1 hour north by car) and Indianapolis (1 1/2 hours south). It is about 40 minutes from Muncie where Ball State University is located. It is about 20 minutes from Marion where Indiana Wesleyan University is located.

Upland is located at 40°28′2″N, 85°30′0″W (40.467146, -85.500120)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²). 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.25% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,803 people, 789 households, and 569 families residing in the town. The population density was 373.6/km² (967.1/mi²). There were 824 housing units at an average density of 81.0/km² (209.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.40% White, 1.53% African American, 0.68% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.

There were 789 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 13.3% under the age of 18, 51.9% from 18 to 24, 13.9% from 25 to 44, 12.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,827, and the median income for a family was $44,712. Males had a median income of $32,019 versus $21,845 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,761. About 7.4% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.