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Jasper, Indiana
City
Dubois County Courthouse
Nickname(s):  "The Nation's Wood Capital"
Location of Jasper in Dubois County, Indiana.
Coordinates: 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083Coordinates: 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Dubois
Township	Bainbridge
Founded	1818
Government
• Mayor	Dean Vonderheide (R) (Jan. 2019 - present)
Area [1]
• Total	13.35 sq mi (34.57 km2)
• Land	13.26 sq mi (34.33 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.24 km2)
Elevation [2]	466 ft (142 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	15,038
• Estimate  (2016)[4]	15,503
• Density	1,169.42/sq mi (451.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	47546, 47547, 47549
Area code	812 & 930
FIPS code	18-37782[5]
GNIS feature ID	436944
Website	http://www.jasperindiana.gov

Jasper is a city in, and the county seat^[6] of Bainbridge Township, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 15,038 at the 2010 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County returned to the Eastern Time Zone, after having moved to the Central Time Zone the previous year. Land use in the area is primarily agricultural.

Jasper is a regional center in Southwestern Indiana, noted for its heavily German Catholic ancestral roots.^[7] Jasper has often been called the "Wood Capital of the World", boasting a large number of furniture companies, including Kimball International and Masterbrand Cabinets. Jasper is also home to the Southern Indiana Education Center (SIEC), Jasper Engines & Transmissions (largest re-manufacturer in the market), and to a satellite campus of Vincennes University.

The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, which honors players and others associated with the national pastime who were born or lived in Indiana, is located in Jasper.

Jasper also boasts the only municipally supported Arts Council in the state of Indiana; it is part of city government and is supported by the city for its citizens in the same vein as its park board or its street department. The city of Jasper and the Jasper Community Arts Commission have won the Governor's Arts Award twice, once in 1987 and again in 2007, and it is the only group to have garnered this award twice.^[8]

History

Jasper was founded in 1818.^[9] The Enlow family were the first settlers of the town.^[10] Jasper was originally going to be called Eleanor, the wife of settler Joseph Enlow, but she opted to suggest a name herself, and named the city after a passage in the Bible (Revelation 21:19).^[11]

Jasper was not officially platted until 1830.^[12] That year, the community became the new county seat of Dubois County, succeeding Portersville.^[13]

The Jasper post office has been in operation since 1832.^[14] During the New Deal era, Jessie Hull Mayer won a federal commission to paint a mural as part of the Section of Painting and Sculpture′s projects, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. Indiana Farming Scene in Late Autumn depicts a harvest scene on a farmstead, with no indication of the town.^[15] In 1975, the painting was featured as part of a film, Art for Main Street: The Indiana Post Office Murals, produced by the Indiana Historical Society.^[16]

Jasper was incorporated as a town in 1866, and was incorporated into a city in 1915.^[17]

Town recognition

• Jasper was previously ranked in the top 25 in Norman Crampton's 1992 book 100 Best Small Towns in America.^{[citation needed]}


• In 2005, Jasper was ranked in the ten best places to live in the U.S. by Relocate America.^[18]


• In 2014, movoto.com ranked Jasper fifth on their "10 Best Cities to Live in Indiana" list.^[19]


• A 2014 report by safewise.com placed Jasper 8th on the "50 Safest Cities in Indiana" rankings.^[20]


• According to a study done by NerdWallet.com, Jasper is 9th on the "Best Places to Start a Business in Indiana" list.^[21]

Economy

The largest industry sectors by employment in Jasper are manufacturing, retail, and health care & social services.

Top employers

According to the Jasper Chamber of Commerce

Location of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area in Indiana

Geography

Jasper is located at 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W / 38.39139°N 86.93083°W / 38.39139; -86.93083 (38.391439, -86.930772),^[22] and is roughly:

• 1 hour northeast of Evansville, Indiana.


• 2 1/2 hours southwest of Indianapolis.


• 1 1/2 hours west of Louisville, Kentucky.


• 3 hours east of St. Louis, Missouri.

According to the 2010 census, Jasper has a total area of 13.191 square miles (34.16 km²), of which 13.1 square miles (33.93 km²) (or 99.31%) is land and 0.091 square miles (0.24 km²) (or 0.69%) is water.^[23]
City limits extend from Bainbridge Township into Madison and Boone Townships.

Demographics

Jasper is the principal city of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Dubois and Pike counties^[24] and had a combined population of 54,734 at the 2010 census.^[5]

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, the population of Jasper was 15,038 and there were 5,994 households. The gender makeup of the city is 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

Ethnicities

The racial makeup of the city was:

• 93.6% white


• 7.7% Hispanic
  


• 0.4% Black
  


• 0.9% Asian
  


• 0.2% Native American
  


• 4.0% from other races
  


• 0.9% from two or more races.

Age

Of the total Jasper population:

• 14.0% were 1-9


• 12.9% were 10-19


• 12.1% were 20-29


• 11.9% were 30-39


• 14.4% were 40-49


• 13.6% were 50-59


• 9.1% were 60-69


• 6.1% were 70-79


• 5.4% were 80 or older


• Median age was 39.3 years. For males it was 36.9 years and for females, 41.6 years.

Income

• Overall median household income in Jasper is $53,968


• Median income for a family is $65,903


• Males had a median income of $37,432


• Females had a median income of $32,218


• The per capita income for the city is $28,540


• About 5.7% of families and 7.6% of the population are below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 and over.

Sister city

Jasper participates in the sister cities program, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI).^[25]

• 
  Pfaffenweiler, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Arts and culture

The Jasper Strassenfest is a four-day event held annually during the first weekend in August. The "Fest" is a celebration between Jasper and its German sister-city Pfaffenweiler, a small village in southwest Germany. Many citizens of Pfaffenweiler travel to Jasper around this time of year. The street festival encompasses the entire city square, complete with numerous food stands, rides, and a very large Biergarten. On average, over 1,300 pounds of bratwurst are consumed during the four-day event.^{[citation needed]} The Strassenfest culminates in a Sunday parade and evening fireworks. The festival also incorporates a golf tournament, beauty pageant (Miss Strassenfest), box parade, fishing tournament, and a network of German "Polka Masses" at the three Roman Catholic parishes: St. Joseph's, Holy Family, and Precious Blood.

Media

Newspapers

Jasper has had several newspapers during its history.

• The American Eagle was the town's first newspaper, and operated 1846–1848.


• The Jasper Weekly Courier, a Democratic newspaper, was one of the longest running newspapers in the town's history, serving Dubois County residents 1858–1921.^[26]


• The Dubois County Herald has been published from 1895 to the present and circulates about 10,000 copies per day to residents of Dubois, Spencer, and Pike counties. The Herald is one of only 300 independently owned newspapers in the United States.^[27]

Other newspapers published in Jasper included the Democrat (1857), the Times (1865), and another Times (1879–1891).^[28]

Radio

The following stations are licensed in the city of Jasper

• 91.7 FM WJPR
  


• 93.7 FM WJWS "JHS The Scratch"


• 104.7 FM WITZ-FM
  

Infrastructure

• 
  U.S. Route 231
  


• 
  Indiana State Road 164
  


• 
  Indiana State Road 162
  


• 
  Indiana State Road 56
  

Notable people

• 
  Mike Braun, U.S. Senator and former member of the Indiana House of Representatives
  


• 
  Daniel M. Buechlein, former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Indianapolis
  


• 
  Brad Ellsworth, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
  


• 
  Spike Gehlhausen, Indy car driver


• 
  Paul Hoffman, Purdue All-American, NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA Champion
  


• 
  Shane Lindauer, member of the Indiana House of Representatives^[29]


• 
  Matt Mauck, National Football League quarterback; led the LSU Tigers to the 2003 national championship


• 
  Mark Messmer, member of the Indiana State Senate
  


• 
  Frank W. Milburn, World War II and Korean War general


• 
  Edith Pfau, artist


• 
  Scott Rolen, Major League Baseball player


• 
  William J. Schroeder, longest lived person on a Jarvik-7
  


• 
  Gilbert R. Tredway, historian


• 
  Bernard V. Vonderschmitt, most noted as a co-founder of leading FPGA producer Xilinx.


• 
  Wilfrid Worland, Washington, D.C.–area architect

National Register of Historic Places

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Jasper is home to 5 of 12 locations or buildings in Dubois County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Dubois County Courthouse


• Gramelspacher-Gutzweiler House


• John Opel House


• St. Joseph Catholic Church


• Louis H. Sturm Hardware Store

Education

Front entrance to Jasper High School

In 1970, the school system of Ireland, an unincorporated town west of Jasper along State Route 56, was consolidated into that of Jasper.

• 
  Jasper High School (Public 9-12)


• Jasper Middle School (Public 6-8)^[30]


• Ireland Elementary School (Public PreK-5)^[31]


• Tenth Street School (Public 3-5)^[32]


• Fifth Street School (Public PreK-2)^[33]


• Holy Trinity Catholic School
  
  • West Campus at St. Mary's Ireland (Private PreK)^[34]
  
  
  • Central Campus at Precious Blood (Private PreK-2)^[35]
  
  
  • East Campus at Holy Family (Private 3-8)^[36]
  
  

The city has a free lending library, the Jasper-Dubois County Public Library.^[37]

Higher education

• Vincennes University (Jasper Campus)^[38]

See also

• List of city parks in Jasper, Indiana


• List of mayors of Jasper, Indiana


• List of public art in Jasper, Indiana

References

External links

Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Jasper, Indiana.

Media related to Jasper, Indiana at Wikimedia Commons

• 
  Jasper, Indiana travel guide from Wikivoyage


• Official website


• Jasper Chamber of Commerce


• Jasper German Club


• Jasper Strassenfest


• 
  Jasper Weekly Courier (1858–1922) available through Chronicling America at Library of Congress