Muncie

 

(mŭn'sē) , city (1990 pop. 71,035), seat of Delaware co., E Ind., on the White River; inc. 1854. It is a trade, processing, and manufacturing center. The city is in a fertile agricultural area with dairying and soybean, fruit, corn, oat, and vegetable crops. Machinery, electronic equipment, plastics, glass, motor vehicle equipment, and metal goods are among the many manufactures. The town was first established by the Delaware and named for one of their tribes. In 1818 the land passed by treaty to the U.S. government. Industrialization came after the discovery (1886) of natural gas in the county. Muncie is the seat of Ball State Univ. It is the city pictured in the classic sociological community studies by Robert and Helen Lynd, Middletown (1929) and Middletown in Transition (1937).

City of Muncie, Indiana
Nickname: Middletown USA
Location in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 40°11′36″N 85°23′17″W / 40.19333, -85.38806
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Delaware
Government
- Mayor	Daniel Canan
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	47302-47308
Area code(s)	765
FIPS code	18-518762
GNIS feature ID	04398783
Website: www.cityofmuncie.com

Muncie (IPA: [ˈmʌn.si]) is a city in Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769[1].

History

The area was first settled in the 1770s by the Delaware Indians, who had been transported from their tribal lands near the east coast to Ohio and eastern Indiana. They founded several towns along the White River including Muncietown, near the site of present-day Muncie. The tribes were forced to cede their land to the federal government and move further west in 1818, and in 1820 the area was opened to white settlers. The city of Muncie was incorporated in 1865. Contrary to popular legend, the city is not named after a mythological Chief Munsee, rather it was named after Munsee Town, the white settlers' name for the Indian village on the site.

Muncie was dubbed Middletown after a team of sociologists, led by Robert Lynd and Helen Lynd, initiated a series of sociological studies in Muncie funded by the Rockefeller Institute of Social and Religious Research. "The aim... was to study synchronously the interwoven trends that are the life of a small American city." (Lynd and Lynd 1929: 3) Muncie was considered a typical Middle-American community. In 1929, the Lynds published their first study in a book entitled Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture. The Lynds returned to Muncie to re-observe the community during the depression. In 1937 they published Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts. The National Science Foundation then funded a third study resulting in two books by Theodore Caplow, Middletown Families (1982) and All Faithful People (1983). Caplow returned in 1998 to begin another study known as Middletown IV, which became part of a PBS Documentary entitled "The First Measured Century," released in December, 2000. These are only a few of the most notable studies. The Ball State Center for Middletown Studies continues to survey and analyze the social changes occurring in Muncie. An enormous database of Middletown surveys, conducted from 1978 to 1997, is available online from ARDA, American Religion Data Archive. Ironically, a Henry County farming community with the authentic name of Middletown, IN, is only a 20-minute drive from Muncie, though it has no relationship to the Middletown Studies.

• See also Middletown studies

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 67,430 people, 27,322 households, and 14,589 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,076.7/km² (2,788.2/mi²). There were 30,205 housing units at an average density of 482.3/km² (1,248.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.72% White, 10.97% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 27,322 households out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 24.6% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,613, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $30,445 versus $21,872 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,814. About 14.3% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Since the late 19th century, Muncie’s economic backbone had been the in the industrial sector, primarily in manufacturing. Notable factories that employed a sizable amount of the population include Delco Remy, Westinghouse (later ABB), Indiana Steel and Wire, General Motors (New Venture Gear), Warner Gear (later BorgWarner), Broderick Co. Inc., Dayton-Walter, and Ball Corporation. However, most of these factories closed during a tumultuous period for the city from the late 1980s and late 1990s. As of 2006, the only aforementioned factory/corporation still in business (or at least operating in Muncie) was BorgWarner Inc. which is slated to close by 2009. However, smaller, non-unionized manufacturing businesses have survived this transition such as Maxon Corporation, Duffy Tool, and a dozen or so other shops that employ anywhere from a few dozen to a couple of hundred workers.

Like many mid-sized cities in the rust belt, Muncie has had to economically reinvent itself due to the collective fall of the manufacturing industry in the latter part of the 20th century. Muncie’s current economic backbone is in the health care, educational, and human resources, and service industries. The largest employers in Muncie are Ball Memorial Hospital/Cardinal Health Services, Ball State University, Muncie Community Schools, The City of Muncie, Sallie Mae, and Wal-mart. The local economy is one of the most controversial topics for Muncie residents, and the city has at times struggled to find cohesion between older unemployed/underemployed Muncie residents who strongly identify with the manufacturing history of the town, and newer residents who identify with the educational, health care and other white-collar industries. Muncie is clearly in a state of economic and social transition, but has experienced moderate economic growth in recent years despite continuing to lose population.

Sites of interest

• Beneficence sculpted by Daniel Chester French
• Appeal to the Great Spirit sculpted by Cyrus Dallin
• Wheeler Orchid Collection and Species Bank on the Ball State University campus
• Cardinal Greenway
• For more Wikitravel for Muncie.

Education

High Schools

• Burris Laboratory School
• Delta High School
• Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
• Muncie Central High School
• Muncie Southside High School

For other Delaware County high schools, click here.

Colleges and universities

• Ball State University
• Ivy Tech State College
• Indiana Business College

Notable natives & residents

• Michelle Baena, Playboy model
• Ball Brothers, founders of the Ball Corporation, originally a producer of glass canning jars but now a producer of different products.
• Ray Boltz - singer, Contemporary Christian musical artist ^[1]
• Benjamin V. Cohen - a key figure in the administrations of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
• Mary Jane Croft - Actress; appeared in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and I Love Lucy as "Betty Ramsey" ^[2]
• Jim Davis - cartoonist, creator of the Garfield comic strip, which has become tremendously popular since its debut in the 1970s.^[3] Attended Ball State.^[4]
• Sam Drummer, drafted and then released by Houston Rockets. Played one year for Harlem Globetrotters. Died February 4, 1995, at the age of 38.^[5]
• Dave Duerson - All-American Defensive Back for the University of Notre Dame; played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. ^[6]
• Bertha Fry - As of August 13, 2007, the 3rd oldest person living on earth.
• Brandon Gorin - National Football League offensive lineman ^[7]
• Kemper Harreld, African-American concert violinist and founder of the Morehouse College Glee Club.
• Scott Nickel, cartoonist working under Jim Davis at his Paws, Inc. company and co-creator of nationally syndicated comic strip Triple Take between 2005 and 2007.^{[citation needed]}
• Matt Painter - Purdue men's basketball head coach^[8]
• Bob Ross - Artist of the The Joy of Painting television series
• Preston Shumpert - Two-time All-Big East performer for the Syracuse Orange and current Euroleague prof basketball player.
• Bonzi Wells - NBA; plays for the Houston Rockets ^[9]
• Gregory Howard Williams, dean of the Ohio State University School of Law and author of Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black.

See also Category:People from Muncie, Indiana.

Cultural references to Muncie

• Knights of the Dinner Table - A comic strip set in Muncie. Parody of Roleplaying groups and Dungeons & Dragons.
• The film Close Encounters of the Third Kind is partially set in Muncie.
• The Hudsucker Proxy - The main character, Norville Barnes, was born and raised in Muncie. The city is referenced throughout the movie.
• Toby Keith's song I Wanna Talk About Me refers to Muncie.
• The popular Marsh Supermarkets chain was started in Muncie.
• Muncie was the setting for Armed and Famous, a celebrity reality TV show that premiered on CBS in January, 2007.
• The cartoon character "Snake" from The Simpsons played lacrosse for Ball State University located in Muncie Indiana. Also, Superintendent Chalmers went to BSU.
• In the fifth season of The Gilmore Girls television series one of the characters (Doyle McMaster, a native of the state and boyfriend to Paris Geller) reports that he spent his summer interning at the fictional Muncie Messenger newspaper.
• The "star" of the eponymous Tom Slick segment of the late 1960s animated series George of the Jungle frequently raced to or from Muncie (and, at least once, to and from Muncie).
• The X-Files episode "Salvage" was set in Muncie.
• It is revealed in the Garfield Goes Hollywood television special that cartoon characters Garfield and Jon live in Muncie.
• Gregory Howard Williams' best selling autobiography, Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black, is mostly set in Muncie, his adopted hometown.

See also

• Cincinnati, Richmond & Muncie Depot
• Hemingray Glass Company

External links

• City of Muncie
• Muncie Chamber of Commerce
• The Star Press
• Muncie Free Press
• Downtown Muncie Website
• Muncie Weather Website
• "The Lynds Revisited" by Richard Jensen, in Indiana Magazine of History (Dec 1979) 75: 303-319
• Delaware County Office of Geographic Information
• The Emily Kimbrough Historic District
• Muncie, Indiana travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates: 40.193243° N 85.388194° W

References

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