Nappanee

City of Nappanee
—  City  —
Downtown Nappanee.
Location in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 41°26′39″N 85°59′58″W / 41.44417°N 85.99944°W / 41.44417; -85.99944Coordinates: 41°26′39″N 85°59′58″W / 41.44417°N 85.99944°W / 41.44417; -85.99944
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Counties	Elkhart, Kosciusko
Government
• Mayor	Larry Thompson (R)
Area
• Total	4.15 sq mi (10.7 km2)
• Land	4.15 sq mi (10.7 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2)  0%
Elevation	869 ft (265 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,648
• Density	1,818.9/sq mi (702.1/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	46550
Area code(s)	574
FIPS code	18-52020[1]
GNIS feature ID	0439936[2]
Website	http://www.nappanee.org/

Nappanee is a city in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,648 at the 2010 census. The name Nappanee probably means "flour."^[3] Nappanee holds the distinction of having the longest city name in the United States containing each letter in its name twice.^[4] The town has several tourist attractions: Amish Acres, Metzler's Shoes, The Arts & Crafts Festival, and the Apple Festival. Nappanee is a small town but is increasing in size and number every year.

A tornado touched down in Nappanee around 10:30 pm on 18 October 2007, injuring at least five people and damaging 200 to 250 buildings, half of them severely. The tornado was classified as an EF3. The damage included three recreational vehicles factories that are among the community's largest employers: Fairmont Homes, Franklin Coach, and Gulf Stream Coach.^[5]

Government

• Mayor-

Larry Thompson, a former EMT, fireman, and School Board member. Owns Thompson, Lengacher, Yoder Funeral Homes.

• Clerk-Treasurer-

Kim Ingle, Oversees city finances, including accounts payable, budget, and investments. Primary record-keeper for the city government.

• Council
  • At Large: Janet Brown
  • District 1: Todd Nunemaker
  • District 2: Michael Stull
  • District 3: Sam Beachy
  • District 4: Jeff Kitson
• City Court Judge-

Christopher Walter- Service to the City: 2010-present — Judge (appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels) Responsibilities: Preside over city court and issue sentences and fines for infractions or misdemeanors^[6]

Tourist Attractions

Amish Acres -Was founded by Richard Pletcher, and is a historic farm and heritage resort. It embodies a preserved barn and Amish house that helps to "Embrace the Pace" as Nappanee's slogan implies. Amish Acres celebrates the Amish and shows what their lifestyle consist of. Amish Acre's original preserved Round Barn was relocated to it current location, and within it was constructed a theater in order to present shows. As well as see plays at Amish Acres, tourist can experience authentic Amish style cooking. Amish Acres offers other activities such as tours of an Amish house and a horse drawn carriage ride. Amish Acres is home to Nappanee's Arts and Crafts Festival.^[7]

Metzler's Shoes- First opened its doors in October 1924. Ralph Metzler as well as his brother-in-law Ora Smucker invested together to open a family shoe store. Not long after the opening of Metzler’s Shoes Ralph and his brother Dan Metzler became partners. For generations, Metzler Shoes has been a landmark in downtown Nappanee. They are known for their appeal to people who want specially designed shoes and advertise both Europeans and American high fashion shoes.^[8]

Education

Wa-nee Community Schools

Wa-nee is the combination of Wakarusa, a neighboring town, and Nappanee area schools. Over 375 teachers and staff are employed with Wa-nee Community Schools. Throughout the state, Wa-nee is known for its strong academic, extracurricular, and athletic programs.

• NorthWood High School-Recently given the Indiana Chamber of Commerce “Best Buy Schools” distinction for quality education with conscientious use of taxpayer dollars.

• NorthWood Middle School and Wakarusa Elementary-are also part of the Wa-nee Community Schools, but are located in Wakarusa, a neighboring town.
• Nappanee Elementary-Located within Nappanee
• WoodView Elementary-A mirror image to Wakarusa Elementary structurally. Sits on the outskirts of Nappanee.^[9]

Festivals

• The Nappanee Apple Festival

The Nappanee Apple Festival is held annually on the 3rd week of September lasting 3½ days. It consist of 100 craft booths, 50 commercial booths, 20 food vendors, 2 stages for entertainment, a large parade, and an airplane flyover on Saturday morning. Nappanee annually bakes a 7 foot wide apple pie that weighs 600 pounds. Every year an Apple Blossom Queen is chosen from the local highschool of NorthWood high school. The Nappanee Apple Festival attracted over 76,000 people in 2011 and is one of the largest festivals in the State of Indiana. Over 200 people from Nappanee volunteer to help with the Apple Festival each year. Other events include an apple peeling contest, 5K road run, half marathon, apple pie eating and apple peeling contests, goldfish races, wings & wheels show (cars and airplanes), tractor pull, farm tractor and antique farm equipment show, apple baking contest, kids & adult pedal pull contests, talent show, and a scholarship pageant.^[10]

• Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival

Richard Pletcher, founder of the festival and Amish Acres, remains CEO and Jennifer Pletcher Wysong is the festival director. The festival and marketplace takes place around Amish Acre's pond. Amish Acres has received many awards, making its way onto The American Bus Association's list of TOP 100 Events in North America in 2012. This achievement was awarded 4 times in the past 7 years. Readers of Sunshine Artist magazine rank the Art and Crafts Festival as the 3rd best Classic and Contemporary Craft Show within America. The Art festival was also listed at the number one in the category of "best attractions for group travel in Indiana" in Travel Trade Magazine. Senior Group Traveler selected the Arts and Craft Festival as one of only seventy "Editor's Choice of Outstanding Festivals and Major Events"; the Art and Craft Festival being the only one chosen from Indiana. Amish Acre's Art and Craft Festival attracts people from areas as far as Chicago,Indianapolis,Toledo, and Detroit. Amish Acre's grounds can only support up to 300 booths which consist of 250 different cities from 30 states.^[11]

History

• Nappanee’s History-Nappanee was originally sought after because of its fertile farmland because of the headwaters of the Wabash River in northern Indiana. It is the southern gateway to the Northern Indiana Amish Country. Before the 1800s Nappanee was inhabited by the Miami and Pottawatomi Indians. The first white settlers came to the area In 1830. By 1870, seven farms had been established and a population of forty people were settled in Nappanee. Nappanee grew tremendously after the construction of the B&O Railroad in 1874. Farmers sold land to the Railroad so that its tracks would run right next to Nappanee on its route to Chicago. The railroad brought more settlers to Nappanee and the B&O officially gave Nappanee its name. The families who settled in Nappanee were largely religious and conservative. Over time the B&O Railroad became CSX. Nappanee is still surrounded by farm families of the Anabaptist group. This includes the Amish, Mennonite, and the German Baptist.^[12]

• Amish Migration to Nappanee-In the 16th-century a protestant reformation took place in Central and Western Europe. This causes the Anabaptist movement in which the Amish and Mennonite were formed. Due to persecution the Dutch Anabaptist leader, Menno Simons, who was a former Catholic priest, moved himself and his followers to Switzerland. This is where the Mennonite group was formed. During the latter part of the 17th century a group from the Mennonites led by Jakob Anman separated to form the Amish group which was named after its leader. During the 1700s, the Amish were attracted to the promise of religious freedom in America; this being Pennsylvania. Amish then migrated to Middlebury in 1841 from Pennsylvania. Nappanee's Amish originate from the Swiss Amish from Pennsylvania.

^[13]

Geography

Nappanee is located at 41°26′39″N 85°59′58″W / 41.444201°N 85.999390°W / 41.444201; -85.999390.^[14]

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 4.15 square miles (10.7 km²), all land.^[15]

Demographics

Nappanee from above.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 6,710 people, 2,521 households, and 1,792 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,818.9 people per square mile (702.1/km²). There were 2,647 housing units at an average density of 717.5 per square mile (277.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.48% White, 0.28% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 2.52% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.98% of the population.

There were 2,521 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,988, and the median income for a family was $53,329. Males had a median income of $36,200 versus $21,733 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,229. About 4.5% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Little Paws Playground in Stauffer Park.

Nappanee is a regional center for both the RV manufacturing industry and the Amish craft and tourism industry. Many Amish and Mennonite families live in the area, often farming as well as working in the RV industry or woodworking trade. Since the storms and sluggish economy, Nappanee has experienced a high rate of job loss. Until it stopped running on March 7, 2005 Nappanee was a stop on Amtrak's Three Rivers train with service to Chicago and New York.

Notable residents

Amish Acres, a popular tourist attraction in Nappanee.

• Lt. Colonel (Ret) Todd Beer, United States Air Force, an Air Force One pilot, is from Nappanee; he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy where he was recruited to play basketball. He has flown Air Force One for President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.
• Vance George, conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus from 1982-2006.
• Rob Rensberger (1921–2007), a professional basketball player for the Chicago Stags.
• James L. Weygand (1919–2003), a lifelong resident of Nappanee, was a writer and publisher of miniature books who also wrote a definitive town history They Called It Nappanee: A History 1874-1974 Collections of his miniature books are held at The Lilly Library, Indiana University [1] and at the University of Iowa. The University of Florida has digitized his three books on printers' devices
• Six successful cartoonists lived in Nappanee as children:
  • Merrill Blosser (Freckles and His Friends)
  • Max Gwin (Slim and Spud in Prairie Farmer)
  • Bill Holman (Smokey Stover)
  • Henry Maust, advertising artist and cartoonist
  • Fred Neher (Life’s Like That)
  • Francis "Mike" Parks, political cartoonist^[16]

Twin city

• Napanee, Ontario

See also

• Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival

References

Sources

• They Called It Nappanee: A History 1874-1974 by James L Weygand. (Nappanee, Indiana, 1974)

External links

• City of Nappanee, Indiana website
• Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort - Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
• Nappanee Missionary Church - Largest church in the area
• Nappanee Amish community

v t e Municipalities and communities of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States County seat: Goshen Cities Elkhart Goshen Nappanee‡ Towns Bristol Middlebury Millersburg Wakarusa Townships Baugo Benton Cleveland Clinton Concord Elkhart Harrison Jackson Jefferson Locke Middlebury Olive Osolo Union Washington York CDPs Dunlap New Paris Simonton Lake Unincorporated communities Bainter Town Benton Bonneyville Mills Foraker Garden Village Jamestown Locke Midway Nibbyville Southwest Vistula Waterford Mills Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e Municipalities and communities of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States County seat: Warsaw Cities Nappanee‡ Warsaw Towns Burket Claypool Etna Green Leesburg Mentone Milford North Webster Pierceton Sidney Silver Lake Syracuse Winona Lake Townships Clay Etna Franklin Harrison Jackson Jefferson Lake Monroe Plain Prairie Scott Seward Tippecanoe Turkey Creek Van Buren Washington Wayne Unincorporated communities Arrowhead Park Atwood Barbee Bayfield Beaver Dam Bell Rohr Park Between-The-Lakes Park Black Point Buttermilk Point Cedar Point Clunette DeFries Landing Eagle Point Enchanted Hills Epworth Forest Forest Glen Gravelton Hastings Highbanks Highlands Park Island Park Kalorama Park Kanata Manayunk Kinsey Lakeside Park Lakeview Spring Marineland Gardens Milford Junction Mineral Springs Monoquet Musquabuck Park Oakwood Park Osborn Landing Oswego Palestine Pickwick Park Quaker Haven Park Sevastopol Shady Banks Silver Point South Park Stoneburner Landing Stony Ridge Sunrise Beach Vawter Park Walker Park Wawasee Village Wa-Will-Away Park Wooster Yellowbanks Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties