Jasper, Indiana

Updated on Dec 09, 2023

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Country United States Township Bainbridge Elevation 466 ft (142 m) Local time Thursday 10:44 PM		State Indiana Founded 1818 Time zone EST (UTC-5) Population 15,309 (2013)

Weather 13°C, Wind N at 16 km/h, 68% Humidity Points of interest Spirit of Jasper, Krempp Gallery, Dubois County Museum I, Bohnert Park

The merkley wedding 5 22 16 supreme sound entertainment klubhaus 61 jasper indiana

Jasper is a city in, and the county seat 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 55th 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. The land uses are mainly agriculture.

Map of Jasper, IN, USA

Jasper is a regional center in Southwestern Indiana, noted for its heavily German Catholic ancestral roots. 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.

History

Jasper was founded in 1818. The Enlow family were the first settlers of the town. 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 (Revelations 21:19).

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

The Jasper post office has been in operation since 1832.

Jasper was incorporated as a town in 1866, and was incorporated into a city in 1915.

Town Recognition

Jasper was previously ranked in the top 25 in Norman Crampton's 1992 book 100 Best Small Towns in America.

In 2005, Jasper was ranked in the ten best places to live in the U.S. by Relocate America.

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

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

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

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

Geography

Jasper is located at 38°23′29″N 86°55′51″W (38.391439, -86.930772), 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. 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 and had a combined population of 54,734 at the 2010 census.

2010 census

As of the census 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).

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. 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.

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.

The Dubois County Herald has been published from 1895 to the present and circulates over 11,300 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.

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

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

Daniel M. Buechlein, former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Indianapolis

Spike Gehlhausen, Indy car driver

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

Matt Mauck, National Football League quarterback; led the Bayou Bengals to the 2003 national championship

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

There are 12 Dubois County locations or buildings listed on the NRHS with 5 being in Jasper.

Dubois County Courthouse

Gramelspacher-Gutzweiler House

John Opel House

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Louis H. Sturm Hardware Store

Education

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

Vincennes University (Jasper Campus)

Jasper High School (Public 9-12)

Jasper Middle School (Public 6-8)

Ireland Elementary School (Public PreK-5)

Tenth Street School (Public 3-5)

Fifth Street School (Public PreK-2)

Holy Trinity Catholic School

Holy Family School (Catholic 3-8)

References

Jasper, Indiana Wikipedia

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