JASPER, IN

Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 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. 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.

History

Jasper was founded in 1818. The Enlow family were the first settlers of the town. Jasper was originally going to be named "Eleanor" after the wife of early 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. 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. 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.

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

Economy

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 many furniture companies, including Kimball International and Masterbrand Cabinets. Jasper is 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 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 (38.391439, -86.930772), and is roughly:

According to the 2010 census, Jasper has a total area of , of which (or 99.31%) is land and (or 0.69%) is water.

The city is mainly in Bainbridge Township, although city limits also extend into Madison and Boone Townships.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jasper, IN has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

thumb|Location of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area in Indiana

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:

Age

Of the total Jasper population:

Income

Government

The following persons have held the office of mayor of Jasper, Indiana.

City parks

Jasper, Indiana has a total of 18 city parks covering 355 acres of land.

City infrastructure

Sister city

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

Arts and culture

Jasper 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.

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.

In January 2021, the new Thyen-Clark Cultural Center and public lending library opened.

The fictional town of Orson, Indiana, from the TV series The Middle is based on Jasper.

Media

Newspapers

Jasper has had several newspapers during its history.

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

Education

right|thumb|upright=1|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.

The city has a free lending library, the Jasper-Dubois County Public Library. In January 2021, the library moved into a new building that it shares with the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center.

Notable people

National Register of Historic Places

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