Situated on aMeander in theOhio River, the city is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City". Early French explorers named itLa Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The area has been inhabited by various indigenous cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years.Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of theMississippian culture from AD 1000 to around 1400. The city of Evansville was founded in 1812.
Evansville anchors a regional economic hub based primarily on trade, transportation, and utilities; professional and business services; education and health services; government; leisure and hospitality; and manufacturing.[6] TwoNYSE-listed companies (Berry Global andOneMain Financial) are headquartered in Evansville, and three companies traded onNASDAQ (Escalade,Old National Bank, andShoe Carnival) are also headquartered in Evansville.
There has been a continuous human presence in the area that became Evansville from at least 8000 BC byPaleo-Indians. Archaeologists have identified several archaic and ancient sites in and near Evansville, with the most complex atAngel Mounds. This was built and occupied from about AD 900 to about 1600, just before the arrival of Europeans to North America.[8]
Following the abandonment of Angel Mounds between 1400 and 1450, tribes of the historicMiami,Shawnee,Piankeshaw,Wyandot,Delaware and otherNative American peoples were known to be in the area. French hunters and trappers were among the first Europeans to come to the area, usingVincennes as a base of operations for fur trading. As a testament to the Ohio River's grandeur, early French explorers named itLa Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The land encompassing Evansville was formally relinquished by theDelaware in 1805 toGeneral William Henry Harrison, then governor of theIndiana Territory.
The city of Evansville, Indiana was founded in 1812 and incorporated in 1817. It is situated on anMeander in theOhio River, and is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City".
On March 27, 1812,Hugh McGary Jr. purchased about 441 acres (178 ha) and named it "McGary's Landing". In 1814, to attract more people, McGary renamed his village "Evansville" in honor ofColonel Robert Morgan Evans. Evansville incorporated in 1817 and was designated as the county seat on January 7, 1818. The county was named for Henry Vanderburgh, a deceased chief judge of the Indiana Territorial Supreme Court.[9][10]
Evansville became a thriving commercial town with a river trade, and the town began to expand outside of its original footprint. Evansville's west side was for many years cut off from the city's main part byPigeon Creek and the factories that developed along it, making the creek an industrial corridor. The land comprising the former town ofLamasco was platted in 1837 and was annexed in 1870.
Evansville's economy received a boost in the early 1830s when Indiana unveiled plans to build thelongest canal in the world, a 400-mile (640 km) ditch to connect the Great Lakes atToledo, Ohio with the inland rivers at Evansville. The project was intended to open Indiana to commerce and improve transportation fromNew Orleans toNew York City. The project bankrupted the state and was so poorly engineered that it would not hold water. By the time theWabash and Erie Canal was finished in 1853, Evansville's first railroad,Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad, was opened to Terre Haute.[10] The expansion of railroads in this territory had made the canal obsolete. Only two flat barges ever made the entire trip.[11] The canal basin at Fifth and Court street in downtown Evansville became the site of a new courthouse in 1891.[11]
The era of Evansville's greatest growth occurred in the second half of the 19th century, following the disruptions of theCivil War. The city was a major stop for steamboats along the Ohio River, and it was the home port for a number of companies engaged in trade via the river.[12] Coal mining, manufacturing, and hardwood lumber was a major source of economic activity. By 1900, Evansville was one of the world's largest hardwood furniture centers, with 41 factories employing approximately 2,000 workers. Railroads eventually became more important and in 1887 theL&N Railroad constructed a bridge across the Ohio River.[13] Along with a major rail yard southwest of Evansville in Howell, which was annexed in 1916 and completed the city's counterclockwise march around the horseshoe bend.
Throughout this period, Evansville's main ethnic groups consisted of Protestant Scotch-Irish from the South, Catholic Irish coming for canal or railroad work, New England businessmen, Germans fleeing Europe after the 1848 revolutions, andfreedmen from western Kentucky.[14] By the1890 census, Evansville ranked as the 56th-largest urban area in the United States, but it was surpassed in population by other cities in the early 1900s.[15] As the new century began, the city continued to develop to its eastern areas. Manufacturing also took off, particularly in the automobile and refrigeration industries.
Final stage of truck assembly at Graham Brothers Truck Plant in Evansville, 1920
The Graham brothers, Ray, Robert, and Joseph, got their start with a successful glass factory in Evansville. After they sold it in 1907, the glass factory became Libbey-Owens-Ford. In 1916, seeing the need for a dependable truck, the Graham brothers entered the truck chassis business. Evansville was home to Graham Brothers Trucks from then until 1929. The dependability of Graham trucks was due in part to their use of Torbensen internal gear drive rear axles.
In 1921, after the death of both Dodge brothers, Graham Brothers started selling 1.5-ton pickups through Dodge dealers. (Dodge did not manufacture trucks at the time). These vehicles had Graham chassis and some Dodge parts. Dodge Brothers bought a controlling interest in Graham Brothers in 1925, picking up the rest in 1926.[16]
The city saw exponential growth in the early twentieth century with the production of lumber and the manufacturing of furniture. By 1920, Evansville had more than two dozen furniture companies. In the decades of the 1920s and 1930s, city leaders attempted to improve Evansville's transportation position and successfully lobbied to be on the Chicago-to-Miami "Dixie Bee Highway" (U.S. Highway 41). A bridge was built across the Ohio River in 1932 and in that same decade steps were taken to develop an airport.
But theOhio River flood of 1937 covered 500 city blocks in Evansville, resulting in a major crisis.[17] With steamboats less necessary to the local economy, city and federal officials responded to the flood and its destruction by constructing more and higher levees: construction that penned and hid the Ohio River behind a barrier of earthen berms and concrete walls.[18]
DuringWorld War II, Evansville was a major center of industrial production which helped revive the regional economy after theGreat Depression. A huge 45-acre (18 ha) shipyard complex was constructed on the riverfront east of St. Joseph Avenue for the production of oceangoing LSTs (Landing Ship-Tanks). The Evansville Shipyard was the nation's largest inland producer of LSTs. The Plymouth factory was converted into a plant which turned out "bullets by the billions," and many other companies switched over to the manufacture of war material.[19] In 1942, an aircraft factory was constructed adjacent to the airport north of the city for the manufacture of the Republic P-47D fighter aircraft, thelegendary P-47 Thunderbolt. Evansville produced a total of 6,242 P-47s, almost half of the P-47s made nationally during the war.[20]
After the war, Evansville's manufacturing base of automobiles, household appliances, and farm equipment benefited from growing post-war demand. A growing housing demand also caused residential development to leap north and east of the city. However, between 1955 and 1963, a nationwide recession hit Evansville. Among other closures, Servel (which produced refrigerators) went out of business and Chrysler ended its local operations. The economy was saved from near total collapse by 28 businesses that moved into the area, includingWhirlpool,Alcoa, andGeneral Electric.
During the final third of the 20th century, Evansville became the hub of the tri-state region's commercial, medical, and service industries. A 1990s economic spurt was fueled by the growth of theUniversity of Southern Indiana. The arrival of giantToyota andAK Steel manufacturing plants into nearbyGibson andSpencer Counties respectively, as well asCasino Aztar (now Bally's), Indiana's first gaming boat, also contributed to the growth of jobs. As the twenty-first century began, Evansville continued in a steady pace of economic diversification and stability.
On December 6, 2022, in recognition of the city's massive production efforts during World War II, it was announced that Evansville had been designated Indiana's AmericanWorld War II Heritage City by theNational Park Service.
According to the 2010 census, Evansville has an area of 44.622 square miles (115.57 km2), of which 44.15 square miles (114.35 km2) (or 98.94%) is land and 0.472 square miles (1.22 km2) (or 1.06%) is water.[21]
The city's southern boundary lies on an oxbow in the Ohio River. Most of the city lies in a shallow valley surrounded by low rolling hills. The city's west side is built on these rolling hills and is home toBurdette Park,Mesker Amphitheatre, andMesker Park Zoo. The eastern portion developed in the valley and is protected by a series of levees that closely follow the path ofI-69. Notable landmarks on the east side are the 240-acre (1.0 km2)Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve and the Angel Mounds State Historic Site, just southeast of Evansville, between Evansville andNewburgh.
Evansville's originaldowntown plat was made on about 200 acres, with streets running parallel to the river from northwest to southeast. Other streets nearby were later laid out on the cardinal points, due north–south, and east–west. Thus, anyone entering or leaving downtown finds the street makes a confusing oblique-angle turn in one direction or another.[22] In the 1970s, the city suffered from problems such as decreased economic activity and suburban flight, but city-sponsored revitalization has improved downtown conditions.
The business district and riverfront feature land-based casino gambling, restaurants, bars, and shops that attract tens of thousands of visitors each year. Although much of the outer city's architecture is typical suburban design,the city's downtown district retains early twentieth-century architecture. A few blocks east of the main business district is theRiverside district, featuring tree-lined brick streets full of turn of the twentieth-century homes. TheReitz Home Museum is one of the finest examples of Frenchsecond empire architecture in the United States.[23] Other homes nearby feature similar character and design and includeItalianate,Colonial Revival, andRenaissance Revival styles.
Evansville lies within the northern limits of thehumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), and straddles the border betweenUSDA plant hardiness zones 6b and 7a.[25] Summers are hot and humid, winters are cold to cool. Average temperatures range from 32.5 °F (0.3 °C) in January to 78.0 °F (25.6 °C) in July.[26] Annual precipitation averages 45.3 inches (1,150 mm), including an average seasonal snowfall of 11.8 inches (30 cm).[26][27] Evansville winters can range from just 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of snowfall in 2011–12, up to 37.9 in (96 cm) in 1969–70.[28] On average, there are 41 days annually with a maximum temperature of 90 °F (32 °C) or above and 17 days with a maximum at or below freezing; the mean first and last freeze dates are October 26 and April 7, resulting in a frost-free period of 201 days.[26] Extreme temperatures range from −23 °F (−31 °C) on February 2, 1951, up to 111 °F (44 °C) on July 28, 1930; the record cold maximum of −3 °F (−19 °C) was set onJanuary 20, 1985, and December 22, 1989, while, conversely, the record warm minimum of 82 °F (28 °C) was last reached July 8, 1980.[26]
In August 2018, the mayor of Evansville sent a letter to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORVWSO) opposing a proposal to eliminate pollution control standards for the Ohio River. Evansville is located downstream from the river's origin. Sources of pollution that affect water quality includeagricultural runoff, raw sewage discharges fromcombined sewer overflows, and toxic chemicals released by companies withwater pollution permits.[31] The state of Indiana issues a fish consumption advisory for fish from theOhio River based onPCB contamination. The recommended consumption limit for most fish, includingcarp,striped bass, andflathead catfish is no more than 8 ounces (230 g) per month, but forchannel catfish, the recommendation drops to 8oz every two months.[32]
A large portion of the downtown and north side areas were declared contaminated by lead and arsenic because of factory dumping dating back to the Civil War. Contractors have been working for more than 20 years to dig up the lawns of residents to make them safe for children to play. About 18 inches (46 cm) of contaminated dirt is dug up from each yard then dumped in a nearby landfill. The work has many more years to go.[35][36]
Evansville, Indiana – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The U.S. Census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race.
As of the 2010 census,[44] there were 117,429 people, 50,588 households, and 28,085 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,659.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,027.0/km2). There were 57,799 housing units at an average density of 1,309.2 per square mile (505.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 82.0%White, 12.6%African American, 0.3%Native American, 1.0%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 1.3% fromother races, and 2.8% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 50,588 households, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% weremarried couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.5% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.
Median household income was $36,330 (2016), with the per capita income being $21,368 (2016). Poverty level was 21.7%.
The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 25.8% were from 45 to 64, and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.
The downtown riverfront area features tiered seating.
Evansville is the regional center for a large trade area inIndiana,Kentucky, andIllinois. The largest industry sectors in size in Evansville are healthcare, finance, education, and manufacturing. Other major industries by employment are energy, warehousing and distribution, and retail.
Evansville's strategic location on theOhio River, strong rail and highway infrastructure, and its designation as aU.S. Customs Port of Entry, make it an ideal location for the transfer of cargo, including internationally. Chemicals make up 64% of international exports from the metro area, followed by transportation equipment (18%) and food manufacturing (5%).[47]
Evansville is also a regional energy hub because of regional energy-related facilities such asBWX Technologies Nuclear Operations Group,coal mines, Global Blade Technology,[48] several largeethanol andbiofuel facilities, and a network ofgas andoil pipelines.[49]
The city of Evansville offers a tax structure for companies locating inside the Evansville urban enterprise zone. Established in 1984 as one of five enterprise zones in the state, the 2.1-square-mile (5.4 km2) area offers inventory tax credits and other tax credits to eligible businesses.[50]
Bosse Field, a 7,180-seat baseball stadium in Garvin Park, was built in 1915 and is the third-oldest ballpark still in regular use in the United States. It is surpassed only byFenway Park (1912) in Boston andWrigley Field (1914) in Chicago.
A wide variety of concerts, plays, conventions, expositions and other special events are held at the 2,500-seat auditorium and convention center at theOld National Events Plaza downtown.[52]
Victory Theatre
Victory Theatre is a vintage 1,950-seat venue that is home to theEvansville Philharmonic Orchestra.[53] Each year, the orchestra presents a seven-concert classics series, four double pops performances, and special event concerts, as well as numerous educational and outreach performances.[54] The theater also hosts local ballet and modern dance companies, theater companies, and touring productions.
TheUniversity of Evansville maintains a theater program, which features four mainstage and two studio productions a year. UE has been honored more times at theKennedy Center than any other theatre institution. The university is the only institution, along withYale, which has been asked to perform at the Kennedy Center without first going through competition. It leads the nation in the top awards for its students as awarded by the Broadway Theatre Wing and other governing bodies of serious theatre.[55]
The Evansville Civic Theatre is southern Indiana's longest-running community theater, dating from the 1920s when the community theater movement swept across the country. From its humble beginnings at the old Central High School auditorium, the theatre has had many homes –Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum, Bosse High School, the Rose Room of the McCurdy Hotel, the Elks Ballroom, and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1974, Evansville Civic Theatre acquired the historic Columbia Movie Theater as its permanent home.[56]
TheWest Side Nut Club Fall Festival is a street fair held in the area west of downtown Evansville. It is held on the first full week of October and draws between 100,000 and 150,000 people each day. The main attraction of the festival is the food, with includes pronto pups, elephant ears, corn dogs, chocolate-covered crickets,fried-brain sandwich, and alligator stew.Paul Harvey remarked onlyMardi Gras inNew Orleans, Louisiana is larger than the Fall Festival.[57]
TheGermania Männerchor Volksfest is a three-day German heritage festival which takes place every August in the historic Germania Mannerchor building on the city's west side. The festival includes food, drink, dance, and music. Many of the city's residents with German ancestry also wear historic German attire. On the last weekend of August, 4,000hot rods converge on the Vanderburgh County 4-H fairgrounds north of the city for "Frog Follies."[58]
Angel Mounds State Park is nationally recognized as one of the best preserved prehistoricNative American sites in the United States.[59] From AD 1100 to 1450, a town near this site was home to people of the middle Mississippian culture. Several thousand people lived in this town protected by a stockade made of wattle and daub. Because Angel Mounds was achiefdom (the home of the chief), it was the regional center of a large community.
TheChildren's Museum of Evansville opened its doors to the public in September 2006.[60] The museum is the result of two years of planning and was constructed in the historic Central Library downtown. TheArt Deco building is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. The museum has three floors of interactive exhibits and galleries.
The Evansville African American Museum was established to continually develop a resource and cultural center to collect, preserve, and educate the public on the history and traditions of African American families, organizations, and communities. The museum is in the last remaining building of Lincoln Gardens, the second federal housing project created under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in 1938.
TheEvansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science is home to one of southern Indiana's most established and significant cultural centers. It holds the Koch Planetarium, the oldest in Indiana.[61] Also on the campus is the Evansville Museum Transportation Center, which features transportation in southern Indiana from the latter part of the nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century.
In October 2005, theUSS LST-325 moored in Evansville and was turned into a museum (USS LST Ship Memorial) in recognition of the city's war effort. DuringWorld War II, Evansville produced 167LSTs (and 35 other craft), making it the largest inland producer of LSTs in the nation. The USSLST-325 is the last navigabletank landing ship in operation.[62]
TheEvansville Wartime Museum was opened on the weekend of Memorial Day in 2017. The Museum features exhibits commemorating Evansville's role in the Allied war effort during World War II and other conflicts. These exhibits include the Evansville built P-47 Thunderbolt fighter ‘Hoosier Spirit II’, the operational 1943 Sherman tank ‘Rosie’s Revenge’, other military vehicles and wartime displays.[63]
TheMesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden opened in 1928 and is one of the oldest and largest zoos in the state. Set in a 50-acre (200,000 m2) park, the zoo features 200 species and more than 700 animals. An estimated 3 million people visit the zoo between April and August every year. Mesker Park Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Evansville is home to theEvansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL).[64] As a unified system serving both Evansville and the surrounding county, EVPL is one of the largest public library systems inIndiana.[65] It was rated a five star library by theLibrary Journal, which places it in the top 1% of public libraries in the U.S.[66] EVPL also obtained a Top Ten library ranking in the 2010 edition ofHennen's American Public Library Ratings, achieving a number eight ranking within its population category.[67]
An independent private institution,Willard Library, is also in Evansville. Willard was formed in 1881 to serve the public, regardless of race, a progressive mission in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The library houses local archives and genealogical materials, in addition to its collection of standard publications. The building is constructed in theGothic Revival style and was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Evansville used to play host to the top tier boat racing circuit ofH1 Unlimited when it hostedThunder on the Ohio along the Ohio River in downtown Evansville, which was hosted continuously from 1979 to 2009. Evansville had also previously hosted Thunder on the Ohio from 1938 to 1940. The two-mile Evansville tri-oval was known as one of the fastest hydroplane courses in the world, as various world records were set on the Evansville course. Hydroplane racing returned to Evansville in 2017, with the introduction of the Evansville Hydrofest, anAmerican Power Boat Association event.[68]
Goebel Soccer Complex is on 70 acres (28 ha) of land and features nine Olympic-size irrigated Bermuda grass fields and one Olympic-size AstroPlay turf field. Additionally,Double Cola Soccer Complex provides twin soccer fields and stadium seating for the high school regular season and postseason matches.Swonder Ice Arena is a double-rink facility that opened in the fall of 2002 and features a fitness center, a skate park, and party rooms. High schools in theEVSC district used Lloyd Pool forSIAC swimming and diving meets before its shutdown and demolition plans in 2021.[69] The Deaconess Aquatic Center replaced Lloyd as the local hub for swim and dive in October 2021.[70]
Evansville has hosted Drums on the Ohio, aDrum Corps International Summer tour competition at the Reitz Bowl, since 1978 with a brief hiatus from 2008 to 2013. The event normally takes place in June, and draws over 3,000 spectators. It is the only DCI event within a 100-mile radius.[71]
Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve is aNational Natural Landmark containing approximately 200 acres (0.8 km2) of virgin bottomland hardwood forest, the largest tract of virgin forest inside any city limits in the United States.[72] The Nature Center features exhibits, events, wildlife observation areas, meeting rooms, library, and gift shop. Adjacent to the Nature Preserve, Wesselman Park features a Par 3 golf course, basketball courts, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, softball fields, and a playground.[73]
Evansville has a municipal park system with 65 parks and 21 special facilities encompassing more than 2,300 acres (9 km2) of land in the city of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. A bicycle and pedestrian trail extend into adjacent counties and links to theAmerican Discovery Trail. This trail system includes the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage, a 6.75 mi (10.86 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail.[74] The city's operates four public golf courses, two disc golf courses, Garvin Park, Lloyd Pool, the Goebel Soccer Complex, Swonder Ice Arena and the C.K. Newsome Community Center.
Anchored by the Four Freedoms Monument and theBally's Evansville, Dress Plaza along the riverfront offers a brick paved walkway above, and tiered seating below with a view of theOhio River.
The mayor of Evansville, Stephanie Terry,[75] serves as the chief executive officer. Cities in Indiana have amayor–council government providing the mayor with most of the executive and administrative power over the city's daily operations. A nine-member electedcity council possesses the legislative and fiscal body of city government. The council's nine members are made up of one representative from each of the city's six council districts and three at-large members. Members are part-time elected officials who serve for four-year terms. As the legislative body, the council possesses the exclusive responsibility of passing or changing local laws. As the fiscal body, the council has the authority to levy certain taxes and it has the sole responsibility of adopting a city budget each year.
Ward
Member
Took office
Party
Other titles
1
Ben Trockman
2020
Democratic
2
Missy Mosby
2008
Democratic
3
Zachary Heronemus
2020
Democratic
4
Alex Burton
2020
Democratic
President
5
Angela Koehler Lindsey
2023
Republican
6
Jim Brinkmeyer
2016
Democratic
Vice president
At-large
Paul Green
2024
Democratic
At-large
Courtney Johnson
2024
Democratic
At-large
Mary Allen
2024
Democratic
The county has eight state trial courts of original jurisdiction. One circuit court and seven superior courts. The judge's offices are non-partisan in terms of six years. A judge must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judges are assisted by magistrates that are appointed.circuit court.[76] TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana maintains a permanent division in the city.
Vanderburgh County's delegation to the Indiana State House of Representatives comprises four representatives:Matt Hostettler (District 64),Wendy McNamara (District 76),Ryan Hatfield (District 77), andTim O'Brien (District 78). Evansville and Vanderburgh County are represented by two state senators. The western half of the county is a part of District 49, currently held byJim Tomes. The townships of Knight and Center are in District 50, which extends to the east, a seat held byVaneta Becker.
Evansville is the county seat ofVanderburgh County. Some of the city's governmental functions are shared withVanderburgh County officials. In recent years various bi-partisan groups have advocated merging the Evansville city and Vanderburgh County governments, as was done in other surrounding cities such asIndianapolis,Louisville, andNashville.[78] Evansville and Vanderburgh County already have a number of notable merged government functions. The school system is consolidated countywide in theEvansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and the library system is consolidated countywide in theEvansville Vanderburgh Public Library. Additional countywide authorities are in place for theEvansville Regional Airport and for flood control via the countywide levee authority.
A branch campus of theIndiana University School of Medicine opened in 1972 on USI's campus; it moved downtown in 2018 into a new interdisciplinary academic health science education and research building (the Stone Family Center for the Health Sciences) in partnerships with UE, USI, andIvy Tech.
Other campuses in the city includeOakland City University's School of Adult and Extended Learning.
The publicEvansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) consists of five traditional high schools, 11 middle schools, and 20 elementary schools. The EVSC also maintains a fully-online school, an alternative high school for students with individualized educational plans, a trade and technicalmagnet school that also serves the widerSouthwestern Indiana area, and a nontraditionalSTEM-focused high school.
In addition to the public schools, there are two parochial high schools, one charter higher school, and two private schools. Catholic education is administered by theRoman Catholic Diocese of Evansville.
TheEvansville Courier & Press, owned by Gannett, serves the Evansville area. The newspaper also publishes the monthly magazinesEvansville Business Journal[84] andeWoman Magazine, and it owns theHenderson Gleaner in neighboringHenderson, Kentucky.Evansville Living[85] andEvansville Business,[86] published locally by Tucker Publishing Group, are bi-monthly local magazines showcasing the people, businesses, and communities in the area. Other media publications includeMaturity Journal, a free monthly newspaper aimed at senior citizens, andNews4U,[87] a free monthly entertainment magazine.
Immediate access to many major forms oftransportation makes Evansville an important factor in Indiana's global economy. The city boasts road, rail, water, and air transportation systems. TheEvansville Regional Airport, housed in a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2)terminal, offers over 30 flights a day to destinations around the country. Evansville does not have convenient access to commuter rail.
Evansville has a growing interstate system.I-64 is eight miles north of the city and straddles theGibson -Vanderburgh County line. This interstate routes west toSt. Louis and runs east toLouisville.I-69, now complete toIndianapolis, provides a convenient link to I-64 from the city's thriving eastside retail district and a direct route to the downtown business district via theVeterans Memorial Parkway. When the Ohio River Crossing is complete in 2031, Interstate 69, will also provide uninterrupted (albeit tolled) access toWestern Kentucky andWest Tennessee.
Public transit includes theMetropolitan Evansville Transit System (METS) which provides bus transportation to all sections of the city. Evansville has several multi-use trails for bikes and pedestrians, and in many areas there are on-road bike paths that help cyclists get around the city by bicycle. Like most cities, Evansville was served by electricstreetcars into the 20th century. The community is served by Uber and Lyft and as of fall 2019 rentable scooters.
Today, the city is served by four major freight railroads,CSX (with a major yard in the Howell area),Evansville Western Railway, theIndiana Southwestern Railway, and theNorfolk Southern Railway. The Howell Yard in Evansville sorts and makes up trains, and has intermodal facilities to handle 3,000 cargo containers and piggyback trailers per month
Three public and several private port facilities receive year-round service from five majorbarge lines operating on theOhio River. The river connects Evansville with all river markets in the central United States and on theGreat Lakes and with international markets through the port ofNew Orleans. Evansville has been aU.S. Customsport of entry for more than 125 years. Because of this, it is possible to have international cargo shipped to Evansville in bond. The international cargo can then clear Customs in Evansville rather than a coastal port.
Electricity andnatural gas are both provided to Evansville byCenterPoint Energy. Water and sewer services are provided by the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility, which provides water to more than 75,000 customers in Evansville and the surrounding area. TheOhio River provides for most of the city's source of drinking water. Water is drawn from the river and filtered at a 60 million gallon per day treatment plant.[97] There are approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of water mains in the system, which includes approximately 6,000 fire hydrants.
From 1818 to 1847, law enforcement was administered by theWarrick County sheriff, and from 1847 to 1863, the city marshal shared policing duties with the police department. In 1863, the Evansville Police Department was founded.[98]
All exterior shots on the 1988–2018sitcomRoseanne are still photographs taken in and around Evansville. The Conners' house is at 619 South Runnymeade Avenue, and the Lobo Lounge is a pizzeria at the corner of Edgar and Louisiana Streets.Matt Williams, one of the show's producers, is a native of Evansville and a graduate of The University of Evansville theatre program. He is a co-founder of Wind Dancer Productions and has been involved with numerous sitcoms such as 'Home Improvement', movies and dramatic plays for Broadway.
The Daily Show has featured Evansville in two episodes. The first featured a story about comedianCarrot Top's reopening of the historic Victory Theatre. The second poked fun at former mayor Russell Lloyd Jr. for skipping out on a city meeting to attendCher's Farewell Tour concert being performed on the same night at Roberts Stadium.
Evansville is the primary location in the historical fiction novelInvitation to Valhalla, by Mike Whicker, published in 2004. The novel is based on the records of German spy Erika Lehmann's attempt to infiltrate the LST shipyards during WWII.
An Evansville couple is the focus ofHungarian Rhapsody: An Adoption Story, by James Derk, based on a series of stories in theEvansville Courier & Press.[103]
Evansville, under the name Vansul, appears as a slapstick satire in thepost-apocalyptic novelLight of the Ancient Sun.
^Roberts, Charles E.Evansville, Her Commerce and Manufacturers. Evansville: 1874.
^Morlock, James E. (1980). "The Railroad Builders in Evansville". In James E. Morlock (ed.).Was It Yesterday?. Evansville: University of Evansville Press.
^Gilbert, F.M. (1910)History of the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County, Vol. I. Chicago: Pioneer Publishing Company.
^Van Keuren, Ernest C.; et al. (1987). "The Evansville Flood".Evansville's Great Flood, 1937. Evansville: University of Evansville Press.[full citation needed]
^Husk, Kim (July 23, 1993). "River Fortress Would Protect Evansville".The Evansville Courier.
^Service, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather."Paducah, KY".Crh.noaa.gov. Retrieved2017-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Station: Evansville Regional AP, IN".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved2021-05-29.
Lawrence M. Lipin,Producers, Proletarians, and Politicians: Workers and Party Politics in Evansville and New Albany, Indiana, 1850-87. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
.jpg)
.svg)
