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Real Estate & Homes in Evansville - Indiana - Evansville, Indiana homes and communities Evansville Background Located in extreme southwest Indiana on the banks of the Ohio River, Evansville is the state’s third-largest city (after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne) and a regional hub for the Indiana-Illinois-Kentucky tri-county area. Known for its friendly “Hoosier hospitality,” Evansville has a great deal of turn-of-the-century architecture and prides itself on honoring its heritage, from the Native American mound-builders of a millennia ago to the ghostly lady who wanders the halls of Willard Library. History Evansville was laid out in 1817 and named after Robert Morgan Evans, one of its founders and an officer in the War of 1812 who served under William Henry Harrison. The Ohio River was the source of much of the city’s early prosperity; the river trade spurred Evansville’s growth after its incorporation in 1819. In 1843, the city’s economy received another boost with the completion of the 400-mile Wabash and Erie Canal, which stretched from Evansville north to Toledo, Ohio. Evansville has continued to prosper; at one time, they were home to an NFL football team, the Evansville Crimson Giants. Evansville was also home to the first Sears department store. One unique aspect of Evansville, and indeed the entire state of Indiana, is the local time-zone confusion that often confounds visitors. Most of Indiana, including some areas near Evansville, observes Eastern Time. Not all of Indiana, however, observes Daylight Savings Time, which means that various sections of the state are on Eastern Time for part of the year and on Central Time for the remainder. Evansville, however, is always in the Central Time Zone and the city does observe Daylight Savings Time. It is not unusual to see local times for events such as movies and community happenings listed with time zones attached to avoid confusion. Fast Facts City population: 121,582 Attractions In keeping with the area’s historical nature, one of the local attractions of note is the Angel Mound State Historic Site, one of the best-preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the United States. Recently renovated, the exhibit tells the story of the Middle Mississippian culture, which inhabited the area from 1100 to 1450 A.D. Other Evansville historic sites include the Colonel William Jones State Historic Site, George Rogers Clark National Park, the West Baden Springs National Historical Landmark, and many examples of Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian architecture sprinkled throughout the downtown area. A frequent stop for history buffs is the Willard Library, the oldest operating library in Indiana; the attraction, however, is the library’s famous ghost, the Gray Lady, who appears in a series of famous spectral photographs. The library has installed a 24-hour “Ghostcam” on their website. Evansville residents and visitors can enjoy a number of small museums, too. The Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science have a $10 million permanent art collection, a children’s exploration center and a planetarium. Local museums also honor transportation history, the life and work of artist John James Audubon, Lincoln’s boyhood, and a number of historic homes honoring local residents lost in war. Evansville is also home to Indiana’s oldest zoo, the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. A modest but charming zoo, Mesker Park showcases local horticulture as well as more than 500 animals. The Aztar Casino Riverboat also draws fortune hunters from the entire tri-state area. Arts & Culture The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra presents a seven-concert classics series, four pops performances, two family series concerts and special events concerts from their home venue, the 1,950-seat Victory Theatre in downtown Evansville. Mesker Park includes a large concert venue, the open-air Mesker Amphitheatre, which can accommodate nearly 9,000 spectators including the lawn seating area. The popular Mesker Movie Series, presented each summer, allows residents to view movies under the stars. Education Evansville is home to two post-secondary institutions: the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville. USI, a fairly new school in only its thirty-eighth year, is a sizable university of 10,000 students, having seen a dramatic increase in enrollment over the past decade. Indiana is a notoriously poor-performing state in education with college enrollment lagging behind the national average, and USI was one of the schools created to combat this trend and provide convenient education for an area that had been lacking in facilities. The smaller but much older University of Evansville, founded in 1854 with 2300 students currently enrolled, is a liberal-arts university with strong ties to the Methodist church. The school is noted for its study-abroad programs, and their academic programs focus on critical thinking and multiculturalism. Sports & Recreation The Evansville sports scene consists largely of University games and those of the two local minor-league teams, the Evansville Otters (a Frontier League baseball team) and the Evansville Bluecats (National Indoor Football League). The city’s Bosse Field is the third-oldest ballpark in the country. The facilities for amateur sports in town are, however, extensive. The new Goebel Soccer Complex has ten Olympic-sized soccer fields, the Cooper Softball Stadium seats 600, and the newly renovated Swonder Ice arena has two rinks with combined seating for 1500 spectators. The city’s impressive array of basketball courts has made Evansville a frequent site for tournaments from all over the country. The city’s parks feature hiking trails, bicycling, boating on the Ohio River, and Burdette Park’s BMX tracks is rated as one of the top tracks in the nation. Festivals Evansville has one particular claim to fame in this area: it hosts the second-largest street fair in America, second only to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In October, the Westside Nut Club Fall Festival finds more than 100,000 people roaming the west side of town enjoying entertainment and exotic foods. Aside from the Nut Club Festival, Evansville hosts its share of yearly events. Summertime brings the Freedom Festival with Thunder on the Ohio, a weekend of hydroplane races, air shows featuring the Blue Angels, and a parade. The Vanderburgh County 4-H fair is held in Evansville, and just a few short weeks later the same fairgrounds hosts a large Antiques and Flea Market. Car-related events are popular, including the monthly Downtown Cruise In and the annual Frog Follies, an enormous gathering of colorful hot rods and their enthusiastic owners. Dining The Evansville dining scene is comparable to what you’d find at a midwestern city of its size. Local residents recommend sampling the German food at Gerst House or Bockleman’s, and the Cork & Cleaver gets high marks for excellent, upscale food and a romantic atmosphere. Darryl’s offers a casual atmosphere with top-notch food, and for lovers of ethnic dishes, there’s Turoni’s for Italian, the Acropolis for Greek, and the House of Como serves up popular Asian fare. Economy Evansville’s economy owes a debt to the Ohio River; the city is a rail and river shipping hub and a commercial center for a region involved heavily in coal, oil and farming. The range of manufacturing is wide, including machinery, plastics and primary metals. The median income is $31,963 for a household and $41,091 for a family.
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