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Ossian, Indiana
Town of Ossian
Motto(s): 
"Handed Down From Generation To Generation"
Location of Ossian in Wells County, Indiana.
Location of Ossian in Wells County, Indiana.
Country United States
State Indiana
County Wells
Township Jefferson
Area
 • Total 1.68 sq mi (4.34 km2)
 • Land 1.67 sq mi (4.31 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation
797 ft (256 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 3,266
 • Density 1,960.38/sq mi (757.05/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
46777
Area code(s) 260
FIPS code 18-57168
GNIS feature ID 440726
Website http://www.ossianin.com/

Ossian is a town in Jefferson Township, Wells County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The town was named after Ossian, the narrator of a cycle of epic poems by the Scottish poet James Macpherson. The population was 3,289 at the 2010 census.

History

The Ossian post office has been in operation since 1850. In 1843, Indiana State Road 1 was made serviceable from Fort Wayne to Bluffton. On January 25, 1850, the Fort Wayne and Bluffton Plank Road Company was then organized. The plank road was a toll road; any horse or horse-drawn vehicle had to pay a toll. The Fort Wayne, Cincinnati, & Louisville Railroad was built through Ossian in 1869, though it was not in complete operation until the following year. Today, the railroad is a significant north-south route for the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Ossian is still served by Indiana State Road 1, while four miles north is Interstate 469, the beltway around Fort Wayne, and also just seven miles south of Fort Wayne International Airport.

A 25-foot tall grain silo was painted to look like a minion from the Despicable Me movie on a nearby rural farm in 2016. A Vietnam War veteran mentioned the idea to his family and when he died at 73, family and friends painted it as a way to honor his memory. The grain silo soon became popular with people stopping by to view it from the road and was picked up by national news.

Geography

Ossian is located at 40°52′50″N 85°10′6″W / 40.88056°N 85.16833°W / 40.88056; -85.16833 (40.880447, -85.168369).

According to the 2010 census, Ossian has a total area of 1.44 square miles (3.73 km2), of which 1.43 square miles (3.70 km2) (or 99.31%) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) (or 0.69%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 522
1900 529
1910 661 25.0%
1920 724 9.5%
1930 788 8.8%
1940 784 −0.5%
1950 761 −2.9%
1960 1,108 45.6%
1970 1,538 38.8%
1980 1,945 26.5%
1990 2,428 24.8%
2000 2,943 21.2%
2010 3,289 11.8%
2020 3,266 −0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,289 people, 1,287 households, and 909 families living in the town. The population density was 2,300.0 inhabitants per square mile (888.0/km2). There were 1,385 housing units at an average density of 968.5 per square mile (373.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.4% White, 0.2% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population.

There were 1,287 households, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.4% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98.

The median age in the town was 37.4 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

Education

Northern Wells Community Schools serves northern Wells County, including the town of Ossian. The district operates four schools; Ossian Elementary, Lancaster Elementary, Norwell Middle School, and Norwell High School.

Ossian has a public library, a branch of the Wells County Public Library.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ossian (Indiana) para niños

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