New Albany

New Albany was founded in July 1813 when three brothers from New York Joel, Abner, and Nathaniel Scribnerarrived at the Falls of the Ohio and named the site after the city of Albany, New York. New Albany grew rapidly and was the largest city in Indiana from 1816 until 1860 when overtaken by Indianapolis. During the Civil War New Albany served as both a supply center for Union troops and as a medical care center for wounded soldiers. In 1853 the New Albany High School opened, the first public high school in the state. The original steeple was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1915 and a new replica steeple wasn't completed until 101 years later in 2016. The last steamboat built in New Albany, appropriately named the Robert E. Lee, was built in the second half of the 19th century. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. It is bounded by I-265 to the north and the Ohio River to the south, and is considered part of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The mayor of New Albany is Jeff Gahan, a Democrat; he was re-elected in 2019. He was also the first mayor of a consolidated school district several years later. He is the son of a former mayor of the same city, who was killed in a car accident in the 1970s, and the grandson of an ex-president of the U.S. Air Force.

History

New Albany was founded in July 1813 when three brothers from New York Joel, Abner, and Nathaniel Scribner named the site after the city of Albany, New York. New Albany grew rapidly and was the largest city in Indiana from 1816 until 1860 when overtaken by Indianapolis. Before the Civil War, over half of Hoosiers worth over $100,000 lived in New Albany, making it by far the wealthiest part of the state. The steamboat industry was the engine of the city's economy during the mid-19th century. In the early 20th century, New Albany became a center of plywood and veneer producers with other producers including Hoosier Veneer Company and Veneers of the world. The Town Clock Church, now the Second Baptist Church, was used as the New Albany stop in the Underground Railroad. The original steeple was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1915 and a new replica steeple wasn't completed until 101 years later in 2016. The city is now home to the University of Indiana's Center for the Study of African-American History and Culture, which is located on the campus of the College of Arts and Sciences. The university is located in the heart of New Albany and is home to a number of museums, including the Indiana History Museum and the Indiana Museum of Nature and Science, which opened in 1913. The University of Indianapolis' Museum of the History and Science is based on the Indiana State Museum, which was opened in 1859.

Geography

New Albany is located at 38°1807N 85°4917W (38.301935, 85.821442).According to the 2010 census, New Albany has a total area of 15.111 square miles (39.14 km²) of which 98.87% is land and 0.171sq miles (0.44km²) (or 1.13%) is water. New Albany is home to the University of New Albany, where the football team is known as the New Albany Bulldogs. The football team won its first state championship in 1978. The team also won its second state title in 1978, 1978, 1979 and 1980. The town is located on the Ohio River, which runs through the center of the city. It is located in the eastern part of the state, near the junction of the Ohio and Ohio Turnpike. The New Albany River flows through the city, which was named after the city's founder, William "Bill" New Albany. The city's nickname is "Albion" which means "the city of the river" or "the river" in French. It was also known as "The City of the River" in the 19th century, when the city was first settled. The name "New Albany" was first used in 17th century documents. The current name is derived from the name of the town's first settler, William A. "William" Albany, who came to the area in 18th century.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 36,372 people, 15,575 households, and 9,175 families living in the city. There were 17,315 housing units at an average density of 1,159.0 per square mile (447.5/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 85.8% White, 8.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.7%, Asian, 1,7% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7%. The median income for a household in theCity was $34,923, and the median income. for a family was $41,993. The per capita income for the city is $18,365. About 11.4% of families and 13.7 per cent of the population were below the Poverty threshold, including 21.6% under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was2.89. The median age in the City was 37.1 years, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.6%. The city has a population of 37,603, with 47.5% male and 52.5 per cent female. The city is located on the U.S.-Mexico border. It is one of the few cities in the state to have a large percentage of Hispanic and Latino residents.

Attractions

New Albany's Main Street features a large collection of late 19th century mansions from the city's heyday as a shipbuilding center. The centerpiece is the Culbertson Mansion, a three-story French Second Empire Style structure, which is today an Indiana state memorial. Every October, the downtown area of New Albany hosts the Harvest Homecoming festival, one of the largest annual events in the state. Festivities begin on the first weekend of October, but the main part, consisting of midway rides, shows, and booths lining the downtown streets, lasts from Thursday-Sunday of the second weekend in October. The 2020 Harvest Homecomings was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The city is home to the Indiana State Museum, a state museum, and the New Albany Museum, which features a collection of 19th-century buildings. The New Albany State Museum is a state memorial, and is located in the town's downtown area. The town is also home to a number of museums, including the Indiana Museum of History and Science, which dates back to the 18th century. It is located on the Indiana Turnpike, which was once a main route through the city, and now runs along the Indiana River and the Indiana-Illinois border. The state museum also has a museum of art, which includes the Indiana House of Assembly buildings, which were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s as part of the Indiana Shipbuilding and Shipbuilding Company. The museum is now an Indiana State Memorial, and was built to honor the shipbuilder.

Education

New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation operates public schools. The Children's Academy of New Albany is the public preschool program. Indiana University Southeast, one of the eight campuses of the Indiana University system, is located on the northern edge of the city. The Greater Louisville Regional Japanese Saturday School (Gurt Ruibiru Nihongo Hoshk), a Japanese weekend supplementary school, is affiliated with IUS's Japan Center. The city has a free lending library, the New Albany- floyd County Public Library. New Albany High School is the city's senior high school with the city being in its attendance boundary. Grant Line Elementary School is in an unincorporated area near New Albany. The Purdue Polytechnic Institute also maintains a satellite campus in the city, which is located in the northern part of the town. The New Albany Public Library is open to the public on weekdays and on the weekends. It was established in January 1988 and holds its classes at Hillside Hall; its office is elsewhere in New Albany, Indiana. It is the only public library in the state of Indiana that does not charge for its services. The library's website is at http://www.new Albanypubliclibrary.org/. The city's library system is funded by the Indiana Department of Public Safety and the Indiana State Board of Education. It has a collection of more than 1,000,000 books, including more than 100,000 volumes of children's books. It also has a large number of free lending libraries.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana = 40.4. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 20. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in New Albany = 4.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 37,841 individuals with a median age of 38.6 age the population dropped by -0.15% in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,446.72 residents per square mile of area (944.70/km²). There are average 2.36 people per household in the 20,118 households with an average household income of $46,099 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.30% of the available work force and has dropped -5.20% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 21.90%. The number of physicians in New Albany per 100,000 population = 188.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in New Albany = 48.2 inches and the annual snowfall = 19.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 138. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 195. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 27 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 37, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana which are owned by the occupant = 59.98%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 40 years with median home cost = $119,300 and home appreciation of -0.38%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.23 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,348 per student. There are 17.8 students for each teacher in the school, 852 students for each Librarian and 341 students for each Counselor. 5.75% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.18% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.97% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).