Linton was essentially founded around the entrepreneuring of John W. Wines, who first sold goods in the Linton area, briefly in 1831. Although he would later relocate to Fairplay, Indiana, he returned and opened a general store in Linton in 1837. He would later build a small horse mill as well as a tannery. The city itself was officially chartered and named in June 1850, laid out by Hannah E. Osborn and Isaac V. Coddington. In the late 19th century, small underground coal mines began to appear near and almost inside the city and the population expanded rapidly. At the turn of the 20th century, the population was larger than it is today. At one point in the 1920s, there were at least 35 drinking establishments and an equal number of churches.
In 1896, Linton drove 300 African-American strikebreakers from town and became a sundown town, prohibiting African-Americans from living there.[5] In 1903, union miners drove black waiters from town, and the ban expanded to all of Greene County. Violence against African-Americans continued into the 1940s. Historian James W. Loewen cites Linton as an example of a town where strikebreakers were used as pretext for more general discriminatory practices.[6]
In the 1920s, small surface mines began to predominate, and their small, unreclaimed hills and strip-pit lakes still surround the city. The lakes have provided a regular, if limited, amount of fishing tourism for decades. Signs of the underground mines remain as well, including tipples on private land and sinkholes that appear regularly on private property, roads and even within the city limits. By the 1940s, the underground mines were gone and the small surface mines had moved on or been consumed by large corporations such as Peabody Coal Company. These mines were the primary employers well into the 1980s.
On April 24, 1919, telephone operators at the New Home Telephone Company, all women, started a strike, demanding higher wages, shorter hours, and recognition of their union by the company. The next day, New Home brought in strikebreakers to continue telephone service for the town. The presence of strike breakers agitated Linton locals, the vast majority of whom were union members themselves. In protest, a general strike was called for all union workers in the town. As tensions rose, Linton Mayor Andrew Miller asked Indiana Governor James P. Goodrich to send in the Indiana National Guard and declare Martial Law. The presence of the National Guard heightened tensions even further, resulting in violence. The National Guard was ordered to fire upon citizens, but instead fired over the heads of the protestors and only minor injuries were sustained. The strike ended with New Home agreeing to raise wages and lower working hours but refusing to recognize the telephone operators union.[7]
In 1952, General Electric built a factory on the southeast side of the city. This factory employed several hundred until the mid-1980s, when GE phased out most of their small motors production in the U.S. The factory building remained empty due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations until GE tore it down beginning in 2014. The company plans to sell the land directly to buyers rather than to the city.
On April 29, 1963, an F3 tornado struck Hoosier, north of Linton.[8] It was the strongest tornado ever recorded in Greene County.[9]
As of the census[13] of 2010, there were 5,413 people, 2,325 households, and 1,443 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,792.4 inhabitants per square mile (692.0/km2). There were 2,660 housing units at an average density of 880.8 per square mile (340.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.7% White, 0.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.
There were 2,325 households, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.88.
The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.
2000 census
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,774 people, 2,450 households, and 1,526 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,949.7 inhabitants per square mile (752.8/km2). There were 2,792 housing units at an average density of 942.8 per square mile (364.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.30% White, 0.09% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.
There were 2,450 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,477, and the median income for a family was $36,138. Males had a median income of $32,213 versus $17,304 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,554. About 8.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Linton Music Festival
The tagline for the Linton Music Festival was "Mayberry meets Woodstock." In 2010, over 12,000 people attended. The festival prided itself in being a free event that offered entertainment for all ages and musical tastes. The festival operated as a non-profit entity that strived to promote the musical arts, economic development, and tourism. It was funded in part by grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and corporate sponsors. The Linton Music Festival (LMF) was held annually on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday prior to Labor Day from 2005 to 2013 and featured 3 days of music.
Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center of Greene County
Carnegie Library
The Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center of Greene County is responsible for preserving and maintaining the historic 1908 Margaret Cooper Public Library building (a Carnegie library), which also houses the city's Phil Harris and Alice Faye memorabilia collection.
Freedom Festival
Linton has been celebrating Independence Day since 1905. Events include the largest Independence Day parade in Indiana-bringing over 40,000 people to this city,[14] a week-long visit from a traveling carnival, local music and entertainment, and fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Marsh Madness
This festival, beginning in 2010,[15] celebrates the wildlife contained in the Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Goose Pond is a wetlands reclamation project south of the city, which has had some success at restoring marginal farmland to its natural condition. The goal is to encourage hunting, fishing and naturalist excursions.
^"One Place on Earth too Hot for a Negro". The Richmond Climax. Richmond, Kentucky. August 5, 1903. p. 2 – via Chronicling America. At Linton, Ind., in 1896, a coal company imported 300 negroes to take the places of strikers in one of the mines there. The negroes organized a company and drilled with rifles on the streets. One of them shot a white boy and the entire white population, aroused at midnight by fire bell, raided the negro quarters and drove every one of them from the city. Several of them were shot. Since that time not a negro has been allowed to live in the town. On July 6, Alex. Sanderson, a Terre Haute caterer, was employed to serve the banquet at the institution of a new lodge of the Elks. He took his cook and waiters with him and while the lodge work in the hall was going on several hundred miners assembled in the street and threatened to dynamite the hall unless the negroes were sent out of town. They were hurried into a cab and driven to Jasonville, where they were put on the train for Terre Haute. Six policemen hung on the carriage and beat back the crowd while the negroes were driven out of town.
