Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
1 / 25#25. Michigan, La Porte County
- Total population: 4,688 (#585 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,536
--- Female population: 2,152
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,426
Biggest cities in Indiana 150 years ago
After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.
With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.
The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in Indiana from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S. it's easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.
The largest city in Indiana ranked #27 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 5 were in Indiana. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
2 / 25#24. Centre, Dearborn County
- Total population: 4,699 (#582 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,327
--- Female population: 2,372
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,617
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
3 / 25#23. Indianapolis, Centre County
- Total population: 4,713 (#577 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,430
--- Female population: 2,283
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,526
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
4 / 25#22. Concord, Elkhart County
- Total population: 4,725 (#575 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,404
--- Female population: 2,321
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,258
Alexander Alland, Sr./Corbis via Getty Images
5 / 25#21. Union, Montgomery County
- Total population: 4,746 (#571 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,431
--- Female population: 2,315
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,583
Carleton E. Watkins/Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
6 / 25#20. Centre, Marshall County
- Total population: 4,830 (#556 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,453
--- Female population: 2,377
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,527
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
7 / 25#19. Jackson, Wayne County
- Total population: 4,949 (#532 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,442
--- Female population: 2,507
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,527
Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
8 / 25#18. Washington, Daviess County
- Total population: 4,956 (#531 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,465
--- Female population: 2,491
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,617
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
9 / 25#17. Penn, St. Joseph County
- Total population: 4,982 (#523 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,555
--- Female population: 2,427
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,457
Detroit Publishing Company // Library of Congress
10 / 25#16. Columbus, Bartholomew County
- Total population: 5,187 (#490 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,580
--- Female population: 2,607
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,627
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
11 / 25#15. Vincennes, Knox County
- Total population: 5,440 (#453 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,548
--- Female population: 2,892
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,761
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
12 / 25#14. Troy, Perry County
- Total population: 6,086 (#373 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,039
--- Female population: 3,047
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,181
Bettmann // Getty Images
13 / 25#13. Black, Posey County
- Total population: 6,291 (#355 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,145
--- Female population: 3,146
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,174
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
14 / 25#12. La Porte, La Porte County
- Total population: 6,581 (#328 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,275
--- Female population: 3,306
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,030
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
15 / 25#11. South Bend, St. Joseph County
- Total population: 7,206 (#286 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,655
--- Female population: 3,551
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,026
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
16 / 25#10. Jeffersonville, Clarke County
- Total population: 7,254 (#283 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,640
--- Female population: 3,614
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,118
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
17 / 25#9. Logansport, Cass County
- Total population: 8,950 (#220 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,584
--- Female population: 4,366
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,569
Bettmann // Getty Images
18 / 25#8. Richmond, Wayne County
- Total population: 9,445 (#201 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,511
--- Female population: 4,934
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,006
Alexander Alland, Sr./Corbis via Getty Images
19 / 25#7. Madison, Jefferson County
- Total population: 10,709 (#161 nationwide)
--- Male population: 5,305
--- Female population: 5,404
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,742
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
20 / 25#6. Lafayette, Tippecanoe County
- Total population: 13,506 (#115 nationwide)
--- Male population: 6,895
--- Female population: 6,611
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,986
Vintage Images // Getty Images
21 / 25#5. New Albany, Floyd County
- Total population: 15,396 (#98 nationwide)
--- Male population: 7,436
--- Female population: 7,960
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 4,998
American Stock/ClassicStock // Getty Images
22 / 25#4. Terre Haute, Vigo County
- Total population: 16,103 (#94 nationwide)
--- Male population: 8,126
--- Female population: 7,977
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 4,930
Chicago History Museum // Getty Images
23 / 25#3. Fort Wayne, Allen County
- Total population: 17,718 (#87 nationwide)
--- Male population: 8,964
--- Female population: 8,754
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 5,448
H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images
24 / 25#2. Evansville, Vanderburgh County
- Total population: 21,830 (#62 nationwide)
--- Male population: 10,895
--- Female population: 10,935
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 6,789
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
25 / 25#1. Indianapolis, Marion County
- Total population: 48,244 (#27 nationwide)
--- Male population: 24,655
--- Female population: 23,589
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 13,445
