Historical Background & Critical Points Timeline
1800-1860s
The land containing Rushville and a majority of Central Indiana was opened for settlement following the 1819 Treaty of St. Mary’s and the sale of it began after the establishment of a land office in Brookville the following year. This prompted settlers of varying backgrounds to arrive rapidly by way of the Ohio River and the Cumberland Gap.

​The trades introduced at Rushville’s beginning were blacksmithing, wagon production, cabinet construction, shoemaking, milling, and tanning. 

​The construction of the Erie Canal lowered freight costs and products from the east coast arrived more easily to Rushville and the surrounding region. The Whitewater Canal was also constructed and aided in transportation of goods. The canal was only in operation for a few years, however, until the earliest railroads emerged in the region.

​The population began dropping as farms increased in size and people moved west for cheap land opportunities and to vote against slavery in newer states. Corn, wheat, and oats became leading crops, and agricultural began improving with the incoming of newer machinery and enhanced transportation methods. Rushville also began emerging as a wholesale merchant to Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, and Chicago.

​With the development of rail in Southeastern
Indiana, the city became a hub for the region. The
population grew with the arrival of immigrants
from Ireland, Germany, England and elsewhere.
The local hub grew, reaching four major railroads
during the 1930s and 1940s. Most train engines
using these railroads were coal-fired, supported by
four major lumber yards in Rushville.The first railroad through Rushville arrived in the early 1850s as the R & S railroad, linking with Shelbyville, and a lateral branch of the Madison and Indianapolis (M & I) Railroad. Rail connection linked Rushville directly with important trade routes, including the Ohio River. While the population continued to decrease, access to the railroad network influenced a period of sustained economic growth in the town, and a transformation from self-sufficiency to commercial economy.
1870-1920s
Poor roads around Rushville began to pull other Rush County towns economically toward the centers of neighboring counties.  Rushville also gained connection to a new railroads during this time as well, including the Vernon, Greensburg, and Rushville (V G & R) Railroad, the New Castle and Rushville (N & R) Railroad, the Cincinnati, Wabash, Michigan (C W & M) Railroad. 

​Rushville transformed from a town to a city during this growth, aided by the expansion of manufacturing, initiated by the furniture manufacturing of Innis, Pearce and Company, the first non-agricultural manufacturer in Rushville.

​The first couple decades of the Twentieth Century brought dramatic growth to Rushville, complemented by the electrification of rail from Indianapolis to Cincinnati. By the 1920s Rushville was a destination of all main roads throughout the county and was connected by four railroads and an interurban line. The automobile also began to change patterns of travel in, to and from Rushville.
1930-
​1970s
Since the late 1930s Rushville saw many physical changes as businesses, professions, and people left the downtown district of the city.

​In 1972, the city celebrated its Sesquicentennial
1980-
​2000s
The city moved towards reinvestment efforts.
In 2012 the city completed its Economic Development Strategic Plan, followed by a  Library Feasibility Study (2013),  Downtown Revitalization Plan (2014), Comprehensive Plan (2014), My Community, My Vision (2014),  Floodplain Study (2014),  Hometown Collaboration Initiative (2015), and a Parks and Recreation Master Plan (2016).  

​In 2016, Rushville applies for the Indiana Stellar Communities Program. The city is awarded the Indiana Stellar Communities Program Designation.  This designation allowed the city to move forwards with reinvestment efforts within its downtown business core and neighborhoods.

Rushville: Re-Imagine, Re-Invest, Re-Discover, a Stellar Rushville

Population

​Rushville's population grew by a mere 1.3% from 1980 till 2015, a change less dramatic than the population loss of Rush County as a whole (-13.3%), and substantially less of an increase than the state of Indiana (+20.6%) in the same timeframe.
Poverty

Poverty rates in Rushville have more than doubled (+116.5%) over the last three and a half decades, much more than the poverty rates within the county (+63%) and state (+59.8%).
Income

​Unlike the entire state of Indiana which experienced a subtle increase, median household income in Rushville has fallen by 17.3% since 1980, more than the drop within Rush County (-7.6%).
Rushville: Socioeconomic Characteristics of Decline
Population
    1980
    2015
     % Change

Race/Ethnicity 2014 (%)
    White
    Black
    Other

All Persons Below Poverty (%)
    1980
    2014a
    % Change

Median household income
    1980b
    2014
    % Change
Rushville
6,113
6,192
+1.3%


94.7%
2.5%
​2.7%


10.3
22.3
​+116.5%


$42,226
$34,942
​-17.3%
Rush County
19,604
16,991
-13.3%


97.2%
0.9%
1.9%


10.8
17.6
+63.0%


$48,837
$45,121
​-7.6%
Indiana
5,490,224
6,619,680
+20.6%


84.4%
9.1%
6.5%


9.7
15.5
+59.8%


$47,974
$48,737
+1.6%
Source: 1970 Census of Population, PC(1)-C1 "General Social and Economic Characteristics", table 182. 1980 Census of Population, PC80-1-C1 "General Social and Economic Characteristics", table 245.U.S. Census Bureau, Census 1980 Summary Files 1 and 3. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey Table DP03. U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts, 2016. Data derived from Population Estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, State and County Housing Unit Estimates, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits. STATS Indiana, using data from Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau. Minnesota Population Center. National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 2.0. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota 2011.

a. Poverty figures for 2014 were the most recent data estimations from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2010-2014 Table DP03 estimations provided for the specific geographic area.

b. The Median Household dollar amounts reported for 1980 are values that have been converted to constant 2014 dollars according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator, available at www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.
Housing Stock

The city’s housing stock is relatively old and there is a shortage of middle- and upper-income homes, which makes it difficult to attract new residents at those income levels.  ​The majority of structures in Rushville, approximately 40%, were constructed predating 1939. With an aged housing stock, new construction has also been lacking since the economic recession and hasn't yet returned to pre-recession rates.

Over the past decade, there was a very large shift away from homeownership, likely triggered by job uncertainty and the difficulty of obtaining financing during the recession. The city’s housing market is recovering from the recession, but at a lower rate than much of Indiana. Local sales are weak and few people are applying for building permits. However, the foreclosure rate is dropping and there’s a very low vacancy rate for homes and apartments, which can be a signal for new development. Rushville’s stakeholders main housing goal is attracting young p professionals who have started their families and want middle-to-upper-end homes. 


Downtown Revitalization
 
The historic character of downtown Rushville remains largely intact. City stakeholders realized that Rushville residents are hungry for a livelier central business district including the need for more retail and dining options throughout downtown.  Moreover, there is an abundance of underutilized and/or low-density land within a few blocks of the downtown core. These areas were inventoried and a plan developed identifying future development goals for these parcels. Local leaders focused on working with building owners to identify improvements which would make occupancy by these key business types easier utilize the downtown as the  city’s cultural and economic hub.