Elwood

History

Elwood was laid out in 1853 under the name "Duck Creek". It was incorporated as a city in 1891. A post office was established under the name "Duck Creek" in 1855, was renamed to Elwood in 1869, and has been operating since. The first railroad was constructed in Elwood in 1857. On August 17, 1940, the Republican National Committee held a formal notification ceremony to recognize Elwood-born Wendell Willkie as its nominee for President of the United States to run against Franklin Roosevelt. Held at Callaway Park on the outskirts of town, the ceremony drew 150,000 people for what would become the largest political rally in American history at the time. People came in 60,000 automobiles, 63 special trains, 300 Pullmans, and 1,200 buses. The Indiana University band led a parade in which 249 other bands also marched in the procession. When Willkie stepped onto the platform, the crowd cheered him for ten minutes before he could begin his speech. However, oppressive heat and Willkie's underwhelming, flat speech left many disappointed by the end of the day. By the 1880s, Elwood had become a sundown town, prohibiting Black people from residing within the town. In 1897, when a number of Black families attempted to settle in the town and were driven out, The Evening Times in Washington, D.C., reported that for more than two decades Black people had not been "permitted to remain any length of time." This prohibition remained in place for most of the 20th century. Other Black people were discouraged from attempting to attend the rally at all due to the sundown signs posted at the city limits. These signs and policies remained in place for decades afterwards. By the late twentieth century sundown policies were less strictly enforced, although as recently as 2002 law enforcement…

Geography

Elwood is located in northwestern Madison County. The equivalent of two half-blocks of land in Tipton County are also within the city limits. Indiana State Road 28 passes through the city as Main Street, leading east to Alexandria and west to Tipton. State Road 13 (Anderson Street) crosses SR 28 in the center of Elwood; it leads north to Point Isabel and south to Lapel. State Road 37 crosses the southeast corner of the city limits, leading northeast to Marion and southwest to Noblesville. Anderson, the Madison county seat, is southeast of Elwood by local roads. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Elwood has a total area of , all land. }}

Race & ethnicity