Mooresville is a town in Brown Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The town is notable for being where the current flag of Indiana was created. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 9,411.

Mooresville Welcome Sign

History
Geography
Demographics
- 2010 census
Education
Infrastructure
- Transportation
Notable people
Town flag
Mooresville 200
- Official mascot
Nearby communities
See also

History

Mooresville was founded in 1824 by Samuel Moore after he had bought the area for $2 per acre. The town is named for him. A post office has been in operation at Mooresville since 1826.

The Mooresville Commercial Historic District, Mooresville Friends Academy Building, and Mooresville Gymnasium are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town was home to Paul Hadley, a watercolorist, who in 1916, had designed the current Indiana state flag for a flag contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution during the state's 1916 centennial anniversary. Hadley's flag design was adopted as the official state banner on May 31st, 1917, and was later renamed to the official state flag in 1955.

On April 8, 2020, an EF1 tornado hit downtown, with significant winds around 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). From this tornado, a building on the southeast corner of Indiana and Main streets had partially collapsed in on itself. There were no injuries from the event. The building sat ruined for several months before being torn down. Due to the building's old age, the damages could not have been repaired.

Every year, in early August, the town holds an "Old Settlers Fair" that involves a parade through downtown Mooresville and carnival attractions at Pioneer Park. The event usually lasts between three to four days. The first of these events, originally called Old Settlers Reunion and Picnic, was held on August 9, 1870, and was original held at Old Town Park in Mooresville after the land was donated by Samuel Moore. Old Town Park was used to hold this event every year, except for 1943, until 1995. Pioneer Park become the center for this event after 1995.

In November 2023, the retail supermarket store Walmart in collaboration with Hasbro had released a Monopoly board game themed after the town of Mooresville titled "Mooresville-Opoly." This board game sold for a limited time at the Camby Walmart store only.

The Mooresville Chamber of Commerce, led by Mindy Taylor, has played an active role in developing the town's businesses and culture. With Taylor and the help of many community members, Mooresville has grown and improved in many ways. At the 2024 Mooresville Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, President Susan Lowe awarded Mindy Taylor with an award for 20 years of service.

Geography

Mooresville is in northeastern Morgan County; the northern border of the town follows the Hendricks County line. Indiana State Road 42 passes through the center of town on High Street. It leads west 6 miles (10 km) to Monrovia, and its eastern terminus is at State Road 67 on the east side of Mooresville. SR 67 is a four-lane highway that leads northeast 16 miles (26 km) to Indianapolis and south-southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Martinsville, the Morgan county seat. State Road 144 begins at the SR 42/SR67 intersection and leads southeast 19 miles (31 km) to Franklin.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mooresville has a total area of 6.76 square miles (17.51 km²), of which 0.06 square miles (0.16 km²), or 0.84%, are water. The center of Mooresville sits between White Lick Creek to the west and its East Fork to the east. White Lick Creek flows south to join the White River north of Martinsville.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	550	—
1860	780	41.8%
1870	1,229	57.6%
1880	864	−29.7%
1890	891	3.1%
1900	974	9.3%
1910	1,608	65.1%
1920	1,781	10.8%
1930	1,910	7.2%
1940	1,979	3.6%
1950	2,264	14.4%
1960	3,856	70.3%
1970	5,800	50.4%
1980	5,349	−7.8%
1990	5,541	3.6%
2000	9,273	67.4%
2010	9,326	0.6%
2020	9,411	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

Downtown Mooresville

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,326 people, 3,715 households, and 2,558 families living in the town. The population density was 1,482.7 inhabitants per square mile (572.5/km²). There were 3,930 housing units at an average density of 624.8 per square mile (241.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% White, 0.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 3,715 households, of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no male present, 5.6% had a male householder with no female present, and 31.1% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the town was 38.6 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

Education

Mooresville schools are part of the Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation.

Elementary schools

Newby Memorial Elementary
Neil A. Armstrong Elementary, named after the Apollo 11 astronaut of the same name
Northwood Elementary
North Madison Elementary
Waverly Elementary

Middle school

Paul Hadley Middle School, named after the designer of the Indiana state flag

High school

Mooresville High School

Private school

Mooresville Christian Academy, founded in 1975

Mooresville High School

Paul Hadley Middle School

Newby Memorial Elementary School

Historic Mooresville Gymnasium

Mooresville Friends Academy

The Mooresville school system began with the Friends Academy, which was built in 1861. The Academy Building, one of the first high schools in the state of Indiana, was a boarding school with students renting rooms from area residents. The school building sits on the Newby Memorial Elementary School campus, has been restored, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building now serves as a local history museum as well as the offices of the Community Foundation of Morgan County, Inc. Also on the Newby campus is the "old Newby gym" or the "Newby Dome." The gym was built in the early 1900s with help from Mooresville residents who each contributed $100 to help build the facility. The campus also includes the Mooresville Veterans Memorial, which honors Mooresville's fallen soldiers from World War I and beyond. The Memorial also honors Sammy Lee Davis, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. Davis is known as "The Real Forrest Gump" since his Vietnam story is mirrored in the movie Forrest Gump and his Medal of Honor ceremony footage is used in the movie.

Mooresville Friends Academy Building

Public library

The town has a lending library, the Mooresville Public Library, located on 220 West Harrison street. The library features a kids' section, a teens' section, a broader adult section, a community room, an Indiana room, and several displays around the library that feature local town treasures and history.

Mooresville Public Library.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mooresville is served by Indiana State Road 67. Indiana State Road 42 and Indiana State Road 144 end at SR 67 southeast of the town center.

Indianapolis International Airport is 10 miles (16 km) north of Mooresville.

Notable people

William G. Bray, Republican, elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1950 and served from the 82nd to 93rd Congress.
John Dillinger, gangster and bank robber who used Mooresville, his hometown, as a hideout.
Paul Hadley, designer of the Indiana state flag.
Julia D. Nelson, elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1921, the first woman elected to the Indiana General Assembly.
Amos Rusie, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth Hinshaw Spray, peace activist.
Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton, Ohio.

Paul Hadley (left). Designer of the state flag.

Town flag

Bonita C. Marley (Born 1906, Died 2002)

Display of flags at Mooresville's Bicentennial Park.

The official Mooresville town flag was designed by Bonita Marley in 1974 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mooresville's founding. Mrs. Marley worked as the librarian and director at the Mooresville Public Library from 1961 through 1984. In 1968, she was named "Mooresvillian of the Year." The town flag was intentionally designed to look similar to the Indiana state flag given that Mooresville is the home of the state flag. The flag consists of a yellow background with a circle of 19 blue stars with the top star being the largest. In the center of the flag is a blue cross with the date 1824 and a blue star in the lower left side of the cross. Below the cross is the name Mooresville with the letters curving. The circle of stars represents how Indiana was the 19th state of the union, with the large star representing Indiana's statehood. The cross in the center represents the state's motto, "the crossroads of America." The date refers to the year that the town of Mooresville was founded, 1824. The star on the cross represents Mooresville's position relative to Indianapolis. The town flag is on permanent display in the Mooresville Public Library Indiana Room, the Mooresville Government Center, and at the Mooresville Bicentennial Park.

Official town banner presented at the founding of Mooresville's Bicentennial Park.

Unofficial flag design.

On April 6, 2024, an unofficial variant of the Mooresville flag was sold in stores in downtown Mooresville to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mooresville's founding, coinciding with the celebration event that was taking place in downtown Mooresville all weekend long.

Mooresville 200

Official Mooresville 200 Logo

"Mooresville 200" was a 200 year anniversary celebration of Mooresville's founding held on April 6, 2024, through April 7, 2024. The center of the event was held in downtown Mooresville. The roads that entered downtown Mooresville were blocked off by fire trucks and hopper cars for the duration of the event. For the event, several booths were set up by various company's and local Mooresville residents with products for sale. Local stores also had special sales going on to coincide with the event. Because a full totality lunar eclipse was going to occur and be visible in Mooresville on the same weekend, many products at the event were themed around the eclipse.

Official mascot

In preparation for the event, an official mascot for the event was designed and created. The design of the mascot was based off of the torch on the flag of Indiana in reference to Mooresville being the home of the state flag. The mascot was named Torchy, and he had made his first debut at the Dance Through the Decades event at Jones Banquet Center on Saturday, two months before the Mooresville 200 event. During the event, the mascot would walk around and take selfies with pedestrians at a Mooresville 200 themed booth.