Avoca, Indiana
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Avoca, Indiana
|settlement_type = Census-designated place
|motto =
|image_skyline = Avoca, Indiana.jpg
|imagesize = 260px
|image_caption =
|image_map = File:Lawrence County Indiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Avoca Highlighted 1802890.svg
|mapsize =
|map_caption = Location in Lawrence County, Indiana
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|pushpin_map = Indiana#USA
|pushpin_label = Avoca
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption =
|pushpin_mapsize =
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Indiana
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Lawrence
|subdivision_type3 = Township
|subdivision_name3 = Marshall
|established_title =
|established_date =
|area_total_km2 = 5.43
|area_land_km2 = 5.43
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|population_as_of = 2020
|population_footnotes =
|population_note =
|population_total = 545
|population_density_km2 = 100.43
|timezone =
|utc_offset =
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|coordinates = {{coord|38|55|02|N|86|33|20|W|region:US-IN|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_ft = 571
|founder =
|named_for =
|postal_code_type = ZIP code
|postal_code = 47420
|area_code =
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info = 18-02890{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 2629855{{GNIS|2629855}}
|website =
|footnotes =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_total_sq_mi = 2.10
|area_land_sq_mi = 2.10
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
|population_density_sq_mi = 260.14
}}
Avoca is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marshall Township, Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 583.{{cite web| url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US1802890| title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1), Avoca CDP, Indiana| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| website=American FactFinder| accessdate=January 23, 2020| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213134729/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US1802890| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}
History
Avoca was platted in 1819.{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/historyoflawrenc00indi | title=History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana: Their People, Industries, and Institutions | publisher=B.F. Bowen | year=1914 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyoflawrenc00indi/page/205 205]}} The community likely took its name after the River Avoca, which was mentioned in a poem by Thomas Moore.{{cite book|last=Baker|first=Ronald L.|title=From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History|url=https://archive.org/details/fromneedmoretopr00bake|url-access=registration|date=October 1995|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-32866-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/fromneedmoretopr00bake/page/n72 57]|quote=...the fourth stanza of Thomas Moore's poem "The Meeting of the Waters."}} The Avoca post office was established in 1856.{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Lawrence | title=Lawrence County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | accessdate=31 December 2014}}
Geography
Avoca is located in northwestern Lawrence County in the southwest corner of Marshall Township. Indiana State Road 37 runs along the eastern edge of the community, leading north {{convert|19|mi}} to Bloomington and south {{convert|6|mi|0}} to Bedford, the Lawrence county seat. State Road 58 passes through the center of Avoca, joining SR 37 southbound but leading west {{Convert|11|mi}} to Owensburg. State Road 54 has its eastern terminus at SR 37 and leads northwest {{Convert|27|mi}} to Bloomfield.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Avoca census-designated place has an area of {{convert|5.4|sqkm|order=flip}}, all of it recorded as land.{{cite web| url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_18.txt| title=U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Indiana| website=U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division| accessdate=January 23, 2020}} The community is in the valley of Goose Creek, which flows southeast to Salt Creek, part of the White River watershed.
=Avoca Park=
{{main|Avoca Park}}
The Avoca State Fish Hatchery was built in 1819 and first served as a grist mill until 1919, when it was purchased by the DNR, who began building ponds in 1923. The Hatchery stocked Indiana's waters with fish for years until it was decommissioned by the DNR in 2013 and fell into disrepair. Bedford Mayor Shawna Girgis asked Bedford Park Director, Barry Jeskewich, to restore this historical location for Lawrence County. Barry Jeskewich partnered with James Farmer, Indiana University Sustaining Hoosier Communities to obtained a grant to preserve this beloved green space for the surrounding community.
Avoca State Fish Hatchery was renamed Avoca Park and Recreation and is now in the hands of the local community.
Demographics
{{US Census population
|align=left|2020= 545
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}
}}{{clear left}}
References
=Footnotes=
=Sources=
- [https://rural.indiana.edu/doc/shc/Final%20Farmer-Avoca%20Report.pdf#:~:text=The%20Avoca%20State%20Fish%20Hatchery%20was%20built%20in,a%20beloved%20green%20space%20for%20the%20surrounding%20community “IU Farmer-Jeskewich Final Report”]
{{Lawrence County, Indiana}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Irish-American culture in Indiana
Category:Census-designated places in Lawrence County, Indiana
Category:Census-designated places in Indiana
{{LawrenceCountyIN-geo-stub}}