PERU, INDIANA

'Peru' is a city in Miami County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,994 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Miami County.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Notable Residents

Other facts

External links

Geography

Peru is located at (40.757690, -86.067791).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 km² (4.7 mi²). 12.0 km² (4.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.86%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.9/km² (2,815.5/mi²). There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 496.7/km² (1,287.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.71% White, 2.95% African American, 1.52% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.

There were 5,410 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,668, and the median income for a family was $39,440. Males had a median income of $31,631 versus $20,440 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,497. About 9.5% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents

★ Cole Porter, songwriter. Porter was born in Peru, and is buried there in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

★ Kyle Macy, former NBA player and former Morehead State University head coach. Macy was raised in Peru and graduated from Peru High School.

★ Ole Olsen (comedian), comedian. Olsen was born in Peru, and is buried there in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

★ Carol Lou Woodward pianist

Other facts

★ The town's name is pronounced "Per-roo", like the South American nation of Peru.

★ The asteroid 32570 Peruindiana, discovered August 21, 2001, is named for Peru.

★ Peru was the winter headquarters for several famous circuses, including Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, Wallace and others. (Peru shared the notoriety of winter headquarters for some of these circuses with Baraboo, Wisconsin.) The International Circus Hall of Fame is located in Peru, Indiana. Annually during the third weekend of July, the Peru Amateur Circus holds performances for the whole week, ending with a Circus City Festival and Parade. All of the performers are amateurs, ranging in age from 7 to 18 years.

★ Peru is the site of the tribal headquarters of the Miami Nation.

★ Several people who worked with Groucho Marx during his film career recall that, during script conferences, he made frequent references to "the barber in Peru (Indiana)". This was his term for a "typical" member of the Marx Brothers' movie audience. If Groucho deemed a joke to be too intellectual or too esoteric for "the barber in Peru", he would insist that it be removed from the script.

External links

★ Photos from 2007 Circus City Parade