MUNCIE

city, seat of Delaware county, eastern Indiana, U.S. It lies along the White River, 60 miles (96 km) northeast of Indianapolis. Muncie is the average American town described in the classic sociological study Middletown, published in 1929 by Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd. The name (originally Munseetown) commemorates the Munsee clan of Delaware Indians who once lived there. The town was founded in 1827, when Goldsmith C. Gilbert, a trader, donated land for the county seat. The first railroad (1852) and the discovery of natural gas (1886) contributed to the city's growth. Although gas production failed in the late 1890s, the city continued to grow. It is now a trading and industrial centre. Muncie is the seat of Ball State University (1918), named for the Ball family whose factory there for years produced glass jars and fittings for home canning and other products. The Lynd studies (Middletown in Transition appeared in 1937) were at first resented; since that time, however, Muncie has come to be proud of its typical American title. Inc. town, 1847; city, 1865. Pop. (1990) city, 71,170; Muncie MSA, 119,659; (1994 est.) city, 71,407; (1995 est.) Muncie MSA, 118,577.