New Palestine (pronounced PAL-es-tēn) is a town in Sugar Creek Township, Hancock County, Indiana, along Sugar Creek. The population was 2,055 at the 2010 census. History New Palestine was laid out October 1, 1838, by Jonathan Evans. It first consisted of fifteen blocks and thirty six lots. A petition for the incorporation of New Palestine as a town was dated May 22, 1871, and presented to the board of county commissioners at the June session of 1871. At the time of the petition, New Palestine had a population of around 669 people. The vote for incorporation was held on June 24, 1871. Many years after incorporation, the town had difficulty with its name. The post office was known as Sugar Creek, the railroad and express stations as Palestine and the name of the town itself was New Palestine. Through the efforts of E.F. Faut and Congressman Bynum, the name of the post office was changed from Sugar Creek to New Palestine on January 16, 1889, and the name of the railroad station and express office were also changed to New Palestine. Geography According to the 2010 census, New Palestine has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 2,055 people, 779 households, and 587 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 825 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.8% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 779 households, of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 24.6% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the town was 37.2 years. 28.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.2% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 12.5% were 65 years of age or older.