Daviess County, Indiana

Daviess County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Washington
Year Organized: 1816
Square Miles: 431

Court House:

200 East Walnut
County Courthouse
Washington, IN 47501-2760

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named for Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, U.S. District Attorney for Kentucky, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Daviess County was a part of Knox County until February 15, 1817, at which time it was organized as a separate unit. Formerly it constituted much of what is now Martin, all of Greene, east of the west fork of White River, and all of Owen County, east of the west fork of the White River. It was named for Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, U.S. District Attorney for Kentucky, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The settlement of the county began along the White River that afforded farmers a convenient means to transport their crops for sale. The county was originally heavily forested in the northeast leading to a thriving timber industry during the first half of the 1800s

Daviess County is divided into 10 Civil Townships as follows: Barr, Bogard, Elmore, Harrison, Madison, Reeve, Steele, Van Buren, Veale and Washington.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,131 km²), of which 431 square miles (1,115 km²) is land and 6 square miles (16 km²) (1.42%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Greene County
East: Martin County
Southeast: Dubois County
Southwest: Pike County
West: Knox County

Cities and Towns:

- Barr	township
- Bogard	township
- Cannelburg	town	Incorporated Area
- Elmore	township
- Elnora	town	Incorporated Area
- Harrison	township
- Montgomery	town	Incorporated Area
- Odon	town	Incorporated Area
- Plainville	town	Incorporated Area
- Steele	township
- Veale	township
- Washington (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

Custom Search