Delaware County, Indiana

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

County Seat: Muncie
Year Organized: 1827
Square Miles: 393

Court House:

100 West Main Street
County Courthouse
Muncie, IN 47305-2827

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named for the Delaware, a Native American people who still lived in the county.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Delaware County was organized January 18, 1827 and became effective April 1 of that year. It was named for the Delaware, a Native American people who still lived in the county. The Delaware were removed from the county in the 1840s. The county was once home to The Prophet, the brother of Tecumseh who instigated a native uprising in 1811. David Conner was the first settler to live in the county in the early 1810s.

Following the American Civil War the county experienced an economic boom after the discovery of natural gas that fueled rapid industrial growth in the surrounding area.

The first discovery of natural gas in Indiana occurred in the town of Eaton, in 1876. A company was drilling for coal and when they had reaching a depth of six-hundred feet, there was a great noise and bad smelling fumes began to come from the hole. After a partial investigation, many concluded that they had breached the ceiling of Hell, and the hole was quickly filled in. In 1884, when natural gas was discovered in nearby Ohio, the townsfolk recalled the incident and returned to the location and opened the state of Indiana's first natural gas well. The gas was so abundant and strong, that when the well was lit, the flames could be see from Muncie.

Delaware County is divided into 12 Civil Townships as follows: Center, Delaware, Hamilton, Harrison, Liberty, Monroe, Mount Pleasant, Niles, Perry, Salem, Union and Washington.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 396 square miles (1,025 km²), of which 393 square miles (1,019 km²) is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) (0.66%) is water

Neighboring Counties:

North: Blackford County
Northeast: Jay County
Southeast: Randolph County
South: Henry County
Southwest: Madison County
Northwest: Grant County

Cities and Towns:

- Albany	town	Incorporated Area
- Center	township
- Daleville	town	Incorporated Area
- Delaware	township
- Eaton	town	Incorporated Area
- Gaston	town	Incorporated Area
- Harrison	township
- Muncie (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Niles	township
- Perry	township
- Selma	town	Incorporated Area
- Smithfield	township
- Union	township
- Yorktown	town	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

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