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Indiana Counties

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Indiana Counties

Indiana is divided into 92 counties. The oldest and newest Counties in Indiana are Knox County (created 1790) and Newton County (created 1857).

The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi.) and the smallest is Ohio (87 sq. mi.). According to the Indiana Constitution, no county may be created of less than 400 square miles, nor may any county smaller than this be further reduced in size.

Many Indiana Counties are named for the US Founding Fathers and personalities of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and Battle of Tippecanoe; early leaders of Indiana Territory and Indiana, as well as surrounding states like Michigan and Kentucky; plus Native American tribes and geographical features.

Randolph County, Indiana

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

County Seat: Winchester
Year Organized: 1818
Square Miles: 453

Court House:

100 South Main Street
County Courthouse
Winchester, IN 47394-1832

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The Naming of Randolph County -- some sources suggest that the county was named for President Thomas Jefferson's first cousin, Thomas Randolph, who was Attorney General for Governor William Henry Harrison and was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Historian Charles Roll indicates that Randolph County was named after Thomas Randolph, but Gregory Hinshaw makes a very strong case in the March 2002 issue of the Indiana Magazine of History that the county was so named because so many of the early settlers came from Randolph County, North Carolina.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Randolph County was organized August 10, 1818. There is a dispute as to the origin of the name. Some say that the County was named for Randolph County, North Carolina where the areas first settlers came from. That County was named for Peyton Randolph, the first President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation.

Another version is that the County was named for President Thomas Jefferson's first cousin, Thomas Randolph, who was Attorney General for the Indiana Territory, and who was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. One problem with this story is whether Thomas Randolph was killed at Tippecanoe. There was a Thomas Randolph listed in Capt. Benjamin Parke's Troop of Light Dragoons, but this Randolph is not shown as killed.

The obvious namesake would be Gov. Edmund Randolph of Virginia, who signed the law transferring the Northwest Territory from Virginia to the United States, allowing for the formation of the Indiana Territory. Edmund was the nephew of Peyton Randolph, and the executor of his estate. Historians have, however, studied this and rejected the obvious conclusion.

All of the above Randolphs were related, so that one can safely conclude that the County was named for this important, early colonial family.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,174 km²), of which 453 square miles (1,173 km²) is land and 0 square miles (1 km²) (0.09%) is water.

Randolph County is the point of origin for the White River and Whitewater River.

As of June 22, 2004, Randolph Farms Landfill, owned by the Balkema family in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is seeking a zoning exception allowing it to expand into 320 acres (1.3 km²), in order to keep it in operation for a further 50 years. This would make the landfill, already one of the largest in the county, the point of highest elevation in the state of Indiana. Opponents, including the majority of the county residents, have been vocal against expansion, pointing out the possible effects landfill toxins could cause on aquifers and on agriculture. The landfill has twice been denied a petition to expand.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Jay County
East: Darke County, Ohio
South: Wayne County
Southwest: Henry County
Northwest: Delaware County

Cities and Towns:

- Blountsville	town	Incorporated Area
- Farmland	town	Incorporated Area
- Greensfork	township
- Jackson	township
- Losantville	town	Incorporated Area
- Lynn	town	Incorporated Area
- Modoc	town	Incorporated Area
- Parker City	town	Incorporated Area
- Randolph	township
- Ridgeville	town	Incorporated Area
- Saratoga	town	Incorporated Area
- Stoney Creek	township
- Union	township
- Union City	city	Incorporated Area
- Ward	township
- Wayne	township
- White River	township
- Winchester (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."