Jackson County, Indiana

Jackson County
County
Southern face of Jackson County Courthouse in Brownstown
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°55′N86°02′W / 38.91°N 86.04°W / 38.91; -86.04
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	Jan 1, 1816
Named for	Andrew Jackson
Seat	Brownstown
Largest city	Seymour
Area
• Total	513.91 sq mi (1,331.0 km2)
• Land	509.31 sq mi (1,319.1 km2)
• Water	4.60 sq mi (11.9 km2)  0.90%
Population  (2020)
• Total	46,428
• Density	90/sq mi (35/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th
Website	www.jacksoncounty.in.gov
Indiana county number 36

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 46,428. ^[1] The county seat is Brownstown. ^[2]

History

Jackson County was formed in 1816. It was named after General Andrew Jackson. ^[3]

Jackson County was the site of the first recorded train robbery of a moving train in the United States. On October 6, 1866, the Reno Gang robbed an Ohio and Mississippi Railway train, making off with over $10,000. ^[4]

Jackson County has the second longest 3-span covered bridge in the world; The Medora Covered Bridge. After a recent project to completely refurbish the Medora Covered Bridge, the nearby town of Medora now holds an annual event at the bridge. The bridge is open for pedestrian traffic and site-seers. Another long neglected covered bridge, the Bells Ford Bridge, believed to have been the last remaining Post Truss bridge in the world, succumbed to neglect, collapsing into the White River on January 2, 2006.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 513.91 square miles (1,331.0 km²), of which 509.31 square miles (1,319.1 km²) (or 99.10%) is land and 4.60 square miles (11.9 km²) (or 0.90%) is water. ^[5]

Cities

• Seymour

Towns

• Brownstown
• Crothersville
• Medora

Census-designated places

• Freetown
• Vallonia

Other unincorporated places

• Kurtz
• Norman Station
• Tampico
• Uniontown

Townships

• Brownstown
• Carr
• Driftwood
• Grassy Fork
• Hamilton
• Jackson
• Owen
• Pershing
• Redding
• Salt Creek
• Vernon
• Washington

Adjacent counties

• Brown County (north-northwest)
• Bartholomew County (north-northeast)
• Jennings County (east)
• Scott County (southeast)
• Washington County (south)
• Lawrence County (west)
• Monroe County (northwest)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, ^[6] U.S. Census Bureau ^[7]

• Interstate 65
• U.S. Route 31
• U.S. Route 50
• State Road 11
• State Road 39
• State Road 58
• State Road 135
• State Road 235
• State Road 250
• State Road 256
• State Road 258

National protected areas

• Hoosier National Forest (part)
• Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Climate and weather

Brownstown, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.2     37 19     2.8     43 22     3.7     53 31     4.7     64 40     5     74 51     4.1     82 60     4.4     85 64     4.4     84 61     3     78 53     3.3     67 40     4.1     54 33     3.4     42 24 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [8]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     81     3 −7     72     6 −6     95     12 −1     120     18 4     127     23 11     105     28 16     112     29 18     111     29 16     77     26 12     83     19 4     103     12 1     87     6 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Brownstown have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.84 inches (72 mm) in February to 5.01 inches (127 mm) in May. ^[8]

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The county council is the fiscal body of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. The 7 representatives are elected from 4 county districts and 3 at-large positions. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes. ^{[9] [10]}

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government. ^{[9] [10]}

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that can handle some civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of six years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court. ^[10]

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county. ^[10]

Jackson County is part of Indiana's 9th congressional district and was represented in Congress by Republican Todd Young until Young was elected to the Senate. Since then, it has been represented by Trey Hollingsworth. ^[11] It is also part of Indiana Senate districts 44 and 45 ^[12] and Indiana House of Representatives districts 65, 66,69 and 73. ^[13]

United States presidential election results for Jackson County, Indiana ^[14]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	14,555	75.66%	4,302	22.36%	381	1.98%
2016	12,859	72.79%	3,843	21.75%	965	5.46%
2012	10,419	62.34%	5,838	34.93%	455	2.72%
2008	9,726	55.77%	7,354	42.17%	360	2.06%
2004	11,083	67.96%	5,092	31.22%	134	0.82%
2000	9,054	62.01%	5,330	36.50%	218	1.49%
1996	5,883	46.41%	5,150	40.63%	1,642	12.95%
1992	7,246	44.81%	5,663	35.02%	3,261	20.17%
1988	9,470	62.77%	5,550	36.78%	68	0.45%
1984	9,879	64.85%	5,163	33.89%	192	1.26%
1980	8,903	55.85%	6,425	40.30%	614	3.85%
1976	7,615	49.58%	7,610	49.55%	133	0.87%
1972	9,546	64.99%	4,984	33.93%	159	1.08%
1968	7,710	52.02%	5,140	34.68%	1,971	13.30%
1964	6,285	41.98%	8,572	57.26%	114	0.76%
1960	8,213	55.27%	6,582	44.29%	66	0.44%
1956	8,375	57.30%	6,185	42.31%	57	0.39%
1952	8,067	55.14%	6,460	44.16%	103	0.70%
1948	6,062	45.00%	7,258	53.88%	151	1.12%
1944	6,321	50.87%	5,982	48.14%	123	0.99%
1940	6,281	45.13%	7,557	54.30%	79	0.57%
1936	4,951	37.98%	8,018	61.50%	68	0.52%
1932	3,996	33.06%	7,882	65.22%	208	1.72%
1928	5,151	49.78%	5,130	49.58%	66	0.64%
1924	4,187	41.63%	5,332	53.02%	538	5.35%
1920	5,069	48.04%	5,319	50.41%	164	1.55%
1916	2,422	40.65%	3,312	55.59%	224	3.76%
1912	921	16.25%	3,225	56.91%	1,521	26.84%
1908	2,631	39.93%	3,783	57.41%	175	2.66%
1904	2,775	42.94%	3,467	53.65%	220	3.40%
1900	2,795	41.51%	3,849	57.16%	90	1.34%
1896	2,670	42.43%	3,574	56.79%	49	0.78%
1892	2,233	39.24%	3,363	59.09%	95	1.67%
1888	2,263	40.89%	3,235	58.45%	37	0.67%

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	4,010		—
1830	4,870		21.4%
1840	8,961		84.0%
1850	11,047		23.3%
1860	16,286		47.4%
1870	18,974		16.5%
1880	23,050		21.5%
1890	24,139		4.7%
1900	26,633		10.3%
1910	24,727		−7.2%
1920	24,228		−2.0%
1930	23,731		−2.1%
1940	26,612		12.1%
1950	28,237		6.1%
1960	30,556		8.2%
1970	33,187		8.6%
1980	36,523		10.1%
1990	37,730		3.3%
2000	41,335		9.6%
2010	42,376		2.5%
2020	46,428		9.6%
2023 (est.)	46,460	[15]	0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [16] 1790–1960 [17] 1900–1990 [18] 1990–2000 [19] 2010 [20]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 42,376 people, 16,501 households, and 11,629 families residing in the county. ^[21] The population density was 83.2 inhabitants per square mile (32.1/km²). There were 18,202 housing units at an average density of 35.7 per square mile (13.8/km²). ^[5] The racial makeup of the county was 94.5% white, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.7% of the population. ^[21] In terms of ancestry, 28.8% were German, 13.1% were American, 12.8% were Irish, and 9.2% were English. ^[22]

Of the 16,501 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.5% were non-families, and 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 38.7 years. ^[21]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $53,534. Males had a median income of $38,608 versus $30,030 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,498. About 7.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over. ^[23]

See also

• The Tribune , daily newspaper covering Jackson County
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, Indiana

External links

• Jackson County Visitor Center

References

1. "Jackson County, Indiana". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 30, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  167.
4. "This Day in History 1866: First U.S. Train robbery". Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
5. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
6. National Atlas Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
7. GEO. "Directory Browsing is Not Allowed". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
8. "Monthly Averages for Brownstown, Indiana". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
9. Indiana Code. "Title 36, Article 2, Section 3". IN.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
10. Indiana Code. "Title 2, Article 10, Section 2" (PDF). IN.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
11. "Conressman Todd Young". House.Gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
12. "Indiana Senate Districts". State of Indiana. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
13. "Indiana House Districts". State of Indiana. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
14. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
15. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
16. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
17. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
18. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
19. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
20. "Jackson County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
21. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
22. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
23. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2015.

38°55′N86°02′W / 38.91°N 86.04°W / 38.91; -86.04