Southwestern Indiana

Last updated
Southwestern Indiana
Region
EvansvilleSkyline.jpg
Evansville skyline
SouthwesternIndiana.png
Counties of Southwestern Indiana
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
StateFlag of Indiana.svg  Indiana
Largest city Evansville
Population
474,251

Southwestern Indiana is an 11-county region of southern Indiana, United States located at the southernmost and westernmost part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the region's combined population is 474,251. Evansville, Indiana's third-largest city, is the primary hub for the region, as well as the primary regional hub for a tri-state area that includes Kentucky and Illinois. Other regional hubs include Jasper, Vincennes, and Washington. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region's culture and language, like much of the rest of Southern Indiana, is somewhat more aligned with that of the neighboring Upland South (such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas), rather than the Midwest; the area is Midwest with a Southern influence, rather than Southern with a Midwest influence.

Contents

Geography

Southwestern Indiana's topography is considerably more varied and complex than most of Indiana, from large tracts of forest, marshes, rolling fields, large flat valleys in the west and south, to several chains of low mountains, high hills, and sharp valleys towards the north and east. Every county in Southwestern Indiana is bounded by a river at one point, whether it be the Wabash River along the west, the Ohio River along the south, the White River, dividing the six northern counties between its two forks, or other smaller rivers. More than 50% of the boundaries of Daviess, Knox, Perry, Posey, and Spencer Counties are dictated by a river or a creek. Just under 50% of Gibson and Pike counties are dictated by a river. About 80% Knox County's boundaries are dictated by either the Wabash or the White River and its West Fork, essentially making the county a river peninsula. Additionally, over half of the area is located within the Wabash Valley seismic zone along with neighboring Southeastern Illinois.

Southwestern Indiana has clusters of separate towns of varying sizes and layouts. Vincennes is laid out in the French quadrangular, while Jasper and Princeton are laid out in a standard grid. Evansville is laid out in both modes of survey, with its downtown being mapped out from the river and the rest of the city being laid out in the standard grid.

Southwestern Indiana, like most of Southern Indiana as a whole contains several of the oldest counties in Indiana, including Knox County, the states's oldest county. In addition, four other area counties; Gibson, Perry, Posey, and Warrick, predate Indiana's statehood and the area also contains Pike County, the first county created after statehood. The youngest county, Martin, was created in January, 1820, was the state's 30th county overall of the states's 92 counties.

Organizational definition

In addition to various media definitions, Southwestern Indiana is also defined by most Indiana state agencies, as well as various commercial and economic regions, as an entire area. All of Southwestern Indiana's counties are in Indiana's 8th Congressional District as of 2013. Most of Southwestern Indiana is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville except for Perry County and Spencer County's Harrison Township, which are in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Southwestern Indiana makes up realtor region 12 in Indiana, while nine of the counties make up Economic Growth Region 11 with Daviess and Martin in Region 8. [1] [2]

In addition, the southern third of Southwestern Indiana exists within the Ohio River Valley American Viticultural Area, the second-largest wine appellation in the United States. The Ohio River Valley AVA occupies all of Perry, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick Counties, nearly 90% of Gibson County, and portions of Pike and Dubois Counties in Southwestern Indiana. [3]

Counties

IN
No.		County
name
Establishment date
(SW Indiana) (history)
(statehood)
 County
seat
Time
zone
Population
(2015)
(rank)
Area
sq mi (km2)
(Rank)
Twps
ZIP code
Prefix(es)
 % of
Boundary
by water
14 Daviess February 2, 1818
(10) (29) (14)		 Washington Eastern 437 sq mi (1,130 km2)
(3)		 10 47555%
19 Dubois December 20, 1817
(7) (20) (4)		 Jasper Eastern435 sq mi (1,130 km2)
(4)		 12 47524%
26 Gibson April 1, 1813
(2) (8) (T)		 Princeton Central 526 sq mi (1,360 km2)
(1)		 10 475/47659%
42 Knox June 6, 1790
(1) (1) (T)		 Vincennes Eastern516 sq mi (1,340 km2)
(2)		 10 475/47884%
51 Martin January 7, 1820
(11) (33) (18)		 Shoals Eastern341 sq mi (880 km2)
(10)		 6 47518%
62 Perry November 1, 1814
(4) (12) (T)		 Tell City Central386 sq mi (1,000 km2)
(8)		 7 474/47552%
63 Pike December 21, 1816
(6) (16) (1)		 Petersburg Eastern342 sq mi (890 km2)
(9)		 9 475/47635%
65 Posey November 11, 1814
(5) (13) (T)		 Mt. Vernon Central429 sq mi (1,110 km2)
(5)		 10 47663%
74 Spencer January 10, 1818
(9) (24) (9)		 Rockport Central401 sq mi (1,040 km2)
(7)		 9 475/47673%
82 Vanderburgh January 7, 1818
(8) (22) (7)		 Evansville Central236 sq mi (610 km2)
(11)		 8 476/47726%
87 Warrick April 30, 1813
(3) (9) (T)		 Boonville Central424 sq mi (1,100 km2)
(6)		 10 475/476/47719%

(T) - Establishment Date - Indiana Territory County

Metropolitan and micropolitan areas

Metropolitan area

NamePrimary city
or cities		State
or states		County
or counties		Non-area county or
counties influenced		Area2005
Population
Evansville, IN-KY
Metropolitan Statistical Area 		Evansville
Henderson
Princeton 		Indiana
Kentucky 		IN: Gibson, Posey
Vanderburgh, Warrick
KY: Henderson, Webster 		Illinois: Wabash, White
Indiana: Spencer
Kentucky: Union 		2,367 sq mi
6,130 km2		352,943

Micropolitan areas

NamePrimary cityState
or states		County
or counties		Area2005
Population
Jasper, IN
Micropolitan Statistical Area 		Jasper Indiana Dubois
Pike 		776 sq mi
2010 km2		53,211
Vincennes, IN-IL
Micropolitan Statistical Area		 Lawrenceville
Vincennes 		Illinois
Indiana		 Knox
Lawrence 		898 sq mi
2,330 km2		54,332
Washington, IN
Micropolitan Statistical Area		 Washington Indiana Daviess 437 sq mi
1,130 km2		32,200

Political status

Closeup of Southwestern Indiana: White counties are on Central Time, gray counties are on Eastern Time. Southwestern Indiana.png
Closeup of Southwestern Indiana: White counties are on Central Time, gray counties are on Eastern Time.
CountyHouse
District(s)		Senate
District(s)		US House
District
14 Daviess 45th 63rd 64th 39th 48th 8th
19 Dubois 63rd 73rd 74th 47th 48th 8th
26 Gibson 64th 74th 75th 48th 49th 8th
42 Knox 45th 64th 39th 48th 8th
51 Martin 62nd 63rd 48th 8th
62 Perry 73rd 74th 47th 8th
63 Pike 63rd 64th 48th 8th
65 Posey 76th 49th 8th
74 Spencer 74th 78th 47th 8th
82 Vanderburgh 75th 76th 77th 78th 49th 50th 8th
87 Warrick 75th 77th 78th 47th 50th 8th
Southwestern Indiana 45th 62nd 63rd 64th 73rd
74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 		39th 47th 48th
49th 50th 		8th

Highways

The Townships of Southwestern Indiana Southwest Indiana Townships.PNG
The Townships of Southwestern Indiana

Interstate highways

I-64.svg Interstate 64

The older interstate in the region, this stretch of I-64 has been the primary artery of east-west traffic since entering service around 1983. While relatively flat in Posey, Vanderburgh, and Gibson counties, its terrain becomes hillier as it passes through the 25.5-mile (41.0 km) stretch in Warrick County. By the time it approaches U.S. 231, the hills and valleys are sharper, transitioning into the low mountainous conditions found in Perry County as the highway leaves into Crawford County.

I-69.svg Interstate 69

The newer interstate in the region, this stretch of I-69 provides interstate access to Bloomington and Indianapolis. Like I-64, the terrain around Evansville is relatively flat, but becomes hillier in northeastern Gibson County, and becomes progressively hillier through Pike County. The stretch of I-69 in Daviess County between Washington and Elnora is actually flatter than the stretch in Vanderburgh County, while containing some hilly sections south of Washington, but becomes very hilly northeast of Elnora as the highway approaches Crane and leaves the area into Greene County.

U.S. highways

US 41.svg U.S. Route 41
US 41 extends from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This four-lane highway serves the western half of the region. US 41 goes through the city of Evansville, becoming six lanes between the Lloyd Expressway and Diamond Avenue. It bypasses Princeton and Vincennes before continuing north towards Terre Haute.

US 50.svg U.S. Route 50
US 50 extends from Baltimore, Maryland, to Sacramento, California. It is a winding two-lane road in the eastern half of the region which becomes a four-lane road in the western half, near Washington, before joining US 41 in the bypass around Vincennes. It intersects with I-69 just east of Washington. It leaves Indiana on the Red Skelton Bridge.

US 150.svg U.S. Route 150
Coterminous with US 50 from Vincennnes to Shoals, it breaks off and heads eastward while US 50 continues northeast.

US 231.svg U.S. Route 231
This now mostly new four-lane road serves the eastern half of the region. The route is in a process of relocation, as a new four-lane road is under construction from Rockport to Greene County, where it will intersect with Interstate 69.

Culture

Annual festivals and celebrations

Central Time vs. Eastern Time

From 1966 to 2006, the five southwesternmost counties—Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick—observed Central Daylight Time. The six northern and eastern counties—Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, and Pike, since 1982—observed year-round Eastern Standard Time as did much of the rest of the state.

In 2006, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels pushed through legislation for all Indiana counties to observe Daylight Timeon Eastern Time onto Eastern Daylight Time. This action threw both Southwestern and Northwestern Indiana into chaos as counties started to debate whether to return to the Central Time Zone or remain in the Eastern Time Zone and start observing daylight time. This resulted, on April 2, 2006, in all of Southwestern Indiana being in the Central Time Zone.

Not even a month after the change, people began to complain about some of the same problems that people who lived in the original Central Daylight Time counties had been complaining about for years. Most prevalent was the complaint that the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center had become a "time island". The workers' union of the base subsequently petitioned the Martin County Commissioners to repetition for a change back to Eastern Time. The resulting chain reaction resulted in all of the former Eastern Time counties, along with two Central Time counties, Gibson and Spencer, petitioning for a change to Eastern Time.

On September 20, 2007, after only 15 months and only one winter on Central Time, the DOT returned only five of the eight applicants to the Eastern Time Zone. Gibson, Perry, and Spencer counties did not have enough support to be placed there. However, three of the five counties, Daviess, Knox, and Pike, had little support either, but "convenience of commerce" was given as the reason for their time changes, despite commute patterns into Evansville and the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana plant in Gibson County, the region's largest employer. In Dubois County, a heated disagreement between Huntingburg and Jasper occurred over the topic. Most of Huntingburg's industry and economy is geared towards the Central Time Zone, where Owensboro, Kentucky, and Spencer County, and the Huntingburg area's largest employers, AK Steel and Holiday World, are located. Jasper, though, stated that the majority of its business activity is aimed at the Eastern Seaboard and that returning to the Eastern Time Zone would be in the best interest of the county. [4] The final result was that Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, and Pike counties returned to the Eastern Time Zone on November 4, 2007, once again dividing Southwestern Indiana. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrick County, Indiana</span> County in Indiana, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Indiana</span> Geographic and cultural region of Indiana, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wabash Valley</span> Region in Illinois and Indiana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Indiana</span> Time zones used in Indiana

The U.S. state of Indiana is divided into Eastern and Central time zones. The official dividing line has generally moved progressively west from its original location on the Indiana–Ohio border, to a position dividing Indiana down the middle, and finally to its current location along much of the Indiana–Illinois border. This change primarily occurred to ease communications with Indiana and New York. In April 2006, several southwestern and northwestern counties reverted to Central time.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">65th Indiana Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area</span> Tri-state region of the United States

The Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area is a tri-state area where the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect, and a region of the Upland South. The area is defined mainly by the television viewing area and consists of ten Illinois counties, eleven Indiana counties, and nine Kentucky counties, centered upon the Ohio and Wabash Rivers.

References

  1. ↑ "Economic Growth Region 11". Stats Indiana. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Economic Growth Region 8". Stats Indiana. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/27cfr9.78.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. ↑ "Some counties get OK to move back to Eastern Time zone". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  5. ↑ "Indiana does time warp again". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  6. ↑ "DOT Moves Five Indiana Counties from Central to Eastern Time". U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2008-09-19.

38°30′N87°0′W / 38.500°N 87.000°W / 38.500; -87.000

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