Wabash County, Indiana

Wabash County
County
Wabash County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°51′N85°47′W / 40.85°N 85.79°W / 40.85; -85.79
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	January 1820; organized 1835
Named for	Wabash River
Seat	Wabash
Largest city	Wabash
Area
• Total	420.98 sq mi (1,090.3 km2)
• Land	412.43 sq mi (1,068.2 km2)
• Water	8.54 sq mi (22.1 km2)  2.03%
Population  (2020)
• Total	30,976
• Estimate  (2023)	30,670
• Density	74/sq mi (28/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.wabashcounty.in.gov
Indiana county number 85

Wabash County is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 30,976. ^[1] The county seat is Wabash. ^[2]

History

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples. French explorers and traders encountered the historical Miami Native Americans beginning in the 17th century.

Wabash County, along with Delaware County, was originally formed Jan. 1820 out of the 1818 New Purchase resulting from the Treaty of St. Mary's. Wabash County was the Wabash River drainage area, and Delaware County, the White River drainage area. Numerous counties were carved out of the Wabash New Purchase. Wabash County as it exists today was organized out of a remnant portion of the original county in 1835.

The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the earlier French name for the river, Ouabache. French traders derived the French version from the Indian name for the river, Wabashike (pronounced "Wah-bah-she-keh") (meaning "pure white".) Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 420.98 square miles (1,090.3 km²), of which 412.43 square miles (1,068.2 km²) (or 97.97%) is land and 8.54 square miles (22.1 km²) (or 2.03%) is water. ^[3]

North Manchester from the air looking northeast.

Adjacent counties

• Kosciusko County (north)
• Whitley County (northeast)
• Huntington County (east)
• Grant County (south)
• Miami County (west)
• Fulton County (northwest)

Cities

• Wabash

Towns

• LaFontaine
• Lagro
• North Manchester
• Roann

Census-designated places

• Laketon
• Somerset

Other unincorporated places

• America
• Bolivar
• College Corner
• Disko
• Ijamsville
• Liberty Mills
• Lincolnville
• Mount Vernon
• Newton
• Pioneer
• Richvalley
• Servia
• South Haven
• Speicherville
• Stockdale
• Sunnymede
• Treaty
• Urbana
• Valley Brook

Extinct

• Dora
• Rose Hill

Townships

• Chester
• Lagro
• Liberty
• Noble
• Paw Paw
• Pleasant
• Waltz

Major highways

• U.S. Route 24
• Indiana State Road 13
• Indiana State Road 15
• Indiana State Road 16
• Indiana State Road 114
• Indiana State Road 115
• Indiana State Road 124
• Indiana State Road 218
• Indiana State Road 524

Climate and weather

Wabash, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.2     31 14     1.9     36 17     2.7     47 27     3.5     60 37     4.1     71 48     4.2     80 58     4.1     83 61     4     81 59     3.2     75 51     2.8     63 40     3.1     49 31     2.7     36 20 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel [4]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     55     −1 −10     48     2 −8     69     8 −3     90     16 3     103     22 9     107     27 14     105     28 16     102     27 15     81     24 11     71     17 4     79     9 −1     69     2 −7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Wabash have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 83 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.89 inches (48 mm) in February to 4.23 inches (107 mm) in June. ^[4]

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 legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. 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. ^{[5] [6]}

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. ^{[5] [6]}

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 four 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. ^[6]

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, assessor, prosecutor, 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. ^[6]

Wabash County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. Since 1888, only two Republican Party candidates have lost the county, William Howard Taft in 1912 & Barry Goldwater in 1964.

United States presidential election results for Wabash County, Indiana ^[7]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	10,762	73.72%	3,494	23.93%	342	2.34%
2016	9,821	72.47%	3,018	22.27%	713	5.26%
2012	8,644	67.03%	3,973	30.81%	278	2.16%
2008	8,238	59.30%	5,456	39.27%	198	1.43%
2004	9,607	70.63%	3,920	28.82%	75	0.55%
2000	8,321	64.59%	4,277	33.20%	285	2.21%
1996	6,990	53.79%	4,577	35.22%	1,429	11.00%
1992	7,062	46.77%	4,518	29.92%	3,521	23.32%
1988	9,153	68.39%	4,168	31.14%	63	0.47%
1984	9,862	70.30%	4,077	29.06%	89	0.63%
1980	8,738	60.82%	4,620	32.15%	1,010	7.03%
1976	8,534	59.51%	5,704	39.78%	102	0.71%
1972	10,011	68.29%	4,601	31.39%	47	0.32%
1968	8,611	61.07%	4,598	32.61%	892	6.33%
1964	6,905	47.51%	7,485	51.50%	145	1.00%
1960	10,420	68.12%	4,788	31.30%	89	0.58%
1956	10,318	71.18%	4,085	28.18%	93	0.64%
1952	9,980	67.94%	4,395	29.92%	315	2.14%
1948	8,149	61.53%	4,692	35.42%	404	3.05%
1944	8,357	62.30%	4,665	34.77%	393	2.93%
1940	8,755	61.11%	5,431	37.91%	141	0.98%
1936	7,223	53.02%	6,200	45.51%	200	1.47%
1932	6,652	49.36%	6,553	48.63%	271	2.01%
1928	8,537	68.25%	3,872	30.96%	99	0.79%
1924	7,277	60.44%	4,054	33.67%	709	5.89%
1920	8,018	60.33%	4,827	36.32%	445	3.35%
1916	3,849	50.37%	3,168	41.46%	624	8.17%
1912	1,363	20.08%	2,371	34.92%	3,055	45.00%
1908	4,091	53.55%	3,116	40.79%	433	5.67%
1904	4,516	59.44%	2,381	31.34%	700	9.21%
1900	4,433	58.48%	2,882	38.02%	266	3.51%
1896	4,319	59.04%	2,891	39.52%	105	1.44%
1892	3,687	55.20%	2,413	36.13%	579	8.67%
1888	3,986	58.41%	2,555	37.44%	283	4.15%

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	2,756		—
1850	12,138		340.4%
1860	17,547		44.6%
1870	21,305		21.4%
1880	25,241		18.5%
1890	27,126		7.5%
1900	28,235		4.1%
1910	26,926		−4.6%
1920	27,231		1.1%
1930	25,170		−7.6%
1940	26,601		5.7%
1950	29,047		9.2%
1960	32,605		12.2%
1970	35,553		9.0%
1980	36,640		3.1%
1990	35,069		−4.3%
2000	34,960		−0.3%
2010	32,888		−5.9%
2020	30,976		−5.8%
2023 (est.)	30,670	[8]	−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11] 1990-2000 [12] 2010-2013 [1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,888 people, 12,777 households, and 8,733 families residing in the county. ^[13] The population density was 79.7 inhabitants per square mile (30.8/km²). There were 14,171 housing units at an average density of 34.4 per square mile (13.3/km²). ^[3] The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. ^[13] In terms of ancestry, 31.3% were German, 18.1% were American, 10.1% were English, and 10.0% were Irish. ^[14]

Of the 12,777 households, 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.2 years. ^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $52,758. Males had a median income of $41,965 versus $26,944 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,475. About 8.8% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over. ^[15]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabash County, Indiana

References

1. "Wabash County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
4. "Monthly Averages for Wabash, Indiana". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
5. Indiana Code. "Title 36, Article 2, Section 3". IN.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
6. Indiana Code. "Title 2, Article 10, Section 2" (PDF). IN.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
7. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
13. "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.
14. "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.
15. "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.

External links

• Wabash County Website
• https://web.archive.org/web/20120621233635/http://www.wabasharea.net/