Benton County, Indiana

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Benton County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Indiana, along the border with Illinois. As of 2020, the county's population was 8,719.[1] It contains six incorporated towns as well as several small unincorporated settlements; it is divided into 11 townships which provide local services.[2][3] The county seat is Fowler.[4] Benton County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

File:Fowler Ridge Wind Farm 2621903424 5fef77292d o.jpg
Wind turbines in Benton County

History

The lands of present NW Indiana were explored by French explorer Robert de LaSalle. At that time the area was inhabited by the Miami Confederation of Indians. Through White settlement, encroachment, and confrontation, the various indigenous groups were forced to cede their claim to the area. In October 1818, the Pottawattamies, Weas, and Delawares ceded their lands west of the Tippecanoe River to the government. In a treaty dated October 23, 1826, the Pottawattamie and Miamis ceded all their lands east of the Tippecanoe. A treaty dated October 26, 1832, with the Pottawattamie ceded control of the northwestern part of Indiana; on October 27 the Pottawattamie of Indiana and Michigan also relinquished all claim to any remaining land in those states.

Before 1832, this area was not open to settlement; previous settlers had taken the southern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Northwestern Indiana was also less desirable for farming, being described as alternate swamps, sterile sand ridges and flat, wet prairies, although it did proliferate in game.

A state legislative act dated February 7, 1835, created two counties in this area, Newton and Jasper. The county governments were not created at that time and the counties were attached to White County for administrative purposes. The Jasper County organization was effected beginning March 15, 1838. On February 18, 1840, the county of Benton was formed from Jasper's area. It was named for Thomas H. Benton (D), U.S. Senator from Missouri.[5] The original county seat selected in 1843 was Oxford, but after a long struggle between contending factions it was moved to Fowler in 1874.[6]

Courthouse

The current Benton County courthouse, located in Fowler, was designed by Gurdon P. Randall of Chicago and built in 1874 by Levi L. Leach at a cost of $62,257.[n 1] The new courthouse was an impressive building from an architectural standpoint, but also provided much-needed improvements in security, including large fire-proof vaults. Randall had designed the Marshall County courthouse a few years earlier.[8]

Economy

In 2008 the Benton County Wind Farm began operating with 87 1.5 MW wind turbines.[9] Duke Energy purchases electricity from the wind farm and sells it to customers through its GoGreen program.[10]

In 2009 the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm opened nearby,[11] giving Benton County one of the largest concentrations of wind turbines in the United States east of the Mississippi River.[12]

Geography

File:Map of Benton County, Indiana.svg
Map of Benton County, showing townships and settlements

Benton County lies along the state's western border with Illinois. It consists of low rolling hills, with all available terrain devoted to agriculture or development. Data gathered from space shuttle measurements list the county's lowest elevation as Script error: No such module "convert". and its highest elevation as Script error: No such module "convert"..[13] However, a knoll Script error: No such module "convert". NNW of Boswell is shown on official topographic maps as Script error: No such module "convert". ASL.[14]

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". (or 99.98%) is land and Script error: No such module "convert". (or 0.02%) is water.

Adjacent counties

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Cities and towns

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Census-designated place

Unincorporated towns

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Extinct towns

Townships

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Major highways

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Railroads

Education

Three school districts cover portions of the county: Benton Community School Corporation, South Newton School Corporation, and Tri-County School Corporation.[15] The three public schools within the county limits are administered by the Benton school district.

Private school:

Climate and weather

Fowler, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
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1.7
 
 
30
13
 
 
1.6
 
 
35
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3.2
 
 
47
27
 
 
3.6
 
 
60
38
 
 
4.2
 
 
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4.5
 
 
81
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3.7
 
 
84
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82
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2.6
 
 
77
51
 
 
3
 
 
64
39
 
 
3
 
 
48
30
 
 
2.5
 
 
35
19
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches
Source: The Weather Channel[20]
Metric conversion
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42
 
 
−1
−11
 
 
40
 
 
2
−8
 
 
80
 
 
8
−3
 
 
90
 
 
16
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106
 
 
22
9
 
 
114
 
 
27
15
 
 
93
 
 
29
17
 
 
77
 
 
28
15
 
 
67
 
 
25
11
 
 
75
 
 
18
4
 
 
75
 
 
9
−1
 
 
64
 
 
2
−7
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Fowler have ranged from a low of Script error: No such module "convert". in January to a high of Script error: No such module "convert". in July, although a record low of Script error: No such module "convert". was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of Script error: No such module "convert". was recorded in July 1995. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Script error: No such module "convert". in February to Script error: No such module "convert". in June.[20]

Government

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana and the Indiana Code. The county council is the legislative branch of the county government, controlling spending and revenue collection. Representatives, elected to staggered four-year terms from county districts, determine salaries, the annual budget and special spending. The council 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.[21][22] In 2010, the county budgeted approximately $5 million for the district's schools and $2.8 million for other county operations and services, for a total annual budget of approximately $7.8 million.[23]

The Board of Commissioners is the county's executive body. They are elected countywide, in staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as board president. The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue and managing day-to-day functions of the county government.[21][22]

The county maintains a small claims court that can handle some civil cases. The court judge 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 elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.[22]

The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor and circuit court clerk. They are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and be residents of the county.[22]

Each township has a trustee who administers rural fire protection and ambulance service, provides poor relief and manages cemetery care, among other duties.[3] The trustee is assisted in these duties by a three-member township board. The trustees and board members are elected to four-year terms.[24]

Benton County is in Indiana's 4th Congressional District, represented by Jim Baird in the United States Congress. It is part of Indiana Senate district 6[25] and Indiana House of Representatives district 13.[26] It had previously been part of House District 15.[27]

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Demographics

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Historical population
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US Decennial Census[29]
1790-1960[30] 1900-1990[31]
1990-2000[32] 2010[33]

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,719. The median age was 40.2 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.8 males age 18 and over.[34][35]

The racial makeup of the county was 91.2% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.5% from some other race, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.2% of the population.[35]

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[36]

There were 3,408 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.5% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[34]

There were 3,783 housing units, of which 9.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.0% were owner-occupied and 25.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.[34]

American community survey

In terms of ancestry, 25.6% were German, 12.9% were Irish, 5.4% were English, and 5.2% were French (not Basque).[37]

The average household size was 2.49.[38] Of the total population, 18.5% have a visual or non-visual disability.[37]

The median income for a household in the county was $49,488 and the median income for a family was $57,131 and $32,055 for nonfamily households.[37] The per capita income for the county was $25,187.[38] Additionally, 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.[37]

Of the total 2020 population, 6.5% were veterans. Regarding educational attainment, 42.8% earned a high school diploma or equivalent and 16.1% a bachelor's degree or higher. Of those employed, 20.4% work in education, health care and social services; 19.9% work in manufacturing, 10.1% work in retail, and 8.6% work in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting or mining. Finally, 35.4% of science, technology, engineering and math jobs are held by females.[37]

See also

Notes

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  1. ↑ A $62,257 capital expense in 1874 would be roughly equivalent to $15,000,000 in 2009.[7]

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References

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  7. ↑ Williamson, Samuel H. (April 2010). Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to present. MeasuringWorth. Calculations made using Nominal GDP Per Capita, a measure of capital intensivity, using "the 'average' per-person output of the economy in the prices of the current year." This is a measure of the amount of capital and volume of labor required to reproduce the work over varying production methods, but assuming that money represents a proportion of the economy.
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  35. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  37. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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Further reading

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External links

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