DeKalb County, IN
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DeKalb County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, the population was 43,265. The county seat is
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
.


History

On 7 February 1835, the Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus bill that authorized the creation of thirteen counties in northeast Indiana on previously unorganized land (including the recent Wabash New Purchase). The organization of the county's government commenced in 1837. It was named for General Johann de Kalb, a
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
officer from Bavaria, who was killed at the
Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General ...
in South Carolina. The first settlers in the future DeKalb County were from New England, settling what was then known as the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
. These people were " Yankee" migrants, descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. In the 1870s immigrants from Ireland and Germany began arriving in DeKalb County, in large numbers.


Geography

DeKalb County lies on the east side of Indiana; its east border abuts the western border of Ohio. Its low, rolling terrain is entirely devoted to agriculture or urban development. Its highest point (1,060 feet/323 meters ASL) is a small rise in the NW portion of the county, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Fairfield Center. The Saint Joseph River flows southwestward through the SE portion of the county, while the western part of the county is drained by Cedar Creek. According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.72%) is land and (or 0.28%) is water.


Adjacent counties

*
LaGrange County Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaSteuben County - north * Williams County, Ohio - northeast * Defiance County, Ohio - southeast * Allen County - south * Noble County - west


Cities and towns

* Altona * Ashley *
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
*
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...
* Corunna * Garrett *
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
* Saint Joe *
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...


Unincorporated communities

* Artic * Auburn Junction * Butler Center * Cedar * Concord * Fairfield Center * Hopewell *
Moore Moore may refer to: People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907ā€“1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765ā€“1846), a senior officer in the British Army * Moore Powell (died c. 1573 ...
* New Era * Newville * Orangeville * Saint Johns * Sedan * Spencerville * Stafford Center *
Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
* Taylor Corner


Townships

*
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...
* Concord * Fairfield *
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
* Grant * Jackson * Keyser * Newville * Richland * Smithfield * Spencer *
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
* Troy * Union * Wilmington


Major highways

*
Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...
*
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
* State Road 1 * State Road 3 * State Road 4 * State Road 8 * State Road 101 * State Road 205 * State Road 327 * State Road 427


Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Auburn have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.


Government

The county government is a constitutional body, granted specific powers by the
Constitution of Indiana The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
and the Indiana Code. County Council: The fiscal branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from county districts. 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. Board of Commissioners: A three-member board of commissioners combines executive and non-fiscal legislative powers. Commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners also function as the county drainage board, exercising control over the construction and maintenance of legal drains. Courts: DeKalb County has a Circuit Court (75th Judicial Circuit) and two Superior Courts. By local rule, approved by the Indiana Supreme Court, the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court is currently limited to juvenile and domestic cases. Criminal, civil and domestic cases are heard in the two superior courts. Judges of each court are elected for six-year terms on partisan tickets. County Officials: The county has other elected offices, including
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
,
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
, auditor, treasurer,
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
,
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, and circuit court clerk. Each officer is elected to a four-year term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare a party affiliation and to be residents of the county. DeKalb County is part of
Indiana's 3rd congressional district Indiana's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in Fort Wayne, the district takes in the northeastern part of the state. In 2023, this district will include all of Adams, Allen, Blackford, ...
and in 2008 was represented by Mark Souder in the United States Congress. It is in Indiana Senate districts 13 and 14, and
Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...
districts 51, 52 and 85.


Demographics

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 42,223 people, 15,951 households, and 11,328 families in the county. The population density was . There were 17,558 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 36.3% were
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, 10.9% were
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, 10.8% were Irish, and 9.1% were English. Of the 15,951 households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.0% were non-families, and 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age was 38.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $55,280. Males had a median income of $44,880 versus $30,663 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,779. About 6.7% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.


2020 census


Education


School districts


DeKalb County Central United School District

DeKalb County Eastern Community School District



Hamilton Community Schools


Private schools


Lakewood Park Christian School
* St. Joseph's Catholic School (Garrett)
Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool
* Zion Lutheran Pre-School (Garrett)


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in DeKalb County, Indiana __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in DeKalb County, Indiana. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on National Register of Historic Places in DeKalb County, Indiana, Un ...
* ''
The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', daily newspaper covering DeKalb County


References


External links


DeKalb County Government

Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor

DeKalb County Visitors Bureau


{{Authority control Indiana counties 1837 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1837 Fort Wayne, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area Sundown towns in Indiana