Dearborn County is one of 92

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

located on the Ohio border near the southeast corner of the state. It was formed in 1803 from a portion of Hamilton County, Ohio. In 2020, the population was 50,679. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and largest city is Lawrenceburg. Dearborn County is part of the

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area The Cincinnati metropolitan area and also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area, or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area centered on Cincinnati and including surrounding counties in the U.S. states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The area ...

History

In 1803, following Ohio's

admission to the Union Admission may refer to: Arts and media * "Admissions" (''CSI: NY''), an episode of ''CSI: NY'' * ''Admissions'' (film), a 2011 short film starring James Cromwell * ''Admission'' (film), a 2013 comedy film * ''Admission'', a 2019 album by Florida s ...

, a wedge, or pie shaped, remnant of the former

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 ...

along Ohio's southwestern border was ceded to

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...

and organized as Dearborn County. It was named after

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

who was

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of th ...

at that time. Lawrenceburg was then designated as the county seat. All or part of seven other present day counties were carved from the original county with the present boundaries being established in 1845. The region, nicknamed the "Gore", slices through the present-day counties of Dearborn,

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 ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Randolph,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, Wayne and Fayette. Subdivision of Dearborn County began in 1811 with the formation of Franklin and Wayne Counties, followed by Switzerland in 1814. Early growth in the region was centered on Lawrenceburg which became an important railroad junction connecting two of the regions major rail lines. A contention existed between the towns of Lawrenceburg and the mostly German-speaking immigrants that dominated Rising Sun over the favored status of Lawrenceburg as the county seat. The rivalry between the two towns was resolved in 1844 when the Indiana State legislature separated the portion of Dearborn County south of

Laughery Creek Laughery Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 19, 2017 stream that flows through Ripley, Dearborn, and Ohio counties in southeastern Indiana, and is a tr ...

and created the last and smallest Indiana county, county of Ohio on March 1, 1844, with Rising Sun designated as its county seat.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.22%) is land and (or 0.77%) is water. Part of the southeastern county line is formed by the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. Dearborn County contains the

Perfect North Slopes Perfect North Slopes, is an alpine skiing resort in Southeastern Indiana. It consists of 5 magic carpets, 2 rope tows, and 5 chairlifts. The area has 23 trails, 1 of which is expert, 3 of which are most difficult, 2 of which are advanced intermed ...

ski resort.

Cities

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

* Lawrenceburg * Greendale

Towns

* Dillsboro * Moores Hill * Saint Leon * West Harrison

Census-designated places

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

* Hidden Valley

Other unincorporated communities

* Bonnell * Braysville * Chesterville * Cochran *

Cold Springs Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

* Farmers Retreat * Guilford * Hardinsburg * Hubbells Corner *

Kyle Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

* Lawrenceburg Junction * Lawrenceville * Logan *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

* New Alsace *

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

* Weisburg * Wilmington * Wrights Corner * Yorkville

Townships

* Caesar Creek *

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

Hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

* Kelso * Lawrenceburg * Logan *

Miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Adjacent counties

* Franklin County (north) * Butler County,

(northeast) * Hamilton County,

(east) * Boone County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

(southeast) * Ohio County (south) * Ripley County (west)

Climate

In recent years, average temperatures in Lawrenceburg have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in September to in May.

Demographics

At 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 50,047 people, 18,743 households and 13,773 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 20,171 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.5% 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 **Ge ...

, 19.2% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 11.4% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and 7.8% 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 ...

. Of the 18,743 households, 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.5% were non-families, and 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 40.0 years. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $47,697 and the median family income was $66,561. Males had a median income of $45,270 and females $33,353. The per capita income was $25,023. About 4.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is 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 by the

Indiana Code The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the U.S. state of Indiana. The contents are the codification of all the laws currently in effect within Indiana. With roots going all the way back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana h ...

. 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. There are seven members of council from four districts and three elected at large. District 1-Elizabeth Morris (Council President) Republican District 2-Dan Lansing Democrat District 3-Kevin Turner Republican District 4- Denny Kraus Republican At large- Allen Goodman (Vice-President) Republican, Tim Doll Republican, and Glenn Wright Republican. 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. Court: Dearborn County's courts consist of a Circuit Court, presided over by the Honorable James Humphrey (shared with Ohio County in the only such arrangement in the state) and two Superior Courts, the Honorable Jonathan Cleary, presiding over Dearborn County Superior Court No. 1 and the Honorable Sally McLaughlin, presiding over Dearborn County z Superior Court No. 2. Judges are elected to six-year terms. Lawrenceburg also has City Courts, presided over by the Honorable Joseph R. Johns. The Lawrenceburg City Court Judge serves a four-year term. County Officials: The county has several 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 ...

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

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 An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

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 A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

. 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 a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

affiliation and to be residents of the county. Dearborn County is part of

Indiana's 6th congressional district Indiana's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. The district takes in a portion of eastern and central Indiana as of the 2020 census, including Columbus and Richmond, as well as a few suburbs of bot ...

;

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...

district 43; 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 55 and 68.

Infrastructure

Major highways

Interstate 74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...

* Interstate 275 *

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

U.S. Route 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

* State Road 1 * State Road 46 * State Road 48 * State Road 56 * State Road 62 * State Road 148 * State Road 262 * State Road 350

Notable people

Nick Goepper Nicholas Charles Goepper (born March 14, 1994) is an American Olympic freestyle skier. Representing the United States of America, Goepper won a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and won a silver medal at both the 2018 Wint ...

professional slopestyle skier, three-time winter Olympic medalist *

Erwin "Cannonball" Baker Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (March 12, 1882 – May 10, 1960) was an American motorcycle and automobile racing driver and organizer in the first half of the 20th century. Baker began his public career as a vaudeville performer, but turned to ...

, motorcycle and auto racer, 1989 inductee in

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...

John Whiteaker John Whiteaker (May 4, 1820October 2, 1902) was an American politician, soldier, and judge. A native of Indiana, he joined the army during the Mexican–American War and then prospected during the California Gold Rush. After moving to the Orego ...

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

state

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

from 1859 until 1862 and Oregon's Congressman from 1879 to 1881 *

Jim Lyttle James Lawrence Lyttle Jr. (born May 20, 1946) is a former American professional baseball player from Logan, Indiana. He played as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major Lea ...

, professional baseball player *

Lonnie Mack Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing. Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...

, influential guitar soloist of early rock 'n' roll *

Louis Skidmore Louis Skidmore (April 8, 1897 – September 27, 1962) was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal. Biography Louis Skidmore was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. H ...

, architect that co-founded

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Indiana counties 1803 establishments in Indiana Territory Populated places established in 1803 Indiana counties on the Ohio River