Tippecanoe County ( ) is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the west-central portion 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 so ...
of
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
about east of the
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
state line, less than from the Indianapolis metro area, and from Chicago. As of the
2020 census, the population was 186,251. The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
and largest city is
Lafayette.
It was created in 1826 from
Wabash County portion of New Purchase and unorganized territory. Tippecanoe County was formed March 1, 1826, and named for the
anglicization
Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...
of "Kiteepihkwana", a
Miami people
The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...
term meaning "place of the
buffalo fish people." The county is best known for
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
, the 1811
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between United States Armed Forces, American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and tribal forces associated with Sh ...
, and the
Tippecanoe County Courthouse
The Tippecanoe County Courthouse is located on the public square in the city of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. The public square is located between the north-south 3rd and 4th Streets and between the east-west Main and Columbia Street ...
, a structure built in 1881 and included in the National Register of Historic Places. Tippecanoe County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana,
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The history of Tippecanoe County spans six distinct political and cultural periods: Native American lands from at least 8000BC, including the
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...
, French occupation (part of
New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
beginning in the 1670s),
British occupation starting in 1763, part of the United States
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 part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...
in 1787, part of
Indiana Territory
The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the United States, organized incor ...
in 1800, and finally part of the State of
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
in 1816. The political organization of the county began in 1826 by the act of the Indiana Legislature.
The first European explorers arrived in the 1670s and the first permanent settlement was Fort Ouiatenon by the French established in 1717. Lafayette was platted in 1825 and Purdue University founded in 1869.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.32%) is land and (or 0.68%) is water.
The county's highest point is in the
Lauramie Township.
Adjacent counties
*
White County (north)
*
Carroll County (northeast)
*
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
** Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...
(east)
*
Montgomery County (south)
*
Fountain County (southwest)
*
Warren County (west)
*
Benton County (northwest)
Communities
Cities
*
Lafayette
*
West Lafayette
West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Wabash and Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capit ...
(home of
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
)
Towns
*
Battle Ground
*
Clarks Hill
*
Dayton
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
*
Otterbein (east half)
*
Shadeland
Census-designated places
*
Americus
*
Buck Creek (formerly Transitville)
*
Colburn (formerly Chapmanville)
*
Montmorenci (formerly Bringham's Grove)
*
Romney (formerly Columbia)
*
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross.
History
The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...
(formerly Lauramie)
*
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
(formerly Middleton)
Other unincorporated places
*
Ash Grove
*
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
*
Concord
*
Delp
*
Eastwich
*
Glen Hall
*
Monroe
Monroe or Monroes may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Monroe (surname)
* Monroe (given name)
* James Monroe, 5th President of the United States
* Marilyn Monroe, actress and model
Places United States
* Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
(formerly Huntersville)
*
Octagon
In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
*
Odell
*
Old Halfway
*
Pettit
*
Taylor
Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to:
People
* Taylor (surname)
** List of people with surname Taylor
* Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah
* Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron
* Justice Taylor (disambiguation)
...
Extinct
* Archerville
*
Beeville
*
Chauncey (consolidated into West Lafayette)
*
Corwin
* Columbus
* Cincinnatus
* Clarksburg
* Cleveland
*
Conroe
* Erie
* Florentine
* Fulton (absorbed by Lafayette)
* Gerard
*
Granville (aka Weaton)
*
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
*
Harrisonville (consolidated into Battle Ground)
*
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
(consolidated into West Lafayette)
*
LaGrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[Monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...](_blank)
(formerly Cynthyana)
* New Market
*
North Crane
* Oakland (absorbed by Lafayette)
*
Ouiatenon
Ouiatenon () was a dwelling place of members of the Wea tribe of Native Americans. The name ''Ouiatenon'', also variously given as ''Ouiatanon'', ''Oujatanon'', ''Ouiatano'' or other similar forms, is a French rendering of a term from the Wea ...
* Polk-White Corners
*
Prairieville
* Sidney
*
South Raub
* Sugar Grove
* Sunberry
* Texas
* Wheeler's Grove
*
Wyandot
*
Yorktown
Townships
*
Fairfield
*
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
*
Lauramie
*
Perry
Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...
*
Randolph
*
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
*
Shelby
*
Tippecanoe
*
Union
*
Wabash
*
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
*
Wayne
*
Wea
The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of th ...
Climate and weather
In recent years, temperatures in Lafayette have ranged from an average low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from inches in February to inches in June.
Transportation
Highways
*
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...
*
U.S. Route 52
U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. 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 a north ...
*
U.S. Route 231
U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...
*
Indiana State Road 25
*
Indiana State Road 26
State Road 26 (IN 26 or SR 26) is an east–west discontinuous state road in the central part of the US state of Indiana. The western end of the western segment is at the Illinois border, where it continues as Illino ...
*
Indiana State Road 28
State Road 28 is an east–west road in central Indiana in the United States that crosses the entire state from east to west, covering a distance of about and passing about to the north of the state capital of Indianapolis.
Route descript ...
*
Indiana State Road 38
State Road 38 (SR 38) in the U.S. state of Indiana serves as a connection between Lafayette in the west and Richmond in the east.
Route description
SR 38 begins in Lafayette at the intersections of Sagamore Parkway and Main Stre ...
*
Indiana State Road 43
*
Indiana State Road 225
Railroads
Three different railroad lines intersect in Tippecanoe County, all running through the Lafayette area.
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
operates a north–south line;
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
operates a southwest-to-northeast line, and the
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad
The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Company is a Class III railroad serving agricultural communities in east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana.
History
In December 1977, Conrail was set to abandon of their ex-New York Centr ...
operates a daily-service line running from the northwest to the southeast.
The
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
stops at the
Lafayette Station 3 times a week, and is the only provider of passenger rail service to Greater Lafayette.
Airport
The county contains one public-use airport:
Purdue University Airport
Purdue University Airport is a public-use airport in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Purdue University, and is southwest of the central business district of Lafayette, Indiana, in West L ...
(LAF) in
West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...
.
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 back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana have been rev ...
.
County Council: The county council is the fiscal branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. The county council and the board of commissioners share legislative authority.
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.
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: The county maintains a ]small claims court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...
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
Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to:
* Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases;
* Courts that s ...
.[
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, the , which is common ...
, coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also 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 an ...
, treasurer
A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization.
Government
The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...
, recorder, 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. These points are usually on the ...
, 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 and administering oaths ...
. 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
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...
affiliations and to be residents of the county.[
]
Politics
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Tippecanoe County was one of 10 (out of 92) Indiana counties to give the majority of its votes to Barack Obama. In the 2008 presidential election, Tippecanoe County was one of 15 Indiana counties to give the majority of its votes to Obama/Biden. Due to the sizable support of Purdue University students, Tippecanoe County played a pivotal role in Barack Obama's upset win in Indiana (49.9%–49.0%; 1,367,264 votes to 1,341,101 votes) by supporting the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden 55.1–43.5% over the Republican ticket of John McCain/Sarah Palin.Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
by a margin of 436 votes, the first time since 2008 the county went for the Democrats. In 2024 the county swung back to the Republican column, although Trump only won the county by 100 votes.
Tippecanoe has been somewhat conservative for a county dominated by a college town. While most such counties swung hard to the Democrats in the 1990s, Obama's win in 2008 was only the fourth time it went Democratic in a presidential election since 1888.
Tippecanoe County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 172,780 people, 65,532 households, and 37,003 families residing in the county.German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 13.9% were Irish, 10.8% were English, and 6.1% were American.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 ...
, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
School districtss with territory in the county include Lafayette School Corporation, Tippecanoe School Corporation, West Lafayette Community School Corporation, and Benton Community School Corporation
The Benton Community School Corporation administers the one high school/middle school and two elementary schools in Benton County, Indiana. Its offices are located in the county seat of Fowler, Indiana. The superintendent is Dr. Annette Zupin. ...
.
Purdue and Ivy Tech each have campuses at other sites in Indiana.
Libraries
* Tippecanoe County Public Library
* West Lafayette Public Library
Universities and colleges
* Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
* Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary in ...
High Schools
* TSCElston Alternative Education Center
* LCSS Lafayette Central Catholic Jr/Sr High School
* LSCLafayette (city) Jefferson High School
* LSCLafayette (city) Oakland High School
* TSCLafayette (suburban—south) McCutcheon High School
* WLCSCWest Lafayette (city) West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School
West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School (also informally known as West Side High School or simply West Side) is the only high school within the West Lafayette city limits, and is administered by the West Lafayette Community School Corporation.
...
West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School
West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School (also informally known as West Side High School or simply West Side) is the only high school within the West Lafayette city limits, and is administered by the West Lafayette Community School Corporation.
...
Economy
Much of the economy of Tippecanoe County is centered in its two largest communities: Lafayette and West Lafayette
West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Wabash and Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capit ...
. Purdue University is by far the largest employer in the county, but private industry and commerce independent of the university also employ many others. Major employers include Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Wabash National
Wabash (formerly Wabash National) is an American diversified industrial manufacturing company and one of North America's largest producers of semi-trailers and truck bodies. The company specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans ...
, Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
, Fairfield Manufacturing, Franciscan Health Lafayette, Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...
, State Farm
State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...
, and Indiana University Health Arnett Hospital.
Notable people
* Jesse Lloyd
See also
* List of public art in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
* ()
External links
Tippecanoe County official website
GIS (Geographic Information System) for Tippecanoe County
{{Authority control
Indiana counties
Indiana placenames of Native American origin
1826 establishments in Indiana
Populated places established in 1826
Lafayette metropolitan area, Indiana