Parke County
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Parke County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Wabash River. The county was formed in 1821 out of a portion of
Vigo County Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
. According to the 2010 census, the population was 17,339, an increase of 0.6% from 17,241 in 2000. The county seat is Rockville. It has a population density of about . The county contains six incorporated towns and many unincorporated communities. It is divided into 13 townships which provide local services. Two U.S. Routes and five state highways pass through or into the county, along with one major railroad line. Parke County has 31 covered bridges and describes itself as the Covered Bridge Capital of the World. It is the site for the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival which has been held in October each year. As of 2020, Parke County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.


History

This area had been occupied for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples. The first European settlement of the western area of Indiana along the Wabash River was by
French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...
colonists, who founded Vincennes in 1703. After the Seven Years' War, France ceded its territory in North America to Great Britain. In turn, after the American Revolutionary War, the Crown ceded this territory east of the Mississippi River to the new United States, including land it did not control, which was occupied by Native American nations. In 1811 the Shawnee chief
Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...
rallied several tribes to try to expel the European-American settlers from the area. When General William Henry Harrison took an army from Vincennes to the Battle of Tippecanoe in late 1811 to fight with the Indians,
Zachariah Cicott Zachariah (Zacharie) Cicott (Cicotte, or Sicotte as it is usually written today) (1781-1850) was a French-Canadian trader and is believed to have been the first white settler to live permanently in what became Warren County, Indiana. He was the gre ...
served as a scout. Cicott had traded with Indians up and down the Wabash River, starting around 1801. The trail taken by Harrison's army, on its way to and from the battle site in Tippecanoe County, passed through the area that later became Parke County. The settlement of Armiesburg in Wabash Township was so named because Harrison and his army crossed the Raccoon Creek and camped near there on their way to the battle. Formed on January 9, 1821, from a portion of
Vigo County Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
, Parke County was formed by an act approved by the state legislature. It was named for Captain
Benjamin Parke Benjamin Parke (September 2, 1777 – July 12, 1835) was an American lawyer, politician, militia officer, businessman, treaty negotiator in the Indiana Territory who also served as a United States federal judge in Indiana after it attained stateho ...
, who commanded a troop of light
Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat ...
at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Parke was elected as a delegate of Indiana Territory to the U.S. Congress. In 1821, he was appointed as
U.S. District Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for Indiana. First located at Roseville, the county seat was relocated to Armiesburg. In 1822, the county settled on Rockville as the permanent location. The state act had called for construction of county buildings to start within one year of the county's formation; but in the event, it did not start until 1824. The first courthouse was completed on the Rockville town square in 1826. The log structure doubled as a church. In 1832 the log building was replaced by a brick structure, which served for more than 40 years until 1879, when it was demolished for replacement by a new stone courthouse. The architects for this building were
Thomas J. Tolan Thomas J. Tolan (October 22, 1830 – January 31, 1883) was an American architect. He was born in Carrollton, Ohio to James and Elizabeth Crabbs Tolan. Like his father, he began working as a marble cutter in Delphos, Ohio. He married Harrie ...
and his son Brentwood of
Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
; they designed seven Indiana courthouses, as well as two in Ohio, and one each in Iowa and Illinois. (The firm also designed the Rockville sheriff's resident and jail, as well as others in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Tennessee). Construction of the courthouse at Rockville was completed in 1882 at a cost of about $79,000. Items deposited in the cornerstone included documents of the town's history, postage stamps, several varieties of grain grown in the county, coins, and photographs. A dedication ceremony took place on February 22, 1882, the anniversary of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's birthday. The clock and bell were added later at a cost of about $1,500. The Wabash and Erie Canal was completed through the area around 1850 and ran through Parke County on the east side of the Wabash River. It served several communities along the banks of the river until it was discontinued in the 1870s.


Geography

Parke County lies in western Indiana about halfway between the state's north and south borders. It is bordered by Fountain County to the north;
Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...
to the northeast; Putnam County to the east;
Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...
to the south; and
Vigo County Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
to the southwest. The county's western border is defined by the Wabash River; on the west side of the river lies Vermillion County, beyond which is the state of Illinois, less than from Parke County's northwestern corner. The state capital of
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
lies about to the east. The entire county is within the drainage area of the Wabash River. North of Rockville, the gently undulating land is glacial till resulting from
Wisconsinan glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...
. The Shelbyville
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
divides this from the nearly level Illinoisan till plain in the south part of the county.
Turkey Run State Park Turkey Run State Park, Indiana's second state park, is in Parke County in the west-central part of the state along State Road 47, east of U.S. 41. The first parcel of land was purchased for $40,200 in 1916, when Indiana's state park system ...
is located in northern Parke County. It was set aside as one of Indiana's first state parks and consists of of land. The county also contains a portion of Shades State Park, a park about northeast of Turkey Run; the majority of Shades is located in Montgomery County. According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 98.82%) is land and (or 1.18%) is water.


Cities and towns

Parke County contains six incorporated settlements. The largest is Rockville with a population of about 2,600; located near the center of the county at the intersections of U.S. Routes 36 and 41, it is also the county seat. Bloomingdale is about to the north-northwest of Rockville and has a population of 335. To the north-northeast of Rockville lies Marshall, on Indiana State Road 236; its population is 324. To the southwest of Rockville, Mecca has a population of 335. Montezuma is at the far western edge of the county on U.S. Route 36; its population is 1,022. Finally, Rosedale is near the southern border of the county and has a population of 725.


Townships

* Adams * Florida * Greene *
Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
* Jackson * Liberty * Penn * Raccoon * Reserve * Sugar Creek * Union * Wabash * Washington


Unincorporated towns

* Alma Lake *
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
* Arabia * Armiesburg * Banner Mills * Bellmore * Bethany * Bradfield Corner * Bridgeton * Byron *
Catlin Catlin may refer to: People with the surname *Albertus W. Catlin (1868–1933), US Marine Corps Brigadier General & Medal of Honor recipient *Charles L. Catlin (1842-1901), American lawyer and politician *David Catlin (born 1952), American mathemat ...
* Cincinnati * Coloma * Coxville * Diamond * Ferndale *
Grange Corner Grange Corner is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the Borough of Ballymena. It had a population of 468 people (282 households) in the 2011 Census. (2001 Census: 282 people) References See also *List o ...
* Guion * Hollandsburg *
Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
* Hudnut * Jessup * Judson * Keytsville‡ * Klondyke * Leatherwood * Lena * Lodi * Lusks Mills * Lyford * Madalline *
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
* Midway * Milligan * Minshall * New Discovery * Numa * Nyesville * Parkeville * Piattsville * Pin Hook * Rockport * Smockville * Snow Hill *
Stumptown Stumptown is a name or nickname that has been applied to several places in the United States (listed alphabetically by state): * Guerneville, California, was the site of an ancient coast redwood forest, much of which was logged for the rebuild ...
*
Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...
* Sylvania * Tangier * Vivalia‡ * West Atherton * West Melcher * West Union


Ghost town

* Coke Oven Hollow


Transportation

Two United States highways pass through the county.
U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...
passes east–west through the middle of the county, entering from Putnam County to the east, through Rockville and Montezuma, then into Vermillion County to the west.
U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
enters from Fountain County to the north and intersects U.S. Route 36 in Rockville; it goes southwest toward Clinton before continuing south to Vigo County and
Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
. Indiana State Road 47 begins at U.S. Route 41 in the northern part of the county and goes east into Montgomery County, veering north to Crawfordsville. Indiana State Road 59 enters from Clay County to the south and runs north through the eastern part of the county until it terminates at
Indiana State Road 236 State Road 236 in the U.S. State of Indiana exists in two sections. The western section starts at U.S. Route 41 (US 41) in Parke County, and runs eastward, paralleling its parent that lies to the south, U.S. Route 36 (US 36). In wes ...
, which runs east from U.S. Route 41.
Indiana State Road 163 State Road 163 in the U.S. State of Indiana is a short route in Vermillion and Parke counties. Though it is an odd-numbered route, it is an east–west route. Route description State Road 163 travels from the Illinois border in the town of ...
runs for less than a mile in Parke County, crossing the river at Clinton and terminating at U.S. Route 41 in the far southwest corner of the county. In the far northwestern corner, Indiana State Road 234 enters from Cayuga and runs for less than a mile to Lodi before going north and leaving the county. A small portion of a major
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
railroad line passes through the southwest corner of the county, entering from Clinton to the west, then going south toward Terre Haute. Another CSX line enters the far southeastern corner of the county on its way from Terre Haute to Indianapolis.


Economy

Historically a rural county with extensive agriculture, today Parke County's economy is supported by a labor force of approximately 8,050 workers. The unemployment rate in November 2011 was 9.6%.


Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Rockville 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 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. From 1950 through 2009, eight tornadoes were reported in Parke County; none resulted in any deaths or injuries, but the total estimated property damage was over $280,000.


Notable people

Warder Clyde Allee was born in Bloomingdale in 1885. He attended Earlham College and the University of Chicago, studying zoology and ecology and receiving his Ph.D. in 1912. He taught, conducted research, and wrote a number of books; among other accomplishments, he identified what became known as the Allee effect. He died in Gainesville, Florida, in 1955 at age 69. Gordon Allport was born in Montezuma in 1897; when he was six years old, his family moved to Ohio. He attended Harvard University and received a Ph.D. in psychology in 1922; his focus was on personality traits. He began teaching at Harvard in 1924, and published a number of works in the following years. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1967 at the age of 69.
William Henry Harrison Beadle William Henry Harrison Beadle (January 1, 1838 – November 15, 1915) was an American soldier, lawyer, educator and administrator.''South Dakota Historical Collections'', Volume 3 (1906) Biography He was born in a log cabin in Parke County, ...
was born in a log cabin in Parke County in 1838. His father offered him a farm, but he accepted $1,000 for an education instead and studied civil engineering at the University of Michigan. He fought in the Civil War on the side of the Union and became a brigadier general. After the war, he was named surveyor-general of the Dakota Territory. Later he became president of the Madison State Normal School (now Dakota State University), then taught geography there after his presidency. He died in 1915 at the age of 77. Baseball great Mordecai Brown was born in the unincorporated town of Nyesville in Parke County on October 19, 1876. He lost parts of two fingers on his right hand in a farm machinery accident, hence his later nickname "Three Finger". He was also called "Miner" because he had worked in coal mines in western Indiana before his baseball career. He began in the minor leagues in Terre Haute in 1901 and joined the major leagues in 1903, retiring in 1916. He died in Terre Haute in 1948 at age 71. Grover Jones was born in Rosedale in 1893 and grew up in the Terre Haute area. He became a short story writer, screenwriter, and film director, writing for over 100 films. He died in Hollywood, California, in 1940 at age 46. Knute Cauldwell was born in Parke County and played in the early years of the National Football League.


Media

The county's first newspaper was called ''The Wabash Herald'' and was published beginning in 1829. After being sold and renamed several times, it was successively called ''The Rockville Intelligencer'', ''The Olive Branch'', ''The Parke County Whig'' and ''The Rockville Republican''. Several other papers came and went; as of 1912, several newspapers were published in the county: the ''Republican'', the ''Tribune'', the ''Montezuma Enterprise'', and the ''Bloomingdale World'', as well as papers printed in Rosedale and Marshall. The original ''Wabash Herald'' continues and since 1977 has been called the ''Parke County Sentinel.''


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. The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms and 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. In 2010, the county budgeted approximately $2.2 million for the district's schools and $2.8 million for other county operations and services, for a total annual budget of approximately $5 million. 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 day-to-day functions of the county government. 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 elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court. 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 ...
,
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 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 party affiliations and be residents of the county. Each of the townships has a trustee who administers rural fire protection and ambulance service, provides poor relief and manages cemetery care, among other duties. The trustee is assisted in these duties by a three-member township board. The trustees and board members are elected to four-year terms. Parke County is part of Indiana's 8th congressional district; Indiana Senate district 38; 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 41, 42 and 44. Parke County is a consistently Republican county in presidential elections, having voted for Democratic Party candidates only five times since 1888, and not at all since Lyndon B. Johnson's national landslide in 1964.


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 17,339 people, 6,222 households, and 4,389 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 8,085 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.1% white, 2.3% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.7% 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 ...
, 23.7% 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 ...
, 10.7% were Irish, and 10.1% were English. Of the 6,222 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.5% were non-families, and 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $51,581. Males had a median income of $40,395 versus $27,618 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,494. About 8.8% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Parke County, Indiana * Parke County Covered Bridge Festival * Parke County Covered Bridges


Notes


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Parke County Tourism

Parke County Covered Bridge Festival Information

Parke County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Indiana counties 1821 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1821