Huntington 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 ...

in the northeastern central part 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 ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 36,662. 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 only city) is Huntington. Huntington County comprises the Huntington, Indiana micropolitan statistical area and is included in the Fort Wayne–Huntington–Auburn Combined Statistical Area.

History

Huntington County was organized from the previously unorganized

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 ...

and lands gained by the Adams New Purchase of 1818. The county's creation was authorized by an act of the Indiana state legislature dated February 2, 1832. Organization of the county's governing structure began on May 5, 1834. The first non– Native American settlers in what has since become Huntington County were a group of 29 farm families from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

who arrived in the early 1830s. These were "Yankee" settlers, meaning they were descended from the English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

who settled

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

in the colonial era. These settlers were able to get to what has since become Huntington County due to the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal, which was a shipping canal that connected the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

to the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

by way of a manmade waterway. When they arrived in what has since become Huntington County, the settlers from Connecticut found dense virgin forest and wild prairie. The original 29 "Yankee" families from Connecticut laid out roads; built a post office; established post routes; and built a town hall, a church, and a schoolhouse from the trees in the area that they cut down. The county was named for Samuel Huntington, who signed the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

and the Articles of Confederation. He was also

president of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the con ...

under the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

Geography

The terrain of Huntington County consists of low rolling hills, completely devoted to agriculture or urban development. The

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

flows to the west through the upper-central part of the county, while the Salamonie River flows to the west through the lower part.''Huntington County IN'' (Google Maps, accessed 28 July 2020)
/ref> Its highest point (about 925 feet (282 m) above sea level) is at the southwest corner. According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 98.69%) is land and (or 1.31%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Whitley County – north * Allen County – northeast * Wells County – east *

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

– south * Wabash County – west

Highways

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and includ ...

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

U.S. Route 224 U.S. Route 224 (US 224) is a spur of U.S. Route 24, US 24 that runs through the states of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It currently runs for from U.S. Route 24 in Indiana, US 24 in Huntington, Indiana, east to U.S. Route 422 ...

* State Road 3 * State Road 5 * State Road 9 * State Road 16 * State Road 105 * State Road 114 * State Road 116 * State Road 124 * State Road 218

City and towns

Andrews Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States *Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana *Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina *Andrews, Oregon *Andrews, South ...

* Huntington (city) * Markle (partial) *

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

* Roanoke * Warren

Townships

* Clear Creek *

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

* Huntington * Jackson * Jefferson * Lancaster * Polk * Rock Creek * Salamonie * Union * Warren * Wayne

Unincorporated communities

Banquo Lord Banquo , the Thane (Scotland), Thane of Lochaber, is a semi-historical character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play ''Macbeth''. In the play, he is at first an ally of Macbeth (character), Macbeth (both are generals in the King's army) an ...

* Bippus * Bowerstown *

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

* Buckeye * Goblesville * Harlansburg * Lancaster * Mahon * Majenica * Makin * Mardenis * Milo * Pleasant Plain *

Plum Tree A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

* Roanoke Station * Rock Creek Center *

Simpson Simpson may refer to: * Simpson (name), a British surname Organizations Schools *Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa *Simpson University, in Redding, California Businesses *Simpson (appliance manufacturer), former manufacturer and brand of w ...

Protected areas

* JE Roush Fish and Wildlife Area * Lost Bridge State Recreation Area

Notable people

Public servants

* Samuel E. Cook (1860–1946), U.S. congressman * J. Danforth Quayle, U.S. representative, senator, vice-president * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), U.S. representative, father of "911" * Elizebeth (Smith) Friedman (1892–1980), author and pioneer in cryptology during WWI to WWII era, called "America's first female cryptanalyst"

Celebrities

* Chris Schenkel (1923–2005), sportscaster * Archbishop John F. Noll (1875–1956), founded Catholic newspaper ''Our Sunday Visitor'', founded Victory Noll and St. Felix Monastery.

Artists

Mick Mars Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known professionally as Mick Mars, is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, being the oldest of the four origin ...

, guitarist for Mötley Crüe.

Athletes

* Gary Dilley, Tokyo Olympics swimmer *

George Haines George Frederick Haines (March 9, 1924 – May 1, 2006) was a competitive swimmer and coach who for twenty-three years coached the highly successful Santa Clara Swim Club which he founded in 1951. He later coached UCLA, Stanford University, ...

, Olympic Women's Swim coach * Chris Kramer, professional basketball player. Kramer played college basketball at

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 ...

where he was two-time

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

Defensive Player of the Year.

Points of interest

Huntington County Historical Museum
* Huntington University Arboretum and Botanical Garden * Huntington University
J. Edward Roush Lake
* Merillat Centre for the Arts *

Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, ...

Corporate Headquarters * Sheets Wildlife Museum and Learning Center * The Forks Of The Wabash * The Indiana Room Genealogy Center * Tel-Hy Nature Preserve * United States Vice Presidential Museum * Victory Noll Center

Education

School district

* Huntington County Community School Corporation

Private schools

Huntington Area Home Educators

Huntington Catholic School

Higher education

* Huntington University

News and media

Newspapers

''The Huntington County TAB''

''HuntingtonFreePress''

''Huntingtonian''
* '' Indiana Plain Dealer''

Radio

WBZQ 1300 AM

* WQHU-LP Huntington University Radio WQHU 105.5-FM Forester Radio]

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Huntington have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1982 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, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code. County Council: The fiscal branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives, elected to four-year terms from county districts, are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes. Board of Commissioners: The executive and legislative body of the county. The commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners are charged with collecting revenue and managing 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 handles 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 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 ...

. These officers are elected to four-year terms. 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. Huntington County is part of Indiana's 3rd congressional district;

Indiana Senate The Indiana State 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 ...

districts 17 and 19; 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 mem ...

district 50. Presidential Election Analysis: Huntington County has been strongly Republican;

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

was the last Democratic Party candidate to carry the county (1964).

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 37,124 people, 14,218 households, and 10,074 families in the county. The population density was . There were 15,805 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 37.9% were

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 ...

, 14.9% were Irish, 12.9% were American, and 12.1% were English. Of the 14,218 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.1% were non-families, and 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 39.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $55,630. Males had a median income of $41,648 versus $30,218 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,575. About 7.7% of families and 11.4% 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 ...

, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Huntington County Chamber of Commerce

Official Web site of Huntington, Indiana

Huntington County Community Network

Huntington Herald Press daily newspaper

Huntington County United Economic Development
{{Authority control Indiana counties 1832 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1832 Fort Wayne, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area