Jennings 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
U.S. 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 ...
. As of 2020, the population was 27,613. 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 ...
is
Vernon.
History
Jennings County was formed in 1817. It was named for the first
Governor of Indiana and a nine-term congressman,
Jonathan Jennings. Jennings was governor when the county was organized.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.53%) is land and (or 0.47%) is water.
It is a rural county, with majority of the county consisting of personal farms and woodlands. There are only two incorporated towns in this county, Vernon, the county seat, and North Vernon. Both are quite small and underdeveloped by urban standards. The county is located in the center of an imaginary triangle consisting of Indianapolis, IN, Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville, KY and requires only 1 hour drive time to any of these urban centers.
It is also home to the
Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, located just outside North Vernon, at which various training exercises and scenarios are conducted for homeland security and other similar purposes.
City
*
North Vernon
Town
*
Vernon
Census-designated places
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Butlerville
*
Country Squire Lakes
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Hayden
*
Scipio
Other unincorporated places
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Brewersville
*
Commiskey
*
Four Corners
*
Grayford
*
Hilltown
*
Lovett
*
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
*
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
*
Paris Crossing
*
Queensville
*
San Jacinto
*
Walnut Ridge
*
Zenas
Townships
*
Bigger
*
Campbell
*
Center
*
Columbia
*
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
*
Lovett
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Marion
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Montgomery
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Sand Creek
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Spencer
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Vernon
Adjacent counties
*
Decatur County (north)
*
Ripley County (east)
*
Jefferson County (southeast)
*
Scott County (south)
*
Jackson County (west)
*
Bartholomew County (northwest)
Major highways
Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau
*
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 Atlantic ...
*
State Road 3
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State Road 7
*
State Road 250
Parks and protected areas
*
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (part)
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Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (part)
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Muscatatuck County Park
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Selmier State Forest
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in Vernon have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.
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 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.
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 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.][
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, 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, and circuit court clerk 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.[
Jennings 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, Indiana, Columbus and Richmond, Indiana, Ric ...
and is represented in Congress by Republican Greg Pence
Gregory Joseph Pence (born November 14, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Indiana's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. The district serves ...
. It is also part of Indiana Senate districts 43 and 45 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 ...
districts 66 and 69.
Jennings County is, and has historically been, a staunchly Republican county and in the top 5 highest taxed counties in the state. Democratic presidential candidates have won Jennings County only thrice in the past 130 years.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 28,525 people, 10,680 households, and 7,733 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 12,069 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.8% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.2% were German, 16.3% were Irish, 14.7% were American, and 7.2% were English.
Of the 10,680 households, 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.6% were non-families, and 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 38.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $48,470. Males had a median income of $38,506 versus $27,633 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,636. About 8.9% of families and 12.3% 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 16.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Jennings County residents may obtain a library card from the Jennings County Public Library in North Vernon.
In popular culture
Jennings County is the setting of the novel The Friendly Persuasion
''The Friendly Persuasion'' is an American novel published in 1945 by Jessamyn West (writer), Jessamyn West. It was adapted as the Academy Award, Oscar-nominated motion picture ''Friendly Persuasion (1956 film), Friendly Persuasion'' in 1956. The ...
, later adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Friendly Persuasion in 1956. Although initially planned to be filmed on location, it was finally filmed in California.[ Friendly Persuasion (1956 film)#Production See the film's wikipage.]
Notable residents
* Sarah T. Bolton, poet
* Ovid Butler, founder of Butler University
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
* Royce Campbell, jazz guitarist
* Cliff Daringer, Federal League baseball player
* Rolla Daringer, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
* Lincoln Dixon, U.S. Representative from Indiana, 1905–1919
* Scott Earl, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
* Robert Sanford Foster, Civil War General
* John "Spider" Miller, 2015 & 2017 Walker Cup team captain
* Jethro New, frontiersmen, Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
officer
* Jeptha D. New, U.S. Representative from Indiana, 1875–1877, 1879–1881
* John C. New, Treasurer of the United States
The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...
, 1875–1876
* Horatio C. Newcomb, Mayor of Indianapolis, 1849–1851
* Hannah Milhous Nixon, mother of President Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
* Pat O'Connor, polesitter for the 1957 Indianapolis 500 and member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
* Mike Simon, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
* Jessamyn West, author
* Edgar Whitcomb, 43rd Governor of Indiana
* Albert Edward Wiggam, psychologist, lecturer, and author
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Jennings County, Indiana
* USS ''Jennings County'' (LST-846)
References
{{Authority control
Indiana counties
1817 establishments in Indiana
Populated places established in 1817