Miami 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 year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, the population was 35,962. 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 the City of Peru. Miami County is part of the Kokomo-Peru CSA.

History

Indiana became a state on December 11, 1816, after being Indiana Territory for sixteen years. Originally, Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory, which was made up of land gained by the British after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and organized into a territory after the American Revolution. It was after the revolution that settlement in the area by Europeans really began. Knox territory was created in 1790 and included all of present-day Indiana and areas of Illinois. Ancestry's Red Book notes that jurisdiction in Knox territory changed due to Indian uprisings in the area from 1790 to 1810. In 1800, Indiana became the name of a territory. Parts of Michigan and Illinois both broke away from the territory before it became a state in 1816. Miami County was formed in 1832 from Cass County and unorganized land. It was named for the

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, a Native American people, many of whom still live in this area. In 1834, Miami County widened its western border taking some area from Cass County. In 1838 a small portion of unorganized territory was added to the northeastern border, but in 1844 that area was lost to Fulton County. Miami County has been its present shape since 1844.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.06%) is land and (or 0.94%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Fulton County (north) * Wabash County (east) * Grant County (southeast) * Howard County (south) * Cass County (west)

Major highways

U.S. Route 24 * US 31

U.S. Route 31 * State Road 16 * State Road 18 * State Road 19 * State Road 124 * State Road 218

Communities

City

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Towns

* Amboy * Bunker Hill * Converse *

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

* Macy

Census-designated places

* Grissom AFB *

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Other unincorporated places

* Bennetts Switch *

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

* Chili * Courter * Deedsville * Doyle * Erie *

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

* Gilead * Loree * McGrawsville *

* Nead * New Santa Fe * North Grove * Oakdale * Oakley * Park View Heights * Peoria * Perrysburg * Pettysville * Santa Fe * South Peru * Stockdale * Wawpecong * Wells

Extinct

* Anson * Brownell * Busaco * Cary * Five Corners * Hooversburg * Leonda * Niconza * Paw Paw * Snow Hill * Stringtown * Wagoner * Wooleytown

Townships

* Allen Township * Butler Township * Clay Township * Deer Creek Township * Erie Township * Harrison Township * Jackson Township * Jefferson Township * Perry Township * Peru Township * Pipe Creek Township * Richland Township * Union Township * Washington Township

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Peru have ranged from a 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 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 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 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. 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. Miami County is part of Indiana's 2nd congressional district; Indiana Senate district 18; 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 23, 24 and 32.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 36,903 people, 13,456 households, and 9,330 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,479 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.8% white, 4.5% black or African American, 0.9% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.2% were German, 17.3% were American, 12.0% were Irish, and 8.4% were English. Of the 13,456 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.7% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 39.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $49,282. Males had a median income of $40,038 versus $26,011 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,854. About 13.0% of families and 16.7% 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 26.6% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over. Major employers of Miami County include:
Ferrellgas (Peru )
Schneider Electric Square D (Peru )
Miami Correctional Facility (Bunker Hill )
Indiana Correction Dept (Bunker Hill )
Armour-Eckrich Meats (Peru )
American Stationery Co (Peru ) http://www.americanstationery.com
Dukes Memorial Hospital (Peru ) http://www.dukesmemorialhosp.com
Miami County (Peru )
Bryan Steam LLC (Peru ) http://www.bryanboilers.com
Snavely Machine & Mfg Co Inc (Peru )

References

{{Authority control Indiana counties Indiana placenames of Native American origin 1834 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1834