Daviess 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

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 ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 33,381. 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 Washington. About 15% of the county's population is

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

of Swiss origin, as of 2017.

History

After the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

was settled, the fledgling nation created the

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 ...

, tentatively divided into two counties. The area that would become the state of

in 1816 was included in the original Knox County. As the area became more settled, Knox was partitioned into smaller counties, the last of which was the present-day Daviess, authorized on February 2, 1818. The boundaries of Daviess were reduced on December 21, 1818, by the formation of Owen County, and on January 17, 1820, by the formation of Martin County. It has retained its present boundary since 1820. Daviess County was named for Major

Joseph Hamilton Daveiss Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (; March 1774 – November 7, 1811), a Virginia-born lawyer, received a mortal wound while commanding the Dragoons of the Kentucky Militia at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Five years earlier, Daveiss had tried to warn President ...

, U.S. District Attorney for

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, killed at the

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 ...

in 1811. The earliest settlements were along the White River, which allowed crops and timber to be transported to distant markets. The northeast part of the county was heavily forested, and timber industry flourished in the first half of the nineteenth century. Daviess County shares its namesake with another nearby Daviess County of

. Both Counties are in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area.

Geography

The terrain of Daviess County is hilly, with its area completely devoted to agriculture or urban development. Its highest elevation ( ASL) is a rise NNE of Farlen. The county is drained by the White River flowing to the southwest, whose two main forks (East White and West White) come together at the county's SW corner. The county's west boundary is defined by the West White River's course and its south boundary is defined by the East White River's course; their confluence defines the county's corner point. According to the 2010 census, Daviess County has a total area of , of which (or 98.31%) is land and (or 1.69%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Greene County - north * Martin County - east * Dubois County - southeast * Pike County - southwest * Knox County - west

Transit

* Washington Transit System

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Washington have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of was recorded in July 1930. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 31,648 people, 11,329 households, and 8,116 families in the county. The population density was . There were 12,471 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 2.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.4% 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 ...

, 13.1% were Irish, 10.8% were American, and 10.6% were English. Of the 11,329 households, 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.4% were non-families, and 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.29. The median age was 35.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $53,769. Males had a median income of $36,405 versus $29,652 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,254. About 7.6% 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 16.7% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Amish community

The

(

Swiss Amish The Swiss Amish ( Swiss German: ) are a subgroup of the Amish that emigrated to the United States mostly in the middle of the 19th century directly from Switzerland and Alsace, after the 18th-century emigration of most Amish via the Palatinate. ...

) community in Daviess County, established in 1868, had a total population of 4,855 people (in 29 congregations) in 2017The 12 Largest Amish Communities (2017)
at Amish America or 14.6% of the county's population, stretching along the eastern side of the county from Alfordsville, to Cannelburg and Montgomery to Odon.

Communities

City

* Washington

Towns

* Alfordsville * Cannelburg * Elnora * Montgomery * Odon * Plainville

Census-designated place

* Raglesville

Other unincorporated places

* Black Oak * Cornettsville * Corning *

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

* Farlen * Glendale * Graham * Hudsonville * Maysville * Pennyville * South Washington

Townships

* Barr * Bogard * Elmore * Harrison * Madison * Reeve * Steele * Van Buren * Veale * Washington

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code. The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls 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. A board of commissioners constitutes the county's executive body. Commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The board executes the council's legislative acts, collects revenue, and manages the county's government functions. 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 ...

. 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 ...

. 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. Each township has a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

who administers rural fire protection and ambulance service, provides poor relief, manages cemetery care, and performs farm assessment, 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. Daviess County is part of

Indiana's 8th congressional district Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in Southwestern Indiana, southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville, Indiana, Evansville and also includes Jasp ...

;

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 39 and 48; 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 45, 63 and 64.

Political culture

Daviess County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections and is consistently one of the most Republican counties in Indiana, giving John McCain 67% of the vote in 2008 and Mitt Romney nearly 75% of the vote in 2012. Donald Trump nearly won 80% of the vote in 2020.