Posey County, Indiana

Posey County, Indiana
260px Posey County Courthouse in Mount Vernon, Indiana
Location in the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 11, 1814
Named for	General Thomas Posey
Seat	Mount Vernon
Largest city	Mount Vernon
Area
• Total	419.32 sq mi (1,086 km2)
• Land	409.57 sq mi (1,061 km2)
• Water	9.75 sq mi (25 km2), 2.33%
Population
• (2010)	25,910
• Density	63/sq mi (24.49/km²)
Congressional district	8th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Footnotes:   Indiana county number 65 Southernmost county in Indiana Westernmost county in Indiana

Posey County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 25,910. The county seat is Mount Vernon.

Posey County is part of the Evansville, IN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Posey County was formed on November 11, 1814 from Gibson and Warrick counties. It was named for Revolutionary War Gen. Thomas Posey, who was then serving as Governor of the Indiana Territory. Mount Vernon became the county seat in 1825.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 419.32 square miles (1,086.0 km²), of which 409.57 square miles (1,060.8 km²) (or 97.67%) is land and 9.75 square miles (25.3 km²) (or 2.33%) is water. The lowest point in the state of Indiana is located on the Ohio River in Posey County, where it flows out of Indiana and into Illinois and Kentucky.

Adjacent Counties

• Gibson County - north and northeast
• Vanderburgh County - east
• Henderson County, Kentucky - southeast
• Union County, Kentucky - south
• Gallatin County, Illinois - southwest
• White County, Illinois - west and northwest

Cities and towns

• Cynthiana
• Griffin
• Mount Vernon
• New Harmony
• Poseyville

Townships

• Bethel
• Black
• Center
• Harmony
• Lynn
• Marrs
• Point
• Robb
• Robinson
• Smith

Unincorporated towns and places

• Barrett
• Blairsville
• Bufkin
• Caborn
• Dead Mans Crossing
• Erwin
• Farmersville
• Grafton
• Hepburn
• Heusler
• Hovey
• Lippe
• Marrs Center
• New Baltimore
• Oak Grove
• Oliver
• Parkers Settlement
• Philip Station
• Prairie
• Rapture
• Savah
• Solitude
• Springfield
• St. Philip
• St. Wendel
• Stewartsville
• Upton
• Wadesville
• Welborn Switch
• West Franklin

Transportation

Major highways

• I-64
• SR 62
• SR 65
• SR 66
• SR 68
• SR 69
• SR 165
• SR 269

Railroads

• CSX Transportation
• Evansville Western Railway

River Ports

• Largest ports in the U.S. from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Southwind Maritime Center

Climate and weather

Mount Vernon, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.4     38 23     3.2     44 26     4.6     54 35     4.4     65 45     5.4     75 55     4     84 64     4.1     87 68     3     86 65     2.7     80 58     2.9     69 46     4.4     55 37     3.7     43 27 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     86     3 −5     80     7 −3     116     12 2     111     18 7     137     24 13     103     29 18     104     31 20     77     30 18     67     27 14     74     21 8     110     13 3     94     6 −3 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Mount Vernon have ranged from a low of 23 °F (−5 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1912 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.65 inches (67 mm) in September to 5.38 inches (137 mm) in May.

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

Posey County Sheriff's Department
Agency overview
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	County (US) of Posey in the state of Indiana, United States
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction.
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Agency executive	Greg Oeth, Sheriff
Facilities
Jails	1
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

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, coroner, auditor, treasurer, 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 affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	4,061		—
1830	6,549		61.3%
1840	9,683		47.9%
1850	12,549		29.6%
1860	16,167		28.8%
1870	19,185		18.7%
1880	20,857		8.7%
1890	21,529		3.2%
1900	22,333		3.7%
1910	21,670		−3.0%
1920	19,334		−10.8%
1930	17,853		−7.7%
1940	19,183		7.4%
1950	19,818		3.3%
1960	19,214		−3.0%
1970	21,740		13.1%
1980	26,414		21.5%
1990	25,968		−1.7%
2000	27,061		4.2%
2010	25,910		−4.3%
Est. 2014	25,540		−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 25,910 people, 10,171 households, and 7,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 63.3 inhabitants per square mile (24.4/km²). There were 11,207 housing units at an average density of 27.4 per square mile (10.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.2% white, 0.9% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.6% were German, 13.6% were American, 11.6% were Irish, and 11.2% were English.

Of the 10,171 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.8% were non-families, and 23.3% 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 41.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $68,722. Males had a median income of $55,786 versus $32,747 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,727. About 6.0% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

• Mount Vernon High School - Mt. Vernon
• North Posey High School - Poseyville

Tourism & Recreation

• Brittlebank Park - Mount Vernon
• Harmonie State Park - New Harmony
• Hovey Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area - Mount Vernon [1]
• New Harmony Historic District [2] - New Harmony
• Sherburne Park - Mount Vernon

See also

• Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival - Griffin, Indiana.
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Posey County, Indiana

External links

• Posey County Government website
• Posey County, Indiana at DMOZ