Benton County, Indiana

Benton County, Indiana
Benton County Courthouse in Fowler.jpg
Location in the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 18, 1840
Named for	Senator Thomas H. Benton
Seat	Fowler
Largest city	Fowler
Area
• Total	406.51 sq mi (1,053 km2)
• Land	406.42 sq mi (1,053 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0 km2), 0.02%
Population
• (2010)	8,854
• Density	22/sq mi (8.41/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Footnotes:   Indiana county number 4 Respsonsible for most of Indiana's wind-produced electricity

Benton County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Indiana, along the border with Illinois. As of 2010, the county's population was 8,854. It contains six incorporated towns as well as several small unincorporated settlements; it is also divided into 11 townships which provide local services. The county seat is Fowler.

Benton County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Wind turbines in Benton County from U.S. 52

History

Benton County was formed February 18, 1840. It is named for Thomas H. Benton (D), U.S. Senator from Missouri. The original county seat selected in 1843 was Oxford, but after a long struggle between contending factions it was moved to Fowler in 1874.

Courthouse

The current Benton County courthouse, located in Fowler, was designed by Gordon P. Randall of Chicago and built in 1874 by Levi L. Leach at a cost of $62,257. The new courthouse was an impressive building from an architectural standpoint, but also provided much-needed improvements in security, including large fire-proof vaults. Randall had designed the Marshall County courthouse a few years earlier.

Economy

In 2008 the Benton County Wind Farm began operating with 87 1.5 MW wind turbines. Duke Energy purchases electricity from the wind farm and sells it to customers through its GoGreen program.

In 2009 the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm opened nearby, giving Benton County one of the largest concentrations of wind turbines in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

Geography

Map of Benton County, showing townships and settlements

Benton County's western border is shared with the state of Illinois and Iroquois County; Vermilion County is to the southwest and shares a small portion of Benton County's border. Newton and Jasper counties lie to the north, with White and Tippecanoe counties to the east. The entire southern border is shared with Warren County.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 406.51 square miles (1,052.9 km²), of which 406.42 square miles (1,052.6 km²) (or 99.98%) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.23 km²) (or 0.02%) is water.

Cities and towns

• Fowler
• Otterbein (West Half)
• Oxford
• Boswell
• Earl Park
• Ambia

Unincorporated towns

• Chase
• Dunnington
• Freeland Park
• Lochiel
• Raub
• Swanington
• Talbot
• Templeton
• Wadena

Extinct towns

• Atkinson
• Dunn
• Locust Grove

Townships

• Bolivar
• Center
• Gilboa
• Grant
• Hickory Grove
• Oak Grove
• Parish Grove
• Pine
• Richland
• Union
• York

Major highways

• U.S. Route 52
• U.S. Route 41
• State Road 18
• State Road 55
• State Road 71
• State Road 352

Railroads

• Bee Line Railroad
• Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad

Education

The county's four public schools are administered by the Benton Community School Corporation.

• Benton Central Junior-Senior High School [1]
• Boswell Elementary School [2]
• Otterbein Elementary School [3]
• Prairie Crossing Elementary School [4]
• Sacred Heart Elementary[5] in Fowler is the county's only parochial school.

Climate and weather

Fowler, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.7     30 13     1.6     35 17     3.2     47 27     3.6     60 38     4.2     72 49     4.5     81 59     3.7     84 62     3     82 59     2.6     77 51     3     64 39     3     48 30     2.5     35 19 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     42     −1 −11     40     2 −8     80     8 −3     90     16 3     106     22 9     114     27 15     93     29 17     77     28 15     67     25 11     75     18 4     75     9 −1     64     2 −7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Fowler have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 99 °F (37 °C) was recorded in July 1995. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.59 inches (40 mm) in February to 4.50 inches (114 mm) in June.

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana and the Indiana Code. The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms and 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. In 2010, the county budgeted approximately $5 million for the district's schools and $2.8 million for other county operations and services, for a total annual budget of approximately $7.8 million.

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 day-to-day functions of the county government.

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 elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.

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 be residents of the county.

Each of the townships has a trustee who administers rural fire protection and ambulance service, provides poor relief and manages cemetery care, 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.

Based on 2000 census results, Benton County is part of Indiana's 1st congressional district and in 2008 was represented by Pete Visclosky in the United States Congress. It is part of Indiana Senate district 6 and Indiana House of Representatives district 15.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	1,144		—
1860	2,809		145.5%
1870	5,615		99.9%
1880	11,108		97.8%
1890	11,903		7.2%
1900	13,123		10.2%
1910	12,688		−3.3%
1920	12,206		−3.8%
1930	11,886		−2.6%
1940	11,117		−6.5%
1950	11,462		3.1%
1960	11,912		3.9%
1970	11,262		−5.5%
1980	10,218		−9.3%
1990	9,441		−7.6%
2000	9,421		−0.2%
2010	8,854		−6.0%
Est. 2014	8,700		−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,854 people, 3,479 households, and 2,388 families residing in the county. The population density was 21.8 inhabitants per square mile (8.4/km²). There were 3,937 housing units at an average density of 9.7 per square mile (3.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.9% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 2.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.4% were German, 17.0% were Irish, 11.3% were American, and 8.7% were English.

Of the 3,479 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 40.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $58,661. Males had a median income of $40,234 versus $27,957 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,949. About 7.6% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Benton County, Indiana

External links

• Benton 4 Business (economic development)
• Benton Community Foundation
• Benton Community School Corporation
• Sacred Heart Elementary School
• Town of Earl Park
• Earl Park annual fall festival