Henry County, Indiana

Henry County, Indiana
Location in the state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1822
Named for	Patrick Henry
Seat	New Castle
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	394.83 sq mi (1,023 km²) 391.88 sq mi (1,015 km²) 2.96 sq mi (8 km²), 0.75%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	49,462 126/sq mi (48.6/km²)
Congressional district	6th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Footnotes:   Indiana county number 33

Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 49,462.^[1] The county seat is New Castle^[2]. Henry County is the main setting of the novel Raintree County by Ross Lockridge, Jr..

History

Henry County was formed in 1822. It was named for Patriot Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 394.83 square miles (1,022.6 km²), of which 391.88 square miles (1,015.0 km²) (or 99.25%) is land and 2.96 square miles (7.7 km²) (or 0.75%) is water.^[3]

New Castle from the air, looking east.

Cities and towns

Ashland Blountsville Cadiz Corwin Dunreith Fayne Siding Foley Grant City Greensboro Hillsboro

Honey Creek Kennard Knightstown Lewisville Luray Maple Valley Mechanicsburg Messick Middletown Millville

Mooreland Mount Lawn Mount Summit New Castle New Lisbon Ogden Pierson Station Raysville Rogersville Shirley

Spiceland Springport Stone Quarry Mills Straughn Sulphur Springs Van Nuys Westwood Woodville

Townships

Blue River Dudley Fall Creek Franklin Greensboro Harrison Henry

Jefferson Liberty Prairie Spiceland Stoney Creek Wayne

Reservoirs

• Castle Lake
• Giboney Lake
• Haven, Lake
• Summit Lake Reservoir
• Westwood Park Reservoir

Adjacent counties

• Delaware County (north)
• Randolph County (northeast)
• Wayne County (east)
• Fayette County (southeast)
• Rush County (south)
• Hancock County (southwest)
• Madison County (northwest)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas,^[4] U.S. Census Bureau^[5]

• Interstate 70
• U.S. Route 35
• U.S. Route 36
• U.S. Route 40
• Indiana State Road 3
• Indiana State Road 38
• Indiana State Road 103
• Indiana State Road 109
• Indiana State Road 140
• Indiana State Road 234
• Indiana State Road 236

Climate and weather

New Castle, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.2   33 16     2.3   38 19     3   49 28     3.9   60 37     4.7   71 48     4.6   80 57     4.7   84 61     3.6   82 59     2.9   76 52     2.9   64 41     3.7   50 32     2.8   38 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[6]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     57   1 -9     57   3 -7     75   9 -2     100   16 3     119   22 9     117   27 14     119   29 16     91   28 15     73   24 11     75   18 5     93   10 0     71   3 -6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in New Castle have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.24 inches (57 mm) in January to 4.70 inches (119 mm) in May.^[6]

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

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.^[7][8]

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.^[7][8]

Court: The county maintains three courts. Superior Court I, Superior Court II and Circuit Court. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.^[8]

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.^[8]

Henry County is part of Indiana's 6th congressional district; Indiana Senate district 28;^[9] and Indiana House of Representatives districts 54 and 56.^[10]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	6,497		—
1840	15,128		132.8%
1850	17,605		16.4%
1860	20,119		14.3%
1870	22,986		14.3%
1880	24,016		4.5%
1890	23,879		−0.6%
1900	25,088		5.1%
1910	29,758		18.6%
1920	34,682		16.5%
1930	35,238		1.6%
1940	40,208		14.1%
1950	45,505		13.2%
1960	48,899		7.5%
1970	52,603		7.6%
1980	53,336		1.4%
1990	48,139		−9.7%
2000	48,508		0.8%
2010	49,462		2.0%
Sources: United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division[11] Census Quickfacts[1]

As of the census^[12] of 2000, there were 48,508 people, 19,486 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km²). There were 20,592 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.96% White, 0.86% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.8% were of American, 19.6% German, 13.8% English and 9.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 19,486 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,150, and the median income for a family was $45,470. Males had a median income of $36,439 versus $22,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,355. About 6.0% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

• Summit Lake State Park
• Westwood Park

Notable natives and former residents

• Omar Bundy, Major General, World War One
• William Grose, Major General, Civil War
• Robert Indiana, artist
• Arthur C. Mellette, first Governor of South Dakota
• Wilbur Wright, aviation pioneer
• Steve Alford, NCAA Basketball Coach and Former Player
• Kent Benson, Former NCAA and NBA Basketball Player

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Henry County, Indiana
• Edward E. Moore, Indiana state senator and Los Angeles City Council member

External links

• New Castle Henry County Chamber of Commerce
• Henry County Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Websites in Henry County, Indiana
• EZ-Look.com News & Discussion

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Henry County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/18065.html. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Census 2010 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_counties_national.txt. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
4. ^ National Atlas
5. ^ U.S. Census Bureau TIGER shape files
6. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for New Castle, Indiana". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIN0462. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Indiana Code. "Title 36, Article 2, Section 3". IN.gov. http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/ar2/ch3.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Indiana Code. "Title 2, Article 10, Section 2" (PDF). IN.gov. http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
9. ^ "Indiana Senate Districts". State of Indiana. http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/3006.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
10. ^ "Indiana House Districts". State of Indiana. http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/3005.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
11. ^ Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. pp. 50–53. ISBN 0-934213-48-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z12v1lrkv2IC&lpg=PA50&pg=PA50#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
12. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Coordinates: 39°56′N 85°24′W / 39.93°N 85.40°W / 39.93; -85.40