Wayne County, Indiana

Wayne County, Indiana
Wayne County Courthouse in Richmond
Location in the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1811
Named for	Anthony Wayne
Seat	Richmond
Largest city	Richmond
Area
• Total	404.34 sq mi (1,047 km2)
• Land	401.74 sq mi (1,041 km2)
• Water	2.60 sq mi (7 km2), 0.64%
Population
• (2010)	68,917
• Density	176/sq mi (68/km²)
Congressional district	6th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	co.wayne.in.us
Footnotes: Indiana county number 89

Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,917. The county seat is Richmond.

History

Wayne County was formed in 1811. It was named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who was an officer during the Revolutionary War. Wayne is mainly remembered for his service in the 1790s in the Northwest Indian War, which included many actions in Indiana and Ohio.

The first county seat was Salisbury, Indiana, a town which no longer exists and later moved to Centerville, Indiana where it remained until a move to Richmond.

In the 1920s, Indiana had the strongest Ku Klux Klan organization in the country under Grand Dragons D. C. Stephenson and Walter F. Bossert, with control over the state legislature and an ally in Governor Ed Jackson. At its height, national membership during the second Klan movement reached 1.5 million, with 300,000 from Indiana. Records show that Wayne County was home to Whitewater Klan No. 60. Robert Lyons, of Richmond, was national chief of staff for the Klan.

Geography

Richmond is the county seat.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 404.34 square miles (1,047.2 km²), of which 401.74 square miles (1,040.5 km²) (or 99.36%) is land and 2.60 square miles (6.7 km²) (or 0.64%) is water. Wayne County includes Indiana's highest natural elevation, Hoosier Hill, at 1,257 feet (383 m).

Adjacent counties

• Randolph County (north)
• Darke County, Ohio (northeast)
• Preble County, Ohio (east)
• Union County (south)
• Fayette County (southwest)
• Henry County (west)

Cities and towns

Boston Cambridge City Centerville Dublin East Germantown Economy Fountain City

Greens Fork Hagerstown Milton Richmond Spring Grove Whitewater

Unincorporated towns

Abington Bethel Jacksonburg Middleboro

Pennville Webster Williamsburg

Townships

Abington Boston Center Clay Dalton

Franklin Green Harrison Jackson Jefferson

New Garden Perry Washington Wayne Webster

Major highways

Interstate 70 U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 35 U.S. Route 40

State Road 1 State Road 38 State Road 121 State Road 227

Climate and weather

Richmond, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.5     34 17     2.3     39 21     3.2     50 30     3.8     62 39     4.4     73 49     4.3     81 58     3.8     85 62     3.6     83 59     2.5     76 52     3     64 40     3.3     51 32     2.9     39 23 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     64     1 −8     58     4 −6     80     10 −1     98     17 4     112     23 9     108     27 14     96     29 17     90     28 15     65     24 11     77     18 4     84     11 0     74     4 −5 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Richmond have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 100 °F (38 °C) was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.27 inches (58 mm) in February to 4.41 inches (112 mm) in May.

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.

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	12,119		—
1830	18,571		53.2%
1840	23,290		25.4%
1850	25,320		8.7%
1860	29,558		16.7%
1870	34,048		15.2%
1880	38,613		13.4%
1890	37,628		−2.6%
1900	38,970		3.6%
1910	43,757		12.3%
1920	48,136		10.0%
1930	54,809		13.9%
1940	59,229		8.1%
1950	68,566		15.8%
1960	74,039		8.0%
1970	79,109		6.8%
1980	76,058		−3.9%
1990	71,951		−5.4%
2000	71,097		−1.2%
2010	68,917		−3.1%
Est. 2014	67,671		−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 68,917 people, 27,551 households, and 18,126 families residing in the county. The population density was 171.5 inhabitants per square mile (66.2/km²). There were 31,242 housing units at an average density of 77.8 per square mile (30.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.2% white, 5.0% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.1% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.4% were German, 11.8% were Irish, 11.0% were English, and 10.9% were American.

Of the 27,551 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 40.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $51,155. Males had a median income of $40,644 versus $30,194 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,789. About 12.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Walter R. Stubbs, 18th Governor of Kansas
• Ralph Teetor
• Levi Coffin
• Jim Jones

School Corporations

• Richmond Community Schools, Richmond
• Western Wayne Schools, Cambridge City
• Northeastern Wayne Schools, Fountain City
• Nettle Creek Schools, Hagerstown
• Centerville-Abington Community Schools, Centerville

See also

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

External links

• Wayne County, Indiana
• WayNet.org
• GoWayneCounty