Union County, Indiana

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Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,087.<ref name=QF>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Liberty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2018, Union County has been included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located on the Indiana-Ohio border.

History

Prior to cession to the United States government, this area belonged to and was inhabited by peoples of the Chippewa, Delaware, Eel River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Ottawa, Piankishaw, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wea, and Wyandot tribes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The future state of Indiana was first regulated by passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. In 1790 the Territory was divided into two counties, with Knox covering much of present-day Indiana. The area later known as Union County was included in lands ceded to the U.S. government in two treaties: in 1795 with the Treaty of Greenville<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 1809 with the Treaty of Fort Wayne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1810, a portion of Knox was partitioned to create Wayne County; in 1811 a portion further south was partitioned to create Franklin. The area between those two counties was partitioned in 1818 to create Fayette; by the 1820s the eastern part of Fayette County was sufficiently populated to warrant separate representation. Thus on January 5, 1821, the state legislature authorized the creation of Union County, with areas ceded from Wayne County, Fayette County and Franklin County. The organization of the new county's governing structure began on February 1, 1821.<ref>Union County History (ReferenceDesk.com, accessed 8 August 2020)</ref>

File:Liberty-indiana-from-above.jpg

Liberty from the air, looking east

It was so named because it united parts of Fayette, Franklin and Wayne counties. The first non-native settlers were from Laurens District, South Carolina. John Templeton was the first settler to enter land at the Cincinnati land office in what would become Harmony Township, Union County, Indiana. The first county seat was Brownsville, a small community on the East Fork of the Whitewater River. The seat was moved in 1824 to Liberty, a central location. The primary industry of Union County was and is farming.

Geography

Union County lies on the east side of Indiana; its east border abuts the state of Ohio. Its low rolling hills have now been cleared of timber, although drainage areas are still largely brush-filled. The area is devoted to agricultural or recreational uses.<ref name=UCI>Union County IN (Google Maps, accessed 8 August 2020)</ref> The highest point on the terrain (Template:Convert ASL) is a rise near the county's north border, Template:Convert ENE from Witts Station.<ref>Union County High Point, Indiana (PeakBagger.com, accessed 7 August 2020)</ref>

Silver Creek flows southwestward through the northeastern part of the county, discharging into Whitewater Lake. The East Fork of Whitewater River flows southward through the upper western part of the county, discharging into Brookville Lake. The lower part of the county is drained by Dubois Creek, flowing westward into Brookville Lake.<ref name=UCI/>

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 97.60%) is land and Template:Convert (or 2.39%) is water.<ref name=DC/>

Adjacent counties

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Wayne County – north
Preble County, Ohio – east
Butler County, Ohio – southeast
Franklin County – south
Fayette County – west

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Major highways

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Lakes

Brookville Lake (part)
Whitewater Lake

Protected areas

Whitewater Memorial State Park

Quakertown State Recreation Area

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in Liberty have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in September 1951. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in September to Template:Convert in May.<ref name=WX/>

Government

Template:See also 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 legislative branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from county districts. They set salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council 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.<ref name=inc3623>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name = inc2102>Template:Cite web</ref>

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county. Commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage county government.<ref name=inc3623/><ref name=inc2102/>

Court: The county maintains a circuit court that can handle all case types. The judge of the court is elected to a term of six years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level appeals court.<ref name=inc2102/>

County Officials: The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. These officers are elected to four-year terms. People elected to county government positions are required to be residents of the county.<ref name=inc2102/>

Demographics

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2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 7,516 people, 2,938 households, and 2,117 families in the county.<ref name=DP>Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,239 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name=DC>Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population.<ref name=DP/> In terms of ancestry, 26.2% were German, 16.0% were Irish, 11.9% were English, and 11.6% were American.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 2,938 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.9% were non-families, and 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age was 40.3 years.<ref name=DP/>

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $49,815. Males had a median income of $39,603 versus $27,394 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,243. About 8.2% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

All of Union County is served by the Union County–College Corner Joint School District, the only joint state school district in the state.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Notable people

Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824–1881), soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, politician
Thomas W. Bennett (territorial governor) (1831–1893), governor of Idaho Territory 1871–1875; born in Union County
Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827–1901), first African-American member of the US Senate, representing Mississippi 1870–1871; attended the Union County Quaker Seminary.
Bill Bartlett (fl. 1970s-2010s), musician, guitarist for Ram Jam
Jay Hall Connaway (1893–1970), Realist painter
Mary Alice Smith (1850-_), aka Little Orphant Annie
Bob Jenkins (1947–2021), television and radio sports announcer for ESPN/ABC Sports
Edward E. Moore (1866–1940), Indiana state senator and Los Angeles City Council member
Joaquin Miller American poet, author, and frontiersman

James R. Williams Former Judge of Union County, Partner at DeFur Voran LLP and President of the Muncie Community Schools Board of Directors. Presented Sagamore of the Wabash on Nov. 15th 2022 by Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns and Muncie Community Schools CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, signed by Governor Eric Holcomb

References

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