Dubois County, Indiana

Dubois County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 43,637.<ref name="census-quickfacts">Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Jasper.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Dubois County is now the sole county of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Dubois County was formed on December 20, 1818, from Orange, Pike and Perry counties. It is named for Toussaint Dubois,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a Frenchman who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. Dubois was a merchant who lived mainly in Vincennes. He drowned in 1816 while crossing the Little Wabash River near Lawrenceville, Illinois.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1818, as many as half of the residents of the county died of milk sickness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The plant contains the potent toxin temetrol, which is passed through the milk.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The migrants from the East were unfamiliar with the Midwestern plant and its effects.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Dubois County switched to the Central Time Zone on April 2, 2006, and returned to the Eastern Time Zone on November 4, 2007; both changes were controversial as Huntingburg wished to remain on Central Time while Jasper never wanted to leave Eastern Time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>DOT Moves Five Indiana Counties from Central to Eastern Time Template:Webarchive</ref>

The original county seat was Portersville. In 1830, the county seat was moved south to Jasper.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 98.15%) is land and Template:Convert (or 1.85%) is water.<ref name="census-density"/>

Cities

• Jasper
• Huntingburg

Towns

• Birdseye
• Ferdinand
• Holland

Census-designated places

• Dubois

Other unincorporated places

• Bretzville
• Celestine
• Crystal
• Cuzco
• Duff
• Ellsworth
• Haysville
• Hillham
• Ireland
• Johnsburg
• Kellerville
• Kyana
• Mentor
• Millersport
• Portersville
• Schnellville
• Saint Anthony
• Saint Henry
• Saint Marks
• Zoar

Townships

• Bainbridge
• Boone
• Cass
• Columbia
• Ferdinand
• Hall
• Harbison
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Madison
• Marion
• Patoka

Adjacent counties

• Martin County (north)
• Orange County (northeast)
• Crawford County (east)
• Perry County (southeast/CT Border)
• Spencer County (south/CT Border)
• Warrick County (southwest/CT Border)
• Pike County (west)
• Daviess County (northwest)

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in Jasper 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 July 1966. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in May.<ref name="weather"/>

Politics

Prior to 1980, Dubois County was heavily Democratic voting Republican only 3 times since 1888 although George McGovern came within 272 votes of winning it in 1972. But starting with the 1980 election it has been reliably Republican although Jimmy Carter came within 75 votes of winning it in 1980 and Bill Clinton came within 341 votes of winning it in 1996. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 41,889 people, 16,133 households, and 11,459 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 17,384 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 3.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.0% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, 58.0% were German, 9.0% were American, 8.1% were Irish, and 6.7% were English.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 16,133 households, 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.0% were non-families, and 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 39.9 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $64,286. Males had a median income of $42,078 versus $31,411 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,801. About 6.9% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

2020 census

Dubois County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	38,137	87.4%
Black or African American (NH)	190	0.44%
Native American (NH)	55	0.13%
Asian (NH)	247	0.56%
Pacific Islander (NH)	5	0.01%
Other/Mixed (NH)	857	2%
Hispanic or Latino	4,146	9.5%

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the county was $44,169, and the median income for a family was $50,342. Males had a median income of $32,484 versus $23,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,225. About 2.90% of families and 6.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Patoka Lake is located along the county's eastern borders with both Crawford and Orange Counties. Several annual national bass fishing tournaments are held there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Hoosier National Forest is located in the county. Part of it is protected.

Education

Public education in Dubois County is administered through four school corporations:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list.</ref>

• Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools
• Southeast Dubois School Corporation
• Southwest Dubois School Corporation
• Northeast Dubois County School Corporation

High Schools

• Jasper High School (Greater Jasper Schools, Jasper)
• Forest Park High School (Southeast Dubois Schools, Ferdinand)
• Southridge High School (Southwest Dubois Schools, Huntingburg)
• Northeast Dubois High School (Northeast Dubois Schools, Dubois)

Infrastructure

Major highways

• File:I-64.svg Interstate 64
• File:US 231.svg U.S. Route 231
• File:Indiana 56.svg Indiana State Road 56
• File:Indiana 64.svg Indiana State Road 64
• File:Indiana 145.svg Indiana State Road 145
• File:Indiana 161.svg Indiana State Road 161
• File:Indiana 162.svg Indiana State Road 162
• File:Indiana 164.svg Indiana State Road 164
• File:Indiana 264.svg Indiana State Road 264
• File:Indiana 545.svg Indiana State Road 545

See also

• List of public art in Dubois County, Indiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dubois County, Indiana

External links

• Dubois County Website