Starke County, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Starke County, Indiana | |
 Location in the state of Indiana |
|
 Indiana's location in the U.S. |
|
| Seat | Knox |
|---|---|
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
312 sq mi (809 km²) 309 sq mi (801 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.96% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
23,556 76/sq mi (29/km²) |
| Founded | 1850 |
| Named for | John Stark |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
 Starke County courthouse in Knox
|
|
Starke County (County Number 75) is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2000, the population was 23,556. The county seat is Knox[1].
Contents |
[edit] History
Starke County was created in 1835[2] and organized in 1850.[3] It was named for Gen. John Stark,[4] who commanded New Hampshire troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 in the Revolutionary War and defeated the British at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.[5]
Before white settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day Starke County and adjacent LaPorte County to the north belonged to the Potawatami Indian nation. These Indians were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on what has been called the Trail of Death.[6][7]
When originally created, the area of land that today comprises the LaPorte County townships of Cass, Dewey, Hanna and Prairie belonged to Starke County. It was necessary for residents in this area to travel some distance east to Lemon's Bridge to cross the Kankakee River in order to travel south to the center of the county, the future site of the county seat at Knox. Residents petitioned to be annexed to LaPorte county and this was done on January 28 1842. [8]
[edit] Name
Despite being named for Gen. John Stark and originally being known and appearing on maps as Stark County[9] when initially created and organized, an e was added to the county's name fairly early in its history. There appears to be no solid evidence to clearly explain the alteration. There are at least three as yet unsubstantiated explanations for the change. It is possible that an early scribe had 'fancy lettering', including a k with a long tail or flourish that appeared to others as ke, the new spelling sticking.[10]. It has also been said that Gen. Stark himself used a similar flourish at the end of his signature[11] which became a point of confusion to Indiana officials. This seems most unlikely when one considers that Stark counties in Ohio (1808) and Illinois (1839) both preceded Starke County's organization and offered clear precedence and guidance on the spelling of the name, not to mention other numerous settlements within the United States named after the General also predating Starke County. Lastly, and possibly most plausibly, it is thought that the change occurred around 1860 as the result of a clerical error by an official in Indianapolis.[12]
[edit] Government
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.[13][14]
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, the collection of revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.[13][14]
Court: The judge on the court is elected to a term of six years. The judge is assisted by a magistrate who is appointed by the judge. The court handles criminal and civil cases, and has a small claims division. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.[14]
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 serve terms of four years and oversee different parts of the county government. Members elected to any county government position are required to declare a party affiliation and be a resident of the county.[14]
Starke County is part of Indiana's 2nd congressional district and in 2008 was represented by Joe Donnelly in the United States Congress.[15]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 312 square miles (809 km²), of which 309 square miles (801 km²) is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) (0.96%) is water. The northwestern boundary of Starke County is defined by the Kankakee River; the Yellow River, a tributary of the Kankakee, flows through the central part of the county, past Knox.[16]
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Unincorporated towns
[edit] Townships
[edit] Adjacent counties
- LaPorte County (north)
- St. Joseph County (northeast)
- Marshall County (east)
- Fulton County (southeast)
- Pulaski County (south)
- Jasper County (west)
- Porter County (northwest)
[edit] Major highways
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 35
U.S. Route 421
Indiana State Road 8
Indiana State Road 10
Indiana State Road 23
Indiana State Road 39
[edit] Demographics
| Starke County Population by year |
|
|
2000 23,556 |
|
As of the census[17] of 2000, there were 23,556 people, 8,740 households, and 6,450 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 10,201 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.52% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 2.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.2% were of German, 17.5% American, 11.0% Irish, 8.2% Polish and 6.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 8,740 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,243, and the median income for a family was $42,355. Males had a median income of $32,779 versus $21,071 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,466. About 8.80% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] References
- 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. ISBN 0-934213-48-8.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Wikipedia Indiana counties. Retrieved 1-1-2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_counties
- ^ Starke county historical society, General Information. Retrieved 1-1-2010 http://www.starkehistory.com/index_files/Page832.htm
- ^ Baker, Ronald L.; Marvin Carmony (1995). Indiana Place Names. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-253-28340-X.
- ^ De Witt Clinton Goodrich & Charles Richard Tuttle (1875). An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana. Indiana: R. S. Peale & co.. pp. 577. http://books.google.com/books?id=YDIUAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ Starke County Public Library factsheet http://www.scpl.lib.in.us/historical/timeline/timeline.pdf
- ^ History of 1838 Trail of Death http://www.potawatomi-tda.org/ptodhist.htm
- ^ Brief history of LaPorte county http://www.laportecountyhistory.org/history.htm
- ^ http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/main/index.php?q=node/19540
- ^ http://www.starkehistory.com/index_files/Page1027.htm
- ^ http://www.countyhistory.com/starke/start.html
- ^ http://www.starkehistory.com/index_files/timeline.pdf
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Indiana Code. "Title 2, Article 10, Section 2". IN.gov. http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "US Congressman Joe Donnelly". US Congress. http://www.house.gov/donnelly/. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ Indiana Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme. 1998. pp. 19–20, 25–26. ISBN 0-89933-211-0.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
 |
Porter County | LaPorte County | St. Joseph County | |
| Jasper County |  |
Marshall County | ||
 Starke County, Indiana  |
||||
 |
||||
| Pulaski County | Fulton County |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
