Dubois County, Indiana

Dubois County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 43,637.^[1] The county seat is Jasper.^[2] Dubois County is now the sole county of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Dubois County
County
The Dubois County courthouse in Jasper, Indiana
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°22′N 86°53′W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	December 20, 1818
Named after	Toussaint Dubois
Seat	Jasper
Largest city	Jasper
Area
• Total	435.33 sq mi (1,127.5 km2)
• Land	427.27 sq mi (1,106.6 km2)
• Water	8.06 sq mi (20.9 km2)  1.85%
Population  (2020)
• Total	43,637
• Estimate  (2023)	43,546
• Density	97.4/sq mi (37.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	https://www.duboiscountyin.org/
Indiana county number 19

History

Dubois County was formed on December 20, 1818, from Orange, Pike and Perry counties. It is named for Toussaint Dubois,^[3] 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.^[4]

In 1818, as many as half of the residents of the county died of milk sickness.^[5] The plant contains the potent toxin temetrol, which is passed through the milk.^[6] The migrants from the East were unfamiliar with the Midwestern plant and its effects.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

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 435.33 square miles (1,127.5 km²), of which 427.27 square miles (1,106.6 km²) (or 98.15%) is land and 8.06 square miles (20.9 km²) (or 1.85%) is water.^[10]

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

Jasper, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3     38 20     2.8     44 24     4.1     54 33     4.7     65 43     5.3     74 52     4.7     82 61     4.4     86 66     4.1     85 63     3.6     79 56     3.2     67 44     4.3     55 35     3.5     43 25 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[11]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     77     3 −7     71     7 −4     104     12 1     118     18 6     134     23 11     119     28 16     111     30 19     105     29 17     90     26 13     80     19 7     109     13 2     89     6 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Jasper have ranged from a low of 20 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in July 1966. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.81 inches (71 mm) in February to 5.29 inches (134 mm) in May.^[11]

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.

United States presidential election results for Dubois County, Indiana^[12]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	14,983	69.81%	5,944	27.69%	537	2.50%
2020	15,033	68.94%	6,292	28.85%	481	2.21%
2016	13,365	66.51%	5,389	26.82%	1,341	6.67%
2012	11,654	62.75%	6,522	35.12%	395	2.13%
2008	9,526	51.23%	8,748	47.05%	319	1.72%
2004	11,726	68.71%	5,210	30.53%	130	0.76%
2000	10,134	65.36%	5,090	32.83%	280	1.81%
1996	6,840	44.85%	6,499	42.62%	1,911	12.53%
1992	6,785	42.44%	5,878	36.76%	3,326	20.80%
1988	9,995	62.28%	5,954	37.10%	99	0.62%
1984	9,391	62.77%	5,423	36.25%	148	0.99%
1980	6,775	47.46%	6,700	46.93%	801	5.61%
1976	6,383	45.97%	7,385	53.19%	116	0.84%
1972	6,637	50.36%	6,365	48.30%	177	1.34%
1968	5,865	43.24%	6,725	49.58%	973	7.17%
1964	3,800	27.26%	10,114	72.56%	25	0.18%
1960	5,117	38.32%	8,214	61.51%	22	0.16%
1956	6,942	57.19%	5,177	42.65%	20	0.16%
1952	6,538	53.47%	5,658	46.27%	31	0.25%
1948	4,295	39.30%	6,564	60.07%	69	0.63%
1944	4,855	47.78%	5,273	51.89%	34	0.33%
1940	4,729	44.01%	5,992	55.77%	24	0.22%
1936	3,011	29.07%	6,927	66.87%	421	4.06%
1932	2,357	23.58%	7,547	75.50%	92	0.92%
1928	3,301	35.18%	6,044	64.41%	39	0.42%
1924	2,708	30.53%	5,651	63.71%	511	5.76%
1920	3,738	46.18%	4,238	52.35%	119	1.47%
1916	1,492	32.07%	3,072	66.02%	89	1.91%
1912	666	14.81%	3,059	68.01%	773	17.19%
1908	1,397	28.88%	3,344	69.12%	97	2.00%
1904	1,413	30.77%	3,119	67.92%	60	1.31%
1900	1,362	29.65%	3,192	69.48%	40	0.87%
1896	1,215	28.64%	3,005	70.82%	23	0.54%
1892	1,081	26.12%	2,847	68.80%	210	5.07%
1888	1,220	28.88%	2,986	70.67%	19	0.45%

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	1,168		—
1830	1,778		52.2%
1840	3,632		104.3%
1850	6,321		74.0%
1860	10,394		64.4%
1870	12,597		21.2%
1880	15,992		27.0%
1890	20,253		26.6%
1900	20,357		0.5%
1910	19,843		−2.5%
1920	19,915		0.4%
1930	20,553		3.2%
1940	22,579		9.9%
1950	23,785		5.3%
1960	27,463		15.5%
1970	30,934		12.6%
1980	34,238		10.7%
1990	36,616		6.9%
2000	39,674		8.4%
2010	41,889		5.6%
2020	43,637		4.2%
2023 (est.)	43,546	[13]	−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[14] 1790-1960[15] 1900-1990[16] 1990-2000[17] 2010-2013[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 41,889 people, 16,133 households, and 11,459 families residing in the county.^[18] The population density was 98.0 inhabitants per square mile (37.8/km²). There were 17,384 housing units at an average density of 40.7 per square mile (15.7/km²).^[10] 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.^[18] In terms of ancestry, 58.0% were German, 9.0% were American, 8.1% were Irish, and 6.7% were English.^[19]

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.^[18]

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.^[20]

2020 census

Dubois County Racial Composition^[21]

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.^[22][23][24]

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:^[25]

• 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

• Interstate 64
• U.S. Route 231
• Indiana State Road 56
• Indiana State Road 64
• Indiana State Road 145
• Indiana State Road 161
• Indiana State Road 162
• Indiana State Road 164
• Indiana State Road 264
• Indiana State Road 545

See also

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