Jackson County, Indiana

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 46,428.^[1] The county seat is Brownstown.^[2]

Jackson County
County
Southern face of Jackson County Courthouse in Brownstown
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°55′N 86°02′W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	Jan 1, 1816
Named after	Andrew Jackson
Seat	Brownstown
Largest city	Seymour
Area
• Total	513.91 sq mi (1,331.0 km2)
• Land	509.31 sq mi (1,319.1 km2)
• Water	4.60 sq mi (11.9 km2)  0.90%
Population  (2020)
• Total	46,428
• Estimate  (2023)	46,460
• Density	90/sq mi (35/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th
Website	www.jacksoncounty.in.gov
Indiana county number 36

History

Jackson County was formed in 1816. It was named after General Andrew Jackson.^[3]

Jackson County was the site of the first recorded train robbery of a moving train in the United States. On October 6, 1866, the Reno Gang robbed an Ohio and Mississippi Railway train, making off with over $10,000.^[4]

Jackson County has the second longest 3-span covered bridge in the world; The Medora Covered Bridge. After a recent project to completely refurbish the Medora Covered Bridge, the nearby town of Medora now holds an annual event at the bridge. The bridge is open for pedestrian traffic and site-seers. Another long neglected covered bridge, the Bells Ford Bridge, believed to have been the last remaining Post Truss bridge in the world, succumbed to neglect, collapsing into the White River on January 2, 2006.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 513.91 square miles (1,331.0 km²), of which 509.31 square miles (1,319.1 km²) (or 99.10%) is land and 4.60 square miles (11.9 km²) (or 0.90%) is water.^[5]

Cities

• Seymour

Towns

• Brownstown
• Crothersville
• Medora

Census-designated places

• Freetown
• Rockford
• Vallonia

Other unincorporated places

• Kurtz
• Norman Station
• Tampico
• Uniontown

Townships

• Brownstown
• Carr
• Driftwood
• Grassy Fork
• Hamilton
• Jackson
• Owen
• Pershing
• Redding
• Salt Creek
• Vernon
• Washington

Adjacent counties

• Brown County (north-northwest)
• Bartholomew County (north-northeast)
• Jennings County (east)
• Scott County (southeast)
• Washington County (south)
• Lawrence County (west)
• Monroe County (northwest)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas,^[6] U.S. Census Bureau^[7]

• Interstate 65
• U.S. Route 31
• U.S. Route 50
• State Road 11
• State Road 39
• State Road 58
• State Road 135
• State Road 235
• State Road 250
• State Road 256
• State Road 258

National protected areas

• Hoosier National Forest (part)
• Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Climate and weather

Brownstown, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.2     37 19     2.8     43 22     3.7     53 31     4.7     64 40     5     74 51     4.1     82 60     4.4     85 64     4.4     84 61     3     78 53     3.3     67 40     4.1     54 33     3.4     42 24 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[8]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     81     3 −7     72     6 −6     95     12 −1     120     18 4     127     23 11     105     28 16     112     29 18     111     29 16     77     26 12     83     19 4     103     12 1     87     6 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Brownstown have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.84 inches (72 mm) in February to 5.01 inches (127 mm) in May.^[8]

Politics

Prior to 1952, Jackson County was a Democratic stronghold voting Republican only twice since 1888. But starting with the 1952 election it has become a Republican stronghold with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 being the last Democrat to win the county, but Jimmy Carter came within just 5 votes of carrying the county in 1976.

United States presidential election results for Jackson County, Indiana^[9]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	14,323	76.78%	4,015	21.52%	316	1.69%
2020	14,555	75.66%	4,302	22.36%	381	1.98%
2016	12,859	72.79%	3,843	21.75%	965	5.46%
2012	10,419	62.34%	5,838	34.93%	455	2.72%
2008	9,726	55.77%	7,354	42.17%	360	2.06%
2004	11,083	67.96%	5,092	31.22%	134	0.82%
2000	9,054	62.01%	5,330	36.50%	218	1.49%
1996	5,883	46.41%	5,150	40.63%	1,642	12.95%
1992	7,246	44.81%	5,663	35.02%	3,261	20.17%
1988	9,470	62.77%	5,550	36.78%	68	0.45%
1984	9,879	64.85%	5,163	33.89%	192	1.26%
1980	8,903	55.85%	6,425	40.30%	614	3.85%
1976	7,615	49.58%	7,610	49.55%	133	0.87%
1972	9,546	64.99%	4,984	33.93%	159	1.08%
1968	7,710	52.02%	5,140	34.68%	1,971	13.30%
1964	6,285	41.98%	8,572	57.26%	114	0.76%
1960	8,213	55.27%	6,582	44.29%	66	0.44%
1956	8,375	57.30%	6,185	42.31%	57	0.39%
1952	8,067	55.14%	6,460	44.16%	103	0.70%
1948	6,062	45.00%	7,258	53.88%	151	1.12%
1944	6,321	50.87%	5,982	48.14%	123	0.99%
1940	6,281	45.13%	7,557	54.30%	79	0.57%
1936	4,951	37.98%	8,018	61.50%	68	0.52%
1932	3,996	33.06%	7,882	65.22%	208	1.72%
1928	5,151	49.78%	5,130	49.58%	66	0.64%
1924	4,187	41.63%	5,332	53.02%	538	5.35%
1920	5,069	48.04%	5,319	50.41%	164	1.55%
1916	2,422	40.65%	3,312	55.59%	224	3.76%
1912	921	16.25%	3,225	56.91%	1,521	26.84%
1908	2,631	39.93%	3,783	57.41%	175	2.66%
1904	2,775	42.94%	3,467	53.65%	220	3.40%
1900	2,795	41.51%	3,849	57.16%	90	1.34%
1896	2,670	42.43%	3,574	56.79%	49	0.78%
1892	2,233	39.24%	3,363	59.09%	95	1.67%
1888	2,263	40.89%	3,235	58.45%	37	0.67%

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	4,010		—
1830	4,870		21.4%
1840	8,961		84.0%
1850	11,047		23.3%
1860	16,286		47.4%
1870	18,974		16.5%
1880	23,050		21.5%
1890	24,139		4.7%
1900	26,633		10.3%
1910	24,727		−7.2%
1920	24,228		−2.0%
1930	23,731		−2.1%
1940	26,612		12.1%
1950	28,237		6.1%
1960	30,556		8.2%
1970	33,187		8.6%
1980	36,523		10.1%
1990	37,730		3.3%
2000	41,335		9.6%
2010	42,376		2.5%
2020	46,428		9.6%
2023 (est.)	46,460	[10]	0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790–1960[12] 1900–1990[13] 1990–2000[14] 2010[15]

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 42,376 people, 16,501 households, and 11,629 families residing in the county.^[16] The population density was 83.2 inhabitants per square mile (32.1/km²). There were 18,202 housing units at an average density of 35.7 per square mile (13.8/km²).^[5] The racial makeup of the county was 94.5% white, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.7% of the population.^[16] In terms of ancestry, 28.8% were German, 13.1% were American, 12.8% were Irish, and 9.2% were English.^[17]

Of the 16,501 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.5% were non-families, and 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 38.7 years.^[16]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $53,534. Males had a median income of $38,608 versus $30,030 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,498. About 7.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.^[18]

See also

• The Tribune, daily newspaper covering Jackson County
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, Indiana

External links

• Jackson County Visitor Center