Parke County, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parke County, Indiana | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Indiana |
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 Indiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1821 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Rockville |
| Largest town | Rockville |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
450 sq mi (1,166 km²) 445 sq mi (1,152 km²) 5 sq mi (14 km²), 1.18% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
17,241 39/sq mi (15/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website: www.parkecounty.org | |
| Named for: Benjamin Parke | |
Parke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2000, the population is 17,241. The county seat is Rockville[1].
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[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 450 square miles (1,166 km²), of which 445 square miles (1,152 km²) is land and 5 square miles (14 km²) (1.18%) is water.
[edit] Major highways
- U.S. Route 36
- U.S. Route 41
- Indiana State Road 47
- Indiana State Road 59
- Indiana State Road 163
- Indiana State Road 236
[edit] Railroads
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Fountain County (north)
- Montgomery County (northeast)
- Putnam County (east)
- Clay County (south)
- Vigo County (southwest)
- Vermillion County (west)
[edit] History
Parke County was formed in 1821. It was named for Capt. Benjamin Parke, who commanded a troop of light Dragoons at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Parke was a delegate of Indiana Territory to the U.S. Congress. In 1821, he was U.S. District Judge for Indiana.
Parke County is the birthplace of baseball great Mordecai Brown. The following article from the 8-28-1908 Rockville Republican provides a sample of his prowess:
Mordecai Brown Pitches Great Game
“Mordecai Brown, our Mordecai, whose career in the national league is watched with the closest interest by every fan in Parke county, pitched his greatest game of the year in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, shutting out the leaders in the National league race, 3 to 0. A telegram from Pittsburgh describing the game, says:
‘The game was Brown’s best of the year. The longer he pitched, the better he got, until towards the finish he actually had the Pirates throwing away their bats or hitting after the ball was in Kling’s hands. His speed was terrific, his command perfect, and his curve ball broke almost at right angles. No team on earth could have beaten him and the pitching feat fills out a record. Brown has now shut out Pittsburgh three straight times. 3 to 0, 2 to 0 and 3 to 0, and the Pirates have beaten him only once in three years, then 1 to 0 when Slagle dropped a fly ball last season and let the winning run score. After the game umpire Johnstone declared he never in his life saw such pitching and that Brown’s curve was so sharp and so fast that it fooled him repeatedly, causing him to call perfect strikes balls.’”
[edit] Demographics
| Parke County Population by year |
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2000 17,241 |
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As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 17,241 people, 6,415 households, and 4,625 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 7,539 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.43% White, 2.15% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.7% were of American, 19.2% German, 12.1% English and 8.9% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 6,415 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,724, and the median income for a family was $40,656. Males had a median income of $32,578 versus $20,968 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,986. About 9.30% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Townships
- Adams
- Florida
- Greene
- Howard
- Jackson
- Liberty
- Penn
- Raccoon
- Reserve
- Sugar Creek
- Union
- Wabash
- Washington
[edit] Attractions and Events
Parke County is known for having many covered bridges. It is known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World", having 30 extant covered bridges, [3] one more than the 29 covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, making it the United States county with the largest number of covered bridges. Each year, a festival is held in October that attracts many visitors to the county to see these covered bridges. It is also home to Turkey Run State Park.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Parke County Inc. (2007). Parke County - Covered Bridge Capital of the World. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- 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.
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