Fountain County, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fountain County
U.S. county
Fountain County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	April 1, 1826
Named for	James Fontaine
Seat	Covington
Largest city	Attica
Area
• Total	397.88 sq mi (1,030.5 km2)
• Land	395.66 sq mi (1,024.8 km2)
• Water	2.22 sq mi (5.7 km2)  0.56%%
Population
• Estimate  (2018)	16,351
• Density	41.3/sq mi (15.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	4th
Indiana county number 23 FIPS code 045

Fountain County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana on the east side of the Wabash River. The county was officially established in 1826 and was the 53rd in Indiana. The county seat is Covington.

According to the 2000 United States Census, its population was 17,954; the 2010 population was 17,240. The county has two incorporated cities and six incorporated towns with a total population of about 9,700, as well as many small unincorporated communities. It is divided into eleven townships which provide local services. An interstate highway, two U.S. Routes and five Indiana state roads cross the county, as does a major railroad line.

History

The state of Indiana was established in 1816. The first non-indigenous settler in the area that became Fountain County is thought to have been a Mr. Forbes, who arrived here in early 1823 and was soon followed by others. Fountain County was officially created on December 30, 1825, the act taking effect on April 1, 1826; the boundaries of the county have not changed since that time. It was named for Major James Fontaine of Kentucky who was killed at Harmar's Defeat (near modern Fort Wayne, Indiana) on October 22, 1790, during the Northwest Indian War.

Map of Fountain County from an 1876 atlas

The first Fountain County courthouse was a two-story frame building constructed in Covington in 1827; Abraham Griffith submitted the winning bid of $335. Two years later in 1829 it was decided that a brick building was needed, and plans were made for a new courthouse; but then an act of the legislature called for the county seat to be moved. In the end it was decided that the county seat should remain in Covington, and the brick courthouse was completed in 1833. A third courthouse was commissioned in 1856, and was completed in 1857 at a cost of $33,500. The circuit court met for the first time in the new building in January 1860, and the building was largely destroyed by fire the same day. Isaac Hodgson was the architect for the rebuilt courthouse, which was first occupied in January 1861; the total cost, including the reconstruction, totaled $54,624.05. The current courthouse was built in 1936–37 at a cost of $246,734; it replaced the previous building which had been declared unsafe. It was constructed by the Jacobson Brothers of Chicago; the architects were Louis R. Johnson and Walter Scholar of Lafayette. The courthouse walls display many murals painted by Eugene Francis Savage and others from 1937 to 1940; the murals cover over 2,500 square feet (232 m²) of wall space and depict the settlement of western Indiana.

Construction on the Wabash and Erie Canal began in 1832 and worked southwest; it reached Lafayette by 1842. In 1846 it reached Covington, and by 1847 traffic had begun to flow through the county via the canal. Although the coming of the county's first railroad a decade later heralded the end of the canal's usefulness, it wasn't until 1875 that the last canal boat passed through Covington.

The first railroad through the county was the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway (later the Wabash Railroad) which was built from the east across the northern part of the county and reached Attica in 1856; it continued west through Warren County and reached the Illinois state line the following year. Another line, the Indianapolis, Crawfordsville and Danville Railroad (later the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway), was started in 1855, but the general state of the economy halted construction in 1858. It was completed by another owner in 1870, and trains began operating on it in 1871; locally, it ran through Covington, Veedersburg and Hillsboro.

Geography

Map of Fountain County, showing townships and settlements

Fountain County's northern and western borders are defined by the Wabash River which flows out of Tippecanoe County to the northeast. Across the river to the northwest lies Warren County, beyond which is the state of Illinois; to the southwest, Vermillion County also shares the river as part of its border. Parke County is directly to the south, and Montgomery County is to the east. The state capital of Indianapolis lies about 60 miles (97 km) to the east.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 397.88 square miles (1,030.5 km²), of which 395.66 square miles (1,024.8 km²) (or 99.44%) is land and 2.22 square miles (5.7 km²) (or 0.56%) is water. Elevations range from 770 feet (230 m) above sea level in the northeastern part of the county to 465 feet (142 m) in the southwest where the Wabash River leaves the county. The entire county is within the drainage basin of the Wabash River, and gradually slopes to the southwest toward the river. It is covered with loess ranging in thickness from a few inches to more than 7 feet (2.1 m). Approximately 84 percent of the county's land is use for agriculture.

Fountain County contains eight incorporated settlements. The largest is the city of Attica with a population of 3,491. It lies in the north part of the county on the southeastern banks of the Wabash River; U.S. Route 41, State Road 28, and State Road 55 all run through Attica. The county seat of Covington is the second-largest at 2,645; it is also on the Wabash, about 10 miles (16 km) downstream and southwest of Attica on U.S. Route 136, just north of Interstate 74. Third in size is Veedersburg at 2,299; it is near the center of the county where U.S. Route 41, U.S. Route 136, and Interstate 74 intersect.

The remaining towns all have populations under 1,000. Newtown, Mellott, Hillsboro and Wallace all lie along the route of State Road 341 which runs from north to south in the eastern part of the county. Kingman is in the far south part of the county on State Road 234, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of U.S. Route 41.

Fountain County is divided into 11 townships. Originally, there were only five, established on July 24, 1826: Cain, Richland, Shawnee, Troy and Wabash. Later, six more were created: Davis, Fulton, Jackson, Logan, Millcreek and Van Buren.

In addition to the eight incorporated cities and towns, there are also many small unincorporated settlements. Cates and Silverwood are in Fulton Township in the southwest corner of the county. To the east of Fulton, Mill Creek Township includes Harveysburg, Steam Corner (at the intersection of U.S. Route 41 and State Road 32) and Yeddo (north of Kingman). North of Fulton, Wabash Township has the town of Coal Creek. Van Buren Township, which contains Veedersburg, also includes Stone Bluff; and Shawnee Township to the north of Van Buren holds the hamlets of Fountain (on the banks of the Wabash) and Rob Roy (at the intersection of U.S. Route 41 and State Road 55). The town of Riverside is across the river from Independence in Warren County, and lies in Davis Township.

Stringtown was a mining settlement south of Covington in Wabash Township in the late 19th century, but it no longer exists. There are several coal mines in Fountain County, especially in the southwest.

About 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Attica along the Wabash River lies Portland Arch Nature Preserve and the Miller-Campbell Memorial Tract, a 435-acre (176 ha) preserve managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. It is immediately to the south of the small town of Fountain.

The town of Mellott

Transportation

Looking across the Wabash River to Fountain County

A 19th-century home in Attica

Attica from the west

Highways

Interstate 74 runs east–west through the middle of Fountain County. US Route 136 follows the same general east–west route of I-74 through the county; in the eastern part it runs on the south side of the interstate, but crosses to the north side between Veedersburg and Covington. US Route 41 runs north–south through the county, passing through Attica and Veedersburg.

Three east–west state roads cross the county. State Road 28 enters Attica from Warren County and crosses the north end of the county. State Road 32 enters the middle of the county from Perrysville to the west and passes through Fountain County on its way to Crawfordsville to the east. State Road 234, further to the south, enters from Cayuga to the west and passes east through Kingman. Two north–south state roads run through the county. State Road 55 passes through Attica and shares the route of US Route 41 running goes south. At Rob Roy it turns to run southeast through Newton. State Road 341 starts at State Road 28 in the north and runs south, ending at State Road 234.

Railroads

A Norfolk Southern Railway line crosses northern Fountain County on its route between Danville, Illinois and Lafayette, Indiana; it carries about 45 freight trains each day.

Air transportation

There are no public-use airports within the boundary of Fountain County; air service is available at nearby airports:

• Purdue University Airport - Indiana's second busiest airport, in Tippecanoe County, is operated by Purdue University.
• Indianapolis International Airport is located about 70 miles (110 km) east of Fountain County.

Climate and weather

Fountain County is in the humid continental climate region of the United States along with most of Indiana. Its Köppen climate classification is Dfa, meaning that it is cold, has no dry season, and has a hot summer. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Covington have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.80 inches (46 mm) inches in February to 4.53 inches (115 mm) inches in June.

From 1950 through 2009, six tornadoes were reported in Fountain County; none resulted in any deaths, but the estimated property damage totaled more than $25 million.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,240 people, 6,935 households, and 4,787 families residing in the county. The population density was 43.6 inhabitants per square mile (16.8/km²). There were 7,865 housing units at an average density of 19.9 per square mile (7.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.6% were German, 14.4% were Irish, 14.3% were American, and 12.5% were English.

Of the 6,935 households, 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.0% were non-families, and 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 41.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $51,696. Males had a median income of $44,118 versus $28,462 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,949. About 8.9% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Three public bodies administer Fountain County schools:

• Attica Consolidated School Corporation (northern Fountain County) – served 964 students during the 2009–2010 school year. It runs Attica Elementary and Attica Junior–Senior High Schools.
• Covington Community School Corporation (western Fountain County) – served 1,012 students during 2009–2010. It runs Covington Elementary, Covington Middle, and Covington High Schools.
• Southeast Fountain School Corporation (eastern Fountain County) – served 1,279 students during 2009–2010. It runs Southeast Fountain Elementary and Fountain Central Junior–Senior High Schools.

Notable people

Daniel Wolsey Voorhees was born in Ohio but was raised in Fountain County. He attended school in Veedersburg, graduated from college in 1849, was admitted to the bar, and began practicing law in Covington; he moved to Terre Haute in 1857. He served as a United States Senator (1877–1897), and was known as "the tall sycamore of the Wabash". He died in Washington in 1897 and is buried in Terre Haute.

John Myers was born in Covington in 1927. He graduated from Covington High School, then from Indiana State University in Terre Haute; he served in the United States Army and then served in the US House of Representatives 1967–1997.

• 

  Daniel Voorhees

• 

  Voorhees historical marker

• 

  John Myers

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Fountain para niños