Posey County, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Posey County
U.S. county
Posey County Courthouse in Mount Vernon
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	November 11, 1814
Named for	Thomas Posey
Seat	Mount Vernon
Largest city	Mount Vernon
Area
• Total	419.32 sq mi (1,086.0 km2)
• Land	409.57 sq mi (1,060.8 km2)
• Water	9.75 sq mi (25.3 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,222
• Estimate  (2023)	25,040
• Density	60.1498/sq mi (23.2240/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th
Indiana county number 65 Southernmost county in Indiana Westernmost county in Indiana Lowest point in Indiana located at county's southwestern tip

Posey County is the southernmost, southwesternmost, and westernmost county in the U.S. state of Indiana. Its southern border is formed by the Ohio River, and its western border by the Wabash River, a tributary to the Ohio. As of 2020, the population was 25,222. The county seat is Mount Vernon. Posey County is part of the Evansville, Indiana metropolitan statistical area. The Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon, on the Ohio River, is the seventh-largest inland port complex in the nation. Mechanization of dock technology has altered the number of workers at the port, but Posey County is still the seventh-largest internal port in the United States, based on the tons of materials handled. Grain from the Midwest is among the products shipped.

History

Posey County was formed on November 11, 1814 from Gibson and Warrick counties. It was named for Revolutionary War Gen. Thomas Posey, who was then serving as Governor of the Indiana Territory. Mount Vernon became the county seat in 1825.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 419.32 square miles (1,086.0 km²), of which 409.57 square miles (1,060.8 km²) (or 97.67%) is land and 9.75 square miles (25.3 km²) (or 2.33%) is water. The lowest point in the state of Indiana is located on the Ohio River in Posey County, where the waters of the Wabash River join it and flow out of Indiana and into Illinois and Kentucky.

Adjacent counties

• Gibson County - north and northeast
• Vanderburgh County - east
• Henderson County, Kentucky - southeast
• Union County, Kentucky - south
• Gallatin County, Illinois - southwest
• White County, Illinois - west and northwest

Cities and towns

• Cynthiana
• Griffin
• Mount Vernon
• New Harmony
• Poseyville

Townships

Census-designated place

• Parkers Settlement

Other unincorporated places

Transportation

Major highways

Railroads

• CSX Transportation
• Evansville Western Railway

River ports

• Ports of Indiana-Mt. Vernon is "the 7th largest inland port [complex] in the United States and serves as a major multi-modal hub for the region." It handles more than 4 million trip tons of cargo annually. Southwind Maritime Center is the name of a related port facility, now considered within the complex. This port facility is important to the economy of the state of Indiana as well as to Posey County. It handles shipping of grain, grain products, coal, fertilizer, cement and minerals, from a region that produces a large amount of grain. This is the largest public port within 175 miles of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Mount Vernon have ranged from a low of 23 °F (−5 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1912 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.65 inches (67 mm) in September to 5.38 inches (137 mm) in May.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 25,910 people, 10,171 households, and 7,442 families in the county. The population density was 63.3 inhabitants per square mile (24.4/km²). There were 11,207 housing units at an average density of 27.4 per square mile (10.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.2% white, 0.9% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.6% were German, 13.6% were American, 11.6% were Irish, and 11.2% were English.

Of the 10,171 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.8% were non-families, and 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.97. 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 $68,722. Males had a median income of $55,786 versus $32,747 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,727. About 6.0% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The county has two school districts: Mount Vernon Metropolitan School District and North Posey County Schools Metropolitan School District.

Public high schools

• Mount Vernon High School – Mount Vernon
• North Posey High School – Poseyville address

Previously New Harmony Town and Township Consolidated Schools covered a portion of the county. The district closed in 2012 and consolidated into North Posey County Schools.

Tourism and recreation

Representation in other media

• Posey County Judge James M. Redwine wrote a novel, Judge Lynch! (2008), based on the 1878 lynchings of seven African-American men in Mt. Vernon.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Posey para niños