Tippecanoe County, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tippecanoe County
U.S. county
Tippecanoe County courthouse in Lafayette, Indiana
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	March 1, 1826
Named for	Kethtippecanoogi ("Place of the Succor Fish People" in Miami)
Seat	Lafayette
Largest city	Lafayette
Area
• Total	503.24 sq mi (1,303.4 km2)
• Land	499.81 sq mi (1,294.5 km2)
• Water	3.44 sq mi (8.9 km2)  0.68%%
Population  (2010)
• Total	172,780
• Density	346/sq mi (133.48/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	4th
Indiana county number 79

Tippecanoe County is a county located in the northwest quadrant of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 172,780. The county seat is Lafayette. It was created in 1826 from Wabash County.

Tippecanoe County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Tippecanoe County was formed March 1, 1826, and named for the anglicization of "Kethtippecanoogi", a Miami people term meaning "place of the succor fish people." (Kriebel, Robert C. - Tippecanoe at 2000: A Hoosier County Recalls Its Past). The county is best known for Purdue University, the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, and the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, a structure built in 1881 and included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 503.24 square miles (1,303.4 km²), of which 499.81 square miles (1,294.5 km²) (or 99.32%) is land and 3.44 square miles (8.9 km²) (or 0.68%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• White County (north)
• Carroll County (northeast)
• Clinton County (east)
• Montgomery County (south)
• Fountain County (southwest)
• Warren County (west)
• Benton County (northwest)

Communities

The county courthouse and nearby buildings along the Wabash River in Lafayette and West Lafayette

The view northeast into the town of Battle Ground

Cities

• Lafayette
• West Lafayette (home of Purdue University)

Towns

• Battle Ground
• Clarks Hill
• Dayton
• Otterbein (east half)
• Shadeland

Census-designated places

• Americus
• Buck Creek (formerly Transitville)
• Colburn (formerly Chapmanville)
• Montmorenci (formerly Bringham's Grove)
• Stockwell (formerly Lauramie)
• West Point (formerly Middleton)

Other unincorporated places

• Altamont Switch
• Ash Grove
• Cairo
• Concord
• Delp
• Eastwich
• Glen Hall
• Monroe (formerly Huntersville)
• Norma Jean Addition
• Octagon
• Odell
• Old Halfway
• Pettit
• Romney (formerly Columbia)
• Taylor

Extinct

• Archerville
• Beeville
• Chauncey (consolidated into West Lafayette)
• Corwin
• Columbus
• Cincinnatus
• Clarksburg
• Cleveland
• Conroe
• Erie
• Florentine
• Fulton (absorbed by Lafayette)
• Gerard
• Granville (aka Weaton)
• Heath
• Harrisonville (consolidated into Battle Ground)
• Kingston (consolidated into West Lafayette)
• LaGrange
• Linwood (absorbed by Lafayette)
• Little Chicago
• Monitor (formerly Cynthyana)
• New Market
• North Crane
• Oakland (absorbed by Lafayette)
• Ouiatenon
• Polk-White Corners
• Prairieville
• Sidney
• South Raub
• Sugar Grove
• Sunberry
• Texas
• Wheeler's Grove
• Wyandot
• Yorktown

Townships

A freight train approaches the town of South Raub on the border of Randolph and Wea Townships.

• Fairfield
• Jackson
• Lauramie
• Perry
• Randolph
• Sheffield
• Shelby
• Tippecanoe
• Union
• Wabash
• Washington
• Wayne
• Wea

Climate and weather

Weather chart for Lafayette, Indiana
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
1.8   33 17	1.6   39 22	2.9   50 31	3.5   62 40	3.9   74 51	4.2   83 60	3.8   86 65	3.9   84 63	2.7   78 55	2.6   66 43	2.8   51 34	2.6   38 23
temperatures in °F precipitation totals in inches source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     47   1 -8     40   4 -6     73   10 -1     88   17 4     100   23 11     108   28 16     97   30 18     99   29 17     70   26 13     65   19 6     71   11 1     65   3 -5 temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, temperatures in Lafayette have ranged from an average low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −23 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches (40 mm) inches in February to 4.24 inches (108 mm) inches in June.

Transportation

Highways

• Interstate 65
• U.S. Route 52
• U.S. Route 231
• Indiana State Road 25
• Indiana State Road 26
• Indiana State Road 28
• Indiana State Road 38
• Indiana State Road 43
• Indiana State Road 225

Railroads

Three different railroad lines intersect in Tippecanoe County, all running through the Lafayette area. CSX Transportation operates a north-south line; Norfolk Southern Railway operates a southwest-to-northeast line, and the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad operates a daily-service line running from the northwest to the southeast.

Airport

The county contains one public-use airport: Purdue University Airport (LAF) in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	7,187		—
1840	13,724		91.0%
1850	19,377		41.2%
1860	25,726		32.8%
1870	33,515		30.3%
1880	35,966		7.3%
1890	35,078		−2.5%
1900	38,659		10.2%
1910	40,063		3.6%
1920	42,813		6.9%
1930	47,535		11.0%
1940	51,020		7.3%
1950	74,473		46.0%
1960	89,122		19.7%
1970	109,378		22.7%
1980	121,702		11.3%
1990	130,598		7.3%
2000	148,955		14.1%
2010	172,780		16.0%
Est. 2015	185,826		7.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 172,780 people, 65,532 households, and 37,003 families residing in the county. The population density was 345.7 inhabitants per square mile (133.5/km²). There were 71,096 housing units at an average density of 142.2 per square mile (54.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.0% white, 6.2% Asian, 4.0% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 3.3% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.5% were German, 13.9% were Irish, 10.8% were English, and 6.1% were American.

Of the 65,532 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 43.5% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 27.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $60,367. Males had a median income of $45,018 versus $31,995 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,203. About 10.3% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.