Wayne County, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wayne County
U.S. county
Wayne County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	1811
Named for	Anthony Wayne
Seat	Richmond
Largest city	Richmond
Area
• Total	404.34 sq mi (1,047.2 km2)
• Land	401.74 sq mi (1,040.5 km2)
• Water	2.60 sq mi (6.7 km2)  0.64%%
Population
• Estimate  (2021)	66,456
• Density	176/sq mi (68/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	6th
Indiana county number 89

Wayne County is a county located in east central Indiana, United States, on the border with Ohio. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 66,553. The county seat is Richmond. Wayne County comprises the Richmond, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area. Richmond hosts Earlham College, a small private liberal arts college.

History

The first permanent European-American settlers in the area were Quakers from North Carolina. They settled about 1806 near the east fork of the Whitewater River, an area including what is today the city of Richmond. Jeptha Turner, the first white child in the county, was born here in 1806.

Wayne County was formed in 1811 from portions of Clark and Dearborn counties. It was named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who was an officer during the Revolutionary War. Wayne is mainly remembered for his service in the 1790s in the Northwest Indian War, which included many actions in Indiana and Ohio. Randolph County was formed from the northern portion of Wayne County, effective August 1818.

The first county seat was Salisbury, Indiana, a town which no longer exists. It was later moved to Centerville, Indiana in 1818, where it remained until Richmond was designated as the seat in 1873.

During the antebellum years, Wayne County had a number of stations on the Underground Railroad, a network of blacks and whites who aided refugees from slavery to reach freedom. Levi Coffin and his wife Catharine aided more than 1,000 refugees at their home in Fountain City, now designated as a National Historic Landmark and State Historic Site significant to the Ohio River National

In the 1920s, Indiana had the strongest Ku Klux Klan organization in the country, led by Grand Dragons D. C. Stephenson and Walter F. Bossert. Its members controlled the state legislature and had an ally in Governor Ed Jackson. At its height, national membership during the second Klan movement reached 1.5 million, with 300,000 in Indiana. Records show that Wayne County was home to Whitewater Klan No. 60. Robert Lyons, of Richmond, was national chief of staff for the Klan. During this period, the Klan had the most members in cities rather than rural areas; it attracted members new to cities who were unsettled by waves of immigrants from Europe and migrants from other regions of the US.

Geography

Richmond is the county seat.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 404.34 square miles (1,047.2 km²), of which 401.74 square miles (1,040.5 km²) (or 99.36%) is land and 2.60 square miles (6.7 km²) (or 0.64%) is water. Wayne County includes Indiana's highest natural elevation, Hoosier Hill, at 1,257 feet (383 m).

Adjacent counties

Cities

• Richmond

Towns

Unincorporated towns

Townships

Transit

• Roseview Transit

Major highways

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Richmond 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 −29 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 100 °F (38 °C) was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.27 inches (58 mm) in February to 4.41 inches (112 mm) in May.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 68,917 people, 27,551 households, and 18,126 families residing in the county. The population density was 171.5 inhabitants per square mile (66.2/km²). There were 31,242 housing units at an average density of 77.8 per square mile (30.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.2% white, 5.0% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.1% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.4% were German, 11.8% were Irish, 11.0% were English, and 10.9% were American.

Of the 27,551 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 40.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $51,155. Males had a median income of $40,644 versus $30,194 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,789. About 12.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Oliver P. Morton, 14th Governor of Indiana, born in Wayne County
• Walter R. Stubbs, 18th Governor of Kansas
• Ralph Teetor, inventor
• Levi Coffin, abolitionist, lived in Wayne Co, Indiana. He and his wife Catharine were active in the Underground Railroad, aiding refugees from slavery to reach Canada.
• Jim Jones, cult leader, attended school in Wayne County
• Timothy S. Jordan, Wisconsin politician, born in Wayne County
• Marcus Mote, early Indiana artist
• John Stark, California pioneer who rescued members of the Donner Party

School Corporations

• Richmond Community Schools, Richmond
• Western Wayne Schools, Cambridge City
• Northeastern Wayne Schools, Fountain City
• Nettle Creek Schools, Hagerstown
• Centerville-Abington Community Schools, Centerville

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Wayne (Indiana) para niños