Posey County, Indiana

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 tons of materials handled. Grain from the Midwest is among the products shipped.

History

After the American Revolutionary War, Posey County was originally considered part of the Northwest Territory, organized in 1787 by the new United States. As part of the Indiana Territory, it was organized in November 1814 from Gibson and Warrick counties. It was named for Revolutionary War Gen. Thomas Posey, who was then serving as Governor of the Territory. Mount Vernon was designated as the county seat in 1825. Its port on the Ohio River continues to be integral to the economy of the state and county.

Like other parts of southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, Posey County was first settled by people from the Upper South, many of whom arrived via the Ohio River. Farming was the primary development at first. In the mid- to late 19th century, the county received many German immigrants. The river port had rougher areas of vice, and a higher population of single men, as was typical. African Americans were among the men who worked on ships and at the port.

Posey County was the site of the largest recorded lynching of African Americans in Indiana's history. In October 1878, a white mob lynched seven black men in the span of a few days. No one in the mob was prosecuted, and at each court session for the next three years, the prosecutor asked the judge to "set the case over to the next session". A grand jury was called to investigate the mob action, but with an election pending for the prosecuting attorney, no one was ever indicted. Following years of research, Posey County judge Jim Redwine wrote a novel, Judge Lynch! (2008), based on the events. Redwine sometimes lectures on the riot, inviting his audience to imagine how they would have acted and stressing the injustice done to the African Americans who were denied the right to a fair trial.

According to the 2010 United States census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 97.67%) is land and (or 2.33%) is water.

Posey county lies at the tripoint of Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

Adjacent counties

White County, Illinois (west and northwest across intermittent sections of water and land boundaries)
Gallatin County, Illinois (southwest also over intermittent sections of water and land boundaries)
Gibson County (north and northeast)
Union County, Kentucky (south, with some land boundaries on Indiana side)
Vanderburgh County (east)
Henderson County, Kentucky (southeast also with some land boundaries on Indiana side)

Cities and towns

Cynthiana – town
Griffin – town
Mount Vernon – city/county seat
New Harmony – town
Poseyville – town

Townships

Bethel
Black
Center
Harmony
Lynn
Marrs
Point
Robb
Robinson
Smith

Unincorporated places

Blairsville
Caborn
Dead Mans Crossing
Erwin
Farmersville
Grafton
Hepburn
Heusler
Hovey
Lippe
Marrs Center
New Baltimore
Oak Grove
Oliver
Parkers Settlement – census-designated place
Rapture
Saint Philip
Saint Wendel
Savah
Solitude
Springfield
Stewartsville
Upton
Wadesville
Welborn Switch
West Franklin

Protected areas

Harmonie State Park
Wabash Lowlands Wetland Conservation Area

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Mount Vernon have ranged from a nighttime low of in January to a daytime high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1912 and a record high of was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in September to in May. Also, on April 2, 2024, an EF-2 Tornado passed through parts of the county, including Harmonie State Park, Blairsville, and St. Wendel.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The legislative branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from single-member districts of roughly equal population in the county. They set salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is a three-person board of commissioners, who are elected at-large (county-wide), to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the county government.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Posey County, Indiana – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|25,892

|25,506

|26,443

|25,046

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23,640

|98.02%

|98.22%

|97.72%

|96.67%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |93.73%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|302

|283

|231

|230

|style='background: #ffffe6; |211

|1.14%

|1.09%

|0.85%

|0.89%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.84%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|36

|37

|66

|42

|style='background: #ffffe6; |44

|0.14%

|0.24%

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%

|Asian alone (NH)

|44

|34

|42

|70

|style='background: #ffffe6; |107

|0.17%

|0.13%

|0.16%

|0.27%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3

|0.00%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|Other race alone (NH)

|25

|13

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57

|0.09%

|0.02%

|0.05%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|147

|253

|style='background: #ffffe6; |785

|0.54%

|0.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.11%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|115

|104

|118

|248

|style='background: #ffffe6; |375

|0.44%

|0.40%

|0.44%

|0.96%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.49%

|Total

|26,414

|25,968

|27,061

|25,910

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,222

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 25,222. The median age was 42.9 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 94.3% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.5% of the population.

There were 10,133 households in the county, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 57.4% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 11,207 housing units at an average density of . 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.

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.

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

Posey County Stockyard
Visit Posey County
Brittlebank Park – Mount Vernon
Harmonie State Park – New Harmony
Hovey Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area – Mount Vernon
New Harmony Historic District – New Harmony
Sherburne Park – Mount Vernon

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.

References

External links

Official website