By Nicole Thomas Shelby County is home to several of Central Indiana’s firsts, like St. Vincent DePaul, one of the first Catholic churches built in the area in 1839. Indiana’s first railroad, built in the 1830s, passed through the county’s seat, Shelbyville, to connect Madison — the largest city along the Ohio River — to… Continue reading.

By Nicole Thomas Located between the Wabash River and the Illinois state border, Vermillion County was Indiana’s 50th official county. It is adjacent to Illinois’ own Vermilion County, making it one of 11 counties in the U.S. bordering a county with the same name in another state. Clinton, Indiana, is Vermillion County’s largest city. A… Continue reading.

Covering 236 square miles, Vanderburgh County is southwestern Indiana’s smallest county. Besides the city of Evansville, Vanderburgh County’s other incorporated municipality is Darmstadt, a small German-heritage town. Darmstadt’s 111-year-old International World War Peace Tree was brought over from Germany as a seedling in 1912. The linden tree was planted in 1918 on Darmstadt’s southwestern edge… Continue reading.

By Nicole Thomas After forming in 1818, Randolph County became home to many Quaker settlers from North Carolina who supported abolitionism. Abolitionist Levi Coffin worked with these Quakers to help nearly 3,000 enslaved Americans find freedom through the Underground Railroad’s sites in Indiana and Ohio. In 1846, Quakers and free people of color founded the… Continue reading.

By Nicole Thomas Known as the RV capital of the world, Elkhart County is located in Northern Indiana as part of the Michiana region. More than 200,000 tourists visit the county for its annual 4-H Fair — the second-largest county fair in the United States. AMERICAN LIFE ILLUSTRATED The Midwest Museum of American Art in… Continue reading.

 By Nicole Thomas Delaware County kicked off the Indiana gas boom in 1876 when natural gas was first discovered in the state near the town of Eaton. Delaware County is also the home of Ball State University, which was renamed from the Indiana Normal College when the Ball brothers, a family of industrialists and philanthropists,… Continue reading.

Home to one of Indiana’s largest natural lakes, Starke County is named after John Stark, a general in the Revolutionary War. An “e” was added to the county’s name after its founding. Historians believe this was because a scribe — or Stark himself in his signature — wrote the word “Stark” with a flourish at… Continue reading.

The second oldest county in Indiana, Clark County is located on the north bank of the Ohio River across from Louisville, Kentucky. It was named after General George Rogers Clark, who was the older brother of William Clark — one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Days of family fun In Borden,… Continue reading.

Home to Indiana’s oldest continuously running county fair, Gibson County was named after John Gibson, an officer in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He was also secretary of the Indiana Territory and served as acting governor twice. During the American Civil War, abolitionists in Gibson County helped enslaved African Americans find… Continue reading.

In 1835, Pulaski County was one of two newly created northern Indiana counties that the state General Assembly named for Polish heroes of the American Revolution. The other was Kosciusko. Count Casimir Pulaski was a Polish nobleman, soldier and military commander who has been called the “father of the American cavalry.” Though Pulaski deserved such… Continue reading.

Jefferson County was one of Indiana’s first counties. It was formed in 1811 before Indiana was even a state. Its seat, Madison, was one of Indiana’s largest cities until after the Civil War. Like most of the counties along the state’s southern border, Jefferson was shaped geographically, culturally and economically by the Ohio River. Madison… Continue reading.

White County has arguably had its landscape and culture affected by renewable energy sources more than any other Indiana county. Founded in 1834, the county was named for Isaac White, a colonel in the Illinois militia. White volunteered to serve as a private in the Indiana militia in Gov. William Henry Harrison’s march on Prophetstown…. Continue reading.