Jefferson County, Indiana

Jefferson County Education, Geography, and History

Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,428. Jefferson County was created on November 23, 1810. The county seat is Madison. The county is named for United States President Thomas Jefferson.

Etymology - Origin of Jefferson County Name

The county is named for Thomas Jefferson who was the author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Jefferson County History

Jefferson County was authorized by an act of the Legislature November 23, 1810, and went into effect February 1, 1811 It was named for Thomas Jefferson, principal draftsman of the Northwest Ordinance and President of the United States from 1801 through 1809.

Jefferson County was one of Indiana's first counties and many important early Hoosiers hailed from Madison, including William Hendricks. Throughout the early history of the state, Madison was one of the leading cities competing with Vincennes and later New Albany to be the largest city in the state. The county fell into economic decline after the American Civil War as industry began to shift from southern Indiana to the northern part of the state.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 363 square miles (940 km²), of which 361 square miles (936 km²) is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) (0.44%) is water.

Jefferson county is located in southeast Indiana. Part of the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Ripley County
• East: Switzerland County
• Southeast: Carroll County, Ky.; Trimble County, Ky.
• Southwest: Clark County; Scott County
• Northwest: Jennings County

Education

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