Perry County, Indiana

Perry County Education, Geography, and History

Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. Perry County was created on November 1, 1814. The county seat is Tell City. The county is named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812.  

Etymology - Origin of Perry County Name

The county is named for War of 1812 hero Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Perry County History

Perry County was organized November 1, 1814. It was named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry who defeated the British squadron in the decisive Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Perry County was the last county to be created before the Territory of Indiana applied to Congress for an enabling act.

Perry County is divided into 7 Civil Townships as follows: Anderson, Clark, Leopold, Oil, Tobin, Troy and Union. 

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 386 square miles (1,001 km²), of which 381 square miles (988 km²) is land and 5 square miles (13 km²) (1.28%) is water.

 Perry county is located in south Indiana. The county is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties of in Indiana as it features more than 60,000 acres (240 km²) of Hoosier National Forest.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Crawford County
• Southeast: Meade County, Ky.; Breckinridge County, Ky.
• Southwest: Hancock County, Ky.
• West: Spencer County
• Northwest: Dubois County

Education

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