Steuben County, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steuben County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2000, the population was 33,214. The county seat is Angola6.
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[edit] Geography
Main article: Geography of Northeastern Indiana
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 835 km² (322 mi²). 800 km² (309 mi²) of it is land and 36 km² (14 mi²) of it (4.27%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Branch County, Michigan (north)
- Hillsdale County, Michigan (northeast)
- Williams County, Ohio (east)
- DeKalb County (south)
- Noble County (southwest)
- LaGrange County (west)
[edit] Major highways
[edit] Attractions
- Pokagon State Park, a popular state park with year-round activities is located entirely in the county.
[edit] History
From the 1876 Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana:[1]
- The smoke from the first permanent settler's cabin first arose within the present limits of Steuben County in the spring of 1831. That settler was Gideon Langdon. His rude cabin was in the southwest quarter of Section 5, Jackson Township, afterward known as the Town farm. Langdon, on the 17th of September, in the year following, made the first entry of land recorded in the county, being the east half of the quarter named.
- It was in what is now Jackson Township that the first settlers mostly located. Jackson Township contains considerable prairie land, and the first immigrants, at a time when their choice was unrestricted, naturally selected the rich, fertile soil there, because of the comparative ease with which it was brought under cultivation.
- The next settlers were John and Jacob Stayner, and their families - twelve persons in all. The Stayners came from Ohio, and arrived in Jackson Township on May 16, 1831. John built on the north side of the prairie, and entered the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 5, September 27, 1832, being ten days after Langdon's entry, and the second made in the present limits of the county. [2]
- The two brothers had been soldiers under Jackson in the War of 1812, and were both strong and hearty men. John Stayner lived upon the land entered by him until his death in 1870. He was sent to the Legislature, and the township in which he lived was, at his instance, named Jackson in honor of his old military chieftain.
- The first white child born within the present limits of the county was Zephaniah Stayner. He is still a resident of the township in which he first saw the light.
- The first death was that of Mrs. Gideon Langdon, in 1832. The remains were interred in the prairie burying ground, on land that has since passed into the possession of D. H. Roberts.
- The first marriage was contracted between James Huntsman and Hannah Davis, in 1832, before the organization of the county.
- The first schoolhouse erected in the county was on the north side of Jackson Prairie. Hannah Davis, the first bride in the little community, was the first teacher. The first schoolhouse was a rude tamarack cabin, erected at a cost of about $50, by John Stayner and Adolphus Town. Eliza Eaton was the next teacher, and received $2 for each pupil, that being the tax levied on those sending their children to the school.
Steuben County was officially created in 1837 from LaGrange County, and named for Baron Frederick von Steuben, an officer of the Revolutionary War.
[edit] Demographics
| Steuben County Population by year |
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2000 33,214 |
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As of the census² of 2000, there were 33,214 people, 12,738 households, and 8,916 families residing in the county. The population density was 42/km² (108/mi²). There were 17,337 housing units at an average density of 22/km² (56/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.19% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 2.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,738 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,089, and the median income for a family was $50,567. Males had a median income of $35,300 versus $23,856 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,647. About 4.90% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.40% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Education
[edit] Colleges and universities
[edit] School districts
- Fremont Community Schools
- Hamilton Community Schools
- M S D of Steuben County
- Prairie Heights Community School Corporation
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Andreas, Alfred T. (1876). Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, Baskin, Forster, Co., Chicago.
- ^ "There is some dispute as to whether they [the Stayners] or Gideon Langdon settled first, as they all came in at about the same time". History of Steuben County (1885), Inter-State Publishing Co., Chicago.
[edit] External links
- Official Site of Steuben County, Indiana
- Steuben County Tourism Bureau
- Steuben County Community Foundation
- Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County
- Steuben County Genealogical Society
[edit] References
- Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8.
