Starke County, Indiana | |
|---|---|
 Starke County Courthouse in Knox | |
 Flag | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIndiana | |
| Coordinates:41°16′N86°39′W / 41.267°N 86.650°W /41.267; -86.650 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Indiana |
| Founded | February 7, 1835 (authorized) 1850 (organized) |
| Named after | GeneralJohn Stark |
| Seat | Knox |
| Largest city | Knox |
| Area | |
• Total | 312.21 sq mi (808.6 km2) |
| • Land | 309.13 sq mi (800.6 km2) |
| • Water | 3.07 sq mi (8.0 km2) 0.98% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 23,371 |
• Estimate (2023) | 23,206 |
| • Density | 75.602/sq mi (29.190/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | www |
| Indiana county number 75 | |
Starke County is acounty in theU.S. state ofIndiana. As of the2020 United States census, its population was 23,371.[1] Thecounty seat isKnox.[2]
The Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county bill[3] on February 7, 1835, that authorized the creation of 13 counties in northeast Indiana, including Starke.[4] The county government organization commenced in 1850.[5] It was named for Gen.John Stark,[6] who commandedNew Hampshire troops at theBattle of Bunker Hill in 1775 in theAmerican Revolutionary War, and who defeated the British at theBattle of Bennington in 1777.[7]
Before white settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day Starke County and adjacentLaPorte County to the north was inhabited by thePotawatami Indian nation. These groups were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on what has been called thePotawatomi Trail of Death.[8][9]
When Starke County was created, it included the present LaPorte County townships ofCass,Dewey,Hanna, andPrairie. Residents in this area had to travel some distance east to Lemon's Bridge to cross theKankakee River to travel south to the center of the county, the future site of the county seat at Knox. Therefore, because they were effectively isolated from the rest of Starke County, residents north of the river petitioned to be annexed to LaPorte county and this was done on January 28, 1842.[10]
Despite being named for General John Stark and originally being known and appearing on maps asStark County[11] when initially created and organized, ane was added to the county's name fairly early in its history. No solid evidence has been found to clearly explain this alteration. Three possible explanations have been advanced - an early scribe had "fancy lettering", including ak with a long tail or flourish that appeared to others aske, with the new spelling sticking;[12] General Stark himself may have used a similar flourish at the end of his signature;[13] which became a point of confusion to Indiana officials (unlikely, since Stark County, Ohio (1808) and Illinois (1839) both preceded Starke County, Indiana, not to mention numerous other smaller midwestern toponyms spelled "Stark"); or anIndianapolis official's clerical error around 1860.[14]
Starke County consists of low, rolling hills covered with vegetation or brush.[15] Its boundaries include three prominences that rise to 780 ft (240 m) above sea level - two adjacent swells 0.6 miles (0.97 km) northeast of Bass Lake, and a small ridge 3.0 miles (4.8 km) east-southeast of Bass Lake.[16]
According to the 2010 census, Starke County has a total area of 312.21 square miles (808.6 km2), of which 3.07 square miles (8.0 km2) (or 0.98%) are covered by water.[17] The northwestern boundary of Starke County is defined by theKankakee River; theYellow River, a tributary of the Kankakee, flows through the central part of the county, past Knox.[18]
From 2014 until 2024, the city of Knox was the geographic center of the Big Ten Conference, according to a 2018 article in fivethirtyeight.com that referred to locations of various NCAA Men's Basketball Conference championships.[19]
The municipalities in Starke County, and their populations as of the 2020 Census, are:
The nine townships of Starke County, with their populations as of the 2010 Census, are:
Public schools in Starke County are administered by four different districts:
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In recent years, average temperatures in Knox have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.68 inches (43 mm) in February to 4.09 inches (104 mm) in June.[24]
The county government is a constitutional body, granted specific powers by theConstitution of Indiana and theIndiana Code.
County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts to four-year terms. They are responsible for setting 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.[25][26]
Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county, the commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute the acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the functions of the county government.[25][26]
Court: The judge on the court is elected to a term of six years. The judge is assisted by a magistrate who is appointed by the judge. The court handles criminal and civil cases, and has a small-claims division. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state-levelcircuit court.[26]
County officials: The county has other elected offices, includingsheriff,coroner,auditor,treasurer,recorder,surveyor, and circuitcourt clerk, elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declareparty affiliations and to be residents of the county.[26]
Starke County is part ofIndiana's 2nd congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives and is currently represented by Rudy Yakym.[27]
In presidential elections, Starke County was abellwether county for a time, voting for the winner in every election from 1964 to 2008. Since theDonald Trump era, much like virtually all of Indiana, the county is extremely Republican.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 834 | 47.23% | 904 | 51.19% | 28 | 1.59% |
| 1892 | 850 | 44.34% | 1,003 | 52.32% | 64 | 3.34% |
| 1896 | 1,289 | 51.01% | 1,214 | 48.04% | 24 | 0.95% |
| 1900 | 1,340 | 49.56% | 1,315 | 48.63% | 49 | 1.81% |
| 1904 | 1,523 | 54.47% | 1,134 | 40.56% | 139 | 4.97% |
| 1908 | 1,521 | 52.18% | 1,305 | 44.77% | 89 | 3.05% |
| 1912 | 787 | 28.11% | 1,208 | 43.14% | 805 | 28.75% |
| 1916 | 1,550 | 52.21% | 1,334 | 44.93% | 85 | 2.86% |
| 1920 | 2,683 | 62.92% | 1,467 | 34.40% | 114 | 2.67% |
| 1924 | 2,329 | 53.00% | 1,555 | 35.39% | 510 | 11.61% |
| 1928 | 2,759 | 57.32% | 2,016 | 41.89% | 38 | 0.79% |
| 1932 | 2,449 | 40.75% | 3,420 | 56.91% | 141 | 2.35% |
| 1936 | 2,846 | 47.18% | 3,143 | 52.11% | 43 | 0.71% |
| 1940 | 3,473 | 54.16% | 2,917 | 45.49% | 22 | 0.34% |
| 1944 | 3,574 | 55.71% | 2,791 | 43.51% | 50 | 0.78% |
| 1948 | 3,518 | 50.55% | 3,312 | 47.59% | 130 | 1.87% |
| 1952 | 4,871 | 59.43% | 3,274 | 39.95% | 51 | 0.62% |
| 1956 | 5,063 | 59.94% | 3,349 | 39.65% | 35 | 0.41% |
| 1960 | 4,592 | 53.28% | 3,995 | 46.35% | 32 | 0.37% |
| 1964 | 3,466 | 41.65% | 4,838 | 58.14% | 17 | 0.20% |
| 1968 | 4,011 | 47.95% | 3,208 | 38.35% | 1,146 | 13.70% |
| 1972 | 5,520 | 64.43% | 2,994 | 34.95% | 53 | 0.62% |
| 1976 | 4,354 | 47.12% | 4,753 | 51.43% | 134 | 1.45% |
| 1980 | 5,035 | 55.27% | 3,615 | 39.68% | 460 | 5.05% |
| 1984 | 5,104 | 57.42% | 3,674 | 41.33% | 111 | 1.25% |
| 1988 | 4,458 | 51.80% | 4,104 | 47.69% | 44 | 0.51% |
| 1992 | 3,100 | 35.40% | 3,695 | 42.19% | 1,963 | 22.41% |
| 1996 | 3,108 | 38.13% | 3,854 | 47.29% | 1,188 | 14.58% |
| 2000 | 4,349 | 49.98% | 4,136 | 47.53% | 216 | 2.48% |
| 2004 | 4,846 | 54.22% | 3,987 | 44.61% | 104 | 1.16% |
| 2008 | 4,473 | 47.19% | 4,778 | 50.41% | 228 | 2.41% |
| 2012 | 4,738 | 54.03% | 3,809 | 43.44% | 222 | 2.53% |
| 2016 | 6,367 | 68.34% | 2,489 | 26.72% | 460 | 4.94% |
| 2020 | 7,466 | 72.42% | 2,650 | 25.71% | 193 | 1.87% |
| 2024 | 7,889 | 75.29% | 2,436 | 23.25% | 153 | 1.46% |
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 149 | — | |
| 1850 | 557 | 273.8% | |
| 1860 | 2,195 | 294.1% | |
| 1870 | 3,888 | 77.1% | |
| 1880 | 5,105 | 31.3% | |
| 1890 | 7,339 | 43.8% | |
| 1900 | 10,431 | 42.1% | |
| 1910 | 10,567 | 1.3% | |
| 1920 | 10,278 | −2.7% | |
| 1930 | 10,620 | 3.3% | |
| 1940 | 12,258 | 15.4% | |
| 1950 | 15,282 | 24.7% | |
| 1960 | 17,911 | 17.2% | |
| 1970 | 19,280 | 7.6% | |
| 1980 | 21,997 | 14.1% | |
| 1990 | 22,747 | 3.4% | |
| 2000 | 23,556 | 3.6% | |
| 2010 | 23,363 | −0.8% | |
| 2020 | 23,371 | 0.0% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 23,206 | [29] | −0.7% |
| US Decennial Census[30] 1790-1960[31] 1900-1990[32] 1990-2000[33] 2010-2021[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 23,371. The median age was 43.0 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.1 males age 18 and over.[34][35]
The racial makeup of the county was 93.1%White, 0.4%Black or African American, 0.3%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Asian, <0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.0% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.9% of the population.[35]
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[36]
There were 9,287 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.2% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[34]
There were 11,123 housing units, of which 16.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.9% were owner-occupied and 20.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.[34]
As of the2010 United States census, 23,363 people, 9,038 households, and 6,484 families lived in the county.[37] The population density was 75.6 inhabitants per square mile (29.2/km2). The 10,962 housing units had an average density of 35.5 per square mile (13.7/km2).[17] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% White, 0.3% American Indian, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population.[37] In terms of ancestry, 27.2% wereGerman, 16.3% wereIrish, 8.9% wereEnglish, 8.7% wereAmerican, and 6.9% werePolish.[38]
Of the 9,038 households, 32.7% had children under 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were not families, and 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.58, and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 40.4 years.[37]
The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and for a family was $44,044. Males had a median income of $37,507 versus $28,628 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,991. About 12.9% of families and 15.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 25.1% of those under 18 and 7.0% of those 65 or over.[39]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Media related toStarke County, Indiana at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Starke County, Indiana | |
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Municipalities and communities ofStarke County, Indiana,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
