Bartholomew County, Indiana

Bartholomew County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 82,208 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Columbus.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to be home to the mean center of U.S. population in 1900.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bartholomew County makes up the Columbus, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie Combined Statistical Area.

History

The area now known as Bartholomew County was long populated by indigenous peoples, including the Miami, Potawatomi, and Shawnee. The county is the site of numerous mounds, and human remains dating back as far as 3,000 years have been uncovered in the county. Early settlers recounted the presence of large villages along the various creeks and rivers in the area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The area was within the territory of the Haudenosaunee, and was part of the lands officially ceded to Great Britain in the 1701 Nanfan Treaty. Encroachment by European settlers, contested by indigenous peoples, began in the years after the American Revolutionary War with the 1787 Northwest Ordinance. By then, Delaware people lived in the area. A series of treaties, beginning with the 1804 Treaty with the Piankeshaw,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> initiated the incorporation of the area into the United States. This process was ended with the 1818 Treaty of St. Mary's, although violent conflict with indigenous peoples was mostly over by 1813 and white settlers had begun to squat on the land by 1816.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Bartholomew County was formed on February 12, 1821, and was named for Lt. Col. Joseph Bartholomew, wounded at the Battle of Tippecanoe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bartholomew and his fellow officer John Tipton led militia through the county in 1813, and Tipton purchased several parcels in the area in 1820, building a cabin at the confluence of the White and Driftwood rivers. The site of the county seat was chosen on February 15, 1821, by a team of commissioners, who suggested the name Tiptona, in honor of Tipton. In July of the same year, the Legislature renamed Tiptona to Columbus, in honor of Christopher Columbus.

Eilel Saarinen's First Christian Church, shown here with Henry Moore's Large Arch, was one of the first buildings in Columbus built with the support of Cummins' philanthropy

The county's first general store was built in the fall of 1821, and trade routes connecting Columbus with Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Madison were built by 1835. Although indigenous people continued living in Bartholomew County after its formation, they were soon forced out by settlers. A band visited the courthouse in 1830, and Dr. John Beck, an early settler, recounted visits by solitary natives as late as 1839.<ref name=":0" /> Mills were built along the Driftwood River following the establishment of trade routes, and the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad began servicing Columbus in 1844. The arrival of the railroad spurred the establishment of local industry in and around Columbus. The current Bartholomew County Courthouse was completed in 1871. Notably, Cummins Inc. was established in Columbus in 1919.

Cummins grew rapidly during and after World War II to become a national, and later global, leader in the production of engines and generators. Under the leadership of J. Irwin Miller, the company sponsored the building of dozens of structures in and around Columbus by eminent architects including I.M. Pei, Eilel and Eero Saarinen, and Harry Weese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Today, the local economy continues to be shaped by the presence of Cummins and other manufacturers. Its built heritage attracts a large number of tourists and architects.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Map of Bartholomew County

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 99.36%) is land and Template:Convert (or 0.64%) is water.<ref name="census-density"/> Camp Atterbury occupies the northwestern corner of the county.

Adjacent counties

• Johnson County (northwest)
• Shelby County (northeast)
• Decatur County (east)
• Jennings County (southeast)
• Jackson County (south)
• Brown County (west)

City

• Columbus

Towns

• Clifford
• Edinburgh (partial)
• Elizabethtown
• Hartsville
• Hope
• Jonesville

Census-designated place

• Pleasant View Village
• Taylorsville

Other unincorporated places

• Azalia
• Bethany
• Burnsville
• Corn Brook
• Everroad Park
• Garden City
• Grammer
• Grandview Lake
• Jewell Village
• Mount Healthy
• Newbern
• North Ogilville
• Nortonburg
• Ogilville
• Old Saint Louis
• Petersville
• Rosstown
• Rugby
• Saint Louis Crossing
• Stony Lonesome
• Walesboro
• Waymansville
• Waynesville

Extinct towns

• Kansas

Townships

• Clay
• Clifty
• Columbus
• Flat Rock
• German
• Harrison
• Haw Creek
• Jackson
• Ohio
• Rock Creek
• Sand Creek
• Wayne

Transit

• ColumBUS

Major highways

• Interstate 65
• U.S. Route 31
• State Road 7
• State Road 9
• State Road 11
• State Road 46
• State Road 58

Airport

• KBAK - Columbus Municipal Airport

Railroads

• Louisville and Indiana Railroad

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in Columbus have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1912 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in July 1934. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in May.<ref name="weather"/>

Politics

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also 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.<ref name = inc3623>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name = inc2102>Template:Cite web</ref>

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.<ref name = inc3623/><ref name = inc2102/>

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that can handle some civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.<ref name = inc2102/>

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare a party affiliation and to be residents of the county.<ref name = inc2102/>

Bartholomew County is part of Indiana's 6th congressional district and Indiana's 9th congressional district; Indiana Senate district 41;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Indiana House of Representatives districts 57, 59 and 65.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 82,208 people and 31,452 households residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 33,098 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> Per the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 80.0% white, 6.6% Asian, 2.2% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 4.7% from other races, and 6.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.8% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, according the 2010 census, 28.5% were German, 12.4% were English, 12.2% were Irish, and 10.7% were American.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 29,860 households in 2010, 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.4% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 38.2 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $64,024. Males had a median income of $50,358 versus $32,334 for females; the per capita income for the county was $26,860; and approximately 7.7% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Public schools in Bartholomew County are administered by the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation and the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corporation. The county's first tuition-free public charter school, the International School of Columbus, a middle school/high school, opened in 2009–10. The ISC was an International Baccalaureate World School offering the Diploma Program. The ISC closed due to financial difficulties in the fall of 2013.

Ivy Tech Community College Columbus is located in Bartholomew County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• The Republic, daily newspaper covering Bartholomew County
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bartholomew County, Indiana

External links

• Bartholomew County official website
• Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation
• Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corporation
• International School of Columbus