Boone County, Indiana

Boone County
County
Boone County Courthouse in Lebanon
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°03′N 86°28′W / 40.05°N 86.47°W / 40.05; -86.47
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	April 1, 1830 (created) 1831 (organized)
Named for	Daniel Boone
Seat	Lebanon
Largest city	Zionsville
Area
• Total	423.25 sq mi (1,096.2 km2)
• Land	422.91 sq mi (1,095.3 km2)
• Water	0.34 sq mi (0.9 km2)  0.08%
Population  (2020)
• Total	70,812
• Density	170/sq mi (65/km2)
Congressional districts	4th, 5th
Website	boonecounty.in.gov
Indiana county number 6

Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 70,812.^[1] The county seat is Lebanon.^[2]

In 1787, the fledgling United States defined the Northwest Territory, which included the area of present-day Indiana. In 1800, Congress separated Ohio from the Northwest Territory, designating the rest of the land as the Indiana Territory.^[3] President Thomas Jefferson chose William Henry Harrison as the territory's first governor, and Vincennes was established as the territorial capital.^[4] After the Michigan Territory was separated and the Illinois Territory was formed, Indiana was reduced to its current size and geography.^[3] By December 1816 the Indiana Territory was admitted to the Union as a state.

Starting in 1794, Native American titles to Indiana lands were extinguished by usurpation, purchase, or war and treaty. The United States acquired land from the Native Americans in the 1809 treaty of Fort Wayne, and by the treaty of St. Mary's in 1818 considerably more territory became property of the government. This included the future Boone County, designating areas covered by the Delaware New Purchase.

Boone County was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1830, with Jamestown (which had been first settled that year) named as the initial county seat. The county was named for frontiersman Daniel Boone.^[5] The interim county commissioners met on May 1 of the following year to identify a permanent seat of government, which by law had to be within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the county's center; the [future] city of Lebanon was selected to serve this purpose.^[6]

Boone County lies near the center of the state. It is 24 miles (39 km) from east to west and 17.5 miles (28.2 km) from north to south. It contains about 418.5 square miles (108,500 hectares), two-thirds of which is in cultivation. Its central position, excellent soil, and available water power have been in its favor.^[7] The highest point of the county (984 feet (300 meters) ASL) is a small hill two miles/3.2 km northeast of Lebanon.^[8] The upper part of the county is drained by Sugar Creek, flowing westward into Montgomery County; the southwest part of the county is drained by Big Raccoon Creek, also flowing west-southwestward into Montgomery. The southeast part of the county is drained by Eagle Creek and its tributaries, flowing southward into Marion County.^[9]

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 423.25 square miles (1,096.2 km²), of which 422.91 square miles (1,095.3 km²) (or 99.92%) is land and 0.34 square miles (0.88 km²) (or 0.08%) is water.^[10]

• Lebanon - county seat

Center Clinton Eagle Harrison

Jackson Jefferson Marion Perry

Sugar Creek Union Washington Worth

• Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority

• KTYQ - Indianapolis Executive Airport

• CSX Transportation

Public schools in Boone County are administered by the Lebanon Community School Corporation, Western Boone County Community School District, Zionsville Community Schools, and Sheridan Community Schools.

Lebanon, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.4     34 18     2.4     41 22     3.4     52 31     3.8     65 40     4.5     75 50     4.2     84 60     4.5     86 63     3.6     85 61     3     79 53     2.9     67 43     3.7     52 34     3.1     39 23 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[16]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     62     1 −8     60     5 −6     86     11 −1     97     18 4     114     24 10     105     29 16     115     30 17     90     29 16     76     26 12     73     19 6     94     11 1     78     4 −5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Lebanon have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.35 inches (60 mm) in February to 4.54 inches (115 mm) in July.^[16]

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 legislative branch of the county's government; controls and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from county districts. They set 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.^[17][18]

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county; commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the county government.^[17][18]

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that handles 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.^[18]

County Officials: The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. They are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare a party affiliation and to be residents of the county.^[18]

Boone County is part of Indiana's 4th and 5th congressional districts, Indiana Senate districts 21 and 23,^[19] and Indiana House of Representatives districts 28, 38 and 87.^[20]

Prior to 1940, Boone County was a Democratic-leaning swing county in presidential elections, backing the national winner in every election from 1912 to 1936. From 1940 on, it has become a Republican stronghold, with no Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 even managing to win forty percent of the county's votes.

United States presidential election results for Boone County, Indiana^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	22,351	57.80%	15,244	39.42%	1,073	2.77%
2016	19,654	60.41%	10,181	31.29%	2,702	8.30%
2012	18,808	67.70%	8,328	29.98%	646	2.33%
2008	16,622	62.27%	9,752	36.54%	318	1.19%
2004	17,055	74.48%	5,636	24.61%	207	0.90%
2000	13,161	71.54%	4,763	25.89%	472	2.57%
1996	11,338	64.44%	4,625	26.28%	1,633	9.28%
1992	9,485	54.64%	3,982	22.94%	3,891	22.42%
1988	11,608	73.44%	4,168	26.37%	30	0.19%
1984	11,790	74.38%	3,982	25.12%	78	0.49%
1980	10,484	66.11%	4,535	28.60%	840	5.30%
1976	9,214	61.48%	5,686	37.94%	86	0.57%
1972	9,874	75.10%	3,235	24.61%	38	0.29%
1968	7,905	58.96%	4,118	30.72%	1,384	10.32%
1964	7,419	52.32%	6,716	47.36%	46	0.32%
1960	8,979	62.28%	5,377	37.30%	60	0.42%
1956	8,573	61.56%	5,318	38.19%	35	0.25%
1952	8,619	63.04%	4,986	36.47%	68	0.50%
1948	6,450	55.67%	5,037	43.47%	99	0.85%
1944	6,823	56.00%	5,292	43.43%	70	0.57%
1940	7,066	53.26%	6,152	46.37%	49	0.37%
1936	5,739	45.57%	6,775	53.80%	79	0.63%
1932	5,309	42.68%	6,900	55.47%	231	1.86%
1928	6,556	58.81%	4,500	40.37%	91	0.82%
1924	6,256	52.57%	5,466	45.93%	178	1.50%
1920	6,650	50.93%	6,178	47.31%	230	1.76%
1916	3,333	46.97%	3,513	49.51%	250	3.52%
1912	1,181	17.55%	3,280	48.74%	2,269	33.71%
1908	3,471	48.22%	3,525	48.97%	202	2.81%
1904	3,633	50.20%	3,263	45.09%	341	4.71%
1900	3,360	46.46%	3,718	51.41%	154	2.13%
1896	3,449	47.23%	3,800	52.03%	54	0.74%
1892	3,136	46.82%	3,104	46.34%	458	6.84%
1888	3,441	48.95%	3,324	47.29%	264	3.76%

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	621		—
1840	8,121		1,207.7%
1850	11,631		43.2%
1860	16,753		44.0%
1870	22,593		34.9%
1880	25,922		14.7%
1890	26,572		2.5%
1900	26,321		−0.9%
1910	24,673		−6.3%
1920	23,575		−4.5%
1930	22,290		−5.5%
1940	22,081		−0.9%
1950	23,993		8.7%
1960	27,543		14.8%
1970	30,870		12.1%
1980	36,446		18.1%
1990	38,147		4.7%
2000	46,107		20.9%
2010	56,640		22.8%
2020	70,812		25.0%
2023 (est.)	76,120	[22]	7.5%
US Decennial Census[23] 1790-1960[24] 1900-1990[25] 1990-2000[26] 2010[27]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 56,640 people, 21,149 households, and 15,509 families in the county.^[28] The population density was 133.9 inhabitants per square mile (51.7/km²). There were 22,754 housing units at an average density of 53.8 per square mile (20.8/km²).^[10] The racial makeup of the county was 95.3% white, 1.7% Asian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population.^[28] In terms of ancestry, 28.9% were German, 19.3% were English, 14.1% were Irish, and 9.0% were American.^[29]

Of the 21,149 households, 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.7% were non-families, and 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.12. The median age was 38.6 years.^[28]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $81,401. Males had a median income of $57,251 versus $41,309 for females. The per capita income for the county was $38,696. About 6.1% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.^[30]

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 70,812 people.^[31]

Boone County Racial Composition^[31]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	61,135	86.3%
Black or African American (NH)	1,426	2%
Native American (NH)	128	0.2%
Asian (NH)	2,389	3.37%
Pacific Islander (NH)	19	0.03%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,940	4.15%
Hispanic or Latino	2,775	4%

• List of public art in Boone County, Indiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Boone County, Indiana

• Harden, Samuel; Spahr, John (1887). Early Life and Times in Boone County, Indiana. Indianapolis: Carlon and Hollenbeck. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
• Leander Mead, Crist. History of Boone County, Indiana. Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen and Co. Retrieved May 31, 2011.

• Boone County Community Network
• Lebanon Community School Corporation
• Western Boone County Community School Dist
• Zionsville Community Schools
• Boone County Government

40°03′N 86°28′W / 40.05°N 86.47°W / 40.05; -86.47