Wabash County, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wabash County
U.S. county
Wabash County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	Jan., 1820; organized 1835
Named for	Wabash River
Seat	Wabash
Largest city	Wabash
Area
• Total	420.98 sq mi (1,090.3 km2)
• Land	412.43 sq mi (1,068.2 km2)
• Water	8.54 sq mi (22.1 km2)  2.03%%
Population
• Estimate  (2018)	31,280
• Density	85/sq mi (33/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Indiana county number 85

Wabash County is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,888. The county seat is Wabash.

History

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples. French explorers and traders encountered the historical Miami Native Americans beginning in the 17th century.

Wabash County was established in 1835, when settlement increased after the American Revolution. They named it after the Wabash River. The name "Wabash" is an English spelling of the earlier French name for the river, Ouabache. French traders derived the French version from the Indian name for the river, Wabashike (pronounced "Wah-bah-she-keh") (meaning "pure white".) Much of the river bottom is white limestone, now obscured by mud.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 420.98 square miles (1,090.3 km²), of which 412.43 square miles (1,068.2 km²) (or 97.97%) is land and 8.54 square miles (22.1 km²) (or 2.03%) is water.

North Manchester from the air looking northeast.

Adjacent counties

• Kosciusko County (north)
• Whitley County (northeast)
• Huntington County (east)
• Grant County (south)
• Miami County (west)
• Fulton County (northwest)

Cities

• Wabash

Towns

• La Fontaine
• Lagro
• North Manchester
• Roann

Census-designated places

• Laketon
• Somerset

Other unincorporated places

Extinct

• Dora

Townships

Major highways

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Wabash have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 83 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.89 inches (48 mm) in February to 4.23 inches (107 mm) in June.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,888 people, 12,777 households, and 8,733 families residing in the county. The population density was 79.7 inhabitants per square mile (30.8/km²). There were 14,171 housing units at an average density of 34.4 per square mile (13.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.3% were German, 18.1% were American, 10.1% were English, and 10.0% were Irish.

Of the 12,777 households, 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $52,758. Males had a median income of $41,965 versus $26,944 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,475. About 8.8% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Wabash (Indiana) para niños