Vigo County, Indiana


Vigo County is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. The county is included in the Terre Haute metropolitan area. According to the 2020 United States census, it has a population of 106,153. Its county seat is Terre Haute.
The county contains four incorporated settlements with a total population of nearly 63,000, as well as several unincorporated communities. It is divided into twelve townships which provide local services to the residents.
The county was once regarded as one of the best bellwether regions for voting in U.S. presidential elections; it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1956 to 2016 and in all but three elections since 1888. Until the streak ended in 2020, only one county in the United States, Valencia County, New Mexico, had voted for the winning candidate longer.

History

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. President Thomas Jefferson chose William Henry Harrison as the territory's first governor, and Vincennes was established as the territorial capital. After the Michigan Territory was separated and the Illinois Territory was formed, Indiana was reduced to its current size and geography. 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. These two treaties resolved the occupation issue for the future Vigo County. Whites had been living in the area since 1811, when General Harrison erected a fort north of present-day Terre Haute. After the Indian skirmishes were resolved, settlers arrived in significant numbers beginning 1815.
The area in present-day Vigo County was first placed under local jurisdiction in 1790, when Knox County was created. This all-encompassing county was repeatedly subdivided as its lands were occupied. On December 30, 1816, a portion was partitioned to create Sullivan County, and on January 21, 1818, the northern portion of Sullivan was partitioned off to create Vigo County. The first county commissioners organized the government in 1818, including naming Terre Haute as its seat. The county's borders changed several times; in 1821, part of the county was formed into Parke County, and later that year Putnam County was formed which also affected Vigo's borders. The final change came in 1873 when the present boundaries were defined. The county is named for Colonel Francis Vigo, of Italian heritage but a citizen of Spain due to residence in St. Louis. He is credited with assisting George Rogers Clark, both in financing Clark's exploration and American Revolutionary War efforts, and in service as an agent obtaining military information for Clark against British campaigns on the then frontier.

Geography

To the north of Vigo County, the Wabash River defines the boundary between Vermillion and Parke counties; the river then enters Vigo County and winds to the south-southwest, defining the southern portion of the county's western border with Illinois before continuing south along Sullivan County's western border. Vigo County is thus the southernmost county in Indiana on the right bank of the Wabash. The county's low hills are devoted to agriculture or urban development; only the drainages and river-adjacent areas are still wooded. Its highest point is Sanford Hill, west of Paint Mill Lake, south of Terre Haute.
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Adjacent counties

The year after it was authorized, Vigo County was divided into four townships: Honey Creek Wabash, Harrison, and Independence. Prairie Creek Township was formed later that year. Otter Creek, Raccoon, and Sugar Creek townships were created in 1820, and Independence Township was renamed as Paris Township. Raccoon and Wabash townships became part of Parke County when it was partitioned from Vigo County in 1821. Nevins and Riley townships were formed in 1822. In 1824, Paris Township was renamed again to Fayette Township. Pierson Township was created in 1829; Lost Creek in 1831; Linton in 1841; and Prairieton Township in 1857.
passes through the southern part of Terre Haute from east to west on its way from Indianapolis to Saint Louis, Missouri; U.S. Route 40 roughly parallels Interstate 70 and passes through the middle of the city. Both highways intersect U.S. Route 41, coming from Chicago to the north; U.S. Route 150 enters from Paris, Illinois to the northwest and joins U.S. Route 41 in downtown Terre Haute, and both continue south toward Vincennes and Evansville.
Several CSX Transportation railroad lines meet in Terre Haute; one enters from the north, another from the Indianapolis area, and another from Vincennes; and two others enter from Illinois. An Indiana Rail Road line runs southeast from Terre Haute toward Bedford.

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in the county:
The public schools in the county are part of the Vigo County School Corporation. All parts of the county are in this school district. During the 2009–10 school year, the schools served a total of 16,014 students.
Vigo County is served by the Vigo County Public Library.
Colleges in Vigo County include Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. For a fuller list, see the List of schools in metropolitan Terre Haute.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Terre Haute have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in September 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code. The county council is the fiscal body of the county government and controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives, elected to four-year terms from county districts, 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.
A board of commissioners is the executive and legislative body of the county. Commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute the acts of the county council, and manage the county government.
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.
The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. These officers are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Politics

The county was regarded as one of the best bellwether regions in U.S. presidential elections. Between 1888 and 2016, it voted for the winning candidate in every election in all but two instances: 1908 and 1952. In 2020, its bellwether status came to an end when national winner Joe Biden lost the county by nearly 15 points to Donald Trump.
Obama carried Vigo County, home to Terre Haute, and at the time a noted bellwether; before 2020, it had voted for the winner of every presidential election all but twice since 1892. After 2012, political realignment and shift of white working-class voters to Trump, exodus of young people to cities and the rightward turn of exurban areas accelerated by the Trump era have made Vigo County generally uncompetitive to the present day.
The results in the county have often mirrored the nationwide popular vote. In every presidential election from 1960 to 2004, the county voted less than five percentage points from the national result. In 2024, Donald Trump received 58 percent of the vote, which was the best result for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984, who received 58.4 percent of the vote.
Vigo is part of Indiana's 8th congressional district, which is held by Republican Mark Messmer.