Starke County, Indiana

Starke County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 23,371. The Starke County Courthouse is located in the county seat of Knox and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Establishment

During the pre-Colombian era, Starke County was home to mound-building cultural groups such as the Hopewell and Mississippians. Many of these mounds were discovered and mapped by early settlers. A 1876 map shows many mounds in Knox and between Eagle Creek and the Yellow River in Washington Township. The mounds were excavated in the 1930s.

Starke County was part of the area established as New France in 1534 during European colonization. LaSalle and his group were the first European explorers in Starke County during their expedition of the Kankakee River in 1679. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Great Britain took control of the land. The United States took control of the land after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783.

Starke County was part of Knox County from the beginning of Indiana's statehood until plotting in 1834. On February 7, 1835, the Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county bill that authorized the creation of 13 counties in northern Indiana, including Starke. It was named for Gen. John Stark, who commanded New Hampshire troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 in the American Revolutionary War, and who defeated the British at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Before white settlement, the land that forms modern-day Starke County was inhabited by the Miami and Potawatomi Indian nations. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on the Potawatomi Trail of Death.

When Starke County was established, it included the present LaPorte County townships of Cass, Dewey, Hanna, and Prairie. Residents in this area had to travel some distance east to Lemon's Bridge to cross the Kankakee 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.

The county government commenced in 1850. During this time, Starke County began to grow and make community improvements. The first regular election was held in 1852, and three railroads were built through the county within the decade. In 1863, construction began on the second courthouse — located on the same site as the current one. The first metal bridge was installed in 1881 at the Yellow River in Knox, and electricity and telephone service became available in 1895 and 1898, respectively, to the residents of Knox and Hamlet.

Railroads

The first railroad in the county was New Albany and Chicago (Monon) Railroad, built through Culvertown (San Pierre) in 1853. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad was built through Davis Station, Hamlet, and Grovertown in 1856. The Cincinnati and Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad was built through English Lake and North Judson in 1857.

On May 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train stopped in San Pierre on its journey from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois.

The Indiana, Illinois and Iowa (NYC) Railroad was built through San Pierre and North Judson in 1881, extended to Knox in 1885, and extended to South Bend in 1894. The New York, Chicago & St. Louis (Nickle Plate) Railroad was built through Brems, Knox, and Ober in 1882. The Chicago and Atlantic (Erie) Railroad was built through Lomax, North Judson, Aldine, Bass Station, and Ora in the 1880s. An Erie spur line was extended to the south end of Bass Lake in 1897.

The Churchill-White Company built Starke County’s first grain elevator along the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Railroad in Hamlet in 1899.

The Cincinnati, Richmond, and Muncie (CO) Railroad was built through English Lake and North Judson in 1902.

Name

Despite being named for General John Stark and originally being known and appearing on maps as Stark County when initially created and organized, an e 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 a k with a long tail or flourish that appeared to others as ke, with the new spelling sticking; General Stark himself may have used a similar flourish at the end of his signature; 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 an Indianapolis official's clerical error around 1860.

Geography

Starke County consists of low, rolling hills covered with vegetation or brush. 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.

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. The northwestern boundary of Starke County is defined by the Kankakee River; the Yellow River, a tributary of the Kankakee, flows through the central part of the county, past Knox.

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.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 30
• U.S. Route 35
• U.S. Route 421
• State Road 8
• State Road 10
• State Road 23
• State Road 39

Adjacent counties

• Fulton County - southeast
• Jasper County - west
• LaPorte County - north
• Marshall County - east
• Porter County - northwest
• Pulaski County - south
• St. Joseph County - northeast

Municipalities

The municipalities in Starke County, and their populations as of the 2020 Census, are:

Cities and towns

• Hamlet – 773
• Knox – 3,662
• North Judson – 1,857

Census-designated places

• Bass Lake – 1,384
• Koontz Lake – 1,667
• San Pierre – 153

Unincorporated communities

• Aldine
• Bass Station
• Brems
• English Lake
• Grovertown
• Indian Hill
• Hartz Lake
• Lena Park
• Lomax
• Oak Grove
• Ober
• Ora
• Toto
• Winona

Townships

The nine townships of Starke County, with their populations as of the 2020 Census, are:

• California – 2,165
• Center – 6,131
• Davis – 1,002
• Jackson – 585
• North Bend – 1,504
• Oregon – 3,220
• Railroad – 1,211
• Washington – 2,944
• Wayne – 4,609

Education

Schools

Public schools in Starke County are administered by four different districts:

• Culver Community Schools
• Knox Community School Corporation
• North Judson-San Pierre Schools
• Oregon-Davis School Corporation

Libraries

The Starke County Public Library (SCPL) was founded in Knox in 1852. In 1970, all county libraries except one were incorporated into SCPL. Today there are four branches: Schricker (Knox), Hamlet, Koontz Lake, and San Pierre.

North Judson-Wayne Township Public Library was gifted as a Carnegie Library. This is the only library in the county that is not part of the SCPL system.

Hospitals

• Northwest Health Starke

Climate and weather

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.

On March 10, 2026, a rare tornado emergency was issued for Knox in Center Township, Starke County for a large and destructive tornado.

Government

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

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.

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-level circuit court.

County officials: The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk, elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Starke County is part of Indiana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and is currently represented by Rudy Yakym.

In presidential elections, Starke County was a bellwether county for a time, voting for the winner in every election from 1964 to 2008. Since the Donald Trump era, much like virtually all of Indiana, the county is extremely Republican.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 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.

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 and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.9% of the population.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

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.

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%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, 23,363 people, 9,038 households, and 6,484 families lived in the county. 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). 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. In terms of ancestry, 27.2% were German, 16.3% were Irish, 8.9% were English, 8.7% were American, and 6.9% were Polish.

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.

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 the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under 18 and 7.0% of those 65 or over.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Starke County, Indiana

External links