Tippecanoe County is located in the west-central portion of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
about 22 miles east of the Illinois state line and less than 50 miles from the Chicago and the Indianapolis metro areas. As of the
2010 census, the population was 172,780.
The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
and largest city is
Lafayette.
It was created in 1826 from
Wabash County portion of New Purchase and unorganized territory.
Tippecanoe County was formed March 1, 1826, and named for the
anglicization
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of "Kiteepihkwana", a
Miami people
The Miami ( Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central Indi ...
term meaning "place of the
buffalo fish people." The county is best known for
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
, the 1811
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecum ...
, and the
Tippecanoe County Courthouse
The Tippecanoe County Courthouse is located on the public square in the city of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. The public square is located between the north-south 3rd and 4th Streets and between the east-west Main and Columbia Streets ...
, a structure built in 1881 and included in the National Register of Historic Places.
Tippecanoe County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana,
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
.
History
The history of Tippecanoe County spans six distinct political and cultural periods: Native American lands from at least 8000BC, including the
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, eart ...
, French occupation (part of
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
beginning in the 1670s),
British occupation starting in 1763, part of the United States
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
in 1787, part of
Indiana Territory
The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...
in 1800, and finally part of the State of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
in 1816. The political organization of the county began in 1826 by the act of the Indiana Legislature.
The first European explorers arrived in the 1670s and the first permanent settlement was Fort Ouiatenon by the French established in 1717. Lafayette was platted in 1825 and Purdue University founded in 1869.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.32%) is land and (or 0.68%) is water.
The county's highest point is in the
Lauramie Township.
Adjacent counties
*
White County (north)
*
Carroll County (northeast)
*
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
**Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...
(east)
*
Montgomery County (south)
*
Fountain County (southwest)
*
Warren County (west)
*
Benton County (northwest)
Communities
Cities
*
Lafayette
*
West Lafayette
West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister c ...
(home of Purdue University)
Towns
*
Battle Ground
*
Clarks Hill
*
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
*
Otterbein (east half)
*
Shadeland
*
Romney
Census-designated places
*
Americus
*
Buck Creek (formerly Transitville)
*
Colburn (formerly Chapmanville)
*
Montmorenci (formerly Bringham's Grove)
*
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.
History
The name ...
(formerly Lauramie)
*
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
(formerly Middleton)
Other unincorporated places
*
Ash Grove
*
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
*
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
*
Delp
*
Eastwich
*
Glen Hall
*
Monroe (formerly Huntersville)
*
Octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...
*
Odell
*
Old Halfway
*
Pettit
*
Romney (formerly Columbia)
*
Taylor
Extinct
* Archerville
*
Beeville
*
Chauncey (consolidated into West Lafayette)
*
Corwin
* Columbus
* Cincinnatus
* Clarksburg
* Cleveland
*
Conroe
* Erie
* Florentine
* Fulton (absorbed by Lafayette)
* Gerard
*
Granville (aka Weaton)
*
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
*
Harrisonville
Harrisonville is a town in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,121 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cass
County. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
History
Harrisonville was founded in 1837 u ...
(consolidated into Battle Ground)
*
Kingston (consolidated into West Lafayette)
*
LaGrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[Monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West ...](_blank)
(formerly Cynthyana)
* New Market
*
North Crane
* Oakland (absorbed by Lafayette)
*
Ouiatenon
Ouiatenon ( mia, waayaahtanonki) was a dwelling place of members of the Wea tribe of Native Americans. The name ''Ouiatenon'', also variously given as ''Ouiatanon'', ''Oujatanon'', ''Ouiatano'' or other similar forms, is a French rendering of ...
* Polk-White Corners
*
Prairieville
* Sidney
*
South Raub
* Sugar Grove
* Sunberry
* Texas
* Wheeler's Grove
*
Wyandot
*
Yorktown
Townships
*
Fairfield
*
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Qu ...
*
Lauramie
*
Perry
*
Randolph
*
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...
*
Shelby
*
Tippecanoe
*
Union
*
Wabash
*
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
*
Wayne
*
Wea
Climate and weather
In recent years, temperatures in Lafayette have ranged from an average low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from inches in February to inches in June.
Transportation
Highways
*
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gul ...
*
U.S. Route 52
*
U.S. Route 231
U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida.
One of its most notable landmarks i ...
*
Indiana State Road 25
*
Indiana State Road 26
*
Indiana State Road 28
State Road 28 is an east–west road in central Indiana in the United States that crosses the entire state from east to west, covering a distance of about and passing about to the north of the state capitol of Indianapolis.
Route descriptio ...
*
Indiana State Road 38
State Road 38 in the U.S. State of Indiana serves as a connection between Lafayette in the west and Richmond in the east.
Route description
State Road 38 begins in Lafayette with State Road 25 and U.S. Route 52. There is an interchange with ...
*
Indiana State Road 43
State Road 43 in the U.S. State of Indiana is split into two segments.
Route description Southern section
This winding, two-lane section of State Road 43 connects Indiana State Road 46 in Owen County near McCormick's Creek State Park with India ...
*
Indiana State Road 225
Railroads
Three different railroad lines intersect in Tippecanoe County, all running through the Lafayette area.
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
operates a north–south line;
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
operates a southwest-to-northeast line, and the
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad
The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Company is a Class III railroad serving agricultural communities in east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana.
History
In December 1977, Conrail was set to abandon of their ex-New York Centr ...
operates a daily-service line running from the northwest to the southeast.
The
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
stops at the
Lafayette Station 3 times a week, and is the only provider of passenger rail service to Greater Lafayette.
Airport
The county contains one public-use airport:
Purdue University Airport (LAF) in
West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister cit ...
.
Government
The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the
Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
, and by the
Indiana Code
The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the U.S. state of Indiana. The contents are the codification of all the laws currently in effect within Indiana. With roots going all the way back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana h ...
.
County Council: The county council is the fiscal branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. The county council and the board of commissioners share legislative authority.
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.
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.
[
Court: The county maintains a ]small claims court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...
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.[
County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including ]sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...
, auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...
, treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
, recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...
, and circuit court clerk
A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...
. 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 party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...
affiliations and to be residents of the county.[
]
Politics
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Tippecanoe County was one of 10 (out of 92) Indiana counties to give the majority of its votes to Barack Obama. In the 2008 Presidential election, Tippecanoe County was one of 15 Indiana counties to give the majority of its votes to Obama/Biden. Thanks to the sizable support of Purdue University students, Tippecanoe County played a pivotal role in Barack Obama's upset win in Indiana (49.9%-49.0%; 1,367,264 votes to 1,341,101 votes) by supporting the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama/Joe Biden 55.1%-43.5% over the Republican ticket of John McCain/Sarah Palin.2020 Presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
** ...
, Tippecanoe County also voted for Democrat Joe Biden by a margin of 436 votes, the first time since 2008 the county went for the Democrats.
Historically, Tippecanoe has been somewhat conservative for a county dominated by a college town. While most such counties swung hard to the Democrats in the 1990s Obama's win in 2008 was only the fourth time it went Democratic in a presidential election since 1888.
Tippecanoe County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
, there were 172,780 people, 65,532 households, and 37,003 families residing in the county.German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 13.9% were Irish, 10.8% were English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
, and 6.1% were American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools in rural/suburban Tippecanoe County are administered by the Tippecanoe School Corporation
The Tippecanoe School Corporation administers 18 high schools, middle schools and elementary schools in Tippecanoe County, Indiana:
High schools
* Elston Community Education Cente* McCutcheon High School]* William Henry Harrison High School (West ...
, while those in the cities are under either the Lafayette School Corporation or West Lafayette Community School Corporation. Purdue and Ivy Tech each have campuses at other sites in Indiana.
Libraries
* Tippecanoe County Public Library
* West Lafayette Public LibraryPurdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
br>
* Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary in ...
br>
High Schools
* TSC - Elston Alternative Education Cente
* LCSS - Lafayette Central Catholic Jr/Sr High School
* LSC - Lafayette (city) Jefferson High Schoolbr>
* LSC - Lafayette (city) Oakland High School (Indiana), Oakland High Schoolbr>
* TSC - Lafayette (suburban—south) McCutcheon High School
McCutcheon High School is located in Lafayette, Indiana, located on Old 231 South. The school was established in 1975 with the merger of Wainwright and Southwestern high schools and is named after John T. McCutcheon, who was a political cartoonis ...
br>
* WLCSC - West Lafayette (city) West Lafayette Junior-Senior High Schoolbr>
* TSC - West Lafayette/Lafayette (suburban—north) William Henry Harrison High School (West Lafayette, Indiana), Harrison High Schoolbr>
Middle Schools/Junior High Schools
* Lafayette Sunnyside Middle Schoo
* Lafayette Tecumseh Junior High Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Battle Ground Middle Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) East Tipp Middle Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Klondike Middle Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Southwestern Middle Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Wainwright Middle Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Wea Ridge Middle Schoo
* West Lafayette Junior-Senior High Schoolbr>
Elementary Schools
* Lafayette Edgelea Elementary Schoo
* Lafayette Glen Acres Elementary Schoo
* Lafayette Miami Elementary Schoo
* Lafayette Miller Elementary Schoo
* Lafayette Murdock Elementary Schoo
* Lafayette (charter) New Community Schoo
* Lafayette Vinton Elementary Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Battle Ground Elementary Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Burnett Creek Elementary Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Hershey Elementary Schoo
* TSC (Harrison) Klondike Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Dayton Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) James Cole Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Mayflower Mill Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Mintonye Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Wea Ridge Elementary Schoo
* TSC (McCutcheon) Woodland Elementary Schoo
* TSC (Harrison/McCutcheon) Wyandotte Elementary Schoo
* West Lafayette Cumberland Elementary Schoo
Private Schools
* Apostolic Christian Academy
* Concord School
* Faith Christian School
* First Assembly Christian Academy
* Highland Christian School k-8
* Lafayette Catholic School
k-12
* Lafayette Christian Schoo
k-8
* Lafayette Faith Baptis
* Lighthouse Baptist Christian Academy
* Pleasantview Christian School
* St Boniface 4-6
* St James Lutheran k-8
* St Mary Cathedral Elementary K-3
Economy
Much of the economy of Tippecanoe County is centered in its two largest communities: Lafayette and West Lafayette
West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister c ...
. Purdue University is by far the largest employer in the county, but private industry and commerce independent of the university also employ many others. Major employers include Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., Subaru-Indiana Automotive, Wabash National
Wabash National is an American diversified industrial manufacturing company and North America's largest producer of semi trailers and liquid transportation systems. The company specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans, refriger ...
, Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
, Fairfield Manufacturing, Franciscan Health Lafayette, Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primar ...
, State Farm
State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois.
Overview
State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...
, and IUHealth Arnett.
Notable people
* Jesse Lloyd
See also
* List of public art in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Tippecanoe County official website
Tippecanoe County Public Library
Tippecanoe County Historical Association
Lafayette Online
Lafayette - West Lafayette Convention and Visitors Bureau
GIS (Geographic Information System) for Tippecanoe County
Lafayette Ski Club
{{Authority control
Indiana counties
Indiana placenames of Native American origin
1826 establishments in Indiana
Populated places established in 1826
Lafayette metropolitan area, Indiana