Monroe County, Indiana

History

Monroe County was formed in 1818 from portions of Orange County. It was named for James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, who was serving at the time the county was organized.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 411.32 square miles (1,065.3 km²), of which 394.51 square miles (1,021.8 km²) (or 95.91%) is land and 16.81 square miles (43.5 km²) (or 4.09%) is water.

Bodies of water

Monroe County is divided between the basins of the East Fork and West Fork of Indiana's White River. The southern part of the county drains to the East Fork, primarily via Salt Creek and its tributaries, such as Clear Creek (known as "Jordan River" on Indiana University Bloomington campus). The northern part drains to the West Fork.

Several artificial reservoirs have been constructed by damming the county's creeks. The largest of them is Lake Monroe, a large reservoir on the Salt Creek in the south-eastern part of the county, is used both for recreational purposes and to supply the city with drinking water. Until the late 1960s, the main source of water supply was the smaller Lake Lemon (constructed 1953), in the northeastern part of the county; now it's the backup water source, and is mainly used for recreation.

The third in order of size is Griffy Lake, on the northern slope of the county. Constructed in 1924 by damming Griffy Creek, it was Bloomington's main water source until 1954; now it is now primarily used recreationally, although there are arrangements for it to be used as an emergency water source as well. An even smaller Weimer (Wapehani) Lake in the Clear Creek basin was originally constructed for water supply purposes as well, but now is used purely for recreation (fishing).

A number of former limestone quarries in the county are now naturally filled with water, as featured in the 1979 film Breaking Away.

National protected areas

Natural wonders

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated places

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Bloomington have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 110 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.66 inches (68 mm) in January to 5.12 inches (130 mm) 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.

County Council: The county council is the fiscal body of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. There are four elected members representing districts and three members elected at-large. 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 and legislative body of the county is made of a three-member board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. The president of the board of commissioners is the principle executive officer of the county. The commissioners are charged with setting policy and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Court: The county maintains a unified circuit court with nine divisions and a court commissioner that handles civil cases. Judges are elected to a term of six years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level (appeals court, state supreme court).

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, assessor, and circuit court clerk 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 affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Monroe County is part of Indiana's 9th congressional district and is represented in Congress Republican Todd Young. It is part of Indiana Senate districts 37, 40 and 44; and Indiana House of Representatives districts 46, 60 and 61.

Courthouse

The Monroe County Courthouse is the seat of government for Monroe County and is the traditional center of Bloomington. The third courthouse to stand on the Downtown Square, the current courthouse was built in 1907 during a time of great prosperity. Wing & Mahurin designed the building.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 137,974 people, 54,864 households, and 27,315 families residing in the county. The population density was 349.7 inhabitants per square mile (135.0/km²). There were 59,107 housing units at an average density of 149.8 per square mile (57.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.8% white, 5.2% Asian, 3.3% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 1.0% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.8% were German, 13.5% were Irish, 11.8% were English, and 8.1% were American.

Of the 54,864 households, 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 50.2% were non-families, and 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 27.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $60,845. Males had a median income of $43,439 versus $33,547 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,882. About 10.6% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Major highways

Form many years Monroe County was one of the most populous counties in the USA which did not contain any US highways or Interstate highways. However, in December 2015 the I-69 extension was completed into the county and this distinction disappeared.

Railways

Air transport