Gibson County, Indiana

Gibson County is a located at the  part of the  of. As of 2000, the population was 32,500. Gibson County's Alphanumeric County Number is 26. The is.

History
The first white settler of Gibson County was John Severns. He was a native of Wales and came with his parents to America several years before the Revolutionary War. He settled in Gibson County in 1789-90 on the south bank of the Patoka river at a place now known as Severns bridge. One of the first settlers of Gibson County was William Hargrove, who came from by pack mule in 1803. Capt. William Hargrove commanded a company of militia from Gibson County at the in 1811.

The Rev. Joseph Milburn, along with his son, Robert Milburn, also arrived in 1803. They settled near, between the and. The Milburns were from around. Rev. Milburn, a Baptist, established the first church, while his son, Robert, established the first distillery in Indiana.

In 1805, arrived, along with his father-in-law, Thomas Montgomery. They burned out the last village in 1807, chasing the inhabitants into the. Capt. Jacob Warrick was killed at the in 1811.

Gibson County was organized in 1813 out of. The County was named for, an officer in the and the. Gibson was Secretary of the, serving as acting Governor on two occasions. was organized out of Gibson County almost a month later, the two counties separated by Rector's Base Line. When organized on April 1, 1813, Gibson County occupied everything from the Paoli Base Line to the Wabash River and from the White River to the Ohio River. Rector's Base Line separated the southern half of the county to form which was organized on April 30, 1813. Warrick, Perry, Spencer, Posey, Pike, Dubois, Crawford, and Vanderburgh Counties all came from the roughly 2000-square-mile area occupied the the original Gibson County.

There is debate on the location of the original county seat. contends that it was the only county seat, while county records may indicate that was the first county seat, as the town was laid out with the express purpose of being a county seat.

Late 2004 Snowstorm
In the Holiday Season of 2004, a crippling snowstorm struck. The event was well forecasted, but was not forecasted to be as heavy. The storm dumped over twice the usual annual snowfall in only three days. The total accumulations from this storm were appromately 20 in Gibson County. This resulted in a very chaotic situation as towns were literally cut off form one another and even basic public services were unable to function. The snowstorm was so intense that was closed down. The was dispatched and many local farmers who knew the area and had vehicles that were not hampered by the snow were also recruited to assist in emergency services for the stranded motorists. This snow storm was so intense that it apparently snowed in.

Flood of Early January 2005
The snowstorm ended just about as fast as it started. By the end of December, 2004, temperatures were above 50 to 60 degrees and the snow that fell began to melt very quickly. The at Hazelton got as high as 31 feet (almost high enough to overtake US 41), while the  at  got as high as 33.95 feet. Extreme flooding occurred throughout the county and hundreds of local high school students from many counties assisted the in shoring up levees and sandbagging towns. Hazelton was evacuated because its levee was showing signs of fatigue. The effort given by those who participated was enough to for all of the levees to hold. By the end of January, 2005 the rivers had receeded enough to allow people to return to their homes. Overall, over 100 homes were lost in the flood, considered the second-worst flood in the area's history after the Flood of 1913.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 32,500 people, 12,847 households, and 9,095 families residing in the county. The was 26/km² (66/sq mi). There were 14,125 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (29/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.46%, 1.91% or , 0.19% , 0.52% , 0.22% from , and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were or  of any race. 35.4% were of, 21.9% , 11.9% and 10.2%  ancestry according to.

There were 12,847 households out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,515, and the median income for a family was $44,839. Males had a median income of $35,511 versus $21,284 for females. The for the county was $18,169. About 6.60% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over.

County roads
Gibson County has over 1,700 miles of county roads, one of the largest amount of county-maintained roads outside of an urban county. Like most Indiana counties, Gibson County uses the to identify its roads. (a north-south road) and (an east-west road) are near the meridian and division lines for the county, respectively.

Major highways
In addition to its county roads, Gibson County is intersected by these highways:

*(Construction is set to begin in the Spring of 2008, adding 25 extra miles and a second Interstate Highway to Gibson County.)

Railroads
Two railroad lines pass through the county: a north-south line operated by, and an east-west line operated by. They intersect in Princeton.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,326 (526 ). 1,266 km² (489 sq mi) of it is land and 27 km² (10 sq mi) of it (2.06%) is water.

Cities and towns
are in parentheses.
 * (47647)
 * (47648)
 * (47649)
 * (47639)
 * (47640)
 * (47654)
 * (47670)
 * (47660)
 * (47665)
 * (47666)
 * (47670)
 * (47683)



Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south central)
 * (south southwest)
 * (southwest)
 * (at a single point)
 * (west)

Gibson County's three municipal school districts
 - Oakland City :
 * - Oakland City
 * Oakland City Elementary School - Oakland City
 * Francisco Elementary School - Francisco
 * Barton Township School - Mackey

 - Princeton :


 * - Princeton
 * Princeton Community Middle School - Princeton
 * Lowell Elementary School - Princeton
 * Brumfield Elementary School - Princeton

 - Fort Branch :
 * - Fort Branch
 * Fort Branch Community School (K-8) - Fort Branch


 * Haubstadt Community School (K-8) - Haubstadt
 * Owensville Community School (K-8) - Owensville

Higher education

 * - Oakland City, Private university
 * Workforce Training Center - Princeton Branch

Businesses
Industry
 * ,Owensville across IN-64 from East Mount Carmel
 * , Princeton (located almost exactly halfway between Princeton and Fort Branch)
 * , Princeton (located on the south side)

Broadcast media
 * TV 06   - Operated by.
 * FM 98.1  - Princeton   - Country Music
 * FM 101.5  - Fort Branch - Religious Music/Talk
 * AM 1250  - Princeton   - News/Talk

Newspapers
 * Gibson County Today    - Princeton
 * - Princeton
 * - Oakland City
 * - Owensville + Fort Branch
 * South Gibson Bullitin  - Owensville + Fort Branch