Parke County, Indiana

Parke County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 17,241. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,166 (450 ). 1,152 km² (445 sq mi) of it is land and 14 km² (5 sq mi) of it (1.18%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

History
Parke County was formed in 1821. It was named for Capt., who commanded a troop of light at the. Parke was a delegate of to the. In 1821, he was for Indiana.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 17,241 people, 6,415 households, and 4,625 families residing in the county. The was 15/km² (39/sq mi). There were 7,539 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (17/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.43%, 2.15% or , 0.25% , 0.18% , 0.02% , 0.23% from , and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were or  of any race. 29.7% were of, 19.2% , 12.1% and 8.9%  ancestry according to.

There were 6,415 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,724, and the median income for a family was $40,656. Males had a median income of $32,578 versus $20,968 for females. The for the county was $16,986. About 9.30% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions and Events
Parke County is known for having many s. It is known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World", having 30 extant covered bridges, one more than the 29 covered bridges in, making it the county with the largest number of covered bridges. Each year, a covered bridge festival is held that attracts many visitors to the county.