Bartholomew

Formed January 8, 1821 (36^th county)

Bartholomew County (82,218), Columbus (50,498)

The Second Empire French courthouse was built in 1874.  It is on a square at Washington, 2^nd, Jackson, and 3^rd streets.  Indiana State Highway 7 is 2^nd Street in Columbus.  Isaac Hodgson is the building designer in red brick.  A County Administration building was built in 1968 and converted for county use in 1978.  The courthouse has a clock tower.  The county was established on January 8, 1821 as the 36^th county and named for Battle of Tippecanoe hero Joseph Bartholomew.  The county was taken from Jackson County and Native American Territory.  The county seat is presumably named for explorer Christopher Columbus and has been the only county seat.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Whitley County.  Bartholomew County was the birthplace of 1 Indiana Governor, Michael R. Pence. 

Bartholomew County government consists of a sheriff, an auditor, a clerk, a coroner, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  A Circuit Court Judge, a Superior Court Judge, and a prosecutor serve Bartholomew County (judicial.) The county is in south central Indiana.  Indianapolis, Indiana is northwest and Louisville, Kentucky is southeast of the county.  The county center is in Columbus 2.1 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Shelby, Decatur, Jennings, Jackson, Brown, and Johnson counties. 

The area of the county is 407 square miles.  It is 37 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 19 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 202.0 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 92 in the state.  Bartholomew County has 65.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 65 crosses north to south through the county from Shelby County to Jackson County.  United States Highway 31 parallels Interstate Highway 65 from Johnson County to Jackson County.  The county is shaped like the number 7 standing on its head.  Columbus is located in the western third of the county.  Columbus is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 61.4% of the county population.  The county is pronounced BAR-THOL-OE-MUE.  This county is in the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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