Wells

Formed February 7, 1837 (86^th county)

Wells County (28,187), Bluffton (10,319)

The clock tower stands out on the stone Romanesque courthouse built in 1891.  There was an 1845 courthouse also in Bluffton.  The facility is at Market and Main streets.  Indiana State Highway 1 is Main Street in town.  George W. Bunting is the facility architect.  There is a canon on the grounds.  Wells County was established on February 7, 1837 from Native American Territory as the 86^th county with Bluffton as the only county seat.  It is named for War of 1812 hero William Wells.  The county seat name comes from its geographical location on the bluffs of the river. 

Wells 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, Two Superior Court Judges, and a prosecutor serve Wells County (judicial.) The county is in the northeast directly south of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The Wabash River flows through the county.  The county center is 2 miles West-Northwest of Bluffton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Allen, Adams, Jay, Blackford, Grant, and Huntington counties. 

The area of the county is 368 square miles.  It is 66 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 56 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 76.6 persons per square mile making it 50 out of 92 in the state.  Wells County has 53.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 69 clips the northwest corner from Allen County, north, to Huntington County, west.  United States Highway 224 goes east to west from Adams County to Huntington County.  The county looks like a capital letter J.  Bluffton is in the eastern third of the county.  Bluffton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 36.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Zanesville