Benton

Formed February 18, 1840 (88^th county)

Benton County (8,720), Fowler (2,337)                

The Second Empire French courthouse looks like a historic house.  It was built in 1874 and later added to.  The county was organized on February 18, 1840 as the 88^th county with Oxford as the county seat where an 1855 courthouse was built.  The county seat moved to Fowler in 1874.  The county was taken from Jasper County.  The building is located at 5^th, Lincoln, 6^th and Grant streets.  United States Highway 52 is six blocks west of the site.  The red brick and stone building was designed by Gordon P. Randall.  The grounds feature a liberty bell replica and veteran memorials.  The county is named for Missouri Senator Thomas H. Benton.  The county seat is named for city founder Moses Fowler. 

Benton 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 and a prosecutor serve Benton County (judicial.) The county is in northwest Indiana.  Gary, Indiana is north and Indianapolis, Indiana is southeast of the county.  The county center is 2.8 miles South of Fowler.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jasper, White, Tippecanoe, and Warren counties and Illinois and Newton County. 

The area of the county is 406 square miles.  It is 39 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 89 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 21.5 persons per square mile making it 92 out of 92 in the state.  Benton County has 65.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 41 crosses the county north to south from Newton County to Warren County.  United States Highway 52 enters joined with United States Highway 41 from the north, Newton County, splits and exits southeast, Tippecanoe County.  The county is a rectangle with Fowler located slightly north and west of center.  Fowler is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 26.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.