Delaware

Formed January 26, 1827 (56^th county)

Delaware (111,909), Muncie (65,197)

A Modern style governmental white concrete building was constructed in 1969.  It is at Main and Walnut streets.  Main Street is Indiana State Highway 32 westbound in the city.  Hamilton, Graham Associates and George W. Cox combined on the designs.  A Judicial Center augments the courthouse.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  There was an 1887 courthouse also in Muncie, the only county seat.  Delaware County was formed on January 26, 1827 as the 56^th county and named for the Native American tribe.  The county was taken from Native American Territory.  Settlers named the county seat location Munsee Town, Native American for “a member of the Lenape Native American people,” which morphed into Muncie. 

Delaware County government consists of a sheriff, an auditor, a clerk, a coroner, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  Five Circuit Court Judge and a prosecutor serve Delaware County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Indiana.  Indianapolis, Indiana is southwest and Fort Wayne, Indiana is north of the county.  The county center is 5 miles North of Muncie.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Blackford, Jay, Randolph, Henry, Madison, and Grant counties. 

The area of the county is 392 square miles.  It is 51 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 16 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 285.5 persons per square mile making it 17 out of 92 in the state.  Delaware County has 74.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 69 crosses the western part of the county north to south from Grant County to Madison County.  United States Highway 35 is joined with Interstate Highway 69 from Grant County, splits, and goes southeast into Henry County.  The county is a rectangle.  Muncie is slightly south and east of the county center.  Muncie is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 58.3% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced MUN-SEE.  This county is in the Muncie Metropolitan Statistical Area.