Fayette

Formed January 29, 1818 (28^th county)

Fayette County (23,404), Connersville (13,345)

The clock tower stands out on the 1890 dark red brick courthouse.  It is at Central and Court streets on a city square.  Indiana State Highway 44 is one block east of the site.  W. F. Kaufman provided the Richardsonian Romanesque designs.  The courthouse has additions to the original design.  Towers adorn the structure.  Fayette County was established on January 29, 1818 as the 28^th county and named for Revolutionary War hero Marquis de la Fayette.  He is also the namesake for the county seat of Tippecanoe County.  The county seat is named for founder John Conner.  Connersville has always been the county seat.  The county was taken from parts of Franklin and Wayne counties and Native American Territory. 

Fayette 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 Fayette County (judicial.) The Whitewater River flows through the county.  The county’s shape looks like the State of Utah.  Connersville is in the center of the county although part of it extends northward to the county border.  Connersville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 57.0% of the county population.  The county center is 4.9 miles South of Connersville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wayne, Union, Franklin, Rush, and Henry counties. 

The area of the county is 215 square miles.  It is 87 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 65 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 108.9 persons per square mile making it 35 out of 92 in the state.  Fayette County has 57.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  This county is in the Connersville Micropolitan Statistical Area.