Jennings

Formed December 27, 1816 (17^th county)

Jennings County (27,614), Vernon (236), North Vernon (6,613)

A multi-colored red brick Italianate courthouse was built in 1857 and restored in 1986.  It is located at Pike and State streets.  Indiana State Highway 7 is State Street in the town.  Isaac Hodgson is the designer of the towered courthouse.  A County Administration building was added in 1999.  The county was formed on December 27, 1816 from parts of Jackson and Jefferson counties as the 17^th county with Vernon as the only county seat.  It is named for Governor Jonathan Jennings.  The county seat is named for Mount Vernon, President Washington’s estate.  The county seat of Posey County is also named for his estate.  Jennings County was the birthplace of 1 Indiana Governor, Edgar D. Whitcomb. 

Jennings 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 Jennings County (judicial.) The county is in southeast Indiana.  Indianapolis, Indiana is northwest and Louisville, Kentucky is southwest of the county.  The county center is 1.7 miles Northwest of Vernon in North Vernon.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Decatur, Ripley, Jefferson, Scott, Jackson, and Bartholomew counties. 

The area of the county is 377 square miles.  It is 60 out of 92 in the state.   It ranks 58 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 73.2 persons per square mile making it 57 out of 92 in the state.  Jennings County has 24.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 50 crosses the county east to west from Ripley County to Jackson County.  The county is shaped like a wing.  Vernon is located near the geographical county center.  North Vernon is located northwest of Vernon.  Vernon is the county seat and North Vernon is the largest city.  Vernon is 0.9% of the county population while North Vernon is 24.0% of the county population.  This county is in the North Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.