Formed February 1, 1816 (15th county)
Orange County (19,872), Paoli (3,661)
The white brick columned courthouse was constructed in 1850. It was enlarged in 1855 and 1881. It is located in the city square where Main and Gospel streets meet. Main Street is United States Highway 150. Pattern Book is the listed architect for this Greek Revival building. The structure was restored in 1971 following a fire and renovated in 1994 and 2009. An Annex was built in 1983. The county was established on February 1, 1816 out of Knox, Gibson, and Washington counties as the 15th county. Paoli has always been the county seat. The county is named for Orange County, North Carolina. The county seat is named for Pasquale Paoli, leader of the Corsican revolution.
Orange 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 Orange County (judicial.) The county is in south central Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana is north and Evansville, Indiana is southwest of the county. The county center is 2.2 miles West-Southwest of Paoli. The county is surrounded clockwise by Lawrence, Washington, Crawford, Dubois, and Martin counties.
The area of the county is 398 square miles. It is 45 out of 92 in the state. It ranks 73 out of 92 in population in the state. It has a density of 49.9 persons per square mile making it 76 out of 92 in the state. Orange County has 40.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 150 crosses the county northwest to southeast from Martin County to Washington County. The county is a square with Paoli being located at or near the county’s center. Paoli is the county seat and the largest city. It is 18.4% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced PAE-OE-LEE.
French Lick
Orleans
Paoli
West Baden Springs
