Formed January 12, 1820 (32nd county)
Scott County (24,383), Scottsburg (7,343)
The red brick courthouse was built in 1873, renovated in 1979 and added on in 1996. It is located on a square at McClain Avenue, 1st Street, Wardell Avenue, and Main Street. Indiana State Highway 56 is McClain Avenue in the town. Andrew R. Baty is the designer of this Italianate structure. A small tower sits on top of the structure. The county was created on January 12, 1820 from parts of Clark, Jefferson, Jennings, and Washington counties as the 32nd county. Lexington had the first courthouse built in 1821 and Scottsburg assumed the county seat in 1874. The county is named for Kentucky Governor Charles Scott. The county seat is reported to be named for railroad officer Thomas Scott.
Scott 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 Scott County (judicial.) The county is in southeast Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana is northwest and Louisville, Kentucky is south of the county. The county center is 3.3 miles Northeast of Scottsburg. The county is surrounded clockwise by Jennings, Jefferson, Clark, Washington, and Jackson counties.
The area of the county is 190 square miles. It is 88 out of 92 in the state. It ranks 64 out of 92 in population in the state. It has a density of 128.3 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 92 in the state. Scott County has 46.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 65 crosses the county north to south from Jackson County to Clark County. United States Highway 31 parallels Interstate Highway 65 from Jackson to Clark counties. The county is shaped like a pistol standing on its head. Scottsburg is in the western third of the county. Scottsburg is the county seat and the largest city. It is 30.1% of the county population. This county is in the Scottsburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Austin
Scottsburg
