Tippecanoe

Formed January 20, 1826 (54^th county)

Tippecanoe County (186,249), Lafayette (70,790)

The courthouse is made of masonry and stone.  It was constructed in 1882 to replace the 1845 building.  It is located on a square at 3^rd, Columbia, 4^th, and Main streets.  United States Highway 231 is 4^th Street.  Elias Max and James F. Alexander provided the building designs.  The building is a combination of Victoria, Baroque, Gothic, Georgian, Beaux Arts, and Second Empire styles.  The building features a center tower and corner towers as well as chandeliers inside.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The courthouse was under renovation in 2017.  The county was established on January 20, 1826 from Native American Territory as the 54^th county with Lafayette as the only county seat.  It is named for the Native American phrase “place of the fish people.”  The county seat is named for Revolutionary War hero Marquis de la Fayette.  He is also the namesake of Fayette County.  Tippecanoe County was the birthplace of 1 Indiana Governor, Harry G. Leslie. 

The area of the county is 500 square miles.  It is 11 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 7 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 372.5 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 92 in the state.  Tippecanoe County has 65.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 65 crosses the county north to southeast from White County to Clinton County.  United States Highway 52 goes northwest to southeast from White County to Clinton County.  United States Highway 231 enters from the north, White County, and exits to the south, Montgomery County.  The county is a rectangle.  Lafayette is located in the center of the county.  The Wabash River flows through the county. 

Tippecanoe 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, Six Superior Court Judges, and a prosecutor serve Tippecanoe County (judicial.) Tippecanoe County is in the northwest part of the state.  Indianapolis, Indiana is southeast and Gary, Indiana is northwest of the county.  The county center is in Lafayette .7 miles South-Southwest of the city center.  Lafayette is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.0% of the county population.  The county is surrounded clockwise by White, Carroll, Clinton, Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, and Benton counties.  The county is pronounced TIP-E-KA-NOO.  This county is in the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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