Starke County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 23,371. The Starke County Courthouse is located in the county seat of Knox and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History Establishment During the pre-Columbian era, Starke County was home to mound-building cultural groups such as the Hopewell and Mississippians. Many of these mounds were discovered and mapped by early settlers. A 1876 map shows many mounds in Knox and between Eagle Creek and the Yellow River in Washington Township. The mounds were excavated in the 1930s.

Starke County was part of the area established as New France in 1534 during European colonization. LaSalle and his group were the first European explorers in Starke County during their expedition of the Kankakee River in 1679. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Great Britain took control of the land. The United States took control of the land after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783.

Starke County was part of Knox County from the beginning of Indiana's statehood until plotting in 1834. On February 7, 1835, the Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county billJohn W Tyndall & OE Lesh, Standard history of Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana. pp. 284-6 (accessed 9 August 2020) that authorized the creation of 13 counties in northern Indiana, including Starke.The counties are Dekalb, Fulton, Jasper, Jay, Kosciusko, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Stark, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley. Newton County was merged with Jasper County in 1839, and was reauthorized as a separate county in 1859. It was named for Gen. John Stark, who commanded New Hampshire troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 in the American Revolutionary War, and who defeated the British at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Before white settlement, the land that forms modern-day Starke County was inhabited by the Miami and Potawatomi Indian nations. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on the Potawatomi Trail of Death.

When Starke County was established, it included the present LaPorte County townships of Cass, Dewey, Hanna, and Prairie. Residents in this area had to travel some distance east to Lemon's Bridge to cross the Kankakee River to travel south to the center of the county, the future site of the county seat at Knox. Therefore, because they were effectively isolated from the rest of Starke County, residents north of the river petitioned to be annexed to LaPorte county and this was done on January 28, 1842.Brief history of LaPorte county

The county government commenced in 1850. During this time, Starke County began to grow and make community improvements. The first regular election was held in 1852, and three railroads were built through the county within the decade. In 1863, construction began on the second courthouse — located on the same site as the current one. The first metal bridge was installed in 1881 at the Yellow River in Knox, and electricity and telephone service became available in 1895 and 1898, respectively, to the residents of Knox and Hamlet.

Railroads The first railroad in the county was New Albany and Chicago (Monon) Railroad, built through Culvertown (San Pierre) in 1853. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad was built through Davis Station, Hamlet, and Grovertown in 1856. The Cincinnati and Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad was built through English Lake and North Judson in 1857.

On May 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train stopped in San Pierre on its journey from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois.

The Indiana, Illinois and Iowa (NYC) Railroad was built through San Pierre and North Judson in 1881, extended to Knox in 1885, and extended to South Bend in 1894. The New York, Chicago & St. Louis (Nickle Plate) Railroad was built through Brems, Knox, and Ober in 1882. The Chicago and Atlantic (Erie) Railroad was built through Lomax, North Judson, Aldine, Bass Station, and Ora in the 1880s. An Erie spur line was extended to the south end of Bass Lake in 1897.

The Churchill-White Company built Starke County's first grain elevator along the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Railroad in Hamlet in 1899.

The Cincinnati, Richmond, and Muncie (CO) Railroad was built through English Lake and North Judson in 1902.

Flag In October 2016, Starke County unveiled the new county flag after it was presented to the county by Melba Shilling and her son, Brad. Melba presented this flag in memory of her late husband, Jim, who grew up in Starke County and wanted to see it have its own flag. The flag was designed by Jim's then 12-year-old granddaughter, Kaylee Crom.

The flag consist of Starke County imposed over a yellow Indiana with a red, white, and blue background. There are 12 stars to represent the 12 original townships. The nine stars inside the county represent the current nine townships; the three outside represent the three townships lost as a result of the LaPorte County annexation. Text on the flag consists of the county name in red and the establishment year in blue.

Name Despite being named for General John Stark and originally being known and appearing on maps as Stark County when initially created and organized, an e was added to the county's name fairly early in its history. No solid evidence has been found to clearly explain this alteration. Three possible explanations have been advanced - an early scribe had "fancy lettering", including a k with a long tail or flourish that appeared to others as ke, with the new spelling sticking; General Stark himself may have used a similar flourish at the end of his signature; which became a point of confusion to Indiana officials (unlikely, since Stark County, Ohio (1808) and Illinois (1839) both preceded Starke County, Indiana, not to mention numerous other smaller midwestern toponyms spelled "Stark"); or an Indianapolis official's clerical error around 1860.

Geography Starke County consists of low, rolling hills covered with vegetation or brush.Starke County IN (Google Maps - accessed 20 January 2020) Its boundaries include three prominences that rise to above sea level - two adjacent swells northeast of Bass Lake, and a small ridge east-southeast of Bass Lake.Starke County High Point, Indiana (PeakBagger.com, accessed 20 January 2020)

According to the 2010 census, Starke County has a total area of , of which (or 0.98%) are covered by water. The northwestern boundary of Starke County is defined by the Kankakee River; the Yellow River, a tributary of the Kankakee, flows through the central part of the county, past Knox.

From 2014 until 2024, the city of Knox was the geographic center of the Big Ten Conference, according to a 2018 article in fivethirtyeight.com that referred to locations of various NCAA Men's Basketball Conference championships.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Municipalities The municipalities in Starke County, and their populations as of the 2020 Census, are:

Cities and towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships The nine townships of Starke County, with their populations as of the 2020 Census, are:

Education Schools Public schools in Starke County are administered by four different districts: Culver Community Schools Knox Community School Corporation North Judson-San Pierre Schools Oregon-Davis School Corporation

Libraries The Starke County Public Library (SCPL) was founded in Knox in 1852. In 1970, all county libraries except one were incorporated into SCPL. Today there are four branches: Schricker (Knox), Hamlet, Koontz Lake, and San Pierre.

North Judson-Wayne Township Public Library was gifted as a Carnegie Library. This is the only library in the county that is not part of the SCPL system.

Hospitals Northwest Health Starke

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Knox have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

On March 10, 2026, a rare tornado emergency was issued for Knox in Center Township, Starke County for a large and destructive tornado.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana and the Indiana Code.

County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts to four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county, the commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute the acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the functions of the county government.

Court: The judge on the court is elected to a term of six years. The judge is assisted by a magistrate who is appointed by the judge. The court handles criminal and civil cases, and has a small-claims division. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state-level circuit court.

County officials: The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk, elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Starke County is part of Indiana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and is currently represented by Rudy Yakym.

In presidential elections, Starke County was a bellwether county for a time, voting for the winner in every election from 1964 to 2008. Since the Donald Trump era, much like virtually all of Indiana, the county is extremely Republican.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Starke County, Indiana – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)21,65022,19522,68522,21221,39598.42%97.57%96.30%95.07%91.55%Black or African American alone (NH)32725163670.15%0.32%0.22%0.27%0.29%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)42815161600.19%0.36%0.22%0.26%0.26%Asian alone (NH)38314741400.17%0.14%0.20%0.18%0.17%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census604xx0.03%0.00%0.02%Other race alone (NH)7182410.03%0.00%0.03%0.01%0.18%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census194218862xx0.82%0.93%3.69%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2283675147669021.04%1.61%2.18%3.28%3.86%Total21,99722,74723,55623,36323,371 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 23,371. The median age was 43.0 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.1% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.9% of the population.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.