Martin County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 9,812.2020 census The county seat is Shoals at the center of the county, and the county's only incorporated city is Loogootee, on the county's western border.

History The Indiana Territory achieved statehood near the end of 1816. Shortly thereafter, the new state legislature created Dubois (December 1817) and Daviess (February 1818) counties. Due to the inflow of settlers into southwest Indiana, and the difficulty of accessing the county seats of those counties, Martin County was partitioned off from parts of those counties, being authorized on January 20, 1820. It was named for Maj. John T. Martin of Newport, Kentucky.

Geography The hills of Martin County are largely wooded and cut with drainages;Martin County IN (Google Maps, accessed 2 August 2020) the available area is devoted to agriculture, development, or is under control of the US government - about a third of the county belongs to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, and about a quarter of the county belongs to Hoosier National Forest. The highest point ( ASL) is in Mitcheltree Township, within NSA Crane.Martin County High Point, Indiana (PeakBagger.com, accessed 2 August 2020)

The East Fork of the White River flows southwestward through the lower part of the county. The central part of the county is drained by Indian Creek, which discharges into White River near the center of the county. The upper part of the county is drained by Boggs Creek, which discharges into White River near the county's western edge.

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 98.63%) is land and (or 1.37%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Greene County - north Lawrence County - east Orange County - southeast Dubois County - south Daviess County - west

Protected areas Hoosier National Forest (part)Map of Hoosier National Forest, showing its NW portion extending into the northeast and southeast parts of Martin County (US Forest Service, accessed 2 August 2020) in northeast and southeast parts of Martin County. Administered by US Forest Service Martin State Forest - in eastern part of Martin County. Administered by Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Lakes Greenwood Lake Seed Tick Lake West Boggs Lake (part)

Highways

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 150 U.S. Route 231 State Road 450 State Road 550 State Road 650

City and towns Crane Loogootee (city) Shoals

Unincorporated communities

Bramble Burns City (census-designated place) Cale Dover Hill (census-designated place) Hindostan Falls Indian Springs Ironton Lacy Mount Olive Mount Pleasant Natchez Padanaram Pleasant Valley Rusk Scenic Hill Shoals Overlook Trinity Springs Whitfield

Townships

Center Halbert Lost River Mitcheltree Perry Rutherford

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Shoals have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.

Government

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

County Council: The legislative branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected to four-year terms from county districts. 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; 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 county government.

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that handles civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. 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. Officers are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Martin County is part of Indiana's 8th congressional district; Indiana Senate district 39;Indiana Senate Districts (accessed 2 August 2020) and Indiana House of Representatives districts 62 and 63.Indiana House Districts (accessed 2 August 2020)

Political Culture

Education School Type Enrollment Mascot Colors IHSAA Class Athletic Conference Loogootee High School Public 325 Lions A Blue Chip Conference Shoals High School Public 223 JugRox A Blue Chip Conference

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Martin County, Indiana – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)10,89810,31610,22510,1259,33599.06%99.49%98.61%97.98%95.14%Black or African American alone (NH)7111610200.06%0.11%0.15%0.10%0.20%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)16141226200.15%0.14%0.12%0.25%0.20%Asian alone (NH)36141529330.33%0.14%0.14%0.28%0.34%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 Census306xx0.03%0.00%0.06%Other race alone (NH)10044110.09%0.00%0.04%0.04%0.11%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census5270295xx0.50%0.68%3.01%Hispanic or Latino (any race)34144270920.31%0.14%0.41%0.68%0.94%Total11,00110,36910,36910,3349,812 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 9,812. The median age was 43.2 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.2% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 0.9% of the population.

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

There were 4,060 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.8% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 4,576 housing units, of which 11.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.8% were owner-occupied and 22.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 10,334 people, 4,216 households, and 2,832 families in the county. The population density was . There were 4,786 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.4% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.8% were German, 19.2% were Irish, 14.9% were English, and 12.7% were American.

Of the 4,216 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.8% were non-families, and 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 41.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $55,017. Males had a median income of $41,411 versus $30,503 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,750. About 8.6% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Martin County, Indiana

References