Allen County, Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allen County is the largest county (by area) located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2004, the population was 342,168. The county seat is Fort Wayne⁶.

[edit] History

Allen County was formed April 1, 1824. The county is named for Col. John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812. Fort Wayne was chosen as the county seat in May 1824.

[edit] Government

The executive and legislative power are vested in the Board of Commissioners. Linda Bloom, F. Nelson Peters and Bill Brown.

Kenneth C. Fries is the Sheriff of Allen County. He began his initial term on January 1, 2007. David Gladieux serves as Chief Deputy Sheriff.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Geographical features

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 660 square miles (1,710 km²), of which, 657 square miles (1,702 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.43%) is water. It is the largest county in Indiana, land-wise, but ranks as a 'small county' in comparison with the western states.

[edit] Major highways

• Interstate 69
• Interstate 469 (Ronald Reagan Expressway)
• U.S. Route 24
• U.S. Route 27
• U.S. Route 30
• U.S. Route 33
• Indiana State Road 1
• Indiana State Road 3
• Indiana State Road 14
• Indiana State Road 37

[edit] Railroads

• Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad
• CSX Transportation
• Maumee and Western Railroad
• Norfolk Southern Railway

[edit] Parks

The Allen County Parks Department [1] operates several parks serving the Fort Wayne community. The largest are:

• Fox Island County Park [2]
• Metea Park [3]
• Cook's Landing County Park
• Payton County Park

[edit] Adjacent counties

• Noble County (northwest)
• DeKalb County (northeast)
• Defiance County, Ohio (northeast)
• Paulding County, Ohio (east)
• Van Wert County, Ohio (southeast)
• Adams County (southeast)
• Wells County (southwest)
• Huntington County (southwest)
• Whitley County (west)

Allen County, Indiana, is one of the few counties in the United States to border as many as nine counties. Indiana actually has two such counties, with nearby Grant County also bordering nine others. Allen and Grant Counties share Huntington and Wells Counties as common neighbors.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 331,849 people, 128,745 households, and 86,259 families residing in the county. The population density was 505 people per square mile (195/km²). There were 138,905 housing units at an average density of 211 per square mile (82/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.08% White, 11.31% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.02% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 4.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.3% were of German, 10.3% American, 7.4% Irish and 6.9% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 128,745 households out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 27.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.70% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,671, and the median income for a family was $52,708. Males had a median income of $39,202 versus $25,980 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,544. About 6.70% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

[edit] Incorporated

[edit] Unincorporated

[edit] Extinct

[edit] Townships

[edit] External links

• Allen County official website
• Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
• Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society and Museum
• ARCH, Inc. - Allen County historic architecture preservation group
• Allen County history
• Plan-it Allen

[edit] References

• Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8. 

Coordinates: 41°05′N 85°04′W / 41.09, -85.06de:Allen County (Indiana) bpy:অ্যলেন কাউন্টি, ইন্ডিয়ানা la:Comitatus Allensis Indianensis nl:Allen County (Indiana) ja:アレン郡 (インディアナ州) no:Allen County i Indiana nds:Allen County (Indiana) pt:Condado de Allen (Indiana) sv:Allen County, Indiana zh:艾倫縣 (印地安納州)