Gibson County, Indiana

 county, region, draw only border

Pictures (from Left to Right)

Gibson County - April 1, 1813 with all the present counties within that area
Gibson County Courthouse, Princeton, IN - Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Added on September 27, 1984
Gibson County Township Map
Gibson County School Corporation Map
2008 issued Gibson County, IN Licence Plate. Only indication that it is issued in Gibson County is the "26 Gibson Sticker at the top. "Indiana" appears at the bottom.

Gibson County
- Websites
- Basic Information
- Media
- History
- Education
- Industry
- Tourism
- Useless Tidbits

Gibson County, IN Website Links:
Tourism: www.gibsoncountyin.org/
Government: www.in.gov/mylocal/gibson_county.htm
Sheriffs Dept.: www.gibsoncountysheriff.com/
Animal Services: www.gcasonline.org/
Red Cross: www.gibsoncountyredcross.org/
Theatre Troupe: www.gibsoncountytheatre.org/
Area Rehabilitation Center: www.gcarc.org/

Gibson County basic information:

County Population (2005): 39,626
County Seat (2005): Princeton (11,826)

County Size mi(km):
Total: 564 (1,388)
Land: 526 (1,320)
Water: 42 (86)

Formed: April 1, 1813
Parent County: Knox
Time Zone: CENTRAL
Status: Small Urban/Sub-Rural/Suburban County
Metro Area: Evansville (Metro Population: 505,756)

Townships (Town):

Barton (Somerville)
Center (Francisco)
Columbia (Oakland City)
Johnson (Haubstadt)
Montgomery (Owensville)
Patoka (Princeton)
Union (Fort Branch)
Wabash (none)
Washington (none)
White River (Hazelton + Patoka)

Towns (2005):

Princeton (11,826)
Fort Branch (4,515)
Oakland City (3,055)
Owensville (2,207)
Haubstadt (2,012)
Francisco (989)
Hazelton (665)
Patoka (557)
Somerville (377)
Johnson (327)
Warrenton (202)
Mackey (82)
East Mt. Carmel (79)
Lyle's Station (45)
St. James (42)

Gibson County, IN Media:

Radio Stations:
98.1 WRAY Princeton, IN
100.5 WSJD Princeton, IN - Mount Carmel, IL
101.5 WBGW Fort Branch, IN

Television Stations:
06 W06BD Princeton, IN (Princeton Community High School)

Gibson County, IN History

The first white settler of Gibson County was John Severns. He was a native of Wales and came with his parents to America several years before the Revolutionary War. He settled in Gibson County in 1789-90 on the south bank of the Patoka river at a place now known as Severns bridge. One of the first settlers of Gibson County was William Hargrove, who came from Kentucky by pack mule in 1803. Capt. William Hargrove commanded a company of militia from Gibson County at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

The Rev. Joseph Milburn, along with his son, Robert Milburn, also arrived in 1803. They settled near Princeton, between the Patoka and White Rivers. The Milburns were from around Washington County, Kentucky. Rev. Milburn, a Baptist, established the first church, while his son, Robert, established the first distillery in Indiana and probably the oldest town in Gibson County, Patoka which was also established in 1803.

In 1805, Jacob Warrick arrived, along with his father-in-law, Thomas Montgomery. They burned out the last Indian village in 1807, chasing the inhabitants into the Illinois Territory. Capt. Jacob Warrick was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Gibson County was organized in 1813 out of Knox County. The County was named for John Gibson, an officer in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Gibson was Secretary of the Indiana Territory, serving as acting Governor on two occasions. Warrick County was organized out of Gibson County almost a month later, the two counties separated by Rector's BaseLine. When organized on April 1,1813, Gibson County occupied everything from the Paoli BaseLine to the Wabash River and from the White River to the Ohio River. Rector's BaseLine separated the southern half of the county to form Warrick County which organized on April 30,1813. There is even debate on the county's original seat was. Princeton contends that it was the only county seat, while county records and the majority of the county believe that Owensville was the first county seat as the town was laid out with the expressed purpose of being a county seat, plus the fact that Princeton was not even established until late in 1814, over a year after the county's formation. The current Gibson County in Princeton was built in 1884 is the fourth courthouse. The previous three were all destroyed either by fire of by flood. The original in Owensville is believed to have existed at the site of the Owensville Carnegie Library and to be burned down because of location disputes between Owensville and the soon-to-be Princeton.

Education:

Oakland City University
Website: www.oak.edu/default.htm

Vincennes University Workforce One

East Gibson School Corporation: Oakland City (Barton, Center, Columbia and parts of Pike County)
Website: www.egsc.k12.in.us/

Wood Memorial High School (335) A(A) TROJANS
Wood Memorial Jr. High School TROJANS
Barton Township Elementary, Francisco Elementary, Oakland City Elementary

North Gibson School Corpooration: Princeton (Patoka, Washington, White River and parts of Pike County)Website: ngsc.k12.in.us/

Princeton Community High School (722) AAA TIGERS
Website: ngsc.k12.in.us/highsch.html
Princeton Community Middle School TIGERS
Brumfield Elementary
Lowell Elementary

South Gibson School Corporation: Fort Branch (Johnson, Montgomery, Union, Wabash and parts of Posey and Vanderburgh Counties)
Website: www.sgibson.k12.in.us/

Gibson Southern High School (735) AAA TITANS
Website: www.sgibson.k12.in.us/gshs_new/gshs_index.htm
Fort Branch Community School (K-8) TWIGS
Haubstadt Community School (K-8) ELITES
Owensville Community School (K-8) KICKAPOOS

Private Schools:

Holy Cross Catholic School (Fort Branch) K-6 CRUSADERS
St. James Catholic School (St. James) K-6 COUGARS
Princeton Catholic School (Princeton)

Transportation (Countywide):

Rail: 225 mi Streets: 559 mi County Road: 1779 mi State Highway: 176 mi Interstate: 5 mi* (*31 mi)
* Interstate 69

Major Industry:

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI), Fort Branch (3 Vehicle Assembly Plants: 5000-7500 employees)
www.toyota.com/about/operations/manufacturing/tmmi/inde...

Duke Energy Gibson Generating Station, Owensville (Coal-Burning Power Plant: 750-1500 employees)

TISA, Princeton (Interior Maker for TMMI: 300-600 employees)

Millinium Steel, Princeton (Steel Rolling Facility: 200-500 employees)

Vuteq, Princeton (Parts Maker for TMMI: 300-500 employees)

Ford Motors Distribution Center, Princeton (Distribution Center: 225-300 employees)

Toyota Tshusho, Princeton (Subordinate to TMMI: 200-300 employees)

Toyota Boshuko, Princeton (Metal Stamping Subordinate to TMMI: 250-300 employees* Opening in 2010)

Hanson Corporation, Princeton (Clock Motor Manufacturer: 200-250 employees)
www.hansen-motor.com/

Midstates Industries, Princeton (Rubber Manufacturer: 120-175 employees)


Tourist Attractions:

Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt (Well-Known Dirt Racing Track associated with NASCAR)
www.tristatespeedway.com/

Gibson County Fairgrounds, Princeton (Home to one of Indiana's oldest county fairs)
www.gibsoncountyfair.com/

Cane Ridge Wildlife Refuge, Owensville (The easternmost known nesting place for the level-1 endangered species, Least Tern)
www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=31560

Gibson Generating Station, Owensville (The Largest Coal Plant in the US. The surrounding area is also a prime Birdwatching area as there are Least terns, Peregren Falcons, many types of large Hawks, and nearly 150 Bald Eagles)

Lyle's Station Consolidated School, Lyle's Station (The school of Indiana's only known all-black settlement just recently restored)
lylesstation.org/about/project.html

Other useless tidbits on Gibson County:

The reason for Gibson County having a very large amount of water area is that the county has a few large swampy areas along the Patoka, Wabash, and White Rivers as well as the 6 sq mi Gibson Lake in the northwestern part of the county.

One of the two Gibson Counties in the United States. The other is Gibson County, TN

There is one wierd similarity between the two counties: both Princeton and Trenton are names New Jersey cities and the two counties' seats (IN) and (TN) respectively

Gibson County is the 3rd largest county in combined land and water in Indiana.