Vigo County (Vigo County)
Vigo County is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994. Its county seat is Terre Haute.
Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolitan area.
The county contains four incorporated settlements with a total population of nearly 63,000, as well as several unincorporated communities. It is divided into twelve townships which provide local services to the residents.
The county was once regarded as one of the best bellwether regions for voting in U.S. presidential elections; it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1956 to 2016 and in all but three elections since 1888. Until the streak ended in 2020, only one county in the United States, Valencia County, New Mexico, had voted for the winning candidate longer.
In 1787, the fledgling United States defined the Northwest Territory, which included the area of present-day Indiana. In 1800, Congress separated Ohio from the Northwest Territory, designating the rest of the land as the Indiana Territory. President Thomas Jefferson chose William Henry Harrison as the territory's first governor, and Vincennes was established as the territorial capital. After the Michigan Territory was separated and the Illinois Territory was formed, Indiana was reduced to its current size and geography. By December 1816 the Indiana Territory was admitted to the Union as a state.
Starting in 1794, Native American titles to Indiana lands were extinguished by usurpation, purchase, or war and treaty. The United States acquired land from the Native Americans in the 1809 treaty of Fort Wayne, and by the treaty of St. Mary's in 1818 considerably more territory became property of the government. These two treaties resolved the occupation issue for the future Vigo County. Whites had been living in the area since 1811, when General Harrison erected a fort north of present-day Terre Haute. After the Indian skirmishes were resolved, settlers arrived in significant numbers beginning 1815.
The area in present-day Vigo County was first placed under local jurisdiction in 1790, when Knox County was created. This all-encompassing county was repeatedly subdivided as its lands were occupied − on 30 December 1816 a portion was partitioned to create Sullivan County, and on 21 January 1818 the northern portion of Sullivan was partitioned off to create Vigo County. The first county commissioners organized the government in 1818, including naming Terre Haute as its seat. The county's borders changed several times; in 1821, part of the county was formed into Parke County, and later that year Putnam County was formed which also affected Vigo's borders. The final change came in 1873 when the present boundaries were defined. The county is named for Colonel Francis Vigo, of Italian heritage but a citizen of Spain due to residence in St. Louis. He is credited with assisting George Rogers Clark, both in financing Clark's exploration and American Revolutionary War efforts, and in service as an agent obtaining military information for Clark against British campaigns on the then frontier.
Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolitan area.
The county contains four incorporated settlements with a total population of nearly 63,000, as well as several unincorporated communities. It is divided into twelve townships which provide local services to the residents.
The county was once regarded as one of the best bellwether regions for voting in U.S. presidential elections; it voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1956 to 2016 and in all but three elections since 1888. Until the streak ended in 2020, only one county in the United States, Valencia County, New Mexico, had voted for the winning candidate longer.
In 1787, the fledgling United States defined the Northwest Territory, which included the area of present-day Indiana. In 1800, Congress separated Ohio from the Northwest Territory, designating the rest of the land as the Indiana Territory. President Thomas Jefferson chose William Henry Harrison as the territory's first governor, and Vincennes was established as the territorial capital. After the Michigan Territory was separated and the Illinois Territory was formed, Indiana was reduced to its current size and geography. By December 1816 the Indiana Territory was admitted to the Union as a state.
Starting in 1794, Native American titles to Indiana lands were extinguished by usurpation, purchase, or war and treaty. The United States acquired land from the Native Americans in the 1809 treaty of Fort Wayne, and by the treaty of St. Mary's in 1818 considerably more territory became property of the government. These two treaties resolved the occupation issue for the future Vigo County. Whites had been living in the area since 1811, when General Harrison erected a fort north of present-day Terre Haute. After the Indian skirmishes were resolved, settlers arrived in significant numbers beginning 1815.
The area in present-day Vigo County was first placed under local jurisdiction in 1790, when Knox County was created. This all-encompassing county was repeatedly subdivided as its lands were occupied − on 30 December 1816 a portion was partitioned to create Sullivan County, and on 21 January 1818 the northern portion of Sullivan was partitioned off to create Vigo County. The first county commissioners organized the government in 1818, including naming Terre Haute as its seat. The county's borders changed several times; in 1821, part of the county was formed into Parke County, and later that year Putnam County was formed which also affected Vigo's borders. The final change came in 1873 when the present boundaries were defined. The county is named for Colonel Francis Vigo, of Italian heritage but a citizen of Spain due to residence in St. Louis. He is credited with assisting George Rogers Clark, both in financing Clark's exploration and American Revolutionary War efforts, and in service as an agent obtaining military information for Clark against British campaigns on the then frontier.
Map - Vigo County (Vigo County)
Map
Country - United_States
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Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Americas for thousands of years. Beginning in 1607, British colonization led to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies in what is now the Eastern United States. They quarreled with the British Crown over taxation and political representation, leading to the American Revolution and proceeding Revolutionary War. The United States declared independence on July 4, 1776, becoming the first nation-state founded on Enlightenment principles of unalienable natural rights, consent of the governed, and liberal democracy. The country began expanding across North America, spanning the continent by 1848. Sectional division surrounding slavery in the Southern United States led to the secession of the Confederate States of America, which fought the remaining states of the Union during the American Civil War (1861–1865). With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was abolished nationally by the Thirteenth Amendment.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |