Vermillion County, Indiana

Vermillion County is a county in Indiana, United States, about 20 miles south of Danville,
Illinois, running along the Wabash River on Indiana’s western edge. It had a population of
15,439 at the 2020 census, an estimated 15,421 by 2024, and covers 259.93 square miles (673.2
km2) centred near 39°51′N 87°28′W.

Newport is the county seat; its postal code is 47966. The county holds 7 incorporated towns
and 16 unincorporated communities across 5 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code
is 18165.

Towns & Villages in Vermillion County

Vermillion County has 23 named places on record: 7 incorporated towns and 16 unincorporated
communities, 2 of which are Census-designated places with their own population count. The county
has no incorporated cities, only towns. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers
crossroads and rural hamlets with no formal boundary or current population figure.

Two names here invite mix-ups. Vermillion County, Indiana borders Vermilion County, Illinois
directly to the west — the river both are named for is the Vermilion, one L, while the
Indiana county itself spells its name with two. And three communities that once counted among
the county’s towns — Quaker, Randall and Toronto — no longer appear on any current
map; local histories list them as extinct and they are left off the table above.

ZIP Codes

• 47966 — Newport
• 47842 — Clinton (also serves Fairview Park and Blanford)
• 47928 — Cayuga
• 47875 — Saint Bernice
• 47847 — Dana
• 47974 — Perrysville
• 47884 — Universal

Alta, Bono, Centenary, Eugene, Flat Iron, Gessie, Highland, Hillsdale, Jonestown, Klondyke,
Rileysburg, Summit Grove, Syndicate and Tree Spring have no ZIP code of their own; mail to these
hamlets is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Vermillion County is a long, narrow county on Indiana’s western edge, less than 10 miles
across east to west but stretching about 37 miles north to south. Of its 259.93 square miles,
256.88 are land and 3.05 are water, roughly 1.2 percent. The Wabash River forms almost the entire
eastern boundary, and the Vermilion River, one of its tributaries, cuts through the county’s
interior and gave the county its name. Roughly 23 percent of the county is forested.

Warren County lies to the north, Vigo County to the south, and the Wabash River separates
Vermillion from Fountain County to the northeast and Parke County to the southeast. Vermilion
County, Illinois lies to the west and Edgar County, Illinois to the southwest. Warren County, Vigo County, Fountain County, Parke County, Vermilion County, Illinois and Edgar County, Illinois all border Vermillion
directly.

Demographics

Vermillion County had a population of 15,439 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 15,421 residents. Clinton and Fairview Park are the two largest communities,
together home to well over a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs
about $60,200, well below Indiana’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $69,477. Population density
works out to about 60 people per square mile of land, low for Indiana and typical of a
farming-and-mining county far from a metro core.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 1,310 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 836 and retail trade at 835. Elanco, an animal-health products
maker, and White Construction, an energy-infrastructure contractor, are both named among the
county’s largest employers, alongside the South Vermillion Community School Corporation.
Clinton, the county’s largest town, carries the nickname “Little Italy Festival Town”
after the wave of northern Italian immigrants who settled there to work its coal mines and brick
plants in the early 1900s; the town’s annual Little Italy Festival, running since 1966, draws
tens of thousands of visitors each summer for Italian food, grape stomping and a parade. Newport
hosts the county’s other signature event, the Antique Auto Hill Climb, held the first weekend
in October.

History

Indiana’s General Assembly formed Vermillion County on 1 February 1824, carving it out of
Vigo County. The county takes its name from the Vermilion River, a Wabash tributary that early
French traders named for the reddish clay along its banks; the county itself later settled on the
double-L spelling that still sets it apart from its Illinois namesake. Newport, platted in 1828 at
the confluence of the Little Vermilion and Wabash rivers, became the county seat.

The war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his World War II reporting,
was born on a tenant farm near Dana on 3 August 1900. In January 1923, Blanford, then a coal-mining
town, was the site of a violent expulsion of its small Black community; a subsequent shootout at a
dance hall left three white miners dead and led to riot-incitement charges against six men, one of
the county’s darker chapters and one local histories do not gloss over.

Getting There

Interstate 74 crosses the county’s northern edge. US 36, US 41 and US 136 run through the
county, along with State Roads 32, 63, 71, 163 and 234. CSX Transportation operates a main freight
line through the county.

• Terre Haute — about 20 miles south
• Danville, Illinois — about 20 miles west
• Covington — about 15 miles north
• West Lafayette — about 45 miles northeast

Indianapolis International Airport, roughly 65 miles east of Newport, is the nearest major
commercial airport. No Amtrak station serves the county directly; the closest is in Indianapolis,
about 65 miles east.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Vermillion County located?
It sits on Indiana’s western edge along the Wabash River, about 20 miles south of Danville,
Illinois, bordered by Warren, Vigo, Fountain and Parke counties in Indiana and Vermilion and
Edgar counties in Illinois.

What is the population of Vermillion County?
15,439 at the 2020 census, with a later estimate near 15,421.

How big is Vermillion County?
259.93 square miles (673.2 km2), of which 256.88 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Vermillion County?
Newport, platted in 1828, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Vermillion County?
Seven incorporated towns — Newport, Clinton, Fairview Park, Cayuga, Dana, Perrysville and
Universal — plus 16 unincorporated communities, including the Census-designated places
Blanford and Saint Bernice.

What ZIP codes does Vermillion County use?
47966 for Newport, 47842 for Clinton, Fairview Park and Blanford, 47928 for Cayuga, 47875 for
Saint Bernice, 47847 for Dana, 47974 for Perrysville and 47884 for Universal.

What is Vermillion County known for?
Being the birthplace of war correspondent Ernie Pyle near Dana, Clinton’s Little Italy
Festival, and Newport’s Antique Auto Hill Climb each October.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Indiana.