Jennings County, Indiana

Jennings County is a county in Indiana, United States, about 65 miles southeast of
Indianapolis. It had a population of 27,613 at the 2020 census, an estimated 27,622 by 2024, and
covers 378.34 square miles (979.9 km2) centred near 39°00′N 85°38′W.

Vernon is the county seat and Indiana’s smallest county seat by population; its postal code is 47282.
The county holds 1 city, 1 incorporated town and 20 unincorporated communities across 11
townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 18079.

Towns & Villages in Jennings County

Jennings County has 22 named places on record: North Vernon and Vernon are incorporated, five
more are census-designated places (CDP) with their own population counts, and the rest are
unincorporated communities — crossroads and former rail stops with no local government of
their own.

Two names on this list are easy to confuse with places outside the county. Paris and Paris
Crossing are separate communities in Montgomery Township, the second named for its position by
the railroad outside the first. Staples Ford and Tannersville are small historic crossroads with
no current population count or ZIP of their own on record.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 47265 — North Vernon (also serves Country Squire Lakes, Grayford, Lovett, Queensville
  and Brewersville)
• 47282 — Vernon
• 47245 — Hayden
• 47273 — Scipio
• 47223 — Butlerville (also serves Nebraska, San Jacinto and Zenas)
• 47227 — Commiskey
• 47270 — Paris Crossing (also serves Hilltown)

Oakdale, Paris, Four Corners, Staples Ford and Tannersville have no ZIP code of their own; mail
there is delivered under a neighboring town’s code, and none currently has an active post
office.

Geography

Jennings County sits in Indiana’s southeastern hill country, a rural landscape of farms and
woodlands positioned roughly between Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville. Of its 378.34
square miles, 376.58 are land and 1.76 are water, about 0.47 percent. The Muscatatuck River’s
Vernon Fork is the county’s dominant waterway, flowing 59 miles through the county and
supplying North Vernon with drinking water; it nearly encircles the town of Vernon, which sits on
a peninsula reached by a narrow neck of land. The river also runs through the Crosley Fish and
Wildlife Area, Muscatatuck County Park and the southern edge of the Muscatatuck National Wildlife
Refuge.

Decatur County lies to the north, Ripley County to the east, Jefferson County to the southeast,
Scott County to the south, Jackson County to the west and Bartholomew County to the northwest.
Decatur County, Ripley County, Jefferson County, Scott County, Jackson County and Bartholomew County all border
Jennings directly.

Demographics

Jennings County had a population of 27,613 at the 2020 census, and recent Census Bureau
estimates put the county near 27,622 residents. North Vernon and Country Squire Lakes are the two
largest communities, together holding well over a third of the county’s population. Median
household income runs about $69,322, close to Indiana’s statewide figure of $69,477 (2023
ACS). Population density works out to roughly 73 people per square mile of land, typical for a
rural southeastern Indiana county outside the Columbus and Madison metro fringes.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 3,309 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 2,009 and retail trade at 1,645. North Vernon carries most of that
base: American Axle & Manufacturing, Martinrea International, Hilex Poly, Decatur Plastic
Products and North Vernon Industry Corporation’s gray-iron foundry all operate there,
alongside a Lowe’s distribution center. Jennings County High School and a branch of the
Jennings County Public Library serve North Vernon, and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, a
homeland-security and military exercise facility on the former Muscatatuck State Developmental
Center grounds, operates near the city. Richard Nixon’s mother, Hannah Milhous Nixon, was
born near Butlerville. Scipio’s 1920s girls’ basketball team, the Black Diamonds, went
undefeated for four years and won the county tournament, a point of local pride still
remembered.

History

Indiana’s legislature formed Jennings County in 1817, the year after statehood, naming it
for Jonathan Jennings, Indiana’s first elected governor, who held that office from 1816 to
1822 and later served nine terms in Congress. Vernon, laid out the same year and named for George
Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, became the county seat; its historic district, centered on
the county courthouse, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Vernon remains the
only Indiana town with both an elected mayor and an elected town marshal.

Before roughly 1830, farmers shipped pork down the Muscatatuck River toward New Orleans, but
sediment buildup later made the river unnavigable for that trade. The Ohio and Mississippi
Railroad reached Hayden in 1854, and the historic Madison and Indianapolis Railroad crossed
through North Vernon, which grew up as a rail junction — a role the CSX Transportation
Indiana Subdivision and the Madison Railroad still carry on today.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Jennings County. US 50 runs east-west through North Vernon on a
bypass completed between 2013 and 2017, and Indiana State Roads 3 and 7 cross the county
north-south.

• Indianapolis — about 65 miles northwest
• Columbus, Indiana — about 20 miles west
• Madison — about 25 miles southeast
• Louisville — about 65 miles south

Indianapolis International Airport, about 65 miles northwest of North Vernon, is the nearest
major commercial airport. North Vernon has its own general-aviation airport, a former Army Air
Forces auxiliary field. There is no Amtrak station in the county; the nearest service runs through
Indianapolis Union Station.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Jennings County located?
It sits in southeastern Indiana, about 65 miles southeast of Indianapolis, bordered by Decatur,
Ripley, Jefferson, Scott, Jackson and Bartholomew counties.

What is the population of Jennings County?
27,613 at the 2020 census, with a recent estimate near 27,622.

How big is Jennings County?
378.34 square miles (979.9 km2), of which 376.58 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Jennings County?
Vernon, laid out in 1817 and the smallest county seat by population in Indiana.

How many towns and cities are in Jennings County?
Two incorporated places — North Vernon and Vernon — plus five census-designated
places and fifteen unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Jennings County use?
47265 for North Vernon and much of Geneva Township, 47282 for Vernon, 47245 for Hayden, 47273 for
Scipio, 47223 for Butlerville, 47227 for Commiskey and 47270 for Paris Crossing.

What is Jennings County known for?
The Muscatatuck River nearly surrounding Vernon’s historic courthouse district, and being
the birthplace area of Hannah Milhous Nixon, mother of President Richard Nixon.

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