Whitley County, Indiana

Founding: 1838 (declared in 1835)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: William Whitley (1749–1813), Kentucky settler
Seat: Columbia City (1839–)

Land area: 336 square miles

Population (2010): 33,292

Population (historic): 1,237 (1840); 10,730 (1860); 16,941 (1880); 17,328 (1900); 15,931 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1840–1880; 1940–1980; 1990s

Subdivisions: One city; three towns; one CDP; nine townships

National Register listings: Six

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 3,367 (23.1%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 66.7%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6.6%
Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,475
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,513

Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.8 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 2,041
Average farm size (1920): 78.2 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Germany

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Columbia City

Namesake: Unclear—perhaps Christopher Columbus

Founding: 1839 (platting, as Columbia); 1854 (post office)

Population (2010): 8,750

Population (historic): 887 (1860); 2,244 (1880); 2,975 (1900); 3,805 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1890; 1900s; 1930–1950; 1980–2010
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 816 (20%)

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Outstanding Buildings

1. Blee Farm (1846). 9848 County Line Road. Jefferson Township. Greek Revival.
2. Riley Farm (1882). 6931 County Road 150N. Smith Township. Italianate.
3. School Number 1 (1887). 8897 County Road 600N. Smith Township. Romanesque.
4. Swihart Farm (c. 1895). 3790 Keiser Road. Washington Township. Queen Anne.
5. St. Catherine Catholic Church (1899). 9989 State Route 9. Washington Township. High Gothic.

1. *Whitley County Courthouse (1888). Courthouse Square. Columbia City. Renaissance Revival.
2. *Christopher Souder House (1877). 214 West Main Street. Larwill. Italianate.