Whitley County, Indiana

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

Namesake: William Whitley, Kentucky politician
Seat: Columbia City (1839–)

Land area: 336 square miles

Population (2020): 34,191

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

Periods of population growth: pre-1840–1890; 1920–2020

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

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 3,367 (23.1%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 66.7%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6.6%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 6.1%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 6.3%
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); 1888 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 9,892

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

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1890; 1900–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 816 (20%)

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Outstanding Buildings

1. James Blee Farm (1846). 9848 South 800 East. Jefferson. Greek Revival.
2. Samuel Riley Farm (1882). 6931 East 150 North. Smith. Italianate.
3. School Number One (1887). 8897 East 600 North. Smith. Romanesque.
4. Noah Swihart Farm (c. 1895). 3790 Keiser Road. Washington. Queen Anne.
5. St. Catherine Catholic Church (1899). 9989 State Route 9. Washington. Gothic Revival.

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