Owen County, Indiana

Founding: 1819
Parent counties: Daviess and Sullivan

Namesake: Abraham Owen, Kentucky soldier
Seat: Spencer (1820–)

Land area: 385 square miles

Population (2020): 21,321

Population (historic): 838 (1820); 12,106 (1850); 16,137 (1870); 15,149 (1900); 11,351 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1820–1870; 1890s; 1930s; 1960–2000

Subdivisions: Two towns; 13 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,626 (16.1%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 40.9%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6.5%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 11.6%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 8.6%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $852
Average outbuilding value (1930): $541

Average farmhouse size (1940): 4.9 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,968
Average farm size (1920): 73.2 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina

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Spencer

Namesake: Spier Spencer, Indiana militia officer

Founding: 1820 (platting); 1821 (post office); 1866 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 2,454

Population (historic): 335 (1850); 971 (1870); 2,026 (1900); 2,179 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1910; 1920–1960; 1970s; 2010s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 371 (31.1%)

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