Indiana's Origins: The American Revolution's Unlikely Impact on the Hoosier State's Map

Even before Indiana became a state, its settlers were naming places for figures from the American Revolution.

Knox County, named for Henry Knox, was established in 1790. Home to the territorial capital of Vincennes, it was for many years the only county in Indiana. Henry Knox had been George Washington’s top artillery commander during the Revolutionary War and became Washington’s secretary of war, the forerunner to today’s post of secretary of defense.

Posey County, carved out of Indiana’s southwest corner in 1814, is named for Thomas Posey, who succeeded William Henry Harrison as territorial governor after Harrison resigned in 1813. Posey served in various military roles throughout the Revolution. The Indiana Historical Society has his original enlistment papers in its collection, along with a wartime diary he kept.

Suzanne Hahn, the Indiana Historical Society’s vice president of archives and library, said 44 of Indiana’s 92 counties are named for people who played a role in the Revolutionary era. Some are named for well-known figures like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and James Madison. Others are less well-known. Gen. Francis Marion is the namesake of Marion County, Indiana’s most populous county. Known as “The Swamp Fox,” Marion conducted a guerrilla campaign in South Carolina following the collapse of the Continental Army’s southern regiments at Charleston in 1780.

Hahn said at the time the states that now comprise the Midwest were settled, the events of the Revolution were still fresh in settlers’ minds. She said it was common for settlers to name counties, in particular, after figures from the period.

“If you look at what was important to individuals at that time period, it can be indicative of what they were valuing at the time,” Hahn said. “Indiana has some really wonderful stories about place names, and I think it leads people today to be curious about where that name came from, why it was so important at the time.”

The Indiana Historical Society has several items in its collection related to the Revolutionary period. In addition to Posey’s papers, Hahn showed a letter from Patrick Henry, the namesake of Henry County, to Knox. The society also has an original land grant document issued to George Rogers Clark, best known for capturing Vincennes from the British in early 1779, and for whom Clark County is named.

Hahn said the society is getting more interest in the Revolution-related items in its collection due to the upcoming semiquincentennial in 2026. She said the society is happy to make the originals available for people to view. Those interested can also view them online through the Indiana Historical Society’s website.

The full list of Indiana counties named for Revolutionary figures includes:

Bartholomew County (Gen. Joseph Bartholomew).
Boone County (Daniel Boone).
Carroll County (Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence).
Clark County (Gen. George Rogers Clark).
Crawford County (Col. William Crawford).
Dearborn County (Gen. Henry Dearborn).
DeKalb County (Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb).
Dubois County (Toussaint Dubois).
Fayette County (the Marquis de Lafayette).
Fountain County (named for a Maj. Fountain, of Kentucky, per the Indiana Historical Bureau).
Franklin County (Benjamin Franklin).
Gibson County (John Gibson, also Governor of Indiana Territory).
Greene County (Gen. Nathanael Greene).
Hamilton County (Alexander Hamilton).
Hancock County (John Hancock).
Henry County (Patrick Henry).
Huntington County (Samuel Huntington).
Jackson County (Andrew Jackson, served as a courier for the Continental Army during the Revolution).
Jasper County (Sgt. William Jasper).
Jay County (John Jay).
Jefferson County (Thomas Jefferson).
Knox County (Gen. Henry Knox).
Kosciusko County (Tadeusz Kosciusko).
Madison County (James Madison).
Marion County (Gen. Francis Marion).
Marshall County (Chief Justice John Marshall).
Monroe County (James Monroe, served in Continental Army and wounded at the Battle of Trenton).
Montgomery County (Gen. Richard Montgomery).
Newton County (Sgt. John Newton).
Posey County (Thomas Posey).
Pulaski County (Gen. Count Casimir Pulaski).
Putnam County (Gen. Israel Putnam).
Rush County (Dr. Benjamin Rush).
Scott County (Gen. Charles Scott).
Shelby County (Isaac Shelby).
Starke County (Gen. John Stark).
Steuben County (Baron von Steuben).
Sullivan County (Gen. Daniel Sullivan).
Vanderburgh County (Henry Vanderburgh).
Vigo County (Francis Vigo).
Warren County (Dr. Joseph Warren).
Washington County (George Washington).
Wayne County (Gen. Anthony Wayne).