Jay County, Indiana

Jay County Education, Geography, and History

Jay County is a county located in the state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 21,253. Jay County was created on March 1, 1836. The county seat is Portland. The county is named for John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Etymology - Origin of Jay County Name

The county is named for John Jay who was Secretary of State of the United States, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Governor of New York.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

JayCounty History

Jay County was formally organized March 1, 1836. It is the only county in the United States named for John Jay, co-author of the Federalist Papers, Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation, and first Chief Justice of the United States. John Jay died in 1829.

Jay County is divided into 12 Civil Townships as follows: Bear Creek, Greene, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Noble, Penn, Pike, Richland, Wabash and Wayne.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 384 square miles (994 km²), of which 384 square miles (994 km²) is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) (0.05%) is water.

Jay county is located in northeast Indiana. The Limberlost, an extensive wetland comprising approximately 13,000 acres is located in part of Jay  county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Adams County
• Northeast: Mercer County, Ohio
• Southeast: Darke County, Ohio
• South: Randolph County
• Southwest: Delaware County
• West: Blackford County
• Northwest: Wells County

Education

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now