Parke County Incorporated

ABOUT US

The name of Parke was selected in honor of Benjamin Parke, who had come to Indiana in 1801, was a member of the First Territorial Legislature, and first Representative in Congress of this territory. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him US Territorial Judge in 1808, and later President Madison named him US District Judge with Circuit Court powers. He was an organizer and first president of the Indiana Historical Society. Parke County has remained rural while much of the rest of Indiana has become highly industrialized and urban. In recent years a movement has been encouraged to keep the county rural and unspoiled and especially to save the 31 covered bridges that have become a nation-wide attraction, and in 1978 were added to the National Register of Historic Places.