County of Gibson County
Location of courthouse: N. Broadway St., courthouse lawn, Princeton
Location of county: Western border, SW corner of state; crossroads of IN-56, IN-64, IN-68, IN-168 & I-69, US-41, IN-57, IN-169
Founded: 1 April 1813
Named After: John Gibson
Elevation: 640 ft (195 m)
Population: 32,924 (2021)
"Gibson County was once a wilderness situated in the Northwest Territory which, in 1784, was ceded to the United States of America by Virginia. The State of Indiana was organized April 19, 1816.
"John Severns is recognized as the first white settler in Gibson County, arriving in 1789. He operated a ferry on the south side of the Patoka River.
"A Welsh man, Severns answered the call of the colonists in the Revolutionary War, but on his first trip home to Virginia, Indians swooped upon the family. Severns' parents, sister, and younger brother were killed, while he and an older brother were kept as prisoners.
"Severns was allowed to continue his residence in that region, now known as Severns' Bridge, and to establish a ferry upon the conditions that he keep ''firewater'' for the Indians and allow them free use of the ferry.
"Originally belonging to Knox County, what is now Gibson County came to be in 1813. The county derives its name from Gen. John Gibson, a gallant soldier of the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.
"Gibson was born in Pennsylvania in 1740 of Scottish-Irish ancestry, and he was well educated. In 1763, he was captured by Indians and was adopted by a squaw whose son had died in battle.
"With the Indians, Gibson mastered several languages, along with the customs of several tribes. He was later released and he returned to business in Pittsburgh.
"Gibson was appointed territorial secretary of Indiana in 1800 and held that office until 1816. While Gen. William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana, was engaged in the War of 1812, Gibson was acting governor. He died in 1822, shortly before his 82nd birthday.
"Harrison later became the ninth president of the United States. He caught a cold on his inauguration day in 1841 and died a month later. He was best known for the first half of the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." Harrison was given the nickname of "Tippecanoe" after defeating the Shawnee Indians in 1811 at Tippecanoe. John Tyler was his vice president, who succeeded him April 4, 1841." ~ Princeton Daily Clarion