Parke County, Indiana
county along the Wabash River, in Indiana, United States
Parke County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Wabash River. The county was formed in 1821 out of a portion of Vigo County. According to the 2020 census, the population was 16,156. The county seat is Rockville. It has a population density of about 39 inhabitants per square mile (15/km2). The county contains six incorporated towns and many unincorporated communities. It is divided into 13 townships which provide local services.
Two U.S. Routes and five state highways pass through or into the county, along with one major railroad line.
Parke County has 31 covered bridges and is widely referred to as the 'Covered Bridge Capital of the World'. It is the site for the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival which has been held in October each year.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Parke County, Indiana” as county along the Wabash River, in Indiana, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county along the Wabash River, in Indiana, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q506538. VIAF identifies the subject as 146567947. The Library of Congress control number is n79059330. Authority coordinates are 39.780, -87.210. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1821 and 2020.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Parke County, Indiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Parke County, Indiana primary sources, Parke County, Indiana archive and Parke research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Parke County, Indiana”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Parke County, Indiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.