White County, Indiana: History
The first white settlers in the future White County arrived in the land west of Tippecanoe River in 1829, and in other parts of the county in 1831. This area was part of Carroll County during that period.
By 1833, so many settlers had entered the area that the state legislature were pressured to have a separate county created. On February 1, 1834, the state approved the creation of this county, directing that it be named for Isaac White, a colonel in the Illinois militia. White was a mining geologist who was in charge of the salt works in Equality, Illinois, and was a close friend to Governor William Henry Harrison of the Northwest Territory, and to Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, U.S. District Attorney for Kentucky. In 1811, when Harrison declined the offer of Illinois troops to march on Tecumseh's village at Prophetstown, White enlisted as a private in the Indiana dragoons, which had been placed under the command of Daveiss. Both were killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe, and were buried in a common grave.
Interim commissioners were named and directed to organize the county during the summer of 1834, and to choose a county seat in September. They did so on September 5, 1834, naming Monticello as the future seat, due to its central location. While the county was being organized, it was attached to Carroll County for administrative and judicial purposes.
Alterations were made to the county's boundaries on December 24, 1834, on February 4, 1837, and on February 14, 1839. In addition, the counties of Jasper (1837), Pulaski (1839), Newton (1839), and Benton (1840) removed significant portions of the county's territory. The borders have remained unchanged since 1840.