HAMILTON COUNTY

Alexander Hamilton
(1755/57 – 1804)

The land containing Hamilton County was brought into the possession of the United States by the Treaty of St. Mary’s in 1818. William Conner was one of the first settlers in the county. In the summer of 1822, after realizing there were enough settlers in the area, Conner and other settlers applied to the Indiana Legislature for a charter authorizing them to become a separate and independent county under Indiana law. The application was presented to the Legislature at the 1822-23 session and the act was passed and approved by the governor on January 8, 1823. The act took effect on the first Monday in April (April 7), 1823. The County Commissioners first met on May 5, 1823, at the house of William Conner. Conner’s house would also serve as the County Circuit Court. The county was named after Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury.

Hamilton County