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Indiana County
Rush County, Indiana
Rushville and Flatrock River valley agriculture - from Rushville's historic courthouse square (the Rush County Courthouse is one of central Indiana's finest examples of 19th-century civic architecture, anchoring a traditional county seat square in the heart of east-central Indiana) to Rush County's productive Flatrock River valley farmland (the gently rolling terrain drained by the Flatrock River supports strong corn and soybean production across one of east-central Indiana's steadily productive agricultural counties).
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Office: Rush County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
Sheriff: Rush County Sheriff’s Office – Rushville, IN. Confirm current phone via rushcounty.in.gov.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-3 and SR-44 serve Rushville, the county seat.
Notes: Rush County was formed from unorganized Delaware County April 1, 1822 (organized 1821 per some sources), named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Rushville was founded the same way, with town lots sold starting July 29, 1822; W.B. Laughlin, who started a school there in 1821 and served in the legislature when the county was formed, is considered the town’s founding father. A courthouse was built in 1823, and the railroad arrived in 1850, spurring banks, factories, mills, and grain elevators.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Rush County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, Rushville, IN (built 1896, Richardsonian Romanesque, architectural firm A.W. Rush & Sons of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 3.5-story steel frame sheathed in rock-faced stone; National Register of Historic Places since 1975).
Notes: Rush County has a genuine national political history: Rushville served as the campaign headquarters for Wendell Willkie’s 1940 presidential campaign against Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Willkie is buried in the city’s East Hill Cemetery, marked by his own memorial. The county also preserves several historic round barns typical of Indiana’s early 20th-century agricultural architecture, along with covered bridges. Rush County has a single county high school, and residents proudly identify as “Lions,” a community pride campaign that has spread painted lion statues throughout local businesses and homes, anchored by a revered pair of 1920s lion statues in front of Memorial Gymnasium.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Rush County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Rush County Public Library (Rushville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Wendell Willkie Memorial (East Hill Cemetery), the Rush County Courthouse, historic round barns and covered bridges scattered throughout the county, and the 1920s lion statues at Memorial Gymnasium are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine national political history tied to Wendell Willkie’s 1940 presidential campaign is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Rush County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Rush County Humane Society – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Rush County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
NOTES: Rush County is the seventy-first county completed in Indiana’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine national political history tied to Wendell Willkie’s 1940 presidential campaign is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Rush County
Rush County is east-central Indiana’s Flatrock River agricultural county – Rushville anchors a rural county defined by productive row crop farmland, a well-preserved courthouse square, and the small-town character that typifies Indiana’s interior agricultural counties between Indianapolis and the Ohio border.
Rushville (the county seat, population ~6,300) is Rush County’s governmental and commercial hub, serving county residents in east-central Indiana between the Indianapolis metro and the Whitewater River valley.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Rush County Assessor at 101 E. 2nd Street, Rushville, IN 46173, phone 765-932-2818. IN assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Rush County Circuit Court at 101 E. 2nd Street, Rushville, IN 46173, phone 765-932-2086, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
101 E. 2nd St., Rushville, IN 46173
(765) 932-3765
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
101 E. 2nd St., Rushville, IN 46173
(765) 932-3765
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Rush County Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Rush County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Rush County Circuit Court 101 East 2nd Street, 3rd Floor, Rushville, IN 46173 (765) 932-2078 Rush County is in east-central Indiana, named for Founding Father Dr. Benjamin Rush.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Indiana has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code – probate is governed by Indiana Code Title 29. Indiana offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the gross probate estate (less liens, encumbrances, and funeral expenses) is $100,000 or less. Available 45 days after death. The affidavit must be signed and recorded with the county recorder’s office before a personal representative is appointed. No court filing is required.
Devolution of Real Estate Affidavit – a separate affidavit specifically for transferring real property, available 7 months after death, with no value limit on the real estate, recorded with the county recorder.
Unsupervised Administration – a simplified probate track available when the estate is solvent and all inheritors agree; fewer court appearances and filings than supervised administration.
Supervised Administration – full court oversight, used for contested, complex, or insolvent estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and for Issuance of Letters (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Appointment of Personal Representative (if intestate) with the Rush County Circuit Court.
The court reviews the will for compliance with Indiana Code § 29-1-5-3 (in writing, signed by the testator, witnessed by at least 2 credible witnesses).
The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly 3 months from first publication) to file claims.
The personal representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes the estate.
File a closing statement or final accounting to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Indiana does not have a state estate or inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Rush County Circuit Court.
Indiana has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit – a minimum 45-day wait; Unsupervised Administration – roughly 6-9 months if uncontested; Supervised Administration – 9-12+ months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
108 W. 1st St., Rushville, IN 46173
(765) 932-3322
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
101 E. 2nd St., Rushville, IN 46173
(765) 932-3765
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Rush County Health Department – confirm current contact via rushcounty.in.gov.
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