Visitors – Town Of Owensville, Indiana

About Our Town

Owensville, Indiana

Nestled in the southwest corner of Indiana, Owensville offers a unique balance and blend of rural, suburban and industrial life. It is the third-largest town and the smallest of the five larger communities in Gibson County, home to 1,338 residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census.

1817 Town founded

1881 Incorporated

1,338 Residents (2020 Census)

Our History

Owensville was established in 1817 by Phillip Briscoe, when he filed the town plat consisting of 52 parcels and five out-parcels. A fire in 1876 destroyed many of the wood-framed businesses on the eastern side of the town square, and it was not until 1881 that Owensville incorporated.

Work & Industry

Agriculture is a respected and important part of our community. The work ethic that made America great is evident in our local farmers, working hard to feed our nation. Beyond the farm, Owensville's economy consists largely of family-owned businesses, with three notable exceptions: Dollar General (based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee), Community Natural Gas (Mount Carmel, Illinois) and Schultheis Insurance (Mount Vernon, Indiana).

The town is largely surrounded by unincorporated subdivisions, primarily to the north. The two largest employers of Owensville residents are the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana plant, halfway between Princeton and Fort Branch, and the Gibson Generating Station, 5.5 miles north-northwest of town, along with two coal mines that opened in 2008 and 2014, located 6 miles and 1 mile north of town.

Rooted in Agriculture

Like the other communities in Gibson County, Owensville's prime economy is based on agriculture. The farms immediately around town primarily produce corn, soybeans, strawberries and wheat. Like many communities along the Lower Wabash Valley, the surrounding Montgomery Township is particularly known for its watermelons, pumpkins, squash, cantaloupes and zucchini, all grown in the sandy bottom grounds from the north to the southwest of town. Milo is often grown in place of corn in areas prone to flooding from the Wabash, Patoka and Black Rivers and the smaller creeks and streams that feed them.

Did you know?

Owensville High School, which later merged with Fort Branch and Haubstadt high schools to form Gibson Southern, had the first high school gymnasium in Indiana with a glass backboard. One of those backboards is now in the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Indiana.