[2] The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871; it was named for John Hutchinson, first territorial secretary.

Maxwell City was established as the county seat, and it remained there until October 1873 when it was moved to Olivet following an election.

On 13 January 1871, the territorial legislature established the present county boundaries and completed its governing organization.

[note 1][4][5] The James River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of Hutchinson County.

The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with the area largely devoted to agriculture.

[6] The terrain slopes to the river valley from both sides, with the county's highest point at its southwest corner: 1,880' (573m) ASL.

Only one Democratic presidential candidate – Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1932 landslide – has ever carried the county.

Apart from these two hugely anomalous cases, only four Democrats have ever topped forty percent of the county's vote, and only four statewide Republican nominees failed to win a majority.