[2] Posey County is part of the Evansville, Indiana metropolitan statistical area.

After the American Revolutionary War, Posey County was originally considered part of the Northwest Territory, organized in 1787 by the new United States.

As part of the Indiana Territory, it was organized in November 1814 from Gibson and Warrick counties.

It was named for Revolutionary War Gen. Thomas Posey, who was then serving as Governor of the Territory.

The river port had rougher areas of vice, and a higher population of single men, as was typical.

Posey County was the site of the largest recorded lynching of African Americans in Indiana's history.

A grand jury was called to investigate the mob action, but with an election pending for the prosecuting attorney, no one was ever indicted.

Redwine sometimes lectures on the riot, inviting his audience to imagine how they would have acted and stressing the injustice done to the African Americans who were denied the right to a fair trial.

Rush Creek drains the county's central portion, flowing westward to discharge into the Wabash in Harmonie State Park.

The area is largely cleared and devoted to agriculture or urban use, although the drainages and lowlands are still wooded or brush-filled.

Representatives are elected to four-year terms from single-member districts of roughly equal population in the county.

The commissioners execute acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the county government.

The court judge is elected to a four-year term and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association.