Vermillion County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River.

Vermillion County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[4][5] An interstate highway, two U.S. routes, and five state roads cross the county, as does a major railroad line.

The contract was awarded in June 1824 for $345[n 1] and was to be completed by the following November; it was used for county business until a brick building could be constructed.

Construction on the fourth (and current) courthouse began that same year; Halbert Fillinger and John Bayard were the architects.

The stone building was constructed by Jasper Good of Columbus at a cost of $358,707, and the new courthouse was dedicated on June 11, 1925.

The event was started and stopped several times over the years, but the Newport Lions Club now runs the Newport Antique Auto Hill Climb; it has been held continuously since the 1960s and involves several hundred cars each year.

[14] On January 26, 2017, the wooden grandstand at the Vermillion County Fairgrounds was destroyed by a massive fire.

[19] At a meeting of the board of commissioners on March 23, 1824 (the same year the county was formed), four townships were created: Clinton, Helt, Highland, and Vermillion.

Clinton is the largest settlement in the county with a population of about 5100, and lies further to the south along the Wabash River, between it and State Road 63; State Road 163 passes through the town to reach U.S. Route 41 on the east side of the river.

Highland Township includes Flat Iron, Gessie, Rileysburg, and Tree Spring.

Vermillion County is in the humid continental climate region of the United States along with most of Indiana.

Its Köppen climate classification is Dfa,[23] meaning that it is cold, has no dry season, and has a hot summer.

[31] State Road 234 runs from the Indiana border through Cayuga, continuing east through Kingman in Fountain County.

[32] CSX Transportation operates a railroad line running from Danville, Illinois to Terre Haute.

This line runs most of the length of Vermillion County from north to south, passing through Rilesyburg, Cayuga, and Clinton before crossing the Wabash River.

The 6-mile (9.7 km) Vermilion Valley Railroad passes through the very north edge of the county on its way from the Flex-N-Gate factory west of Covington to Danville, Illinois.

[16][34] Vermillion County's economy is supported by a labor force of approximately 7,924 workers with an unemployment rate in December 2010 of 12.5%.

Indiana State University is a public four-year college in Terre Haute in neighboring Vigo County, about 30 miles (48 km) to the south of Newport.

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology, a smaller private college also in Terre Haute, specializes in teaching engineering, mathematics, and science.

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana has 23 campuses throughout the state; the nearest to Vermillion County is in Terre Haute.

[41] Henry Dana Washburn was born in Vermont in 1832; in 1850 he moved to Vermillion County, studied law, and opened a practice in Newport in 1853.

He served for several years as the managing editor at the Washington Daily News, and later became the nation's first aviation columnist.

[44] Ken Kercheval was born in Clinton[45] in 1935 and became an actor in 1962; he is best known for his role as "Cliff Barnes" in the television series Dallas.

[46][47] The five-part series chronicles her early life and teenage summers in various towns within the county, including Dana and Clinton.

The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

The judge on the court is elected to a term of six years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association.

[50] Each of the townships has a trustee who administers rural fire protection and ambulance service, provides poor relief and manages cemetery care, among other duties.