Daviess County Landlord Guide: Indiana’s Swiss Amish Country, Perdue Farms, and the I-69 Growth Corridor
Daviess County defies easy categorization. It is simultaneously one of the most traditionally rooted communities in Indiana — home to the seventh-largest Amish settlement in the United States, a Swiss Amish community established in 1868 whose horse-drawn buggies and hand-tended farms represent a way of life largely unchanged for 150 years — and one of the region’s more economically dynamic smaller counties, with manufacturing growth, defense contractor investment near NSA Crane, and a median household income trajectory that has been outpacing the state average. Washington, the county seat and dominant city, has undergone downtown revitalization, attracted I-69 corridor investment, and is growing in ways that create genuine rental housing demand. The intersection of these two realities — deep agricultural tradition and active economic development — makes Daviess County one of southwest Indiana’s more interesting rental markets to understand.
The Swiss Amish Community
Daviess County’s Amish population is Swiss Amish rather than the more commonly known Pennsylvania Dutch (Amish) variety — a distinction that matters culturally and linguistically. The community was established in 1868 by Swiss Amish migrants and has grown to approximately 4,855 members in 29 congregations, representing about 15% of the county’s total population. The settlement stretches along the eastern side of the county from Alfordsville through Cannelburg, Montgomery, and Odon — a corridor of farms, small businesses, and communities where horse-and-buggy transportation is a normal part of daily life and county road management includes designated buggy accommodations.
For landlords, the practical significance of the Amish community is primarily about what it means for the county’s overall character and what it does not mean for the rental market directly. Amish households typically own farmland and farm structures rather than renting residential units. The Amish community largely sustains itself through owner-occupied agricultural and artisanal enterprises. This means that Daviess County’s Amish population does not contribute significantly to rental housing demand in the conventional sense — the 15% of the county population that is Amish is not in the rental market. Landlords should not factor Amish tenants into their market planning, but they should understand that the Amish economic contribution — through construction, manufacturing subcontracting, agricultural supply chains, and the tourism-adjacent craft and food economy — supports employment and income for the broader county workforce that does rent.
Perdue Farms and the Food Processing Economy
Perdue Farms is among Daviess County’s largest employers, operating a poultry processing facility that draws workers from Washington and the surrounding county. Perdue employs production workers, maintenance staff, quality assurance personnel, and logistics employees at wages that qualify for local rental housing. The company’s workforce contributes directly to Washington’s rental demand and includes a component of immigrant and Hispanic workers, consistent with the poultry processing industry nationally.
Grain Processing Corporation and other agribusiness-related manufacturers add to the employment base, reflecting Daviess County’s dual identity as both agricultural county and light industrial hub. The county’s over 100 manufacturing establishments employ production-occupation workers at a rate that makes manufacturing the dominant employment sector — and production-occupation workers are among the most reliable rental tenants in rural Indiana, with stable employment schedules and consistent income that maps well to fixed monthly obligations like rent.
NSA Crane and the Defense Technology Economy
NSA Crane is a Naval Support Activity and Department of Defense research laboratory located in Martin County, immediately north of Daviess County. As the third-largest naval installation in the world by land area, Crane employs thousands of civilian, contractor, and military personnel in electronic warfare, sensors, and defense technology research. WestGate@Crane Technology Park, a state-certified technology park located at Crane’s main gate, hosts defense contractors and technology companies seeking proximity to the installation’s research capabilities.
For Daviess County landlords, the Crane connection matters because some Crane employees and contractors choose to live in Washington rather than in Martin County or Bloomington. Washington offers more housing inventory, more retail amenities, and direct I-69 access than Martin County’s rural communities, making it a plausible residential base for Crane workers willing to commute. Defense contractor employees tend to be engineers, scientists, and technical professionals with incomes significantly above the regional median — a tenant segment that is highly creditworthy and often seeking quality housing that may not be readily available in the Washington market.
Washington and the I-69 Corridor
Washington, Indiana sits directly on Interstate 69 — a major north-south corridor that connects Indianapolis to Evansville and continues southward toward Texas. The I-69 corridor has driven commercial development, logistics investment, and population growth in communities along its route, and Washington has benefited from this positioning. Downtown Washington has undergone revitalization, with new gathering spaces, renovated commercial buildings, and retail investment that has improved quality of life and attractiveness for residents choosing to live in the county.
The I-69 position also means Washington is within reasonable commuting distance of Bloomington (approximately 40 miles north on I-69) and Vincennes (approximately 35 miles west on US-50), expanding the employment catchment area available to Washington renters. Workers employed at Indiana University, Cook Medical, or Bloomington’s healthcare and tech sector who prefer lower housing costs may find Washington’s rental market attractive given its affordability advantage over Bloomington’s college-town pricing.
Daviess Circuit and Superior Court
All Daviess County eviction actions are filed in Daviess Circuit Court or Daviess Superior Court, both located in the Daviess County Courthouse at 200 E. Walnut Street, Washington, IN 47501. The Circuit Court can be reached at (812) 254-8670 and the Superior Court at (812) 254-8671. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. The eviction process follows Indiana’s standard IC 32-31 framework. For nonpayment, a 10-day notice to pay or quit must be properly served with no statutory grace period. After 10 days, the landlord files the Eviction complaint, a hearing is scheduled, and if the landlord prevails, a Judgment for Possession is entered. The Writ of Assistance directing the Daviess County Sheriff to execute the judgment follows if needed. An uncontested eviction from notice through Writ typically takes 30 to 60 days in Daviess County.
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