When the General Assembly incorporated southeast Indiana’s Town of Vernon in 1851, it granted the community sweeping authority to govern itself. Over the next century-and-a-half, other towns in the state eventually gave that authority back. But Vernon never did.
In a state where every other municipality now operates under uniform state statute, Vernon remains Indiana’s lone charter town, governed by an incorporation act approved on Jan. 22, 1851, when Indiana was barely 35 years into its statehood.
The document serves as a local constitution, spelling out everything from elections and offices to fines, taxes and the powers of town leaders.
Home to fewer than 300 residents, according to the most recent 2020 census, Vernon is Indiana’s smallest county seat by population. The Jennings County town sits just south of the larger city of North Vernon, on a narrow peninsula formed by a bend in the Muscatatuck River.
It’s one of only a handful of towns in the state to elect a mayor and the only town that elects both a mayor and a town marshal.
The unusual governance of one of the Hoosier State’s smallest communities resurfaced this year at the Statehouse as lawmakers considered a bill that would have shifted town elections to presidential election years.
The proposal ultimately died — but even if it had advanced, Vernon would have remained untouched, thanks to a special carveout to specifically exempt the town.
Indiana’s last charter town
Long before Indiana standardized municipal government — a process that gradually unfolded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — and in the days predating synchronized election calendars and machine-printed ballots, towns were governed by charters — individual acts of law passed by the General Assembly.
It was a common approach in the 1800s, according to historians and state historical records. Towns, churches and even businesses were often created with legislative approval, each with its own rules.
Vernon’s charter, for example, begins by formally incorporating the town by name, defining its boundaries and declaring its residents “a body corporate and politic” vested with “all the powers and privileges appertaining to bodies corporate and politic with perpetual succession.”
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But that system began to unravel later in the 19th century.
Indiana’s 1851 Constitution — approved just months after Vernon’s charter took effect — curtailed the General Assembly’s ability to pass special laws for individual communities, pushing the state toward uniform municipal statutes instead. Over time, towns relinquished their charters and transitioned to governance under state law.
By the late 20th century, Vernon stood alone.
The reasons for resistance? Historians, lawmakers and local officials say it’s part habit — and part local pride.
Bell and ballot boxes
Under Vernon’s charter, elections are governed not by Indiana’s consolidated election calendar, but rather by the town’s own rules.
The charter calls for the election of a mayor, council members and other officers to two-year terms, held “biennially thereafter.” The language predates today’s partisan primaries or uniform state election days now held in May and November.
The document also specifies who can vote, requires advance public notice of elections and even outlines the hours polls remain open. Per the charter, voting historically took place during a short window that closed at 4 p.m., earlier than modern polling closures closer to 6 p.m.
It further requires either newspaper publication or posted written notices in each of the town’s wards. Although Vernon historically operated with five wards, an ordinance in the early 2010s changed the town’s structure to its current three wards.
And although election practices have evolved, Vernon has preserved many of its older traditions.
Votes are cast on paper and counted by hand. Ballots are deposited in a wooden box. And when polls officially open, a handheld bell is rung to signal the start of the election.
The charter also allows elections to proceed without partisan primaries, also different from the rest of the state.
The mayor presides over council meetings and casts tie-breaking votes. The council is tasked with passing ordinances governing public safety, nuisances, streets, markets and taxation — as long as those laws are in line with the United States and Indiana constitutions.
The river town’s charter additionally grants authority to the town to “restrain and prevent” livestock from running at large; regulate the speed of railroad trains within town limits; and impose fines for violations ranging from unsafe bridge crossings to misuse of municipal water supplies.
In one section, the charter mandates that town ordinances be published “on the door of the Court House, or at some other public place” — but nowadays, Vernon’s website makes those publicly available, too.
Why Vernon never gave up its charter
There’s no single explanation as to why Vernon never formally surrendered its charter, but the town’s website boasts that its elections continue to be held “unlike any others in the state.”
According to the town’s historical record, Vernon debated abandoning its charter multiple times over the decades, especially as state law became more standardized and administrative responsibilities grew more complex.
Each time, however, local leaders and residents chose to retain it, viewing the charter as both a practical governing document and a symbol of the town’s identity.
Election administrators and historians have described Vernon’s system as a “living artifact” of sorts, showcasing how local governments once operated across Indiana.
During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 355, authored by Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, sought to shift town elections to presidential election years. The bill passed the Senate but stalled and later died in the House.
Even so, lawmakers were careful not to disturb local operations in Vernon. The bill explicitly exempted the town, allowing Vernon to keep holding elections under its own rules.
Gaskill emphasized that the exemption was intentional.
“There was no desire on my part to interfere at all with a piece of history that Indiana could be proud of,” he said.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
