Parke County is in the western part of the state, due west of Indianapolis. Its territory, bounded on the west by the Wabash River, comprises thirteen townships. The incorporated towns are Rockville, 1,832; Montezuma, 1,292; Rosedale, 657; Bloomingdale, 412; Marshall, 293, and Judson, 111. Total county population, 1890, 20,296; 1900, 23,000; 1910, 22,214; 1920, 18,875; 1930, 16,561.

Rockville is located twenty-three miles northeast of Terre Haute and is served by one railroad. It is chiefly important as a center for the agricultural, stock raising, and coal mining interests, but also manufactures flour and lumber.

The Courthouse contains two war memorials, one a bronze tablet to Parke County Civil War Volunteers, the other a tablet to the soldiers of the Revolution. Another memorial is in Rockville Cemetery, this a thirty-pound cannon to the "Unknown Dead of the Civil War." Near Bloomingdale there is a tablet in memory of Alfred and Rhoda Hadley, who maintained an "Underground Railroad" station. The town of Rockville was the birthplace of Congressman Joseph "Uncle Joe" Cannon.

Turkey Run State Park covers about 1,070 acres and attracts thousands of visitors weekly. To nature lovers, the marker at the entrance of the John Lusk home, in the form of a bronze tablet, is a significant one, for it was Lusk who protected the trees of Turkey Run. There is another interesting memorial, a bronze fountain to Juliet V. Strauss, a prolific writer who was widely known as the "County Contributor." Mrs. Strauss was a native of Rockville.

By an act approved March 8, 1907, the General Assembly authorized the establishment of a hospital for the treatment of incipient pulmonary tuberculosis. The commission created by the act selected a site, containing 504 acres, three miles east of Rockville and purchased it in September 1908.

Parke County had nine manufacturing establishments, according to the 1935 federal census. A total of thirty-four wage earners were employed, earning $30,892. The value of the products was $240,526.

The county had 2,261 farms with an average of 112.7 acres each. The total value of these was $9,229,497. A total of 61,339 head of livestock was reported.

The total county tax valuation for 1936 was $13,438,525.