Dubois County was formed on December 20, 1818, from Orange, Pike and Perry counties. It is named for Toussaint Dubois who was a Frenchman who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. Dubois was a merchant who lived mainly in Vincennes, IN. He drowned in 1816 while crossing the Little Wabash River near Lawrenceville, Illinois. The city of Jasper is the county seat with a total area of 435 sqaure miles. It also has a population count of 42,565 residents.