Paoli is a town in Paoli Township, Orange County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 3,677 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Orange County.HistoryPaoli was laid out and platted in 1816. It was named for Pasquale Paoli Ash, the son of North Carolina governor Samuel Ashe. A post office has been in operation at Paoli since 1817.In its first decades, it was noted as a Quaker town that played a role in the Underground Railroad by transporting enslaved people from the South to Canada. In the 1900s it became known as the site of the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, a surviving fragment of the once-extensive virgin oak forest of southern Indiana.Thomas Newby Braxtan House, Orange County Courthouse, and Paoli Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.GeographyPaoli is located at .According to the 2010 census, Paoli has a total area of 3.75sqmi, of which 3.74sqmi is land and 0.01sqmi is water.ClimateThe climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Paoli has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
