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Kokomo, Indiana

Encyclopedia : K : KO : KOK : Kokomo, Indiana

Kokomo (IPA: [ˈko.kʌ.ˌməʊ]) is a city in Howard County, Indiana, United States. The population was 46,113 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Howard County[Geographic references#6GR6]. Kokomo is Indiana's 12th largest city.

Contents

Geography

Kokomo is located at [40°28′56″N, 86°7′54″W] (40.482238, -86.131754)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau14569745697456, the city has a total area of 42.1 km² (16.2 mi²). 42.0 km² (16.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.37%) is water.

Major parks

History

The Art Deco Howard County courthouse.
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The Art Deco Howard County courthouse.

Kokomo was named after Miami Indian Chief Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo, which is sometimes spelled as Koh-Koh-Mah or Kokomoko. His name translates to Black Walnut. There was a trading post for commerce between Native Americans and European-Americans here in the early 19th century. David Foster founded the first trading post in Howard County. In 1844, Foster donated forty acres of his land to create a county seat in Kokomo, which was a log courthouse, for use in the community. It was incorporated as a city in 1865.

Officially known as the "City of Firsts" for, among other achievements, Kokomo was a pioneer of United States automobile manufacturing, with Elwood Haynes test-driving his early internal combustion engine auto there on 4 July, 1894. Haynes and his associates built a number of other autos over the next few years; the Haynes-Apperson Automobile Company for mass-production of commercial autos was established in Kokomo in 1898.

Kokomo serves as the "City of Firsts" in the food industry as well. Kokomo opened the first McDonald's With A Diner Inside, locally called "McDonald's Diner." This McDonald's theme failed nationally, but did well in Kokomo. The store is now an ordinary McDonald's. Kokomo also opened the first Cracker Barrel not built near an interstate highway as well as the first Starbucks Coffee not built in a metropolitan area. Kokomo's Starbucks store is one of a few across the nation that operates 24 hours a day.

Kokomo Nicknames: "City of Firsts", "Stop Light City" (given by truckers driving through Kokomo on US Highway 31, infamous for its many traffic stops)

\"City of firsts\" inventions

Notable people from Kokomo

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 46,113 people, 20,273 households, and 12,204 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,099.0/km² (2,847.2/mi²). There were 22,292 housing units at an average density of 531.3/km² (1,376.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.10% White, 10.34% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.61% of the population.

There were 20,273 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,258, and the median income for a family was $45,353. Males had a median income of $38,420 versus $24,868 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,083. About 9.6% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. J

Attractions

Old Ben - Born in 1902 and acclaimed as "The largest calf in the world"
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Old Ben - Born in 1902 and acclaimed as "The largest calf in the world"

Old Ben's details
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Old Ben's details

The Vermont Covered Bridge - Another attraction to be found in Highland Park
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The Vermont Covered Bridge - Another attraction to be found in Highland Park

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Festivals

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For more information visit [Kokomo Main Street Association website]

Major employers

Gas tower

The Kokomo Gas Tower had been a symbol of Kokomo since it was constructed in 1954. The tower was 115 m (378 ft) tall and had a capacity of 340,000 m³ (12 million cubic feet). Due to high maintenance costs of $75,000 a year to maintain and up to $1,000,000 to paint, the gas company decided to demolish it in 2003. Other ideas were reviewed before settling on this decision, including a plan to turn the tower into a giant Coca-Cola advertisement. On September 7, 2003, at approximately 7:30 AM, the Gas Tower was demolished by Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI). Pieces of the tower were sold to the public for $20-30, and proceeds went to a planned Kokomo technology incubation center and Bona Vista.

Government

City Hall and Police Department building.
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City Hall and Police Department building.

Mayor

Kokomo's current mayor is Matt McKillip[link] (Republican), he has been mayor since January 2003. Prior to McKillip, Kokomo's mayor was Jim Trobaugh (Republican).

Media

Newspapers

Television

Radio

Education

Colleges/universities

School districts

Public

Private

Sports teams

Sports venues

[

Movies Filmed in Kokomo

Transportation

Airports Highways Bus Service
US31 in Kokomo.
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US31 in Kokomo.

External links

State of Indiana

Regions
Michiana | Nine-County Region | Northern Indiana | Northwest Indiana | Southern Indiana | Wabash Valley
Largest cities
Anderson | Bloomington | Carmel | Columbus | East Chicago | Elkhart | Evansville | Fishers | Fort Wayne | Gary | Goshen | Greenwood | Hammond | Indianapolis | Jeffersonville | Kokomo | Lafayette | Lawrence | Marion | Merrillville | Michigan City | Mishawaka | Muncie | New Albany | Noblesville | Portage | Richmond | South Bend | Terre Haute | Valparaiso | West Lafayette
Counties
Adams | Allen | Bartholomew | Benton | Blackford | Boone | Brown | Carroll | Cass | Clark | Clay | Clinton | Crawford | Daviess | De Kalb | Dearborn | Decatur | Delaware | Dubois | Elkhart | Fayette | Floyd | Fountain | Franklin | Fulton | Gibson | Grant | Greene | Hamilton | Hancock | Harrison | Hendricks | Henry | Howard | Huntington | Jackson | Jasper | Jay | Jefferson | Jennings | Johnson | Knox | Kosciusko | Lagrange | Lake | LaPorte | Lawrence | Madison | Marion | Marshall | Martin | Miami | Monroe | Montgomery | Morgan | Newton | Noble | Ohio | Orange | Owen | Parke | Perry | Pike | Porter | Posey | Pulaski | Putnam | Randolph | Ripley | Rush | Saint Joseph | Scott | Shelby | Spencer | Starke | Steuben | Sullivan | Switzerland | Tippecanoe | Tipton | Union | Vanderburgh | Vermillion | Vigo | Wabash | Warren | Warrick | Washington | Wayne | Wells | White | Whitley

 

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