info@howardcountymuseum.org
1200 West Sycamore, Kokomo,
Indiana 46901(765) 452-4314
Howard County History
Primary sources
- Admission of Indiana Into the Union. 14th Congress. 1st Session. Feb. 5,1816. No. 392.
- An Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of the United States for the Year 1842. Washington. 1843. Pages 204, 205.
- County Commissioners Records, 17 Aug. 1844, Sept. 3,1844, Richardville (Howard) County, Indiana. County Auditor's Office, Kokomo, Indiana.
- Deed Record “A”, Page 15. Howard County Recorder’s Office. Kokomo, Indiana.
- Deed Record “A”, Page 3. Howard County Recorder’s Office. Kokomo, Indiana.
- Deed Record 27, Page 275. Howard County Recorder’s Office. Kokomo, Indiana.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
To the Miami Indians, time is like a pond, and “events are like stones dropped in water.”
For hundreds of years, they have measured the history of their lives by gauging the effects of the ripples. Life is always oriented to waterways. Since at least the 17th century, the Miami have built their homes in the area they call Myaamionki, or “Place of the Miami.” Waapaahšiki Siipionki, the valley of the Wabash River in northcentral Indiana, is the heart of Myaamionki.
To the Miami Indians, time is like a pond, and “events are like stones dropped in water.”
For hundreds of years, they have measured the history of their lives by gauging the effects of the ripples. Life is always oriented to waterways. Since at least the 17th century, the Miami have built their homes in the area they call Myaamionki, or “Place of the Miami.” Waapaahšiki Siipionki, the valley of the Wabash River in northcentral Indiana, is the heart of Myaamionki.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
The “Treaty with the Miami, 1840” (“Forks of the Wabash” Nov. 28, 1840) was a devastating boulder dropped on that Miami pond of history, causing waves that are still felt today. Not only had the tribe ceded the last of their lands (except for individual and family reserves), but Article 8 of the treaty defined their future grimly: to “remove to the country assigned them west of the Mississippi, within five years of this date.”
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
As the northern area of Indiana took shape with the arrival of Euro-Americans and the removal of the Indian tribes by treaties, Indiana’s state legislature in 1835 named 14 new "paper" counties for organization, thus effectively uniting the entire state of Indiana from south to north. These entities completely surrounded the 900-square-mile Big Miami Reserve, the largest territory in the state not incorporated into an existing county and all that remained of collectively held land for the Miami tribe of Indians.
As the northern area of Indiana took shape with the arrival of Euro-Americans and the removal of the Indian tribes by treaties, Indiana’s state legislature in 1835 named 14 new "paper" counties for organization, thus effectively uniting the entire state of Indiana from south to north. These entities completely surrounded the 900-square-mile Big Miami Reserve, the largest territory in the state not incorporated into an existing county and all that remained of collectively held land for the Miami tribe of Indians.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
To get to the Big Miami Reserve in 1844 from the south, the easiest route would have been to use the Michigan Road, which connected Indianapolis with Logansport and passed directly along the west side of the reserve. Built north of the Wabash River on land conveyed by the Potawatomi Indians in the Treaty of 1826 and to the south by federal land grant, it was conceived as a “public highway” from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River.
To get to the Big Miami Reserve in 1844 from the south, the easiest route would have been to use the Michigan Road, which connected Indianapolis with Logansport and passed directly along the west side of the reserve. Built north of the Wabash River on land conveyed by the Potawatomi Indians in the Treaty of 1826 and to the south by federal land grant, it was conceived as a “public highway” from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
In 1840 there may have been about 700 Miami Indians in Indiana, and about 200 in what is now Howard County. The largest Indian village in the county, according to the 1846-47 land survey, was at Cassville on the banks of Deer Creek’s South Fork. The surveyor’s record shows this as “an Old Indian Clearing.” Indian “wigwams” on the north bank of the Wildcat are also marked on the 1838 survey plat at today’s 750 West (the New London road). Another village was located south of Greentown, on “a bluff on the north bank of Wildcat Creek.” And there was Kokomo’s village, on the south side of the creek.
In 1840 there may have been about 700 Miami Indians in Indiana, and about 200 in what is now Howard County. The largest Indian village in the county, according to the 1846-47 land survey, was at Cassville on the banks of Deer Creek’s South Fork. The surveyor’s record shows this as “an Old Indian Clearing.” Indian “wigwams” on the north bank of the Wildcat are also marked on the 1838 survey plat at today’s 750 West (the New London road). Another village was located south of Greentown, on “a bluff on the north bank of Wildcat Creek.” And there was Kokomo’s village, on the south side of the creek.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
Sarah Tumpkin, an 86-year-old widow in Zionsville, had contacted the Howard County clerk at one time, to obtain a copy of her marriage license.
As the Kokomo Tribune reported on Jan. 26, 1914, Tumpkin, who married George W. Tumpkin on Christmas Day 1847 (the license was retrieved), was a daughter of John Harrison, the county’s first elected sheriff (misidentified in that 1914 Tribune article as “Eli” Harrison). Also attributed to Mrs. Tumpkin were details of her parents’ home “on the Wildcat creek about three miles north of New London,” that she was “thirteen when the family moved to Howard County” in 1841, and in particular her knowledge of “the proceedings” around the choice for the county seat and her father having an active part in them.
As the Kokomo Tribune reported on Jan. 26, 1914, Tumpkin, who married George W. Tumpkin on Christmas Day 1847 (the license was retrieved), was a daughter of John Harrison, the county’s first elected sheriff (misidentified in that 1914 Tribune article as “Eli” Harrison). Also attributed to Mrs. Tumpkin were details of her parents’ home “on the Wildcat creek about three miles north of New London,” that she was “thirteen when the family moved to Howard County” in 1841, and in particular her knowledge of “the proceedings” around the choice for the county seat and her father having an active part in them.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
By Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
As a result of removals and private land distribution, the Miami Indians eventually evolved into two units. Today, the Miami Indians of Indiana maintain non-profit status as a local history resource that manages Myaamia lands in and around Peru, Indiana. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma, is the U.S. federally recognized nation where tribal members can apply for citizenship. Geographically separate and organizationally distinct, these relatives nonetheless share a common history and a passionate commitment to cultural and linguistic re-vitalization, education and community outreach. For history researchers, their joint contribution is invaluable.
As a result of removals and private land distribution, the Miami Indians eventually evolved into two units. Today, the Miami Indians of Indiana maintain non-profit status as a local history resource that manages Myaamia lands in and around Peru, Indiana. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma, is the U.S. federally recognized nation where tribal members can apply for citizenship. Geographically separate and organizationally distinct, these relatives nonetheless share a common history and a passionate commitment to cultural and linguistic re-vitalization, education and community outreach. For history researchers, their joint contribution is invaluable.
(from Footprints, May 2019)
by Gil Porter
Kokomo Early History Learning Center
It was the day after Christmas, the year 1844, and in the Indiana House, Mr. Blakemore had the floor.
Rep. George Blakemore offered on behalf of the citizens of Cass County a petition for a state road to originate from Logansport. Its named destination that December in the Indiana General Assembly records actually is an early primary-source reference to “Kokomo” with that spelling.
Douglass School in Kokomo is still standing, empty of students but full of traces and reminders of students and teachers in years gone by. The school also remains full in the memories of those of its students still living.
Douglass School, named after the great abolitionist, orator and writer, Frederick Douglass, was the city’s segregated school for African American students, during a time when segregation was legally mandated. It wasn’t the first such school in Kokomo (the first was built in 1872 on Lafountain near Havens Street) but it was the most successful.
(from Footprints, August 2018)
by Gil Porter
He had humble beginnings. Carpenter, shop-keeper, an unpretentious yet uncommon businessman who turned a mud hole into a town. His family’s name is forever a part of the history of the United States of America.
(from Footprints, May 2018)
by Gil Porter
On June 22, 1862, a massive “nor’easter” tornado toppled a structure under construction on the east side of the Courthouse square onto the building immediately to the south. This adjacent building, situated on the northeast corner of Main and Sycamore streets, was demolished, curtailing the activities in the first-floor general store, whose partners were notable pioneers Harles Ashley, John Bohan, and Kokomo founder David Foster. The Howard Tribune, which at the time published from the building’s second floor, was also almost put out of business.
by Gil Porter
On June 22, 1862, a massive “nor’easter” tornado toppled a structure under construction on the east side of the Courthouse square onto the building immediately to the south. This adjacent building, situated on the northeast corner of Main and Sycamore streets, was demolished, curtailing the activities in the first-floor general store, whose partners were notable pioneers Harles Ashley, John Bohan, and Kokomo founder David Foster. The Howard Tribune, which at the time published from the building’s second floor, was also almost put out of business.
By Gil Porter
HCHS Publications Committee Member
It started when a young Army private with flu-like symptoms reported to sick call at Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 4, 1918. Within days, Fort Riley was dealing with 500 cases with the same symptoms.
By Dave Broman
Howard County is justifiably proud of its history of invention – and its inventors. The names of Haynes, Spraker, Kingston and Maxwell are legendary, as are the alloys, automobiles, pneumatic tires, and carburetors they developed. But is a name missing from the list? Does one more name deserve a place on the list of “Firsts”?
By Bonnie Van Kley
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the foods that you eat? Who thought of making the first hamburger? Or who came up with the combination of ingredients and named it pizza? Tradition states that the hamburger originated in Hamburg, Germany. And, of course, pizza was first made in Italy. Just like my ancestors who came from other countries, it seems that all of the foods that I consume had their beginnings elsewhere.
By Steve Geiselman
from Footprints, May 2016
Baseball in Howard County has a long and storied history, reaching back to Kokomo’s participation in the Indiana State League in 1890 to the construction of a new stadium for a bunch of Jackrabbits. When exactly a group of guys first got together for a game of pitch and catch is probably hard to pin down. One thing is for certain, Howard County and Kokomo’s love for America’s Pastime started strong and never slowed down.
from Footprints, May 2016
Baseball in Howard County has a long and storied history, reaching back to Kokomo’s participation in the Indiana State League in 1890 to the construction of a new stadium for a bunch of Jackrabbits. When exactly a group of guys first got together for a game of pitch and catch is probably hard to pin down. One thing is for certain, Howard County and Kokomo’s love for America’s Pastime started strong and never slowed down.
by Gil Porter
In the latter half of the 18th century, the man known as “Kokomo” was born to parents who were likely a Miami Indian and a Potawatomi Indian.
Researchers at the Myaamia Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, have created a family history that provides valuable clues to the village or band leader Kokomo, a source of much speculation since the mid-19th century, and of special interest to residents of the town in Indiana named for him.
(from Footprints, November 2015)
by H.T. Ellis
HCHS Publications Committee
by H.T. Ellis
HCHS Publications Committee
I like to consider myself someone who “adopts” forgotten individuals from the past -- that’s what brought me to the Howard County Historical Society in the first place. There is something satisfying about keeping someone’s name alive, but it is certainly more than that – keeping their story and face alive is just as important. So, when I heard about A.L. Conger, I naturally became interested. Not many remember who A.L. Conger was.
(from Footprints, November, 2013)
By Judy Lausch
HCHS Publications Committee
She Will Spend $50,000. In Giving Medical Treatment Absolutely Free to Suffering Women”, “A Million Women Bless Her Name”, Send No Money, Just Your Name and Address, If You Are A Sufferer From Any Woman’s Disease or Piles”, “Why Men Desert Their Wives”, “There Is Some One Near You Cured By Mrs. Miller”, “How to Cure Any Case of Piles”, “Put Your Faith In Mrs. Cora B. Miller”. “I Give Away Medicine to Women”, “A Wonderful Medical Discovery that Cures Women of Female Diseases and Piles as if by Magic, Sent FREE.” “Thousands Snatched Back from Certain Insanity by Mrs. Miller’s Home Treatment” , “I Cure Women of Female Diseases and Piles
(from Footprints, February 2013)
By Dave Broman
HCHS Executive Director
History is about connections. In Howard County, our connections follow a trail of breadcrumbs from the economic explosion of the gas boom beginning in the 1880s all the way up to the present. Those boom years brought about the birth of the local glass industry, the beginnings of the auto industry, and the construction of the Seiberling Mansion. The county went from cornfield to industrial powerhouse so quickly that it took years for social structures - like healthcare - to catch up.