By , the record does reveals two significant changes affecting our community. Of equal importance was the impending removal of much of the Miami Indian population to Kansas and Oklahoma. Research regarding removal has revealed an important addition to our history story. In January , a petition was introduced in the U. House of Representatives in Washington, D. Further research is required, e. Nevertheless, this old record from the past may be primary-source evidence of two cultures striving to be one community at the Village on the Wildcat.
Howard , and legally underway on May 15, , when David Foster donated 40 acres to establish the seat of justice. The Foster Family and Kokomo They had humble beginnings. One was the village leader of a longtime community along the Wildcat Creek; the other an unpretentious yet uncommon businessman, whose wife opened their home for the first church services.
Together, they turned a mud hole into a town. Their names are forever a part of the history of the United States of America. In March , the Fosters moved to a small cabin and trading post about a half-mile north of the Wildcat Creek at the extreme eastern edge of the Seven Mile Strip, right on the original boundary line between Ervin and Clay townships in the northwestern part of the future Howard County.
The Fosters seemed to have an affinity for the local Indian society. We know little about how this combined culture co-existed for some two years. His parents were likely a Miami and a Potawatomi Indian.
Though not entitled to an allotment as part of the Big Miami Reserve, Kokomo and his family were, in fact, related by marriage to the large and influential Meshingomesia and Richardville families of Miami who lived in northcentral Indiana. A handsome terra-cotta building, though with an unfortunately altered storefront level.
Two-part commercial block. These photos are courtesy of the photographer, Mike Habeck mhabeck inetdirect. Mike is with EcoIndiana and, in addition to being concerned about historic architecture, is also looking out for the state's natural environment. Our thanks to Mike for sharing these photos with us. Site Maintainer: timarends aol. The city is also the site of Indiana University at Kokomo Walnut Kokomo, Howard Co.
It was incorporated as a city in On October 6 , , natural gas was discovered in Kokomo, leading to a "boom" in business. This discovery was directly responsible for Elwood Haynes' move to Kokomo, as he was a superintendent with a gas company with interests in Kokomo and Howard County.
The Diamond Plate Glass Company began in Kokomo in , lured by the cheap and plentiful natural gas. 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 , A more reluctant notoriety of Kokomo was the involvement of local citizens in the Ku Klux Klan.
There had been large numbers of followers for years, which culminated on July 4 , , with the largest gathering of Ku Klux Klan members in history, which assembled at Malfalfa Park in Kokomo for a mighty Konklave. Attendance is estimated to have been , people. Kokomo serves as the "City of Firsts" in the food industry as well. Kokomo is also home to the first mechanical corn picker which was developed by a man named John Powell in the early 's.
Kokomo opened the first McDonald's with a diner inside, locally called "McDiner. Eventually, the "McDiner closed and was converted back to a regular McDonald's restaurant. 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. A hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in , was given six months to live.
Though doctors said he posed no risk to other students, AIDS was poorly understood at the time, and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against his attendance.
A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the struggle made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education. When White was finally readmitted, threats of violence and lawsuits persisted.
According to White's mother, people on the street would often yell, "we know you're queer" at Ryan. The editors and publishers of the Kokomo Tribune, which supported White both editorially and financially, were also called homosexuals and threatened with death for their actions. Limited freight between the two cities made the line unprofitable. After a series of acquisitions by other railroads, the line became part of the Toledo, St.
Louis and Kansas City Railroad. A line connecting it to the east reached Kokomo on January 1, In , one of the most remarkable and controversial events in Kokomo's history took place.
Mayor Henry C. Cole was shot to death by a sheriff's posse. Cole had a curious history and had stirred up a great deal of passion in the previous fifteen years. He was reputed to have been a gifted surgeon, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War and when afterwards he settled in Kokomo, he became a prominent physician. In Kokomo he married a woman, Natalie Cole, of whom he became intensely jealous. He became suspicious of one Allen, whom he warned away from Kokomo. When he discovered Allen leaving the post office one day in October , he shot him dead.
The fact that the killing both took place in broad daylight and showed cold-blooded rage Cole continued shooting after Allen was down caused the crime to receive national attention. Cole's case was venued to Tipton County, where he retained Daniel W. Voorhees of Terre Haute to represent him. Voorhees obtained a not guilty verdict on a plea of emotional insanity.
Cole divorced his wife thereafter. Cole's reputation for violent instability, and the cowardice in the way he killed Allen, created many enemies for him, but his generosity toward poor patients and a promise to "clean up" the town won him enough support to win a bitter election for Mayor in According to the coroner's inquest, he died from shotgun wounds inflicted by Deputy George Bennett father of New York stage idol Richard Bennett.
The sheriff claimed that an informant had advised him that Cole was planning to rob a flour mill, possibly to incriminate his enemies. The posse was forced to fire on Cole in self-defense the sheriff claimed he had two revolvers and to prevent his escape, although his injuries seemed inconsistent with that version.
Cole's supporter's argued that no revolvers or burglary tools were produced and that the motive was implausible. Nevertheless, no action was taken against Bennett or others of the posse. Natural gas had been developed in Pennsylvania and Canada for some time, and had most recently been developed around Findlay, Ohio. In March , a group of citizens, led principally by A.
Comstock who had promoted the Frankfort and Kokomo Railroad and D. It took until September to obtain the necessary 22 subscribers. The first rig was built south of Wildcat Creek.
Together with the well in Eaton , which began producing slightly before Kokomo's, the discovery led to the Indiana Gas Boom. This discovery was directly responsible for Elwood Haynes' move to Kokomo, as a superintendent with a gas company with interests in Kokomo and Howard County.
The Kokomo Opalescent Glass Works started making stained glass in Kokomo in and has been in continuous operation ever since. As a result of the natural gas boom, Kokomo attracted an increasing number of industries, which resulted in significant technological innovations. For these industrial and technical achievements, Kokomo is officially known as the "City of Firsts. 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 Haynes went on to invent Stainless Steel flatware in to give his wife tarnish-free dinnerware.
Kokomo serves as the "City of Firsts" in the food industry as well. Kokomo is also home to the first mechanical corn picker which was developed by John Powell in the early s. Kokomo was home to the first Ponderosa Steakhouse, which opened in Kokomo opened the first McDonald's with a diner inside, locally called "McDiner. Eventually, the "McDiner" closed and was converted back to a regular McDonald's restaurant.
On March 21—26, Kokomo suffered severe flooding when 6. The Kokomo Tribune reported at the time that the Wildcat Creek over-topped its levee to reach nearly 1 mile 1. Damage was widespread, including loss of electrical power due to the power plant being flooded. On March 26, flooding was declared over after the water level dropped 42 inches 1, mm in a hour period. On April 11, the southern part of Kokomo was struck by one of the 47 tornadoes that erupted over six Midwestern states, an event now known as the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.
The F4 tornado that swept through Kokomo was yards m wide and killed 25 people in the surrounding area. Significant damage was done to the Chrysler transmission plant. Windows were broken and the framework cracked throughout, and sections of the west wall were leveled. The Maple Crest elementary and junior high schools suffered extensive damage.
0コメント