Kosciusko County, Indiana

Kosciusko County, Indiana
Kosciusko County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States Census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw.
The county was organized in 1836. It was named for the Polish general Tadeusz Kościuszko who served in the American Revolutionary War and then returned to Poland. The county seat is named for Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
History
The Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county bill on 7 February 1835 that authorized the creation of thirteen counties in northeast Indiana, including Kosciusko. The county government was organized beginning in 1836. The county's boundary lines have remained unchanged since 1835.
Geographical features
Kosciusko County terrain consists of low rolling hills dotted with bodies of water and drainages, with all available area devoted to agriculture or urban development. Its highest point (1025'/312 meters ASL) is a hill NE of Dewart Lake. The Tippecanoe River flows westward through the central part of the county, while the Eel River flows southwestward through the county's SE corner.
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 95.85%) is land and (or 4.15%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Elkhart County - north
Noble County - northeast
Whitley County - southeast
Wabash County - south
Fulton County - southwest
Marshall County - west
Major highways
U.S. Route 30
Indiana State Road 10
Indiana State Road 13
Indiana State Road 14
Indiana State Road 15
Indiana State Road 19
Indiana State Road 25
Lakes
Banning Lake
Beaver Dam Lake
Big Barbee Lake
Big Chapman Lake
Carr Lake
Center Lake
Dewart Lake
Diamond Lake
Fish Lake
Goose Lake
Hoffman Lake
Hill Lake
Irish Lake
James Lake
Kuhn Lake
Lake Wawasee
Little Barbee Lake
Little Chapman Lake
Loon Lake
McClures Lake
Muskellunge Lake
Palestine Lake
Papakeechie Lake
Pike Lake
Ridinger Lake
Rock Lake (part)
Sechrist Lake
Shoe Lake
Silver Lake
Stanton Lake
Syracuse Lake
Tippecanoe Lake
Waubee Lake
Winona Lake
Yellow Creek Lake
Protected areas
Center Lake Wetland Conservation Area
Edmund and Virginia Ball Nature Preserve
Pisgah Marsh Nongame Area (part)
City and towns
Burket
Claypool
Etna Green
Leesburg
Mentone
Milford
North Webster
Pierceton
Sidney
Silver Lake
Syracuse
Warsaw (city)
Winona Lake
Unincorporated communities
Atwood
Barbee
Bayfield
Beaver Dam
Bell Rohr Park
Buttermilk Point
Cedar Point
Clunette
DeFries Landing
Enchanted Hills
Forest Glen
Gravelton
Hastings
Highbanks
Highlands Park
Island Park
Kalorama Park
Kanata Manayunk
Kinsey
Lakeside Park
Lakeview Spring
Lowman Corner
Marineland Gardens
Milford Junction
Mineral Springs
Monoquet
Musquabuck Park
Oakwood Park
Osborn Landing
Oswego
Packerton
Palestine
Pickwick Park
Potawatomi Park
Redmon Park
Sevastopol
Shady Banks
South Park
Stoneburner Landing
Stony Ridge
Vawter Park
Walker Park
Wawasee
Wawasee Village
Wooster
Yellowbanks
Townships
Clay
Etna
Franklin
Harrison
Jackson
Jefferson
Lake
Monroe
Plain
Prairie
Scott
Seward
Tippecanoe
Turkey Creek
Van Buren
Washington
Wayne
Airports
KASW - Warsaw Municipal Airport
KC03 - Nappanee Municipal Airport
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in Warsaw have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in July 1976. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
Community
Newspapers
Times-Union
The Mail-Journal
The PAPER
Ink Free News
Radio Stations
WRSW-AM 1480/99.7 FM (News Now Warsaw)
WRSW-FM (Classic Hits 107.3 WRSW
WAWC-FM (Willie 103.5)
Government
The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.
County Council: The legislative branch of the county government; controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives, elected to four-year terms from county districts, are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.
Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county; commissioners are elected countywide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute the acts legislated by the council, collect revenue, and manage the county government.
Court: The county maintains a small claims court that handles civil cases. The county also maintains a Circuit and Superior Court. The judge on each court is elected to a term of six years and must be a member of the Indiana bar.
County Officials: The county has other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. The officials are elected countywide to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.
Kosciusko County is part of Indiana's 2nd and 3rd congressional districts. It is also part of Indiana Senate districts 9, 13, 17 and 18 and Indiana House of Representatives districts 18, 22 and 23.
Elected officials:
Jim Smith - Sheriff
Daniel Hampton - Prosecutor
Susan Engelberth - Assessor
Michelle Puckett - Auditor
Ann Torpy - Clerk
Joetta Mitchell - County Recorder
Sue Ann Mitchell - Treasurer
Cary P. Groninger - Middle District Commissioner
Robert M. Conley, President - Southern District Commissioner
Bradford Jackson - Northern District Commissioner
Tony Ciriello, Certified Death Investigator, Coroner
Kosciusko County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 are the only two Democratic Party candidates to win the county from 1888 to the present day. Roosevelt is the only Democrat since 1888 to win the county with a majority. The county is very Republican even by the standards of traditionally Republican Indiana. For example, Roosevelt actually lost the county by eight percentage points in 1936 even as he went on to carry 46 states. Further underlining the county's Republican bent, it rejected Lyndon Johnson in 1964 even in the midst of Johnson's 44-state national landslide. Johnson is the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of the county's vote.
Education
School districts
Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation
Triton School Corporation
Warsaw Community Schools
Wawasee Community School Corporation
Whitko Community School Corporation
Wa-Nee Community Schools
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 77,358 people, 29,197 households, and 20,740 families in the county. The population density was . There were 37,038 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.3% white, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.5% were German, 11.5% were Irish, 10.8% were English, and 8.2% were American.
Of the 29,197 households, 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.0% were non-families, and 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 37.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $56,305. Males had a median income of $44,358 versus $29,320 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,019. About 7.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
Ambrose Bierce, Civil War veteran, author, newspaper columnist
Chris Schenkel, former Sportscaster for ABC Sports. Resided in Leesburg, Indiana.
Rick Fox, retired NBA player. Resided in Warsaw, Indiana.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kosciusko County, Indiana
References
External links
Kosciusko County
Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce
Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Sources
Indiana counties
1836 establishments in Indiana
Populated places established in 1836