Elkhart County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. , the county's population was 207,047. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Goshen. Elkhart County is part of the Elkhart- Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is also considered part of the broader region of Northern Indiana known as

Michiana Michiana ( ) is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at ...

, and is east of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, east of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and north of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. The area is referred to by locals as the recreation vehicle (RV) capital of the world and is known for its sizable

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

and

Old Order Mennonite Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who prac ...

population.

History

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the area now within Elkhart County boundaries was mainly inhabited by the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

tribe. Pioneers began settling in the Elkhart Prairie in 1829 and in April 1830, Elkhart County was officially established with its original county seat in Dunlap. After reorganizing the county borders, the seat was moved to Goshen near the county's geographical center. Elkhart County was founded by immigrants from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. These were old-stock "

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

" immigrants, descended from the English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

who settled New England in the 1600s. The completion of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

in 1821 sparked a surge in immigration from New England to northern Indiana, which had become a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

five years earlier. The end of the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

in 1832 increased the immigration surge of immigration, again coming from New England as a result of overpopulation combined with land shortages in that region. Some of these later settlers were from

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

, whose relatives had moved to that region from New England shortly after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. New Englanders and New England transplants from upstate New York were the vast majority of Elkhart County's inhabitants during the first several decades of its history. These settlers were primarily members of the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

though due to the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a k ...

many of them had converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and some had become

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

before moving west. The

subsequently has gone through many divisions, and some factions, including those in Elkhart County, are now known as the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

and the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

. As a result of this heritage, most of Elkhart County supported the abolitionist movement before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Elkhart County provided substantial recruits for the Union Army. During the end of the nineteenth century, Irish and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

migrants came to Elkhart County, although most did not come directly from Europe, but had stopped in other areas in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, such as

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Name

The name Elkhart is a euphemization of "Elks-heart", which refers to the now extinct

Eastern elk The eastern elk (''Cervus canadensis canadensis'') is an extinct subspecies or distinct population of elk that inhabited the northern and eastern United States, and southern Canada. The last eastern elk was shot in Pennsylvania on September 1, 1 ...

. The name has been attached to the Elkhart River and surrounding area since at least 1749, when it was recorded in French as ("elk's heart") as the name of a

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

village there. The place name in Miami-Illinois is ("elk's heart"). Later in the 18th century the area was inhabited by the

; in the

Potawatomi language Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi , , or ) is a Central Algonquian languages, Central Algonquian languages, Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Potawatomi, Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lake ...

, the place is likewise known as , "at the elk heart". The name may reflect a prehistoric association of the Elkhart area with the Kaskaskia people, whom the Miami called "elk hearts". Other explanations have been suggested. According to an account by two Miami leaders ( Jean Baptiste Richardville and

Le Gros Legros, LeGros or Le Gros is an ancient Norman/French surname. It literally means "the Large". Notable people with the surname or nickname include: Surname * Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), French painter and etcher * Augustus Asplet Le Gros (1840 ...

) recorded in 1824, the name arose from two women fighting over an elk's heart that had been hung up to dry. Alternatively, some historians including Jacob Piatt Dunn have associated the name with the shape of an island in the Elkhart River that is stated to resemble an elk's heart. This theory has been carried on the city's website. A popular but non-historical account claims that the county was named after a

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Indian chief named "Elkhart", who was ostensibly a cousin of the famous Chief Tecumseh, and father of "princess Mishawaka" (for whom, according to the story, neighboring Mishawaka is named). This story originated in ''Legends of Michigan and the Old North West'', an 1875 collection of historical fiction by Michigan politician Flavius J. Littlejohn.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 98.97%) is land and (or 1.03%) is water. The county sits in mostly rural farmland with rolling hills in its northeast corner. Those hills were formed by

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s and are part of the St. Lawrence Seaway Continental Divide. The St. Joseph River, which flows from Michigan, across the

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

border north of Bristol, is the main waterway in Elkhart County. The Elkhart River enters the county east of Millersburg and winds its way through Goshen and Dunlap to Island Park in Elkhart where it meets the St. Joseph. The Little Elkhart River flows into the county southeast of Middlebury and creates some scenic views in Bonneyville Mills County Park before emptying into the St. Joseph near Bristol. Numerous creeks wind their way through the countryside and several lakes, including Simonton Lake, dot the landscape. Fifteen unincorporated communities also exist in the county. They are Benton, Bonneyville Mills, Dunlap, Foraker, Garden Village, Jimtown, Locke, Midway, New Paris, Nibbyville, Simonton Lake,

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

, and Waterford Mills.

Adjacent counties

Cass County, Michigan Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 51,589. Its county seat is Cassopolis. Cass County is included in the South Bend– Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a ...

(northwest) * St. Joseph County, Michigan (northeast) * LaGrange County (east) * Noble County (southeast) * Kosciusko County (south) * Marshall County (southwest) * St. Joseph County (west) Elkhart County is one of the few counties in the US to border two counties of the same name in different states (St. Joseph County in Indiana and Michigan).

Communities

Cities

* Elkhart * Goshen * Nappanee

Towns

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

* Middlebury * Millersburg * Wakarusa

Townships

Census-designated places

* Dunlap * New Paris * Simonton Lake

Other unincorporated communities

* Benton * Bonneyville Mills * Foraker * Jimtown * Locke * New Paris *

* Waterford Mills

Economy

Elkhart County is known as "The RV Capital of the World" because of its substantial

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

-based economy.

Farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

also plays a big role in the local economy.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

boosts the county's economy. Destinations such as Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury and Amish Acres in Nappanee along with annual events such as the Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival, and the Elkhart County 4-H Fair draw thousands of tourists annually. The Fair is the second largest county fair in the United States.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Goshen have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 197,559 people, 70,244 households, and 50,542 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 77,767 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.9% white, 5.7% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 7.5% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.4% were

, 10.2% were Irish, 7.6% were English, and 7.6% were American. Of the 70,244 households, 38.1% had children under 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.0% were non-families, and 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.76, and the average family size was 3.23. The median age was 34.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697, and the median income for a family was $53,742. Males had a median income of $41,891 versus $29,496 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,187. About 10.2% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Amish and Mennonite communities

In 2020, the Amish and Mennonite population was 11,006 or 5.3% of the total population.

Government

The county is led by a board of three elected

commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a Wiktionary: commission, commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissi ...

that serve as the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of county government. The board also serves as the

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

in that it is responsible for ordinances. The county council is made of seven elected members - one from each of the four council districts and three at large. The council is in charge of all monetary issues including appropriations and taxes. There are Township Assessors for Baugo, Cleveland, Concord, Elkhart, Middlebury, and Osolo townships and a County Assessor to handle the remaining townships. Elkhart County is part of Indiana's 2nd congressional district;

Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...

districts 9, 11, and 12; and

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

districts 21, 22, 48, 49, and 82. Elkhart County has consistently been a Republican Party stronghold in presidential elections. It is very conservative for an urban county; the GOP has carried it all but three times since that party's first election in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1932 and

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

in 1964 are the only Democrats to win it in the 20th century, both in national landslides that saw the Democrats win over 400 electoral votes. Obama's win in 2008 is the only occasion since 1968 that a Democrat has won 40 percent of the county's vote.

Transportation

Roads

The

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...

(Interstates 80/ 90) runs through the northern fringes of the county. Elkhart has two interchanges (exits 92 & 96) while Bristol (exit 101) and Middlebury (exit 107) have one apiece. U.S. Route 20 skirts the southern edges of Elkhart as the

St. Joseph Valley Parkway The St. Joseph Valley Parkway is a freeway in the U.S. states of Indiana and Michigan, serving as a bypass route around Elkhart, Mishawaka, and South Bend in Indiana and Niles in Michigan. The freeway runs to the south and west of Elkhart a ...

until the freeway ends at the County Road 17 interchange. U.S. 20 continues eastward as a regular surface highway. County Road 17 is known as the "Michiana Parkway" and provides a connection between Goshen, U.S. 20, S.R. 120, the Elkhart East interchange (Exit 96) on the Toll Road, and

US 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) ...

in Michigan via M-217. U.S. Highways 6, 33, and 131 also run through the county along with Indiana State Highways 4, 13, 15, 19, 119, and 120. U.S. 33 was once part of the original

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

Other forms

A bus system known as the Interurban Trolley serves several municipalities throughout Elkhart County, connecting Elkhart and Goshen, as well as

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

, Dunlap and Mishawaka, using buses that look like trolley cars. These buses are manufactured at government expense in RV facilities of Elkhart County. The county's only

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and Greyhound bus stations are in Elkhart. Elkhart, Nappanee, and Goshen all have municipal airports. Amtrak makes four daily stops in Elkhart.

Education

The county has seven public school districts, seven private schools, and one college. Several other colleges have satellite campuses in the city of Elkhart.

Public schools

The Elkhart Community Schools, the largest district, serves the populated northwest side of the county. The system includes fourteen elementary schools (Beardsley, Bristol, Cleveland, Eastwood, Hawthorne, Mary Beck, Mary Daly, Mary Feeser, Monger, Osolo, Pinewood, Riverview, Roosevelt STEAM Academy, and Woodland), three middle schools (North Side, Pierre Moran, and West Side), two high schools ( Central and

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

), which in 2020 merged into a singular Elkhart High School, one alternative school (Tipton Street Center), and the Elkhart Area Career Center. The Middlebury Community Schools serve the northeast side of the county. This system includes four elementary schools (Jefferson, Middlebury, Orchard View, and York), one intermediate school (Heritage), one middle school, and one high school both named Northridge. The Fairfield Community Schools serve the county's southeast corner. This system includes three elementary schools (Benton, Millersburg, and New Paris) and a junior-senior high school named Fairfield. The Wa-Nee Community Schools serve the southwest portion of the county. This system consists of three elementary schools (Nappanee, Wakarusa, and Woodview), a middle school, and a high school both named NorthWood. The Baugo Community Schools serve the west-central part of the county. This system is made up of an elementary, an intermediate, a junior high, and a high school each named Jimtown. The Concord Community Schools serve the southeast side of the city of Elkhart and northwest Goshen. This system consists of four elementary schools (East Side, Ox Bow, South Side, and West Side), an intermediate school, a junior high school, and a high school; all named Concord. Finally, the Goshen Community Schools serve the central part of Elkhart County. This system is made up of seven elementary schools (Chamberlain, Chandler, Model, Parkside, Prairieview, Waterford, and West Goshen), a middle and a high school all named Goshen.

Private schools

In addition to the public schools, there are nine private schools in the county. Kessington Christian School (grades PK-12) is in Bristol; Elkhart Christian Academy (grades K-12), Trinity Lutheran School (grades K-8), St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (grades PK-8), and St. Thomas the Apostle School (grades K-8) are in Elkhart; while Bethany Christian (grades 4–12), Bashor Alternative School (grades 4–10), St. John the Evangelist Catholic School (grades PK-6), and Clinton Christian School (grades K-12) are in Goshen.

Higher education

Elkhart County has six institutions for higher learning, two of which are solely located in the county:

Goshen College Goshen College is a Private college, private Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, a ...

, a small Mennonite liberal arts college of 1000 students in Goshen; and the

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is an Anabaptist Christian seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, affiliated with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. It was formerly known as Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary until its n ...

, which has been operating on Elkhart's south side since 1958. The city of Elkhart has four satellite campuses within its city limits. Bethel College of Mishawaka has a small satellite campus on the south side, Indiana Institute of Technology has a small operation on Middlebury Street,

Indiana University South Bend Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend or IUSB) is a public university in South Bend, Indiana. It is the third largest and northernmost campus of Indiana University. History Indiana University began offering classes in South Bend in 1 ...

has its "Elkhart Center" downtown, and

Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary ins ...

has a campus as well.

Recreation

County parks and lands

Bonneyville Mill Park consists of of rolling hills, marshes, and woodlands on the Little Elkhart River east of Bristol. The park offers hiking trails, fishing spots, shelters, and guided tours of Bonneyville Mill. The mill is still used to produce flour. Ox Bow Park sits on overlooking the Elkhart River midway between Elkhart and Goshen. The park offers hiking trails, shelters, disc golf, and an archery range. River Preserve Park is located between Benton and the Goshen Dam also on the Elkhart River. The park also offers several trails and shelters and provides insight into the history of Indiana's waterways. Treasure Island Park offers fishing and canoe access to the St. Joseph River west of Elkhart while the Turkey Creek (two miles south of Goshen) and Wolf Lake (two miles north of Goshen) sites have no public access but are described as "future parks." The cities and towns of Elkhart County also have numerous parks and greenways.

Museums

* Bonneyville Mill, in the park of the same name east of Bristol, shows the inner workings of a grain mill. * Bristol is home to the Elkhart County Historical Museum. * The Jimtown Historic Museum depicts life in the 19th century. * The Midwest Museum of American Art is in Elkhart and has over 2500 works in its collection. * The National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart tells the history of the New York Central, Penn Central, Amtrak and Conrail railroads. * The RV/MH Hall of Fame & Museum is on the northeast side of Elkhart. * Ruthmere is a grand 1910 Beaux Arts mansion with significant fine arts and decorative arts collections, an arts reference library, vintage automobiles, gardens, and a greenhouse. Collections include works of art by

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a Electrical telegraph#Morse ...

, Jane Stuart, and other important European and American artists of the 19th and early 20th century. * "Time Was", a small historical museum that interprets life in late 19th and early 20th century Elkhart and includes collections of print material, photographs, objects, and general memorabilia.

Sports team

Elkhart's North Side Gymnasium was home to the Elkhart Express

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

team. However, after (2) winning seasons, the Express ceased to exist in 2009.

Annual events

* Bristol holds an annual Homecoming Festival during the first week of July and nearby Bonneyville Mill Park hosts a harvest celebration every September. * Elkhart hosts the Elkhart Jazz Festival and the Rhapsody in Green Summer celebration. Both take place in June. * Goshen plays host to First Fridays events on the first weekend of every month throughout the year. Thousands visit downtown Goshen each year to attend the varied festivals which take place each month. * Middlebury holds a Summer Festival every August. * Nappanee and Amish Acres host the Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival at the end of July. * Wakarusa hosts an annual Maple Syrup Festival every April. * The newly renovated Lerner Theater (the former ELCO Theater), in Elkhart, the Goshen Linway Plaza Theater, and the Amish Acres Round Barn Theater in Nappanee sits on of rural Amish land and is host to live theater productions throughout the year. All of these events draw in many people every year, but the biggest event, by far, in the county is the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. This nine-day event is one of the largest county fairs in the United States.

Media

''The Elkhart Truth'' and '' The Goshen News'' are the two daily newspapers that serve the county while Bristol, Middlebury, and Nappanee all have weekly newspapers. Elkhart County lies in the South Bend-Elkhart television market, the 89th largest in the United States . One television station, WSJV-TV (

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

), is located in Elkhart along with several radio stations including WTRC, WLEG, WFRN and WVPE (

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

). Radio Stations WKAM and Goshen College's WGCS are located in Goshen.

Notable media mentions

* On Palm Sunday 1965, a flurry of severe weather moved through the county. After three tornadoes (one was a twin tornado), 66 people had died in Elkhart County. 137 would die on this day statewide. * In 1999, officer Thomas Goodwin became Goshen's first, and to date, only police officer killed in the line of duty. * The Accra-Pac Factory in Elkhart had two fatal explosions, in 1976 and 1997. * On December 6, 2001, Goshen received national news coverage due to a shooting at the Nu-Wood factory. The gunman killed one co-worker, wounded six others, and then killed himself. * Much of '' Devil's Playground'', an Amish coming-of-age documentary by director Lucy Walker, was filmed in Elkhart and

Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaU.S. President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at Concord High School in Elkhart to discuss the economic downturn and promote his economic stimulus package. He chose Elkhart because it had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

Notable people

Edward Bonney Edward William Bonney (August 26, 1807 – February 4, 1864) was a 19th-century adventurer, miller, hotel keeper, city planner, counterfeiter, livery stable keeper, bounty hunter, private detective, postmaster, merchant, soldier, and ...

(1807–1863), detective, bounty hunter, and city planner of the defunct town of Bonneyville, present-day Bonneyville Mill County Park, in Bonneyville Mills * Frederick A. Herring, a Textile manufacturer, evangelist,

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...

(

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

) /

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

in Goshen (1812–1908)

References

Bibliography

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