Kosciusko County, Indiana

Kosciusko County, Indiana
Kosciusko County Courthouse in Warsaw, Indiana
Location in the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1836
Named for	Tadeusz Kościuszko
Seat	Warsaw
Largest city	Warsaw
Area
• Total	554.39 sq mi (1,436 km2)
• Land	531.38 sq mi (1,376 km2)
• Water	23.01 sq mi (60 km2), 4.15%
Population
• (2010)	77,358
• Density	144/sq mi (55.57/km²)
Congressional districts	2nd, 3rd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.kcgov.com
Footnotes: Indiana county number 43

Kosciusko County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded the population at 77,358. The county seat is Warsaw.

The county was formed in 1836. It was named after the Polish general Tadeusz Kościuszko who served in the American Revolutionary War and then returned to Poland. The county seat is named after Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

Geographical features

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 554.39 square miles (1,435.9 km²), of which 531.38 square miles (1,376.3 km²) (or 95.85%) is land and 23.01 square miles (59.6 km²) (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)

Newspapers

Times-Union
Mail-Journal
The PAPER
Ink Free News

Major highways

• U.S. Route 30
• Indiana State Road 15
• Indiana State Road 25
• Indiana State Road 19
• Indiana State Road 13
• Indiana State Road 14

Cities and towns

Southern Kosciusko County is dotted with small lakes like Beaver Dam Lake (foreground) near Silver Lake.

• Atwood
• Burket
• Claypool
• Etna Green
• Leesburg
• Mentone
• Milford
• North Webster
• Pierceton
• Sidney
• Silver Lake
• Syracuse
• Warsaw
• Winona Lake

Townships

• Clay
• Etna
• Franklin
• Harrison
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Lake
• Monroe
• Plain
• Prairie
• Scott
• Seward
• Tippecanoe
• Turkey Creek
• Van Buren
• Washington
• Wayne

Climate and weather

Warsaw, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.9     31 15     1.5     35 18     2.1     47 28     3.4     59 38     3.8     71 49     4.5     79 58     3.7     82 62     4.1     80 60     3.2     73 53     3     62 42     3     48 32     2.6     35 21 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     47     −1 −9     37     2 −8     53     8 −2     85     15 3     97     22 9     115     26 14     93     28 17     103     27 16     82     23 12     77     17 6     75     9 0     67     2 −6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Warsaw have ranged from a low of 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in July 1976. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.45 inches (37 mm) in February to 4.51 inches (115 mm) in June.

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

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 county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also 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 is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that can handle some civil cases. The county also maintains a Circuit and Superior Court. The judge on each court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana bar.

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. 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 3rd congressional district and in 2008 was represented by Mark Souder in the United States Congress. 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

• C. Aaron Rovenstine - Sheriff
• Daniel Hampton - Prosecutor
• Susan Engelberth - Assessor
• Michelle Puckett - Auditor
• Ann Torpy - Clerk
• Joetta Mitchell - County Recorder
• Sue Ann Mitchell - Treasurer
• Ronald Truex - Middle District Commissioner
• Robert M. Conley - Southern District Commissioner
• Bradford Jackson, President - Northern District Commissioner
• Michael Wilson, Certified Death Investigator, Coroner

Education

School districts

• Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation
• Triton School Corporation
• Warsaw Community Schools
• Wawasee Community School Corporation
• Whitko Community School Corporation

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	4,170		—
1850	10,243		145.6%
1860	17,418		70.0%
1870	23,531		35.1%
1880	26,494		12.6%
1890	28,645		8.1%
1900	29,109		1.6%
1910	27,936		−4.0%
1920	27,120		−2.9%
1930	27,488		1.4%
1940	29,561		7.5%
1950	33,002		11.6%
1960	40,373		22.3%
1970	48,127		19.2%
1980	59,555		23.7%
1990	65,294		9.6%
2000	74,057		13.4%
2010	77,358		4.5%
Est. 2014	78,564		1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 77,358 people, 29,197 households, and 20,740 families residing in the county. The population density was 145.6 inhabitants per square mile (56.2/km²). There were 37,038 housing units at an average density of 69.7 per square mile (26.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.3% white, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 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.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Kosciusko County, Indiana

External links

• Kosciusko County
• Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce
• Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau