Editing Kokomo, Indiana

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Kokomo, Indiana
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = City of Firsts
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                 = infobox
| total_width            = 280
| image_style            = border:1;
| perrow                 = 2/2
| image1                 = Kokomo, Indiana skyline.png
| image2                 = SeiberlingMansionKokomo.jpg
| image3                 = I Love Kokomo downtown art work.jpg
| image4                 = Nickel Plate Trail Bridge over highway.jpg
}}
| image_caption      = Clockwise from top: Downtown Kokomo from Civic Center Tower, [[Seiberling Mansion]], downtown art work, Nickel Plate Trail Pedestrian Bridge
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = City of kokomo seal.JPG
| image_map          = File:Howard County Indiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Kokomo Highlighted 1840392.svg
| mapsize            = 260px
| map_caption        = Location of Kokomo in Howard County, Indiana
| pushpin_map        = USA Indiana#USA
| pushpin_mapsize    = 200px
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_label      = Kokomo
| coordinates        = {{coord|40|28|56|N|86|7|54|W|region:US-IN_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Indiana|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Indiana}}
| subdivision_name2  = [[Howard County, Indiana|Howard]]
| named_for          = [[Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo]]
| established_date   = 1855
| government_type    = [[Mayor-council government|Mayor-council]]
| leader_title       = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name        = Tyler Moore ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])<ref>{{cite news |last1=Juranovich |first1=Tyler |title=Elected officials sworn in |url=https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local_news/elected-officials-sworn-in/article_0e6f8a3c-a8eb-11ee-80d8-2fd1f49ab358.html |work=Kokomo Tribune |date=January 2, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_18.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 16, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 95.29
| area_total_sq_mi   = 36.79
| area_land_km2      = 95.00
| area_land_sq_mi    = 36.68
| area_water_km2     = 0.29
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.11
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 820

<!-- Population -->| population_total   = 59,604
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name ="wwwcensusgov" />
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_est     = 60,093
| pop_est_as_of      = 2024
| pop_est_footnotes  = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/kokomocityindiana/PST045223|date=July 1, 2023|title=Quick Facts - Kokomo city, Indiana|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 3, 2024}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset         = &minus;5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = &minus;4
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]s
| postal_code        = 46901-46904
| area_code          = [[Area code 765|765]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 18-40392
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS ID]]
| blank1_info        = 2395560<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2395560}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.cityofkokomo.org/|cityofkokomo.org}}
}}

'''Kokomo''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|oʊ|k|ə|m|oʊ}} {{respell|KOH|kə|moh}}) is a [[city]] in and the [[county seat]] of [[Howard County, Indiana]], United States.<ref name=gnis/> Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quick Facts - Kokomo city, Indiana |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/kokomocityindiana/PST045223 |access-date=December 3, 2024 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> It is the principal city of the [[Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area|Kokomo metropolitan area]], which includes all of Howard County, and it is the largest city and regional center for the North Central Indiana region consisting of ~225,000 people across six counties anchored by the city of Kokomo.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=http://ncirpc.com/index.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=ncirpc.com}}</ref> The city is located approximately {{Convert|60|mi}} north of [[Indianapolis]] and {{Convert|85|mi}} south of [[South Bend, Indiana]].

Named for the [[Miami people|Miami]] [[Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo]] who was called "Chief Kokomo",<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = A Look Back as We Move Forward
 | newspaper = The Kokomo Tribune
 | page = 58
 | via = [[Newspapers.com]]
 | url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/867261/history_of_howard_county_indiana/
 | date = March 28, 1999 | access-date = August 16, 2014
}} {{Open access}}</ref> Kokomo first benefited from the legal business associated with being the county seat. Before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], it was connected with [[Indianapolis]] and then the Eastern cities by railroad, which resulted in sustained growth. Substantial growth came after the discovery of large natural gas reserves, which produced an economic boom in the mid-1880s. Among the businesses which the boom attracted was the fledgling automobile industry. A significant number of technical and engineering innovations were developed in Kokomo, particularly in automobile production, and, as a result, Kokomo became known as the "City of Firsts." A substantial portion of Kokomo's employment still depends on the automobile industry.

==History==

===Early history and incorporation===
The city of Kokomo was named after the [[Miami people|Miami]] man [[Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo]], said to have been one of the four sons of [[Jean Baptiste Richardville|Chief Richardville]], last of the chiefs of the [[Miami people]].<ref name="Blanchard1883">{{cite book|last=Blanchard|first=Charles|date=1883|title=History of Howard and Tipton Counties, Indiana|location=Chicago, Illinois|publisher=F.A. Battey & Co.|pages=84, 324}}</ref><ref name = IndFolk>{{cite book|last=Baker|first=Ronald L.|date=1984|title=Hoosier Folk Legends|location=Bloomington, Indiana|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0253203341|page=184}}</ref> Tradition holds that David Foster, the "Father of Kokomo," named the town Kokomo after the "ornriest Indian on earth" because Kokomo was "the ornriest town on earth."<ref name = IndFolk/><ref name=LegKoko>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo Legend
 | last = Leiter | first = Carl
 | newspaper = Kokomo Morning Times
 | url = http://www.howardcountymemory.net/item.aspx?details=44911
 | date = February 28, 1965 | access-date = June 17, 2013
}}</ref> Kokomo is thought to have been born in 1775 and died in 1838.<ref name=Morrowp48>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], p. 48.</ref> The only documentary proof of his existence is a trading post record of a purchase of a barrel of flour for $12 for his "squaw."<ref name = IndFolk /> His remains (with those of others) were reportedly discovered during the construction of a saw mill in 1848 and re-interred in the "north-east corner" of the Pioneer Cemetery.<ref name=LegKoko /> The tradition of the Peru Miami is that the town was named after a [[Thorntown, Indiana|Thorntown]] Miami named Ko-kah-mah, whose name is rendered Co-come-wah in the [[Treaty at the Forks of the Wabash (1834)|Treaty at the Forks of the Wabash]] in 1834. That name was translated as "the diver" (an animal that could swim under water).<ref>{{Cite journal
 | title = Indiana Geographical Nomenclature
 | last = Dunn | first = Jacob Piatt
 | journal = Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History
 | publisher = Indiana University
 | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = 110–111
 | url = http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/5811
 | date = September 1912
}}</ref>

[[File:David Foster.jpg|thumb|upright|David Foster, Founder of Kokomo]]
As a result of [[Indian removals in Indiana|various removals]], by 1840 the Miami population in Howard County (until 1846 known as Richardville County) was reduced to about 200. The principal settlement was the Village of Kokomo, on the south side of [[Wildcat Creek (Indiana)|Wildcat Creek]]. Indian paths connected Kokomo with [[Frankfort, Indiana|Frankfort]] and [[Thorntown, Indiana|Thorntown]] (along the Wildcat) and led to [[Peru, Indiana|Peru]] by way of [[Cassville, Indiana|Cassville]], and to Meshingomesia by way of [[Greentown, Indiana|Greentown]].<ref name=Morrowp48 /> At the time David Foster had a trading post in Howard County, near the intersection of the reservation boundary line and Wildcat pike, where he engaged in both legitimate trade and illegal sale of alcohol to the Miamis on government property.<ref name="Morrow I, p. 202">[[#Morrow|Morrow]], p. 202.</ref>

Shortly after Richardville County was organized in 1844 the commissioners appointed to establish the [[county seat]] approached Foster for a donation from his substantial holdings. (In 1846 tax records show that he owned {{convert|552|acre}} of farmland and as well as 67 divided lots in the business district.<ref>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], p. 320</ref>) At the time of the request the only improvements in what is now Kokomo were Foster's log house and log barn and several Miami huts. The commissioners sought a donation of the more fertile lands south of Wildcat Creek, but Foster refused, donating instead {{convert|40|acre}} north of the creek—land which was thickly forested and "swampy."<ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], pp. 56–58.</ref> The terms of the donation required that Foster build a courthouse on the land, but he was later excused and Rufus L. Blowers was promised $28 to build it. He was penalized $2 for construction delays.<ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], p. 112.</ref> The log courthouse was completed in 1845.<ref name="timeline">{{Cite web
 |title=Time Line of Howard County, 1844– 
 |publisher=Kokomo-Howard County Public Library 
 |url=http://chestnut.kokomo.lib.in.us/glhs/history/timeline.html 
 |access-date=June 17, 2013 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112234020/http://chestnut.kokomo.lib.in.us/glhs/history/timeline.html 
 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 
}}</ref>

In June 1855, Henry A. Brouse petitioned the board of Howard county commissioners to incorporate the town of Kokomo. The original election was not held (for unspecified reasons), but another took place on October 1, 1855. After a vote of 62–3 in favor of incorporation, the board so ordered it.<ref>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], pp. 326–27</ref>

On March 31, 1865, an election was held for Kokomo to assume a city government. The resolution was passed, and Nelson Purdum was elected the first mayor.<ref>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], p. 330.</ref>

===Early growth===
In anticipation of business that the court would bring, Kokomo began a fairly quick growth from the time that lots were first sold on October 18, 1844.<ref name=timeline /> David Foster was granted the first license to sell merchandise in Kokomo at the December 1844 commissioners meeting. Two more merchants were licensed in March 1845.<ref name=ED326>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], p. 326.</ref> John Bohan, who would become a major shop owner, merchant, justice of the peace and investor, moved to Kokomo in December 1844, and erected the first two-story frame house, not only in Kokomo, but in all the county.<ref name = ED326 /><ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], pp. 202–03.</ref>

After the enactment of the 1846 pre-emption law,<ref>An Act to grant the Right of Preemption to actual Settlers on the Lands acquired by Treaty from the Miami Indians in Indiana, 9 Stat. 50 (August 3, 1846).</ref> settlers rapidly attempted to secure homesteads in the surrounding lands.<ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], p. 68.</ref>

In 1848 Stonebreaker's Mill, {{convert|10|mi}} west of Kokomo, began operations.<ref name="Morrow I, p. 202" /><ref name=timeline /> By 1850 Kokomo had a newspaper, when James Beard purchased the printing equipment of the New London ''Pioneer'' and set up the Howard ''Tribune''.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Newspapers
 | last = Pollard | first = Otis C.
 | publisher = by Jackson Morrow (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co. [1909?]), Vol. I, pp. 304–18 ("Newspapers"), pp. 304–05
 | work = History of Howard County
 | year = 1909 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofhowardc01morr
}}</ref> By 1851 county business was so brisk that the county ordered the construction of two more court buildings, both one story brick affairs, {{convert|18|by|36|ft}}. The county auditor and treasurer occupied one building, and the clerk and recorder occupied the other.<ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], pp. 112–13.</ref>

On April 1, 1854, Kokomo's first bank, the Indian Reserve Bank, was organized with David Foster, John Bohan and Harless Ashly the principal shareholders. (It only lasted a few years until a robbery impaired its capital. The loss substantially injured Foster's fortune.)<ref>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], pp. 327–28.</ref>

===Railroads===
1854 saw the first railroad stop at Kokomo.<ref name = timeline /> The New London ''Pioneer'' had long advocated for a rail line to connect Kokomo with [[Indianapolis]]. Colonel C.D. Murray was the agent at Kokomo for stock subscriptions in support of the railroad. In 1852 the construction of the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad commenced. In Kokomo Samuel C. Mills and Dr. Corydon Richmond, commercial competitors of David Foster, donated several lots to the railroad in order to secure the location of the rail depot near their commercial property. The route was laid along Buckeye Street at the insistence of the merchants who hoped to reduced drayage expenses. Samuel Mills built a large frame structure at the Howard flouring mills, which served as a warehouse for the company's freight and a passenger depot. For some time after 1854 Kokomo was the terminus of the line, but eventually the line was extended to Peru and then to Michigan City.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Railroads
 | last = Pollard | first = Otis C.
 | publisher = by Jackson Morrow (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co. [1909?]), Vol. I, pp. 416–21 ("Railroads"), pp. 416–19
 | work = History of Howard County
 | year = 1909 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofhowardc01morr
}}</ref>

A short time after the construction of the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad began, the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] announced that one of its lines would pass through Kokomo. By 1853 a line was commenced between Kokomo and [[Logansport, Indiana|Logansport]] (which was intended to become the hub of a network of lines for the company). Railroad service was inaugurated on that line on July 4, 1855.<ref>Watt, William J. (1999) ''The Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana''. Indiana University Press. p. 30.</ref>

The most important rail line for Kokomo became the standard-gauge Clover Leaf line. This railroad would eventually link Kokomo with both the West Coast and the Eastern Seaboard. It began as a short line linking Frankfort and Kokomo, the [[Frankfort and Kokomo Railroad]]. Henry Y. Morrison of Frankfort was the principal promoter, and A.Y. Comstock acted for him in Kokomo. A failure of the proposed subsidy caused the promoters to turn all assets over to the contractors, who promised to complete the line. Construction began in 1873 and was completed the following year. 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, 1881.<ref>Railroads, pp. 419–20.</ref>

===Mayor Cole===
In 1881, 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. Dr. 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.<ref name="Leiter">{{Cite web
 | title = The Case of Dr. Henry Cole
 | last = Leiter | first = Carl
 | publisher = Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
 | work = From Out of the Past
 | id = undated clipping
 | url = http://www.howardcountymemory.net/item.aspx?details=36919
}}</ref> He became suspicious of one Allen, whom he warned away from Kokomo. When he discovered Allen leaving the post office one day in October 1866, he shot him dead.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Crimes and Casualties
 | last = Pollard | first = Otis C.
 | publisher = by Jackson Morrow (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co. [1909?]), Vol. I, pp. 282–304 ("Pollard"), p. 292-93
 | work = History of Howard County
 | year = 1909 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofhowardc01morr
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = General News
 | newspaper = The New York Times
 | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/10/29/83462422.pdf
 | date = October 29, 1866 | access-date = July 16, 2013
}}</ref> Cole's case was venued to Tipton County, where he retained [[Daniel W. Voorhees]] of Terre Haute to represent him.<ref name=Leiter /> Voorhees obtained a not guilty verdict on a plea of emotional insanity.<ref name="Pollard, p. 293">[[#Pollard|Pollard]], p. 293.</ref> 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 1881.<ref name=Leiter /><ref name="Pollard, p. 293" /> Shortly thereafter, on September 19, 1881, he was shot dead by a sheriff's posse at Old Spring Mills at West Jefferson Street.<ref name=Leiter /> According to the coroner's inquest, he died from shotgun wounds inflicted by Deputy George Bennett (father of New York stage idol [[Richard Bennett (actor)|Richard Bennett]]).<ref name="Booher">Booher, Ned and Linda Ferries, ''Kokomo: A Pictorial History'' (St. Louis: G. Bradley: 1989), p. 28.</ref> 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.<ref name=Booher /><ref>[[#Pollard|Pollard]], pp. 294–95.</ref> Cole's supporter's argued that no revolvers or burglary tools were produced and that the motive was implausible.<ref name=Booher /> Nevertheless, no action was taken against Bennett or the other members of the posse.

[[File:Natural gass well.JPG|thumb|[[Natural gas]] miners and their drill, near Kokomo, Indiana during the [[Indiana Gas Boom]], c. 1885]]

===Natural gas boom===
Natural gas had been developed in Pennsylvania and Canada for some time, and had most recently been developed around [[Findlay, Ohio]]. In March 1886, a group of citizens, led principally by A.Y. Comstock (who had promoted the [[Frankfort and Kokomo Railroad]]) and D.C. Spraker (later President of Kokomo Rubber Company), circulated a memorandum seeking subscribers (at $100 each) for the purpose of boring for gas at a distance of at least {{convert|2000|ft}} below ground. It took until September to obtain the necessary 22 subscribers. The first rig was built south of Wildcat Creek. and on October 6, 1886, natural gas erupted forth and the well was capped.<ref>[[#Morrow|Morrow]], pp. 232–34.</ref>

Together with the well in [[Eaton, Indiana|Eaton]], which began producing slightly before Kokomo's, the discovery led to the [[Indiana Gas Boom]].<ref name="JG">{{cite book |last1=Glass |first1=James |last2=Kohrman |first2=David |title=The Gas Boom of East Central Indiana (Images of America) |date=2005 |publisher=Arcadia |location=Charleston |isbn=9780738539638 |pages=41–52}}</ref> 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 Diamond Plate Glass Company (now part of [[PPG Industries]]) began in Kokomo in 1887, lured by the cheap and plentiful natural gas.<ref name="timeline" /> The [[Kokomo Opalescent Glass Works]] started making [[stained glass]] in Kokomo in 1888 and has been in continuous operation ever since.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = History of Kokomo Opalescent Glass
 | url = http://www.kog.com/history.html
 | access-date = August 21, 2012
 | archive-date = May 16, 2016
 | archive-url = http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516114932/http://www.kog.com/history.html
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

==="City of Firsts"===
[[File:Elwood Haynes in his first automobile, the Pioneer, c 1910.jpg|thumb|[[Elwood Haynes]] driving in his first automobile, the 1894 ''Pioneer'', photo taken c. 1910]]

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."<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = City of Kokomo, Indiana
 | url = http://www.cityofkokomo.org/
 | access-date = August 19, 2012
}}</ref> Among other achievements, Kokomo was a pioneer of the United States automobile manufacturing, with [[Elwood Haynes]] test-driving his early internal combustion engine auto there on July 4, 1894. 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 1898.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/Archives/Haynes/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303232645/http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/Archives/Haynes/|url-status=dead|title=Gordon Library: Archives & Special Collections |website=Wpi.edu|archive-date=March 3, 2009|access-date=July 2, 2023}}</ref> Haynes went on to invent Stainless Steel flatware in 1912 to give his wife tarnish-free dinnerware.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Stainless Steel
 | publisher = Worcester Polytechnic Institute
 | url = http://www.wpi.edu/About/History/Profiles/steel.html
 | access-date = August 19, 2012
 | archive-date = December 4, 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081204125743/http://www.wpi.edu/About/History/Profiles/steel.html
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref> In 1938, the Delco Radio Division of General Motors (now [[Aptiv]]) developed the first push button car radio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.borgwarner.com/acquires/delphi-technologies|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104214607/http://delphi.com/news/pressReleases/pressReleases_2006/pr66602-01042006/|url-status=dead|title=Delphi Technologies is now part of BorgWarner|archive-date=January 4, 2010|website=Borgwarner.com|access-date=July 2, 2023}}</ref>

Kokomo serves as the "City of Firsts" in the food industry as well. In 1928 Walter Kemp, Kemp Brothers Canning Co. developed the first canned [[tomato juice]] because of a request by a physician in search for baby food for his clinic.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Walter Kemp Develops Canned Tomato Juice
 | date = December 3, 2006
 | publisher = American Profile
 | url = http://www.americanprofile.com/articles/walter-kemp-develops-canned-tomato-juice-/
 | access-date = August 19, 2012
}}</ref> Kokomo is also home to the first mechanical [[corn picker]] which was developed by John Powell in the early 1920s. Kokomo was home to the first [[Ponderosa Steakhouse]], which opened in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = Local Ponderosa restaurants fall from six to two
 | last = Stephens | first = Caleb
 | work = Bizjournals
 | url = http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2003/04/21/story3.html
 | date = April 21, 2003
}}</ref> Kokomo opened the first [[McDonald's]] with a diner inside, locally called "McDiner."<ref>{{Cite web
 |title        = 'McDonald's With Diner Inside' Debuts
 |year         = 2001
 |url          = http://www.creativemag.com/rest501.html
 |access-date  = August 19, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120304022025/http://www.creativemag.com/rest501.html
 |archive-date = March 4, 2012
 |url-status     = dead
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref> This McDonald's theme failed nationally. Eventually, the "McDiner" closed and was converted back to a regular McDonald's restaurant.
[[File:Haynes-Apperson Ad.jpg|thumb|upright|1904 newspaper advertisement for [[Haynes-Apperson]]]]

The following inventions are associated with Kokomo:<ref name="timeline" />
* 1894 – [[Elwood Haynes]] makes the first successful trial run of his "horseless carriage" on Pumpkinvine Pike, which is now Boulevard east of Indiana 931 (formerly U.S.31.)
* 1894 – The first pneumatic rubber tire in the US was created by D.C. Spraker at the Kokomo Rubber Tire Company.
* 1895 – The first aluminum casting was developed by William "Billy" Johnson from the Ford and Donnelly Foundry.
* 1902 – Kingston carburetor developed by [[George Kingston (carburetor)|George Kingston]].
* 1906 – The first [[Stellite]] cobalt-base alloy was discovered by [[Elwood Haynes]].
* 1912 – [[Stainless steel]] tableware was invented by [[Elwood Haynes]] as a response to his wife's desire for tableware that wouldn't tarnish.
* 1918 – The Howitzer shell, used in [[World War I]], was created by the Superior Machine Tool Company.
* 1918 – The first aerial bomb with fins was produced by the Liberty Pressed Metal Company.
* 1920 – The mechanical corn picker was created by John Powell.
* 1923 – William Swern Sr. developed the first tire-building machine for mass production of auto tires <ref>Howard County Historical Society</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://howardcountymuseum.org/news/a+new+name+on+the+list+of+firsts/61|title=Howard County Historical Society: Error|website=howardcountymuseum.org|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>
* 1928 – The first canned [[tomato juice]] was created by Walter Kemp from Kemp Brothers Canning Company in response to a physician's need for baby food.
* 1938 – The first push-button car radio was created at [[Delco Electronics|Delco]] Radio Division of [[General Motors]] Corporation.
* 1941 – Globe American Stove Company manufactured the first all-metal life boats and rafts, known as Kokomo Kids in the US Navy.
* 1947 – The first signal-seeking car radio was created by the Delco Radio Division of [[General Motors]].
* 1956 – Delco Radio Division of [[General Motors]] produced a transistorized signal-seeking car (hybrid) radio, which used both vacuum tubes and transistors in its radio's circuitry. This transistorized car radio was available as an option on the 1956 Chevrolet [[Corvette car]] models.<ref>Christian Science Monitor Newspaper, Article "Chevrolet Restyles Sleek 1956 Corvette", February 20, 1956, p.22</ref><ref>1956 GM Year-End Annual Report, p. 15</ref>
* 1957 – Delco Radio Division of [[General Motors]] produced an all-transistor car radio, as standard equipment for the Cadillac [[Eldorado Brougham]] car model.<ref>1956 GM Year-End Annual Report, 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham car model introduction announcement, p. 15</ref><ref>Radio & TV News, August 1957, "Delco's All-Transistor Auto Radio", p. 60</ref><ref>The Cadillac Serviceman, Volume XXXI, No.4, April 1957 issue, Pg 34</ref>

===1913 Flood===
On March 21–26, 1913 Kokomo suffered [[Great Flood of 1913|severe flooding]] when {{convert|6.59|in}} of rainfall occurred. The ''[[Kokomo Tribune]]'' reported at the time that the Wildcat Creek over-topped its levee to reach nearly {{convert|1|mi}} wide after rising at a rate of {{convert|3|in}} per hour. 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 {{convert|42|in}} in a 24-hour period.<ref>"The Great Flood of 1913" ''The Kokomo Tribune'', March 25, 2013</ref>

=== Continental Steel Corporation ===
From 1914 through 1986, the [[Continental Steel Corporation]] facility produced nails, wire and wire fence from scrap steel on a {{convert|183|acre|adj=on}} facility in Kokomo. Manufacturing operations in the steel plant and on other portions of the property included the use, handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials. Steel-making operations had included reheating, casting rolling, drawing, pickling, galvanizing, tinning and tempering.

After the company filed for bankruptcy in 1986, EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management investigated the plant and property and found soil, sediments, surface water and ground water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (PCBs) and several metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium. Lead contamination was also detected in soils on nearby residential properties.

The site was proposed to the [[National Priorities List]] as a [[Superfund]] site in 1988 and formally added in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Indiana Superfund sites
 | url = http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/nplfin.htm#IN|website=Epa.gov
 | access-date = August 31, 2015
}}</ref>

In April 2009, EPA received almost $6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to complete needed cleanup at two problems at the Continental Steel Superfund site: the former Slag Processing Area and the site's contaminated ground water. The ARRA funding helped accelerate the cleanup of hazardous waste on the site. In the process, total of 15 Indiana contractors or subcontractors were involved in the ARRA-funded work, creating at least 45 temporary jobs.

In August 2010, using the ARRA funds, EPA completed the cleanup of the former slag processing area of the Superfund Site. Approximately {{convert|86000|short ton}} of slag were moved to the site's acid lagoon area for use as fill on that portion of the site. {{convert|2|ft|m|1|spell=In}} of clean soil were used to cap the former slag processing area, leaving it suitable for potential redevelopment. ARRA funds were also used to address contaminated groundwater at the site. This work included extensive groundwater sampling to determine the contaminated plume area and installation of groundwater extraction and monitoring wells. Three wind turbines will be used to generate much of the power needed to operate the groundwater extraction system.

Site cleanup was completed in August 2011.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Region 5 Cleanup Sites, Continental Steel Corp.
 | date = January 29, 2013
 | url = http://www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/continental/|website=Epa.gov
 | access-date = August 31, 2015
}}</ref>

In 2016 the former site was approved as the location of a [[Solar farm]] with installation of panels beginning in August 2016. The estimated cost of the project is $10M.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibj.com/articles/59066-10m-solar-farm-approved-for-ex-steel-plant-site-in-kokomo|title=$10M solar farm approved for ex-steel plant site in Kokomo|website=Ibj.com|date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=2016-08-15}}</ref>
The solar energy park began operating on December 29, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local_news/kokomo-solar-park-up-and-running/article_ed464302-d8fc-11e6-8cc6-0339d0d179ce.html |title=Kokomo solar park up and running |publisher=Kokomo Tribune |date=12 January 2017 |access-date=30 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://inovateus.com/projects/kokomo-solar-1/ |title=Kokomo Solar 1 |date=August 6, 2021 |publisher=Inovateus |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.innergex.com/sites/kokomo/ |title=Kokomo Solar project |publisher=Innergex |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>

===Ku Klux Klan===
In the summer of 1923, record numbers attended rallies of the [[Indiana Klan|Ku Klux Klan in Indiana]]. On June 16, 1923, a crowd of 75,000 attended a Klan rally in [[Terre Haute, Indiana|Terre Haute]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6986808/large_klan_rally_in_terre_haute/|title=Klansmen at Terre Haute|work=Indianapolis News|date=June 18, 1923|page=8|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> On June 21 [[Argos, Indiana|Argos]] held the largest rally it had ever seen.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6987245/ku_klux_klan_meeting_in_argos_indiana/|title=K.K.K. Meeting|work=Argos [Indiana] Reflector|date=June 28, 1923|page=1|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspqaper.com}}</ref> On June 26 a large Klan rally was held in [[Alexandria, Indiana|Alexandria]]. All of this was merely a prelude to the rally planned for Kokomo. Conceived as a "monster tristate conclave," it was intended to charter 93 Indiana klans representing more than 300,000 members.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6987574/monster_tristate_conclave_of_ku_klux/|title=Klan Plans Big Time at Kokomo|work= Logansport [Indiana] Pharos-Tribune|date=July 2, 1923|page=7|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Some doubted the prospect of 200,000 attendees, claiming it would be "without parallel in history";<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6987649/estimate_of_200000_for_klan_rally_in/|title=Ku Klux Klan Meeting in Crothersville|work=[Seymour, Indiana] Tribune|date=July 2, 1923|page=1|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> others predicted attendance of 300,000.<ref name=ColumbKKK>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6989410/planning_for_kokomo_klan_conclave_for/|title=5 Special Cars to Klan Meeting|work=[Columbus, Indiana] Republic|date=July 3, 1923|access-date=October 12, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Extensive preparations for that number were made, including the scheduling of 1,000 interurban cars from around Indiana to Kokomo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6987349/interurban_cars_scheduled_for_the/|title=No title|work=Waterloo [Indiana] Press|date=June 28, 1923|page=4|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[Indiana Railroad|Union Traction Company]], in addition to supplying 50 cars, transported three cars of white horses to Kokomo for the parade.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6989629/union_traction_to_transport_50_carloads/|title=Special Cars of Klan to Kokomo|work=[Seymour, Indiana] Tribune|date=July 3, 1923|page=1|access-date=October 11, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The Kokomo Klan rented the fields surrounding its own large lot for parking, and electric amplifiers were obtained to allow the large crowd to hear the speeches.<ref name=ColumbKKK/>

According to historian Robert Coughlan, "literally half" of Kokomo residents were members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] during its height in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gerber|first1=Carson|title=Study says hate group in Kokomo: Southern Poverty Law Center: KKK among state's 26 such factions|url=http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/study-identifies-kokomo-as-home-of-kkk-hate-group/article_a66da288-fdfd-11e6-91a7-6bab5238e8d1.html|access-date=2 March 2017|publisher=Kokomo Tribune|date=1 March 2017|ref=A1, continued on A10}}</ref> On July 4, 1923, Kokomo achieved national notoriety when it hosted the largest Ku Klux Klan gathering in history. An estimated 200,000 Klan members and supporters gathered in Malfalfa Park for a massive Konklave in which [[D. C. Stephenson]] was elevated to the position of Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan.<ref>McVeigh, Rory, ''The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-wing Movements and National Politics'' (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press: c2009), pp. 1–4.</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 | title = The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America
 | author = Wyn Craig Wade
 | year = 1998
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | page = 216
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6O_XYBMhNYAC&pg=PA216
 | isbn = 978-0-19-512357-9
}}</ref> Other estimates say the crowd was only 10,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-collected-d-c-stephensons-revenge/ |title=Indianapolis Collected: D.C. Stephenson's revenge|website=Historicindianapolis.com |date=August 22, 2015 |access-date=March 21, 2018}}</ref> A huge flag was used that day to collect a reported $50,000 for construction of a local "Klan hospital" so that Klan members would not have to be treated at the only local hospital, which was Catholic.<ref>"Konklave in Kokomo" by Robert Coughlan, The Aspirin Age: 1919–1941, pp. 105–129. ed. [[Isabel Leighton]], Simon and Schuster, 1949</ref> Both men's and women's Klans held weekly rallies and initiations in Malfalfa Park, and Kokomo's Klanswomen held meetings at the armory, the local headquarters of the [[Women of the Ku Klux Klan]], and churches. A speech at a Baptist church was attended by 1,000 Klanswomen.<ref>{{Cite book
 | title = Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s
 | author = Kathleen M. Blee
 | year = 2009
 | publisher = University of California Press
 | page = 138
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Zh5zQFaJNGYC&pg=PA138
 | isbn = 978-0-520-94292-9
}}</ref>

The Kokomo rally sent shockwaves through the national [[GOP]], which had come to believe that the re-election of President [[Warren G. Harding]] depended on the vote of Indiana. According to the Washington correspondent of the ''[[New York World]]'', Republicans feared that the Klan had "obliterated party lines" and "virtually swallowed" the Indiana Republican Party. Since the Republicans held only a 25,000 vote plurality in the state, any serious defection of African-Americans would tip the state to the Democrats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6993309/the_hancock_democrat/|title=Republicans Fear Ku Klux Klan in Indiana|work=The Hancock Democrat [Greenfield, Indiana]|date=July 12, 1923|page=6|access-date=October 12, 2016|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> In the event, Harding died within a month and Republican [[Calvin Coolidge]] succeeded him with a substantial electoral majority (including Indiana) against a divided opposition. The Klan, however, continued to dominate state politics especially after the election of [[Edward L. Jackson]] as governor.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Ryan White===
{{main|Ryan White}}
[[File:Ryan White.jpg|thumb|[[Ryan White]] in 1989 at a fundraising event in [[Indianapolis]]]]

Kokomo served to symbolize the nation's early misunderstanding and ignorance of [[AIDS]] in the mid-to-late 1980s when [[Ryan White]] was expelled from school due to his illness. White was a teenage hemophiliac who had been infected with [[HIV]] through contaminated blood products ([[Factor VIII|Factor 8]]). At the time blood products were often collected through state prison systems. Factor 8 was made from pooled plasma of thousands of donors. Later the plasma was screened for HIV and Hepatitis and heat treated to inactivate HIV and Hepatitis. The teen had been attending [[Western School Corporation|Western Middle School]] (which is actually in [[Russiaville, Indiana|Russiaville]]) but was ostracized by his classmates, and forced to eat lunch alone and use a separate restroom. Many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied in support of banning White from attending the school. A lengthy administrative appeal process with the school system ensued, followed by death threats and violence against White and his family, including a bullet being fired through the window of their Kokomo home. Media coverage of the case made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCMr9jbq3Tk| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/sCMr9jbq3Tk| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=AIDS Boy Banned From Attending School - 1st August 1985|last=CampaignTB|date=November 2, 2010|access-date=August 18, 2018|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1987, the White family left Kokomo for [[Cicero, Indiana]]. Ryan attended [[Hamilton Heights School Corporation|Hamilton Heights High School]] in nearby Arcadia, where he was welcomed by faculty and students.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Gas tower===
The Kokomo Gas Tower had been a symbol of Kokomo since it was constructed in 1954. The tower was {{convert|378|ft}} tall and had a capacity of {{convert|12000000|cuft}}. Due to high maintenance costs of $75,000 a year, and up to $1,000,000 to paint it, the gas company decided to demolish it in 2003. Other ideas were reviewed before settling on this decision, including a plan to turn the tower into a giant [[Coca-Cola]] advertisement. On September 7, 2003, at approximately 7:30&nbsp;a.m., the Gas Tower was demolished by [[Controlled Demolition, Inc.]] (CDI). Pieces of the tower were sold to the public for $20–$30, and proceeds went to a planned Kokomo technology incubation center and Bona Vista.<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = Crowds flooded the intersection of Firmin and Home Avenue
 | newspaper = Kokomo Tribune
 | url = http://kokomotribune.com/archive/x518862403 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120308200658/http://kokomotribune.com/archive/x518862403 | url-status = dead | archive-date = March 8, 2012 | date = December 16, 2005 }}</ref>

==Geography==
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="150">
File:Kokomo indiana weather 1.jpg|Weather of Kokomo during December 2016
File:Kokomo indiana weather 2.jpg|Weather of Kokomo during December 2016
File:Kokomo indiana weather 3.jpg|[[U.S. Route 31|U.S. 31]] during winters near Kokomo
</gallery>
According to the 2010 census, Kokomo has a total area of {{convert|18.559|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|18.5|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (or 99.68%) is land and {{convert|0.059|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (or 0.32%) is water.<ref name="census-g001">{{Cite web
 | title = G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1
 | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]]
 | url = http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1840392
 | access-date = July 28, 2015
 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200213054259/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1840392
 | archive-date = February 13, 2020
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

=== Climate ===
Kokomo has a [[humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfa'').

{{Weather box
| location = Kokomo, Indiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present)
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 72
| Feb record high F = 74
| Mar record high F = 86
| Apr record high F = 94
| May record high F = 100
| Jun record high F = 107
| Jul record high F = 110
| Aug record high F = 106
| Sep record high F = 103
| Oct record high F = 91
| Nov record high F = 81
| Dec record high F = 71
| year record high F = 110

|Jan avg record high F = 55.5
|Feb avg record high F = 59.8
|Mar avg record high F = 72.3
|Apr avg record high F = 81.5
|May avg record high F = 87.7
|Jun avg record high F = 91.4
|Jul avg record high F = 91.7
|Aug avg record high F = 90.6
|Sep avg record high F = 89.6
|Oct avg record high F = 83.0
|Nov avg record high F = 69.5
|Dec avg record high F = 58.5
|year avg record high F = 93.6

| Jan high F = 32.5
| Feb high F = 36.9
| Mar high F = 48.7
| Apr high F = 61.9
| May high F = 72.6
| Jun high F = 81.0
| Jul high F = 83.7
| Aug high F = 82.3
| Sep high F = 77.2
| Oct high F = 64.7
| Nov high F = 49.9
| Dec high F = 37.6
| year high F = 60.8
| Jan mean F = 24.6
| Feb mean F = 28.1
| Mar mean F = 38.4
| Apr mean F = 50.2
| May mean F = 61.3
| Jun mean F = 70.3
| Jul mean F = 73.1
| Aug mean F = 71.4
| Sep mean F = 65.1
| Oct mean F = 53.2
| Nov mean F = 40.7
| Dec mean F = 30.2
| year mean F = 50.6
| Jan low F = 16.7
| Feb low F = 19.3
| Mar low F = 28.1
| Apr low F = 38.5
| May low F = 50.1
| Jun low F = 59.6
| Jul low F = 62.5
| Aug low F = 60.5
| Sep low F = 53.1
| Oct low F = 41.8
| Nov low F = 31.5
| Dec low F = 22.8
| year low F = 40.4

|Jan avg record low F = -6.8
|Feb avg record low F = -1.1
|Mar avg record low F = 10.0
|Apr avg record low F = 23.2
|May avg record low F = 34.3
|Jun avg record low F = 45.1
|Jul avg record low F = 51.2
|Aug avg record low F = 50.0
|Sep avg record low F = 39.4
|Oct avg record low F = 27.8
|Nov avg record low F = 17.1
|Dec avg record low F = 3.7
|year avg record low F = -10.2

| Jan record low F = −26
| Feb record low F = −20
| Mar record low F = −10
| Apr record low F = 8
| May record low F = 26
| Jun record low F = 34
| Jul record low F = 41
| Aug record low F = 37
| Sep record low F = 27
| Oct record low F = 17
| Nov record low F = −5
| Dec record low F = −24
| year record low F = −26
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 2.95
| Feb precipitation inch = 2.43
| Mar precipitation inch = 3.18
| Apr precipitation inch = 4.28
| May precipitation inch = 4.72
| Jun precipitation inch = 5.21
| Jul precipitation inch = 4.73
| Aug precipitation inch = 3.85
| Sep precipitation inch = 3.66
| Oct precipitation inch = 3.21
| Nov precipitation inch = 3.33
| Dec precipitation inch = 2.85
| year precipitation inch = 44.40
| Jan snow inch = 10.6
| Feb snow inch = 9.8
| Mar snow inch = 5.2
| Apr snow inch = 0.7
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.1
| Nov snow inch = 1.5
| Dec snow inch = 6.2
| year snow inch = 34.1
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 13.1
| Feb precipitation days = 10.7
| Mar precipitation days = 12.2
| Apr precipitation days = 12.7
| May precipitation days = 13.3
| Jun precipitation days = 12.4
| Jul precipitation days = 11.0
| Aug precipitation days = 9.7
| Sep precipitation days = 8.8
| Oct precipitation days = 10.6
| Nov precipitation days = 10.8
| Dec precipitation days = 12.7
| year precipitation days = 138.0
| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 7.2
| Feb snow days = 6.0
| Mar snow days = 3.1
| Apr snow days = 0.7
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.1
| Nov snow days = 1.6
| Dec snow days = 5.3
| year snow days = 24.0
| source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=nws>
{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ind
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = May 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00124662&format=pdf
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
| title = Station: Kokomo 3 WSW, IN
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| access-date = May 29, 2021}}</ref>
}}

===1965 tornado===
{{Main|1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak#Russiaville–Alto–Southern Kokomo–Greentown–Southern Marion, Indiana}}

On April 11, 1965, 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 [[1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak|Palm Sunday outbreak]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=April 11, 1965, Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak |url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/?n=palmsuntor |access-date=July 14, 2013 |work=[[National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office]], Indianapolis, IN}}</ref> The F4 tornado that swept through Kokomo was {{convert|800|yd|m}} wide and killed 25 people in the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 11, 2005 |title=NOAA Remembers the Midwest's Deadly 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak |url=http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2418.htm |access-date=July 14, 2013 |magazine=NOAA Magazine}}</ref> 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. The roof collapsed on the junior high school, and the framework of both schools was substantially wrecked. The Maple Crest Shell Station at the intersection of Lincoln and Washington was torn from its foundation and scattered about. Mills Drug Store at the same intersection was demolished. A house on Holly Lane was uprooted, and one on James Drive was demolished. The Maple Crest Shopping Center was extensively damaged, with Woolworth's suffering the most damage. The front and back of the one-story structure were caved in and merchandise was strewn about.<ref>"Kokomo's southside flattened by storm," ''Kokomo Morning Times'', April 13, 1965, p2.</ref> Numerous homes in the Maple Crest area were flattened, and the top floor of the Maple Crest apartments was blown off. The only thing left standing on the nearby Church of the Brethren was the steeple.<ref>"Maple Crest residents sift debris for lost belongings," ''Kokomo Morning Times'', April 13, 1965, p2.</ref> The force of the wind on the flat earth near Kokomo was so great that [[Ted Fujita]] was able to make aerial photographs of the spiral scouring on the ground.<ref>[[Grazulis, Thomas P.]] (2001) ''The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm''. Norman, Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, p. 44, fig. 3.8.</ref>

===2016 tornado===
{{Main|Tornado outbreak of August 24, 2016}}

On August 24, 2016, a strong EF3 tornado damaged 1,000 homes on the city's south side, with 170 sustaining major damage. 80 of these homes were destroyed, with some sustaining loss of roofs and exterior walls. Many large trees and power poles were snapped along the tornado's path, and an apartment complex was heavily damaged as well. Vehicles also sustained damage, including a large truck that was moved 10 feet from the driveway of a house and flipped over.<ref name="Tornadoes of August 24">{{Cite web |title=Tornadoes of August 24 |url=http://www.weather.gov/ind/august242016severe |access-date=March 15, 2017 |website=National Weather Service}}</ref> A [[Starbucks]] was completely destroyed, and several people were left trapped inside the still standing bathroom and had to be rescued.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alsup |first1=David |last2=Ellis |first2=Ralph |date=24 August 2016 |title=Kokomo tornado spawns damage |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/us/indiana-tornadoes/ |access-date=16 March 2017 |website=Cnn.com}}</ref> Many sheds and detached garages were also destroyed in the storm. A receipt from Kokomo was found 30 miles away in [[Marion, Indiana|Marion]].<ref name="Tornadoes of August 24" /> The storm followed a path very close to that of another tornado which hit on [[Tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013|November 17, 2013]]. Meteorologists have noted that nearly every tornado in Kokomo has struck the southern part of the city.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Frame |first1=Jeff |date=26 August 2016 |title=This is how the 'surprise' Indiana and Ohio tornado outbreak of August 24, 2016 happened |publisher=U.S. Tornados |agency=U.S. Tornados |url=http://www.ustornadoes.com/2016/08/26/surprise-indiana-ohio-tornado-outbreak-august-24-2016-happened/ |access-date=16 March 2017}}</ref>

=== Other notable tornadoes ===
Kokomo has been struck by 18 tornadoes between 1950 and 2015, some of which were strong enough to claim lives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weather.gov/ind/howard_torn|title=Howard County Tornadoes|website=Weather.gov|access-date=July 2, 2023}}</ref>

On March 6, 1961, two F3 tornadoes struck the southern part of Kokomo, killing one person and injuring three others.

On April 20, 2004, two tornadoes struck the northern part of Kokomo. The first tornado was rated F0 and caused little damage to homes and trees. The second tornado was rated F1 and caused a roof to collapse at the skating rink, and damaged three other homes and a truck stop. Both tornadoes caused 1 injury but no fatalities. This was the first time a tornado struck the northern part of Kokomo.

On November 17, 2013, two EF2 tornadoes tore through the southern part of Kokomo. The first tornado damaged over 300 homes and businesses. The second tornado touched down briefly and caused damage to a golf course and other businesses. The two tornadoes caused no fatalities and only five injuries.

=== Neighborhoods ===
These are neighborhoods in Kokomo according to the city transportation map:<ref>{{Cite web |title=City transportation map |url=http://www.cityofkokomo.org/SiteImages/FileGallery/AlternateTransportationMap_1019.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216161123/http://www.cityofkokomo.org/SiteImages/FileGallery/AlternateTransportationMap_1019.jpg |archive-date=December 16, 2013 |website=cityofkokomo.org}}</ref>{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* Berkley Meadows
* Bon Air
* Cedar Crest
* Country Club Hills
* Cricket Hill
* Darrough Chapel
* Devon Woods
* Doral Park
* Downtown Kokomo
* Emerald Lake
* [[Fairlawn Neighborhood (Kokomo, Indiana)|Fairlawn]]
* Forest Park
* Forest Park Estates
* Fredrick Farms
* Greentree
* Highland Springs
* Holiday Hills
* Holiday Park
* [[Indian Heights, Indiana|Indian Heights]]
* Ivy Hills
* Maple Crest
* Markland Heights
* Mayfield
* [[Old Silk Stocking Neighborhood|Old Silk Stocking]]
* Orleans Southwest
* [[Pittsburgh Plate Glass]]
* Stonybrook
* Sycamore Village
* Terrace Gardens
* Terrace Meadows
* The Preserves at Bridgewater
* Urbandale
* Vinton Woods
* Water's Edge
* Old Westbrook
* New Westbrook
* Western Woods
* Willowridge
* Webster Estates
* Wynterbrook}}

==Demographics==
[[File:Kokomo Metro-North Central Indiana.png|left|thumb|302x302px|Location of the Kokomo MSA within the larger North Central Indiana Region: {{legend|#FF0000|Kokomo Metropolitan Statistical Area}} {{legend|#FFFF00|North Central Indiana Region}}]]
{{US Census population
| 1850 = 378
| 1850n = <ref name="1850pop">{{cite book |last1=DeBow |first1=J.D.B. |title=The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850 |date=1853 |publisher=Robert Armstrong |location=Washington |page=1021 |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1850/1850a/1850a-49.pdf#page=7 |access-date=18 May 2021}} The population figure for 1850 is an estimate provided in the appendix of the [https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1853/dec/1850a.html official volume of the Seventh Census].</ref>
| 1860 = 1040
| 1870 = 2177
| 1880 = 4042
| 1890 = 8261
| 1900 = 10609
| 1910 = 17010
| 1920 = 30067
| 1930 = 32843
| 1940 = 33795
| 1950 = 38672
| 1960 = 47197
| 1970 = 44042
| 1980 = 47808
| 1990 = 44962
| 2000 = 46113
| 2010 = 45468
| estyear = 2024
| estimate = 60093
| estref = 
| align-fn = center
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{Cite web
 |title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=Census.gov|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|access-date=June 6, 2013|df=mdy 
}}</ref><br />2018 Estimate<ref name="2018 Pop Estimate">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates|url=https://census.gov/data/tables/2018/demo/popest/total-cities-and-towns.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
| 2020 = 59604
}}

=== Kokomo metropolitan area ===
{{Main|Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area}}
Kokomo is the principal city of the [[Kokomo metropolitan area]] and the largest city of the North Central Indiana region, which has approximately 225,000 people. The Kokomo MSA joins the larger [[Indianapolis metropolitan area|Indianapolis metropolitan statistical area]] (MSA) along with the [[Muncie, IN MSA|Muncie MSA]], [[Columbus, IN MSA|Columbus MSA]], and six other micropolitan areas to form a vast [[Combined statistical area|Combined Statistical Area]] covering 20 counties. In 2022 the CSA's population estimate was 2,631,863, ranking it as the [[Combined statistical area|27th]] largest in the U.S.

As of 2000 the median income for households in the city was $36,258, and the median income for a family was $45,353. Males had a median income of $38,420 versus $24,868 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $20,083. About 9.6% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{Cite web
 | title = U.S. Census website
 | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]]
 | url = https://www.census.gov
 | access-date = December 11, 2012
}}</ref> of 2010, there were 45,468 people, 19,848 households, and 11,667 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|2457.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 23,010 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1243.8|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 83.5% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 10.7% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.4% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.0% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 3.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.3% of the population.

There were 19,848 households, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age in the city was 38.2 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.

==Economy==
[[File:Bank Kokomo Downtown.jpg|thumb|left|Downtown Kokomo in 2008]]
Kokomo's employment, largely based in manufacturing, was hard hit by the economic downturn which led to [[Great Recession|the recession beginning in December 2007]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} In December 2008, Kokomo was ranked third by ''[[Forbes]]'' in its list of [[United States|America]]'s fastest dying towns, mainly as a result of the financial difficulties of the [[automotive]] industry.<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = America's Fastest-Dying Towns
 | last1 = Kotkin | first1 = Joel
 | last2 = Shires | first2 = Michael
 | magazine = Forbes
 | url = https://www.forbes.com/2008/12/08/towns-ten-economy-forbeslife-cx_mw_1209dying.html
 | date = December 9, 2008 | access-date = December 11, 2008
}}</ref>

In May 2011, ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine listed Kokomo as one of the "Best Cities for Jobs" after the city ascended 177 places in the rankings. The same article described Kokomo's success in the past few years as "inspirational" and attributed the turnaround to "a revival in manufacturing."<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = The Best Cities For Jobs
 | last1 = Kotkin | first1 = Joel
 | last2 = Shires | first2 = Michael
 | magazine = Forbes
 | url = https://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/05/02/the-best-cities-for-jobs/
 | date = May 2, 2011 | access-date = August 19, 2012
}}</ref> In June 2011, ''Conexus'' released a report touting Kokomo's "rapid bounce" after the recession, and predicted a rise in income of more than 2%, assuming increased automobile production.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title=2011 Manufacturing + Logistics Indiana State Report 
 |publisher=Ball State University 
 |url=http://cber.iweb.bsu.edu/research/conexus11/IndianaReport11.pdf 
 |date=June 2011 
 |access-date=August 19, 2012 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326002136/http://cber.iweb.bsu.edu/research/conexus11/IndianaReport11.pdf 
 |archive-date=March 26, 2012 
 |df=mdy 
}}</ref>

By May 2013 Kokomo's unemployment rate was 9%, representing a 1.4% decrease in non-farm employment,<ref name=BLSKoko>{{Cite web
 | title = Economy at a Glance: Kokomo, IN
 | work = Bureau of Labor Statistics
 | url = http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.in_kokomo_msa.htm
 | date = July 12, 2013 | access-date = July 13, 2013
}}</ref> it was higher than the national rate of 7.6%.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Economy at a Glance: United States
 | work = Bureau of Labor Statistics
 | url = http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm
 | date = July 12, 2013 | access-date = July 13, 2013
}}</ref> The May 2013 statistics reported a 6.9% decline in manufacturing jobs over the previous 12 months. Government employment was 18.7% below the previous year.<ref name=BLSKoko />

Major employers are
* [[Chrysler]] Division of [[Stellantis]]
**[[Kokomo Transmission]] Plant (3,583 employees)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://autoalliance.org/companies/fca/|title=Kokomo Transmission Plant|website=Autoalliance.org|access-date=August 19, 2012}}</ref>
** [[Kokomo Casting]] Plant (1,281 employees)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://autoalliance.org/companies/fca/|title=Kokomo Casting Plant|website=Autoalliance.org|access-date=August 18, 2012}}</ref>
** [[Indiana Transmission]] Plant I and II (2,439 employees)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://autoalliance.org/companies/fca/|title=Indiana Transmission Plant I|website=Autoalliance.org|access-date=August 12, 2012}}</ref>
** [[FCA Global Medium Engine|Kokomo Engine Plant]] started production in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/production-begins-at-kokomo-engine-plant/article_83ad234e-a08d-11ec-a8b5-43352a406ecb.html|title=Production begins at Kokomo Engine Plant|website=Kokomotribune.com|date=March 11, 2022 |access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref>
* [[BorgWarner]]
* [[GM Components Holdings LLC]]
* [[Haynes International]]
* Holder Mattress
* Syndicate Sales, Inc.
* [[Coca-Cola]] bottling plant
* Bona Vista (charity)

==Arts and culture==
[[File:SeiberlingMansionKokomo.jpg|thumb|Seiberling Mansion]]

===Historic Buildings in Kokomo, Indiana===
[[File:ElliottHouseKokomo.jpg|thumb|Photograph of the Elliott House in the [[Old Silk Stocking Historic District]]]]
The following is a list of all the buildings in Kokomo, Indiana, that are listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP):
*[[Elwood Haynes Museum|Elwood Haynes House]], built as a residence, and later adapted for use as office space.
*[[Kokomo City Building]]
*[[Kokomo Country Club|Kokomo Country Club Golf Course]]
*[[Kokomo Courthouse Square Historic District]]
*[[Kokomo High School and Memorial Gymnasium]]
*[[Lake Erie and Western Depot Historic District]]
*[[Learner Building]]
*[[Old Silk Stocking Historic District]], the only neighborhood in the United States listed on the NRHP.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Howard County Historical Society
 | url = http://www.howardcountymuseum.org/|website=Howardcountymuseum.org
 | access-date = August 21, 2012
}}</ref>
*[[Seiberling Mansion]], built as the residence of Monroe Seiberling, one of Kokomo's richest citizens.<ref name=nris>{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
*[[Howard Masonic Temple]]

===Festivals ===
* Haynes-Apperson Festival, Independence Day weekend<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Bret Michaels, Smash Mouth headline 2016 Haynes Apperson Festival
 | date = April 11, 2016
 | url = http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/features/bret-michaels-smash-mouth-headline-haynes-apperson-festival/article_c2e9565a-ffed-11e5-a6a0-07ed7e85223b.html
 | publisher = Kokomo Tribune
 | access-date = December 15, 2016}}</ref>
* WeberFest, Foster Park<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Weberfest brings Robby Krieger of The Doors
 | url = http://kokomoperspective.com/kp/lifestyles/weberfest-brings-robby-krieger-of-the-doors/article_85b259a6-58c8-11e6-a9bc-4b0fbe0bb54d.html
 |website=Kokomoperspective.com
 | access-date = December 15, 2016
}}</ref>
* Kokomo Con, October, Kokomo Event Center.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo Con
 | url = http://kokomoperspective.com/multimedia/photos/kokomo-con/collection_1104187a-e12c-11df-b346-001cc4c002e0.html
 | access-date = September 27, 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Con to showcase comics, pop culture, gaming
 | url = http://kokomotribune.com/local/x1953750643/Con-to-showcase-comics-pop-culture-gaming
 | access-date = September 27, 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo-Con 2014 - Comic Convention
 | website = Upcomingcons.com
 | url = http://www.upcomingcons.com/upcomingcons/8687-Kokomo-Con
 | access-date = January 30, 2016
}}</ref>

==Sports teams==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;text-align:center;line-height:135%"
|- 
|+ Collegiate/Professional Sports in Kokomo
|- 
! Team !! Sport !! Current League !! Established !! Venue !! Capacity
|-
| [[Kokomo Jackrabbits]]|| Baseball || |[[Northwoods League]]|| 2015 || [[Kokomo Municipal Stadium]]|| 4,000
|-
| [[Kokomo BobKats|Kokomo Bobkats]]|| Basketball || |[[The Basketball League]]|| 2021 || [[Kokomo High School and Memorial Gymnasium|Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium]]|| 7,500
|-
|[https://www.kokomovipersfc.com/ Kokomo Vipers FC]
|Soccer
|[[United Premier Soccer League|UPSL Premier Division]]
|2024
|[[Kokomo High School]]
|
|}

Other current teams include the City of First Roller Girls (Founded 2010) who compete in the [[Women's Flat Track Derby Association]] (WFTDA). Indiana University of Kokomo Cougars compete in 12 sports within the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] in the [[River States Conference|River States Conference (RSC)]].

===Former teams===
* Indiana Mustangs, Mid Continental Football League (1991–2009), Mid States Football League (2010-2013)
* [[Kokomo Dodgers]], [[Midwest League]] (1955–1961)
* Kokomo CFD Saints, semi-pro baseball (1989–2002)
* Kokomo CFD Knights, semi-pro baseball (2006–2007)
* Kokomo Mantis FC, soccer team (2016)

===Sports venues===
* [[Highland Park Stadium]] (CFD Investments Stadium)
* [[Kokomo Speedway]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kokomospeedway.net/|title=Kokomo Speedway|website=Kokomospeedway.net|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Kokomo High School and Memorial Gymnasium|Memorial Gymnasium]]
* [[Kokomo Municipal Stadium]]
* Wildcat Creek Soccer Complex
* [[Student Activities and Events Center]]

==Parks and recreation==
[[File:Old Ben, the world's largest preserved steer (Kokomo, 2000).jpg|thumb|right|Old Ben – Born in 1902 and acclaimed as "The largest steer in the world"]]
[[File:Vermont Covered Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|The Vermont [[Covered Bridge]] – Another attraction to be found in Highland Park]]
* Chief Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo Burial and Monument, east of downtown Kokomo
* [[Elwood Haynes Museum]], located next to Highland Park<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = Elwood Haynes Museum
 |publisher   = City of Kokomo
 |url         = http://www.cityofkokomo.org/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=113&ArticleID=205&TM=49307.54
 |access-date = August 21, 2012
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718201513/http://www.cityofkokomo.org/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=113&ArticleID=205&TM=49307.54
 |archive-date = July 18, 2011
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>
* Foster Park
* [[Kokomo Country Club]], golf club

===Trails and paths===
* Wildcat Creek Walk of Excellence – The Wildcat Walk of Excellence consists of over {{convert|3|mi}} of paved trail that roughly follows the Wildcat Creek. The trail connects several of Kokomo's parks including Foster, Future, Waterworks, Miller-Highland and Mehlig Parks with a pedestrian bridge connecting Foster Park and the Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center.
* Industrial Heritage Trail – The Industrial Heritage Trail spans {{convert|5.7|mi}} from SR931 on the city's south side and connects with the [[Nickel Plate Trail]] on the city's north side.
* [[Nickel Plate Trail]] – Currently connecting [[Rochester, Indiana|Rochester]] through [[Peru, IN|Peru]], to Kokomo and connecting with the Industrial Heritage Trail.
* The Cloverleaf Trail – This trail was added in 2018. It starts downtown and travels southwest along what was once part of the [[Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofkokomo.org/departments/cloverleaf_trail.php|title=The Cloverleaf Trail|access-date=April 10, 2021}}</ref>

==Government==
[[File:Kokomo-indiana-city-hall.jpg|thumb|City Hall and Police Department building.]]

Kokomo's current mayor is Republican Tyler Moore, elected in November 2019. The previous mayor was Democrat Greg Goodnight (2008–2019)<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = Kokomo Mayor
 |publisher   = City of Kokomo, Indiana
 |url         = http://www.cityofkokomo.org/main.asp?SectionID=15&TM=9914.998
 |access-date = December 19, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718201252/http://www.cityofkokomo.org/main.asp?SectionID=15&TM=9914.998
 |archive-date = July 18, 2011
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> The two previous mayors before Goodnight were Matt McKillip (2004–2008)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofkokomo.org/department/index.asp?fDD=2-0|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228135020/http://www.cityofkokomo.org/department/index.asp?fDD=2-0|url-status=dead|title=City of Kokomo Indiana &#124; Mayors Office|archive-date=December 28, 2007|access-date=July 2, 2023}}</ref> and Jim Trobaugh, both [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]].
The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. The city council is known as the Common Council. It consists of nine members. Six members are elected from individual districts. The other three are elected at-large.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo Common Council Members
 | website = www.cityofkokomo.org
 | url = http://www.cityofkokomo.org/departments/common_council/council_members.php
 | access-date = November 13, 2015
}}</ref>

==Education==
===Colleges and universities===
* [[Howard College (Indiana)|Howard College]] – 1863-1872<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of KHS|url=https://khs.kokomoschools.com/about_us/history_of_khs|access-date=2021-03-15|website=khs.kokomoschools.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Indiana University Kokomo]] (IUK)
* [[Indiana Wesleyan University]] – Kokomo Campus
* [[Ivy Tech Community College]]
* [[Purdue Polytechnic Institute Kokomo]]

====Public school districts====
* [[Kokomo-Center Township Consolidated School Corporation]] (K-12, most neighborhoods inside city limits) [[Kokomo High School]] [[North Central Conference of Indiana|(NCC)]]
* [[Northwestern School Corporation]] (K–12, northern part of the town) [[Hoosier Athletic Conference|(HC)]]
* [[Taylor Community School Corporation]] (K-12, [[Indian Heights, Indiana|Indian Heights neighborhood]]) [[Hoosier Heartland Conference|(HHC)]]
* [[Western School Corporation]] (K-12, Pine Valley/Jackson Morrow Park area) (HC)
* [[Eastern School Corporation]] (K-12, Greentown and Eastern Howard County area) (HC)

====Private schools====
* Acacia Academy (K-8)
* Agape Garden Montessori School
* Children's Christian Academy
* Christian Heritage Academy
* F.D. Reese Christian Academy (K-3)
* Redeemer Lutheran School (K-8)
* Sts. Joan of Arc and St. Patrick Catholic School (K-8)
* Temple Christian School (K-12)
* Victory Christian Academy (K-12)

===Public library===
The city has a lending library, the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.in.gov/library/files/countyindex13.pdf | title=Indiana public library directory | publisher=Indiana State Library | access-date=7 March 2018 | archive-date=February 18, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218220414/http://in.gov/library/files/countyindex13.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Media==
===Newspapers===
* ''[[Kokomo Tribune]]'', non-daily morning newspaper owned by [[Community Newspaper Holdings]]
* ''[[Kokomo Perspective]]'', a locally owned weekly newspaper delivered every Tuesday or Wednesday that ceased publication in late 2021
* ''The Correspondent'', student newspaper of Indiana University Kokomo and Purdue College of Technology at Kokomo
* ''The Kokomo Post'', an online media publication owned by the Larison Company LLC

===Television===
* [[WTTV|WTTK]], [[CBS]] affiliate, channel 29 (satellite of [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]]-licensed WTTV); transmits from Indianapolis's north side
* KGOV, Kokomo government [[Public-access television|access channel]], channel 2

===Radio===
* [[WFIU]]-FM, Jazz, Classical, [[NPR]] – 106.1 FM
* [[WFRN-FM]], Christian Radio – 93.7 FM
* [[WIOU (AM)|WIOU-AM]], Talk, News and Sports – 1350 AM
* [[WIWC]]-FM, Christian Radio – 91.7 FM
* [[WMYK-FM]], Rock – 98.5 FM
* [[WSHW-FM]], Contemporary Christian – 99.7 FM
* [[WJJD-LP]], Christian [[Radio 74]] - 101.3 FM also via [[MyTuner Radio]] app, website and Radio 74 website.
* WTSX-FM, Hip-Hop, Gospel, Soul, Rock-n-Roll, EDM & Top 40 – 104.9 FM
* [[WWKI-FM]], Hit Country – 100.5 FM
* [[WZWZ-FM]], Bright Adult Contemporary – 92.5 FM

==Infrastructure==

===Transportation===
====Airports====
* [[Kokomo Municipal Airport]]<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo Municipal Airport
 | publisher = City of Kokomo
 | url = http://www.cityofkokomo.org/departments/airport/index.php
 | access-date = August 21, 2012
}}</ref>

====Highways====
[[File:Kokomo-indiana-us31.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|US 31 in Kokomo in 2005, now designated State Road 931.]]

* [[File:US 31.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 31 in Indiana|US-31]] to [[South Bend, Indiana|South Bend]] (North) and [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]] (South)<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = New U.S. 31 bypass opens around Kokomo
 |url         = http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/x517504408/On-cruise-control/print
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20140806213440/http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/x517504408/On-cruise-control/print
 |archive-date = August 6, 2014
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>
* [[File:US 35.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 35|US-35]] to [[Logansport, Indiana|Logansport]] (North) and [[Muncie, Indiana|Muncie]] (South)
* [[File:Indiana 931.svg|25px]] [[Indiana State Road 931|IN-931]] (former US 31 through Kokomo)
* [[File:Indiana 19.svg|25px]] [[Indiana State Road 19|IN-19]] to Kokomo Reservoir (North) and [[Tipton, Indiana|Tipton]] (South)
* [[File:Indiana 22.svg|25px]] [[Indiana State Road 22|IN-22]] to [[Burlington, Indiana|Burlington]] (West) and [[Hartford City, Indiana|Hartford City]] (East)
* [[File:Indiana 26.svg|25px]] [[Indiana State Road 26|IN-26]] to [[Lafayette, Indiana|Lafayette]] (West) and [[Hartford City, Indiana|Hartford City]] (East)

A major roadway traversing through Kokomo, nicknamed "stop light city",<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo to become Not-so-Stoplight City
 | website = Kokomo Perspective
 | url = http://kokomoperspective.com/kp/news/kokomo-to-become-not-so-stoplight-city/article_2f4eaa9e-fd9e-11e1-aa67-0019bb2963f4.html
 | access-date = January 30, 2016
}}</ref> US&nbsp;31 had become one of the state's most congested roadways. In Howard County, there were 15 traffic signals on US 31. As part of the state of Indiana's Major Moves Project, US 31 was updated to bypass the city of Kokomo to the east. It has interchanges at SR 26, Boulevard, Markland Avenue, and Touby Pike, as well as where the current SR 931 meets the new US 31.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = Welcome to the US 31 Kokomo Corridor Project Website
 |url         = http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/us31/kokomo/
 |access-date = November 11, 2012
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121008035804/http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/us31/kokomo/
 |archive-date = October 8, 2012
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> There was a similar change near South Bend and there will be one near Indianapolis. The construction in Howard County cost roughly $340 million. Construction started on the County Road 200 South bridge on November 1, 2008.<ref>{{Cite news
 |title       = U.S. 31 bypass work begins
 |newspaper   = Kokomo Tribune
 |url         = http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_306005257.html
 |access-date = January 3, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130127230216/http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_306005257.html
 |archive-date = January 27, 2013
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> The new US 31 was opened November 27, 2013,<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = On Cruise Control
 |newspaper   = Kokomo Tribune
 |url         = http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/x517504408/On-cruise-control
 |access-date = December 15, 2013
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20131127095639/http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/x517504408/On-cruise-control
 |archive-date = November 27, 2013
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> at which time the existing roadway was renamed SR 931.

====Railroads====
* [[Central Railroad of Indianapolis]]<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = CENTRAL RAILROAD OF INDIANAPOLIS (CERA)
 | publisher = Genesee & Wyoming
 | url = https://www.gwrr.com/cera/
 | access-date = February 20, 2023
}}</ref>
* [[Winamac Southern Railway]] (formerly part of the [[Main Line (Columbus to Chicago)|Columbus to Chicago Main Line]])<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = 2021 Indiana Rail System Map
 | year = 2021
 | publisher = Indiana Department of Transportation
 | url = https://www.in.gov/indot/files/RailSystemMap_Med_StWide_11x17_RH_Final.pdf | access-date = February 20, 2023
}}</ref>

The town for many years was a stop on the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s division running on a Chicago-Logansport-Richmond-Hamilton-Cincinnati itinerary. The last named train on the route was the overnight ''Buckeye,'' whose unnamed successor ended service in 1969.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Tables 99, 101, 102 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=92 |issue=12 |date=May 1960}}</ref><ref>Christopher T. Baer, 'Named Trains of the PRR, including Through Trains, September 8, 2009, p. 9</ref> A day train counterpart on the route lingered on at least another year.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Penn Central, Table 43 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=102 |issue=12 |date=May 1970}}</ref>

====Bus service====
* Miller Transportation provides bus service to Indianapolis and South Bend.
* [[Kokomo City-Line Trolley]] A fixed-route transportation system, five bus routes run past a total of exactly 275 stops, passing each stop once every hour, from 6:30&nbsp;a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The buses also have wireless internet for riders, which like the buses, is free to riders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofkokomo.org/residents/public_transportation_city_line_trolley.php |title=Public Transportation for City of Kokomo |website=cityofkokomo.org}}</ref>

=== Groundwater contamination ===
In 1995 the Indiana American Water treatment facility found groundwater beneath the city contaminated with trace amounts of [[vinyl chloride]]. In 2007, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management found groundwater at four municipal wells containing vinyl chloride at levels exceeding the EPA maximum contaminant level in raw water.<ref name=kt615>{{Cite news
 | title = EPA launches investigation into polluted groundwater beneath city
 | author1 = Carson Gerber
 | newspaper = Kokomo Tribune (IN)
 | url = http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/epa-launches-investigation-into-polluted-groundwater-beneath-city/article_89dea53c-1604-11e5-9f99-b7fc766a4118.html
 | date = June 21, 2015 | access-date = 28 August 2015
}}</ref>

In 2011, it found one of the monitoring wells, not owned or used by Indiana American Water, had amounts of vinyl chloride that were more than 2,500 times the maximum level for drinking water.<ref name=kt615 /> IDEM has identified fourteen facilities that handle chlorinated solvents and could be sources to the contamination plume. Some of these potential sources are currently being managed under other authorities but there is no cleanup approach focusing on the ground water plume. Water from several well fields in Kokomo are blended and treated prior to distribution. A water treatment system has been successfully removing the vinyl chloride from the finished drinking water, but this is not a permanent solution to address the contaminated ground water plume.

The site was proposed to the National Priorities List and added to the Superfund in March 2015. No cleanup plan is yet in effect.<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = Kokomo Contaminated Ground Water Plume
 | url = http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1898.htm|website=Epa.gov
 | access-date = August 31, 2015
}}</ref>

===Health care===
* [[Ascension St. Vincent Kokomo]], opened in 1913<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = St. Joseph of Kokomo, Ind., marks centennial
 | publisher = Catholic Health Association
 | url = https://www.chausa.org/publications/catholic-health-world/archives/issues/march-15-2013/st.-joseph-of-kokomo-ind.-marks-centennial
 | access-date = June 19, 2016
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 | title = St. Vincent Kokomo – Our History
 | publisher = St. Vincent Health
 | url = http://www.stvincent.org/sitecore/content/ININD/Home/Locations/Hospitals/Kokomo/About%20Us
 | access-date = May 21, 2017
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 | title = Sisters: Catholic nuns and the making of America
 | last = Fialka | first = John
 | year = 2003
 | publisher = St. Martin's Press
 | url = https://archive.org/details/sisters00john
 | url-access = registration
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/sisters00john/page/9 9]
 | access-date = October 27, 2010
 | isbn = 978-0-312-26229-7
}}</ref> part of [[Ascension (healthcare system)]].
* [[Community Howard Regional Health]], incorporated in 1958<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = Community Howard Regional Health History
 |publisher   = Community Howard Regional Health
 |url         = http://www.ecommunity.com/s/howard-about-howard/history
 |access-date = June 19, 2016
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160617233846/http://www.ecommunity.com/s/howard-about-howard/history
 |archive-date = June 17, 2016
}}</ref>

===Entertainment===
Kokomo has a 12-screen movie theater, called [[AMC Theatres|AMC Showplace Kokomo 12]], located on 1530 East Boulevard. In addition to AMC, Kokomo also has several forms of live entertainment, including choirs, a Park Band Association, and three live theatres.

===Shopping===
The city's major mall is [[Markland Mall]], which features [[Target Corporation|Target]]. The [[Kokomo Town Center]], the former Kokomo Mall, underwent a major renovation in 2011 when it became an outdoor mall.<ref>{{Cite news
 | title = Kokomo Mall transforms into Kokomo Town Center
 | newspaper = Kokomo Tribune
 | url = http://kokomotribune.com/local/x1561295156/Kokomo-Mall-transforms-into-Kokomo-Town-Center
 | date = May 30, 2012 | access-date = November 11, 2012
}}</ref>

==Notable people==
<!--All entries must have an existing wikipedia bio shown by a wikilink.  In addition, there must be referenced content on their bio showing a connection with the town or a reference must be provided for that.  -->
{{div col}}
* [[Brandon Beachy]], [[MLB]] pitcher [[Los Angeles Dodgers]], [[Northwestern High School (Indiana)]] graduate
* [[Alicia Berneche]], operatic soprano
* [[Rupert Boneham]],  Libertarian candidate for Indiana Governor in 2012
* [[Norman Bridwell]], author of the ''[[Clifford the Big Red Dog]]'' children's books
* [[Tico Brown|Quautico (Tico) Brown]], former [[Continental Basketball Association]] player
* [[Steve Butler (racing driver)|Steve Butler]], six-time [[Sprint Car]] National Champion
* [[Kaitlyn Christopher]], [[Miss Indiana USA]] 2005
* [[Dave Darland]], auto racer
* [[Rowdy Elliott]], baseball player
* [[Shawn Fain]], president of [[United Auto Workers]]
* [[Elwood Haynes]], inventor, automotive pioneer
* [[Elwood Hillis|Bud Hillis]], U.S. Representative
* [[Margaret Hillis]], pianist, founder of [[Chicago Symphony Chorus]]
* [[Honorée Fanonne Jeffers]], author
* [[Don Johnson (bowler)|Don Johnson]], professional [[Ten-pin bowling|bowler]], PBA Hall of Fame member
* [[Opha May Johnson]], [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] first female Marine<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kokomoperspective.com/kp/lifestyles/kokomo-home-to-first-woman-in-marine-corps/article_596aa542-9a4d-11e8-ad53-b7a92225c04c.html|title=Kokomo home to first woman in Marine Corps|first=Alyx|last=Arnett|website=kokomoperspective.com|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Nellie Keeler]], child circus performer
* [[Steve Kroft]], ''[[60 Minutes]]'' correspondent
* [[Jim Ligon|Jim "Goose" Ligon]], former [[American Basketball Association|ABA]] basketball player
* [[Strother Martin]], actor
* [[Clay Myers (photographer)|Clay Myers]], photographer, animal welfare advocate
* [[Kent C. Nelson]], past CEO of [[United Parcel Service]]
* [[John O'Banion]], singer
* [[Ray Porter]], actor, portrayed [[Darkseid]] in [[Zack Snyder]]’s [[Justice League]]
* [[Jack Purvis (musician)|Jack Purvis]], [[jazz]] musician
* [[Jane Randolph]], actress, grew up in Kokomo
* [[Jimmy Rayl]], "Splendid Splinter," [[Indiana Pacers]] 1967–1969, [[Indiana University]]
* [[Robert S. Richardson]], astronomer
* [[Tod Sloan (jockey)|Tod Sloan]], jockey
* [[Tavis Smiley]], [[PBS]] presenter
* [[Sylvia (singer)|"Sylvia" (Sylvia Jane Kirby)]], country music singer
* [[Joe Thatcher]], pitcher for [[MLB]]  [[Chicago Cubs]]
* [[Pat Underwood]], former [[MLB]] pitcher, [[Detroit Tigers]]
* [[Tom Underwood]], former [[MLB]] pitcher
* [[William N. Vaile]], Congressman<ref>The New York Times, "Congressman Vaile Dies In Automobile," July 3, 1927</ref>
* [[Gertrude Vaile]] (1878–1954), social worker
* [[Ryan White]], [[AIDS]] activist
* [[Anna Mae Winburn]],  [[African American]] vocalist and [[jazz]] [[bandleader]]
{{div col end}}

==In popular culture==
* ''[[The Kid from Kokomo]]'' (1939; also sometimes called ''Broadway Cavalier'') is a comedy film about an orphan from Kokomo who refuses to box until his mother is found. The film was based on a story by [[Dalton Trumbo]].<ref>{{Cite web
 | title = The Kid from Kokomo
 | work = Turner Classic Movies
 | url = https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80193/the-kid-from-kokomo
 | access-date = July 13, 2013
}}</ref>
* Kokomo is the setting of [[Allan Dwan]]'s nostalgic 1953 musical ''[[Sweethearts on Parade (1953 film)|Sweethearts on Parade]]''.<ref>Lombardi, Frederic, ''Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios'' (McFarland: 2013), p. 267; [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2529052/ News clipping], ''The Kokomo Tribune,'' (August 8, 1953), p. 8. Accessed April 28, 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sweethearts on Parade |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/92113/sweethearts-on-parade |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref>
*In [[craps]], rolling a four is sometimes referred to as "Little Joe from Kokomo", after "little" Joe Fohn, a famous bowler in the 1920s <ref>{{Cite web|title=1920 to 1925|url=http://www.cityoffirstsbowling.com/jon-kelley-s-history-articles?id=193|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Cityoffirstsbowling.com}}</ref> who apparently had a four step delivery.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1925 to 1930|url=http://www.cityoffirstsbowling.com/jon-kelley-s-history-articles?id=194|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Cityoffirstsbowling.com}}</ref>
*"Kokomo, IN" is the title of a song from [[Japanese Breakfast]]'s critically acclaimed<ref>{{Citation |title=Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/jubilee/japanese-breakfast |access-date=2025-04-05 |language=en}}</ref> third album, [[Jubilee (Japanese Breakfast album)|Jubilee]].
*Most of the 1987 film [[Terror Squad (film)|Terror Squad]] was filmed in Kokomo.<ref>{{cite news |title=When Kokomo went Hollywood: 'Terror Squad,' filmed almost entirely in City of Firsts premiered |url=https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/when-kokomo-went-hollywood-terror-squad-filmed-almost-entirely-in-city-of-firsts-premiered-30/article_4b6ca07c-4197-11e7-a686-774cb759e6ea.html |access-date=9 April 2025 |work=Kokomo Tribune |agency=Kokomo Tribune |publisher=[[CNHI]] }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Indiana}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Howard County, Indiana]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book| title = Early Days of Kokomo
 | last = Pollard | first = Otis C.
 | year = 1909
 | volume = I
 | publisher = Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co.
 | work = History of Howard County
 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofhowardc01morr
 | ref = Pollard
}}
*{{Cite book| title = History of Howard County
 | author = Morrow, Jackson
 | year = 1909
 | volume = I
 | publisher = Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co.
 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofhowardc01morr
 | ref = Morrow
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kokomo, Indiana}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Kokomo}}
* [https://www.cityofkokomo.org/ City of Kokomo]

{{Kokomo, Indiana}}
{{Howard County, Indiana}}
{{County Seats of Indiana}}
{{Indiana}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kokomo, Indiana| ]]
[[Category:1844 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Cities in Howard County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Cities in Indiana]]
[[Category:County seats in Indiana]]
[[Category:Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1844]]