Howard County, Indiana

Infobox U.S. County
county = Howard County
state = Indiana


map size = 150
founded = 1844
seat = Kokomo
area_total_sq_mi =294
area_land_sq_mi =293
area_water_sq_mi =1
area percentage = 0.29%
census yr = 2000
pop = 84964
density_km2 =112
web = www.co.howard.in.us |

Howard County is one of 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Howard and Tipton counties. Originally named Richardville County, it was rechristened in 1844 to commemorate General Tilghman Ashurst Howard. As of 2000, the population was 84,964. The county seat is Kokomo.GR|6. The license plate number for Howard County is 34.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 294 square miles (761 km²), of which 293 square miles (759 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2 km²) (0.29%) is water.

Highways

* (South)
* (South)
* (South)
* (East)
* (East)
* (South)

Adjacent counties

*Miami County, Indiana (North)
*Grant County, Indiana (East)
*Tipton County, Indiana (South)
*Clinton County, Indiana (Southwest)
*Carroll County, Indiana (West)
*Cass County, Indiana (Northwest)

History

This County was organized in 1844. It was first known as Richardville County. Its first name honored Jean Baptiste Richardville, a chief of the Miami. Richardville's name was Pe-che-wa, which translates to "Wildcat", hence Wildcat Creek.

In 1846, the name was changed to Howard County, in honor of Gen. Tilghman Howard, U.S. Representative from Indiana, who died in 1844. [cite book|author=De Witt Clinton Goodrich & Charles Richard Tuttle|publisher=R. S. Peale & co.|year=1875|location=Indiana|title=An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YDIUAAAAYAAJ| pages=577]

In June 1985 a school in the county known as Western School Corporation became famous for refusing to allow Ryan White (December 6 1971 - April 8 1990) to attend classes. White was a severe hemophiliac, becoming infected with HIV when receiving a tainted batch of blood products as part of his hemophilia treatment. At the time state law required sufferers of communicable diseases to seek a health certificate from the country health commission in order to attend school, and AIDS was considered a communicable disease covered by this law. Unsubstantiated rumors spread of antagonistic and unhealthful actions Ryan White may have taken, raising concerns about possible transmission of AIDS. This was before it was understood how difficult HIV transmission is through casual contact, only that infection was a virtual death sentence. Western School Corporation board members had taken an oath of office requiring them to uphold all state laws, so they banned White from school. State health officials visited the school and agreed that state law required this decision, although state health commissioner Woodrow Myers called for the school to allow White to attend anyway. Lengthy legal and publicity campaigns followed. Many news stories portraying the school as closed minded, backward, bigoted, etc. were published, including reports of school board proceedings that were published before the meetings even took place, naturally totally erroneous in their details. Eventually court rulings set aside state law preventing AIDS sufferers from receiving county health certificates. This satisfied the school board's objections, however over 117 parents and 50 teachers signed a petition encouraging school leaders to ban White from the school, and private legal proceedings ensued, which failed, and White finally began to attend school. Ultimately there was a movie produced. Some protestors persisted in demonstrations, but Ryan White's time as a student at Western proved uneventful.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The 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.cite web|author=Indiana Code|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/ar2/ch3.html |title=Title 36, Article 2, Section 3|accessdate=2008-09-16|publisher=IN.gov] cite web|author= Indiana Code |url= http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf |title= Title 2, Article 10, Section 2 |accessdate=2008-09-16|publisher=IN.gov]

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, the collection of 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 judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to terms of four years. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.

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 serve terms of four years and oversee different parts of the county government. Members elected to any county government position are required to declare a party affiliation and be a resident of the county.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 84,964 people, 34,800 households, and 23,559 families residing in the county. The population density was 290 people per square mile (112/km²). There were 37,604 housing units at an average density of 128 per square mile (50/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.73% White, 6.55% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. 2.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.6% were of American, 20.9% German, 9.7% English and 8.0% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 34,800 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,487, and the median income for a family was $53,051. Males had a median income of $43,767 versus $26,566 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,049. About 6.60% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.

Howard County is Indiana's second most wealthy county, only Hamilton County is wealthier.

Places to See

* Kokomo Reservoir (Wildcat Creek Reservoir)
* Western Days Festival: First week of June, in Russiaville, Indiana
* Howard County 4-H Fair [http://www.howardcounty4-hfair.com/] , in Greentown, Indiana
* [http://kohkohmah.com/index.html Koh-Koh-Mah & Foster Living History Encampment] , mid-September

Localities

City

*Kokomo

Towns

*Greentown
*Russiaville

Census-designated place

*Indian Heights

Townships

*Center
*Clay
*Ervin
*Harrison
*Honey Creek
*Howard
*Jackson
*Liberty
*Monroe
*Taylor
*Union

Other places

*Alto
*Cassville
*Center
*Hemlock
*New London
*Oakford
*Phlox
*West Middleton

References

*cite book
first = Richard L. (editor)
last = Forstall
year = 1996
title = Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses
publisher = United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division
id = ISBN 0-934213-48-8

External links

* [http://co.howard.in.us/ Howard County Official Website]
* [http://www.howard-county.net/ Howard County Community Net]
* [http://www.leaguelineup.com/kokomoknights Kokomo CFD Knights semi-pro baseball]