Kosciusko County Visitors Bureau

Kosciusko County, the fourth largest county in Indiana, was organized in April 1836. Leesburg was the first county seat. The first plat of Warsaw was filed in 1836 by W.H. Knott, proprietor, became the county seat in 1837, and was later incorporated in 1854 with 752 residents. John B. Chapman named Kosciusko County in honor of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish national hero and aide-de-camp to General George Washington during the American Revolution. Warsaw was named for the capital of Poland.

Some historians believe that people from the mound builders era settled here. Evidence uncovered near Center Lake would indicate this. Prior to the formation of the county, two Frenchmen, Henry Ossem and Dominique Rousseau, traded furs with the Indian inhabitants, and a trading post was located south of Waubee Lake.

This area was home to a number of Indian tribes. The Delaware, Miami, and Pottawatomie had settlements in what is today Kosciusko County. The Pottawatomies lived in villages along the Tippecanoe River. Musquabucks village was at Oswego, Monoquets north of Warsaw, Checoses west of Warsaw, and Motas south of Atwood. Bennacks village was located along the Kosciusko-Marshall county line. The Miami villages were Waw-wa-esses on the southeast corner of Waubee Lake in the present day Camp Mack area, and Flat Bellys (Papakeeche) was located at Indian Village in Noble County just across the Kosciusko County line. The two chiefs were brothers. Various treaties of the 1820s and 1830s resulted in their locating together at Indian Village. All three Indian tribes signed treaties ceding their land to the United States government, and when the white settlers arrived in this area, there were no more than 600 Indians here. The Indian Removal Act resettled them in Michigan and western territories by the mid 1840s.

The first settlers, arriving shortly after 1834, described the county as having beautiful lakes abounding with fish and grassy meadows with turkeys and other game.

Early Warsaw was home to trappers, traders, and merchants who supplied the area farmers with manufactured goods. The first industries in Warsaw were a blacksmith shop started by Philip Lash and a chair shop opened by John Giselman. Both opened in 1836. H. Higby opened a furniture shop in 1837. Between 1837 and 1839, the county built two courthouses, the first of which burnt to the ground before it was even in use. The second was in use until 1848 when the present courthouse was built.

EARLY EDUCATION

Education from 1835 to 1853 was mostly confined to subscription schools, or the children were taught at home. The parents were the sole supporters of these schools. The first county schools were established in Prairie and Turkey Creek townships. In 1843, a commissioner was appointed to give tests to certify teachers, and the town of Warsaw built the first public school in 1858. It was called the Union School and was used until 1872, when the Center Ward building was built. The first high school commencement was held in the spring of 1878 in the Warsaw Opera House. In 1906, the first rural consolidated school was built in the county. Winona Lake experienced a remarkable educational movement with the founding of the Agricultural Institute, the Technical Institute and Winona College, a four-year liberal arts school.

EARLY ECONOMY AND TRANSPORATION

Agriculture played a big part in the countys early economics, and mills, distilleries and blacksmiths developed out of the farming community. Among the early manufacturers were Crossons Tub Mill and Sawmill at Syracuse, a foundry that made plows, a marble works, and a wagon and carriage plant in Warsaw. Harvesting of ice from the county lakes came with the railroads and hundreds of boxcars of ice were shipped from Warsaw and Syracuse to Chicago and other cities. In 1881, the Beyer brothers, attracted by the many natural springs around Winona Lake, purchased a tract of land and constructed springhouses to cool their dairy products prior to shipment. The Sandusky Portland Cement Company opened a plant at Syracuse in the late 1890s. The plant removed marl from Wawasee and Waubee Lakes and converted it into cement. In 1885, Revra DePuy pioneered the orthopedic industry when he founded DePuy Manufacturing to make wire mesh and wooden splints, becoming the first commercial manufacturer of orthopedic devices. In 1905, DePuy hired Justin Zimmer as a splint salesman. Zimmer broke away from DePuy in 1927 to start Zimmer Manufacturing. The 1950s and 60s saw the arrival of Da-Lite Screen and R.R. Donnelly Printing Company. In 1977, Biomet Orthopedics was established in Kosciusko County.

From 1835 into the 1850s transportation was by horseback or on foot. The railroad era began in Kosciusko County when the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad reached Pierceton in May of 1853. It reached Warsaw in November of 1854 and a station was built, with the first agent being George Moon. The north/south extension of the Big 4 Railroad (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis) completed a section between Goshen and Warsaw in 1870. The Winona Interurban was an electrified trolley car system that was organized in 1903 by the founders of the Winona Assembly at Winona Lake after the Pennsylvania Railroad discontinued its service from Warsaw to Winona Lake in 1902. By 1920, it had about 70 miles of tracks and carried passengers and freight between Goshen and Peru to Winona Lake and Warsaw. Its operation was discontinued in the 1950s.

ARTS AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES

The county was blessed with three literary giants from 1860 into the 1900s. James Whitcomb Riley, Hoosier poet, painted signs in Warsaw; Ambrose Bierce, novelist, worked at the Times and Northern Indianan newspapers. Theodore Dreiser attended school in Warsaw.

In 1894 Dr. Solomon Dickey, a leader of the Presbyterian Church, dreamed of building a "religious Chautauqua" and his search led him to Eagle (Winona) Lake where he purchased Spring Fountain Park which had been platted by the Beyer brothers. The Winona Assembly and Summer School Association was formed and the first conference was held the following summer. The following years were a period of tremendous growth for the Assembly and Winona Lake became a mecca for religious activities in the early 1900s. Bible conferences of national importance were established which attracted many national figures, who spoke there. These included the baseball-player-turned-evangelist Billy Sunday, Admiral Byrd, and Will Rogers. The Sundays built their home, Mt. Hood, in Winona Lake in 1911. Billy Sundays song leader, Homer Rodeheaver, chose Rainbow Point for his home, "Rainbow Cottage." Opera stars and noted famous European musicians also performed at Winona Lake. Composers of "Beyond the Sunset," Reverend and Mrs. Virgil Brock resided in Winona Lake. In 1920 construction began on the Billy Sunday Tabernacle. That same year marked the founding of the Winona Lake School of Theology by Dr. G. Campbell Morgan. During the 1920s, the conferences and Chautauqua programs attracted crowds to see and hear famous personalities. When the programs were discontinued because of lack of funding, the Winona Lake Christian Assembly was formed in 1937-38.

TOURISM IN KOSCIUSKO COUNTY

In the 1920s and 30s the county was enhanced by tourism, centered around Lake Wawasee, which boasted of having one of the finest hotels in the state. The Spinks Arms, located on the north side of the lake, offered its patrons all types of gambling. The Waco dance hall at Lake Wawasee featured such famous bands as Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, and Cab Calloway. Also appearing were Hoagy Carmichael and many other celebrities. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard often visited the Barbee Hotel, on Barbee Lake. Kosciusko County even attracted such gangsters as Al Capone and John Dilinger, who also spent much time at the Barbee Hotel. Kosciusko County continues to be one of the most popular resort areas in the Midwest with more than 100 lakes carved by ancient glaciers. Lake Wawasee is the largest natural lake and Lake Tippecanoe is the deepest lake in Indiana.

FACTS OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY

Kosciusko County held its first election in April 1836.
The land was purchased from the Potawatomie Indians by the United States government in 1832.
Northern Indiana was the head of the great Miami confederation.
The Indian villages in Kosciusko County were: Musquawbucks Village near Oswego, Monoquets Village near Warsaw, Checoses Village on the Tippecanoe River below Warsaw and Motos Village near Atwood.
An old Indian burial ground is located in Winona Lake, just outside of Warsaw.
Kosciusko County was named after Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a young Polish nobleman, who fought in the American Revolution.
In 1830 Kosciusko County was part of Elkhart Township. In 1834 it broke off and was called Turkey Creek Township. In 1835 it became Kosciusko County.
Leesburg was Kosciusko Countys first county seat.
There are over 100 lakes in Kosciusko County. Many sunken lakes have been uncovered.
Warsaw was named county seat of Kosciusko County in 1837.
Agriculture was and still is a major factor in Kosciusko County economics.
DePuy pioneered the orthopedic industry in 1885, making Kosciusko County the future orthopedic capital of the world.
Winona Lake was a mecca for religious activities in the early 1900s.
The 1920s and 30s saw a rise in tourism centered around Lake Wawasee. Gambling was a big attraction.
Many famous people came to Kosciusko County, including Billy Sunday, Homer Rodeheaver, Billy Graham, Carol Lombard, Clark Gable, Al Capone and John Dilinger.