Howard County is one of the youngest of Indiana s 92 counties. It was formed in 1844 as Richardville after a chief of the Miami's who occupied much of the north-central part of the state until treaties left them with little homeland. The designation was changed to Howard by the Legislature two years later.
    David Foster, a pioneer who operated a pelt and gunpowder store at Burlington, is credited with seeing that Kokomo became the seat of the new county. For it was he who donated the original 40 acres of land for the village from a section he had acquired along Wildcat Creek. And he sealed the bargain with the commissioners by the promise of a log courthouse near his own recently-erected home and trading post.
    From this meager beginning Kokomo gained town status in 1855 and became a city ten years later. Today it boasts some 46,000 of the 85,000 residents of the entire county. Two other incorporated towns are within the borders of the county  Greentown to the east and Russiaville to the west and south.
    Howard County is ideally situated for easy access to shopping, recreational activities, business endeavors, and cultural events. Howard County, Greentown, Kokomo and Russiaville are ideally located in that they are just a stone s throw away from several larger cities. Indianapolis, the state capital, is 50 miles due south; Chicago is 130 miles northwest; and Cincinnati is 160 miles southeast.
    The discovery of natural gas during the late 19th century aided in bringing important industries to Howard County. And with them came such men as Elwood Haynes, inventor of the first commercially-built automobile and of many exotic metals that even today are used worldwide.