From the Files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society

Editor’s note: This is a retrospective article that runs a few times a month on InkFreeNews.

Information for this retrospective series is courtesy of the Kosciusko County Historical Society.

2001 — On Oct. 24, tornadoes ripped through Kosciusko County.

Two factories were among the damaged structures in the county, with Da-Lite Screen Co. Inc. being the hardest hit and R.R. Donnelley & Sons sustaining significant damage to the east plant. At least 14 people were reported injured at Da-Lite.

The American Red Cross said 136 single-family properties were damaged by the tornadoes.

Oct. 24, 1955 — Lake Theater owner Nick Mallers and Fire Chief Norman Banghart met today with state fire marshal officials and insurance adjusters in an inspection to determine the cause of an explosion Sunday morning that left the interior of the large, seven-year-old theater at the corner of Main and Buffalo streets, Warsaw, a shambles of destruction, with damages estimated by Mallers as close to $150,000.

Oct. 27, 1832 — The lands lying within the present limits of Kosciusko County (as of 1954) were ceded to the United States Oct. 27, 1832. The president of the commission, on the part of the United States, was ex-Gov. Jonathan Jennings. The agent for the Indians was Gen. John Tipton. The principal chiefs were Flatbelly, Wawasee and his brother, Musquabuck.

The treaty was registered about three miles from the present site of Rochester on the south bank of the Tippecanoe River, three-quarters of a mile from where Michigan Road crosses the stream.

The treaty was ratified Jan. 21, 1833. The county boundary was established Feb. 7, 1835, and the county organized in April 1836.

At the session of the General Assembly of 1834-35, the boundaries of Kosciusko County were defined and established.

This county was named by John B. Chapman in honor of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish noble, who came to America and served under Gen. George Washington for America’s freedom.

Quite a large number of Native Americans were residents of the county when the first settlements were made. Most of the Indian lands had been ceded to the general government, yet several tribes of the Miami and Pottawatomi nations held tracts in the county.

– Compiled by InkFreeNews reporter Lasca Randels