Filmed on Tuesday, May 30 2023, I drive around bustling Elkhart, Indiana to see what's going on.
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana. The city is located 15 miles east of South Bend, Indiana.
The name Elkhart is a euphemization of "Elks-heart", which refers to the now extinct Eastern elk.
According to an account recorded in 1824, the name arose from two women fighting over an elk's heart that had been hung up to dry.
Alternatively, some historians including Jacob Piatt Dunn have associated the name with the shape of an island in the Elkhart River that is stated to resemble an elk's heart.
When the Northwest Territory was organized in 1787, the area now known as Elkhart was mainly inhabited by the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes.
In 1829, the Village of Pulaski was established, consisting of a post office, mill, and a few houses on the north side of the St. Joseph River.
Dr. Havilah Beardsley moved westward from Ohio, and on August 9, 1821, purchased one square mile of land in order to establish a rival town named Elkhart. The town of Elkhart was first plotted with 48 lots on April 30, 1832.
In 1839, the Pulaski Post Office was officially changed to Elkhart.
Elkhart County was founded exclusively by immigrants from New England. These were old-stock "Yankee" immigrants, that is to say, they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s.
Many inhabitants of Elkhart County fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. In the late 1880s and early 1890s Irish and German migrants began moving into Elkhart County, most of these later immigrants did not move directly from Ireland and Germany, but rather from other areas in the Midwest where they had already been living, particularly the state of Ohio.
Elkhart became the site of multiple musical instrument factories. In 1934, the first recreational vehicle factory opened in Elkhart. Similar companies followed suit for the remainder of the decade, and the economy continued to grow until the rationing of materials in World War II. After the war, growth picked back up, and, by 1949, Elkhart was officially dubbed the "RV Capital of the World."
Elkhart is home to many Recreational vehicle manufacturers, boat manufacturers, and van conversion companies, including Bennington Marine, Forest River Inc Hy-Line, Keystone, Skyline, Sun Valley, Travel Supreme, THOR Motor Coach, and many other manufacturers, including Gulf Stream, and Jayco, can be found nearby in Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee and Wakarusa.
Gemstone Musical Instruments is located in Elkhart, and they produce Stephanhöuser Saxophones.
The Elkhart Jazz Festival is a three-day event that takes place in late June on the banks of the Elkhart River. It is known as one of the premier Jazz festivals in the nation. In 2007, the festival celebrated its 20th anniversary.
As of the census of 2020, there were 53,923 people residing in the city, up from 50,949 in 2010.
The racial makeup of the city was 66.1% White, 15.4% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 12.9% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.5% of the population. #driving #travel #drivingtour