The Town of Wakarusa
Wakarusa is a town in Harrison and Olive townships in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,998 at the 2020 census. The Current population is 2000 and the Average age is 37.5 years old.
Wakarusa is a small farming and manufacturing community located on Indiana 19 just north of Indiana 119. The town is 12 miles (19 km) south of Elkhart, 25 miles (40 km) southeast of South Bend, 120 miles (190 km) east of Chicago, and 140 miles (230 km) north of Indianapolis.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Wakarusa has a total area of 2.277 square miles (5.90 km2), of which 2.2 square miles (5.70 km2) (or 96.62%) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.20 km2) (or 3.38%) is water.[5]
History
In 1836, rural Olive Township was formed in western Elkhart County, and in 1849, as the population grew, a post office named Mt. Olive opened. After more population growth, a new village named Salem was established to prevent people from having to travel to either Goshen or Elkhart to conduct business. Since there is already a town named Salem in Indiana, the name was changed to Wakarusa in 1859.[6] The Mt. Olive Post Office was renamed for Wakarusa a year later.[7]
Railroad – In 1891 work began on the Wabash Railroad line through town, with the official opening of the line in the spring of 1893. The line, which connected Chicago with Montpelier, Ohio, became part of the Norfolk & Western Railway in 1964 and lasted until the 1980s. Today, the original Wabash depot along with two Norfolk & Western rail cars are featured along with many other displays at the Wakarusa Historical Museum.
The etymology of the name “Wakarusa” is not known. According to tradition, the name Wakarusa is from a Native American language, meaning “knee-deep in mud”.[8] A more recent source claims a settler named it after a location in Kansas.[9]
