Kenosha

Sister cities

• Cosenza
• Wolfenbüttel
• Douai

History

The Potawatomi originally named the area (also transcribed , ) "place of the pike", while the Menominee referred to the place as , meaning "Northern Pike". The early Ojibwa name is reported as "trout (pike) come all at once". These refer to the annual spawning of trout, in which thousands of fish entered the rivers from Lake Michigan, providing food for the coming months. Sites of early human habitation have been discovered in the Kenosha vicinity. It remains unclear if any sites pre-date the Clovis culture but, if so, those sites would be contemporaneous with the Wisconsin glaciation. Paleo-Indians settled in the area at least 13,500 years ago. The first European settlers, part of the Western Emigration Company, arrived in the early 1830s, from Hannibal and Troy, New York, led by John Bullen Jr., who sought to purchase enough land for a town. Thwarted in Milwaukee and Racine, the group arrived at Pike Creek on June 6, 1835, building log houses and later homes of frame, native stone, and brick. The first school and churches followed, with platting completed in 1836. As more settlers arrived and the first post office was established, the village was known as Pike Creek, then renamed Southport in 1837, a name which lives on as a southeast-side neighborhood, park, and elementary school, and has been adopted by several businesses. The area became an important Great Lakes shipping port. In 1850, the village changed its name from Southport to Kenosha, which is its current name. The name Kenosha was adapted from the Chippewa word kinoje (pike or pickerel). From the beginning of the 20th century through the 1930s, Italian, Irish, Polish, and German immigrants, many of them skilled craftsmen, made their way to the city and contributed to the city's construction, culture,…

Geography

Kenosha is in southeastern Wisconsin, bordered by Lake Michigan to the east, the village of Somers to the north, the village of Bristol to the west, and the village of Pleasant Prairie to the south. Kenosha's passenger train station is the last stop on Chicago's Union Pacific North Metra line. Kenosha is 32 miles south of Milwaukee and 49 miles north of Chicago. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Kenosha is home to a mixture of blue and white collar workers as well as students who attend the local universities. Kenosha consists of neighborhoods divided into three regions – Downtown, Uptown, and West of I-94 (referred to by locals at "West of the I" or simply "the county"). The city's northside is home to both the University of Wisconsin–Parkside and Carthage College. Kenosha's downtown is located along the Lake Michigan shoreline and consists of government buildings, parks, beaches, restaurants, shops, museums, and entertainment venues. The neighborhood of HarborPark is both a residential and commercial area. Directly south of the Downtown area is the neighborhood of Allendale. Uptown Kenosha consists of a largely blue-collar population and is a mixture of locally owned businesses and residential areas. Prominent Uptown neighborhoods include Brass, Lincoln Park, and Wilson Heights. Kenosha has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa, bordering on Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters. The record high is , set in July 2012. The record low is , set in January 1985. Heavy fall and winter snowstorms, including blizzards, are not uncommon. The city has experienced several record storms, including the January 1979 North American blizzard, during which approximately of snow fell, and the 2011…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,521
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,245
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,022
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,779
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,524
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,444
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,344
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,261

Largest nearby schools

• Indian Trail High School and Academy
  High · Kenosha · 1,980 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Tremper High
  High · Kenosha · 1,540 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Bradford High
  High · Kenosha · 1,389 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum
  Elementary · Kenosha · 1,215 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Mahone Middle
  Middle · Kenosha · 933 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Lance Middle
  Middle · Kenosha · 788 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Bristol Elementary
  Elementary · Bristol · 782 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Bullen Middle
  Middle · Kenosha · 693 students · 12.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois