Vision :

Elkhart is a small town dedicated to preserving its rich history and natural beauty, while cultivating an atmosphere in which modern technology, business, industry and agriculture can thrive. Promoting educational excellence, the arts, family values and environmental responsibility, Elkhart welcomes visitors and residents alike with its hometown spirit.

History:

Set in a rich history of undeniable fortitude and determination, the residents of Elkhart have a proud heritage. From the Native Americans of the 1700's to the residents that now call Elkhart their home, legend and local historians have kept a record of the transition of the "Hill" and the fertile prairie beside it. All who passed this way, the Indian, the explorers, the pioneers, the settlers, were sure to be struck by the unique landscape - a tree covered mound that arose to 777 feet above sea level and the flat prairie land immediately below.

The history of Elk Heart Hill began with the marriage and ensuing family of White Blossom and her husband of the Illini branch of the Kickapoo Indiana Nation. When James Latham, the first white settler arrived in 1819, the "Hill" and surrounding area became known as Elk Heart Grove. Elk Heart Grove was still just a settlement in 1848 when John Shockey, a farmer and cattleman from Quincy, Pennsylvania, made the journey here to buy cattle. Taken with the richness of the area Elkhart Hill as it appears today. The fertile soil, the timber - he returned to Pennsylvania , sold his land and holdings, loaded up his wife and children and their belongings, and left for Elk Heart Grove. He and his family home steaded on the hill verlooking what is now the Village. Along with his adventurous and pioneer spirit, however, came also a man of vision. It was with this vision, that on April 11, 1855, he took 22.47 acres on the west edge of the hill and had it platted and surveyed and made the cluster of residents a town - Elkhart City.

Elkhart City was the official name until 1979 when the State of Illinois notified the Village that they were by record still legally known as just that. Residents held a special public meeting on June 26, 1979, to change the Village name to Elkhart. Effective on November 14, 1979, the Village's name changed from Elkhart City to Elkhart.