Kenosha (pronounced kəˈnoʃə) is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
It is estimated that Kenosha's population as of 2006 is approximately 96,845. Kenosha is the county seat of Kenosha County, the southeasternmost county in Wisconsin.

On the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan, Kenosha is the fourth largest city in Wisconsin behind Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Kenosha is sometimes considered to be the Chicago metropolitan area's northernmost city at 60 miles distance from the Chicago epicenter; Kenosha is also 35 miles south of Milwaukee

History

---

The greater Kenosha area is of high archeological interest since the discovery of pre-Clovis culture settlements in the late 20th century. These prehistoric settlements date to the approximate era of the Wisconsin glaciation. The Paleo Indians, as archaeologists call these peoples, first settled in the area at least 13,500 years ago.

The Potawatomi originally named the area gnozhé ("place of the Pike"). The first white settlers arrived in the early 1830s from Hannibal and Troy, New York. As more settlers arrived and the first post office was established, the community was first known as Pike in 1836. In the ensuing years the area became an important Great Lakes shipping port, and the village was once again renamed, this time to Southport. ("Southport" is still the name given to a southeast-side neighborhood, park and elementary school as well as several businesses). In 1850, another change brought the growing city (and later Kenosha County) its current title, an Anglicized version of the early name gnozhé. Kenoshans often refer affectionately to their city as "K-Town", "K-Nowhere" and "Keno" (the latter often adopted over the decades on various local businesses and most notably on Kenosha's historic 1949 Keno Family Outdoor Theatre, Wisconsin's oldest drive-in theatre). Kenosha teenagers and those somewhat disaffected with the town often call it "Kenowhere," referring to the belief that there is little to do for amusement.

Kenosha has four historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, among them the Kenosha Civic Center. The 1935 art deco] [[Southport Beach House is also listed.

In June of 1993, the City installed reproductions of the historic Sheridan LeGrande streetlamps that were especially designed for Kenosha by Westinghouse Electric in 1928; these can be seen on Sixth Avenue between 54th and 59th Streets.

Geography

---

Kenosha is located at (42.582220, -87.845624).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.1 km² (24.0 mi²). 61.7 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.63%) is water.

Kenosha's eastern boundary is Lake Michigan and is bordered by the towns of Somers and Bristol to the north and west respectively and the village of Pleasant Prairie to the south.

Demographics

---

As of the census of 2000, there were 90,352 people, 34,411 households, and 22,539 families residing in the city.

The population density was 1,465.1/km² (3,795.1/mi²). There were 36,004 housing units at an average density of 583.8/km² (1,512.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.64% White, 7.68% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.04%...