The area is referred to by locals as the recreation vehicle (RV) capital of the world and is known for its sizable Amish and Old Order Mennonite population.

[3] At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the area now within Elkhart County boundaries was mainly inhabited by the Potawatomi tribe.

The completion of the Erie Canal in 1821 sparked a surge in immigration from New England to northern Indiana, which had become a state five years earlier.

Some of these later settlers were from upstate New York, whose relatives had moved to that region from New England shortly after the American Revolutionary War.

These settlers were primarily members of the Congregational Church though due to the Second Great Awakening many of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before moving west.

As a result of this heritage, most of Elkhart County supported the abolitionist movement before the American Civil War.

During the end of the nineteenth century, Irish and German migrants came to Elkhart County, although most did not come directly from Europe, but had stopped in other areas in the Midwest, such as Ohio.

[9] The name may reflect a prehistoric association of the Elkhart area with the Kaskaskia people, whom the Miami called "elk hearts".

According to an account by two Miami leaders (Jean Baptiste Richardville and Le Gros) recorded in 1824, the name arose from two women fighting over an elk's heart that had been hung up to dry.

[10] 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.

Elkhart County is known as "The RV Capital of the World" because of its substantial recreational vehicle-based economy.

Destinations such as Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury and Amish Acres in Nappanee along with annual events such as the Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival, and the Elkhart County 4-H Fair draw thousands of tourists annually.

[24] Elkhart County has consistently been a Republican Party stronghold in presidential elections.

U.S. Route 20 skirts the southern edges of Elkhart as the St. Joseph Valley Parkway until the freeway ends at the County Road 17 interchange.

The Elkhart Community Schools, the largest district, serves the populated northwest side of the county.

The Concord Community Schools serve the southeast side of the city of Elkhart and northwest Goshen.

Finally, the Goshen Community Schools serve the central part of Elkhart County.

Elkhart County has six institutions for higher learning, two of which are solely located in the county: Goshen College, a small Mennonite liberal arts college of 1000 students in Goshen; and the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, which has been operating on Elkhart's south side since 1958.

Bethel College of Mishawaka has a small satellite campus on the south side, Indiana Institute of Technology has a small operation on Middlebury Street, Indiana University South Bend has its "Elkhart Center" downtown, and Ivy Tech Community College has a campus as well.

Bonneyville Mill Park consists of 223 acres (0.90 km2) of rolling hills, marshes, and woodlands on the Little Elkhart River east of Bristol.

The park offers hiking trails, fishing spots, shelters, and guided tours of Bonneyville Mill.

The park offers hiking trails, shelters, disc golf, and an archery range.

The park also offers several trails and shelters and provides insight into the history of Indiana's waterways.

Treasure Island Park offers fishing and canoe access to the St. Joseph River west of Elkhart while the Turkey Creek (two miles south of Goshen) and Wolf Lake (two miles north of Goshen) sites have no public access but are described as "future parks."

Elkhart County lies in the South Bend-Elkhart television market, the 89th largest in the United States as of 2008[update].