The first canned tomato juice, the first mechanical corn picker, and the first rubber tire pumped full of air originated in Howard County. These highlights, in addition to being the home of Elwood Haynes, inventor of the spark-ignition, has earned Kokomo the title “City of Firsts.”

Inside the shape of a light bulb, a winding filament forms a primitive automobile and driver.  The contours of filament can also be read as a questioning human face, symbolizing inventiveness and ingenuity.

Designers Jeff Laramore and David Jemerson Young of 2nd Globe, an Indianapolis–based artistic company, designed all 92 of the county sculptures featured on the outside of the Indiana State Museum. Their designs narrate the counties’ famous natives, historically significant events, or their cultural heritage, and were fabricated and installed by various Indiana sculptors, carvers, glassworkers, metal workers, and other artisans.