Kenosha, industrial city, seat of Kenosha County, extreme southeastern Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan; incorporated 1850. Motor vehicles, tools, wire products, clothing, furniture, and cranberries are produced. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside (1965), Carthage College (1846), and Gateway Technical College (1912) are located here. The community, founded in 1835 by settlers from New England, grew after the arrival of the railroad in 1855. Its name, adopted in 1850, is derived from a Potawatomi word meaning “pike” or “pickerel,” both of which abounded in the area. Population 77,685 (1980); 80,352 (1990); 90,352 (2000).
