The cow and the stump

Wow, was I ever wrong about the cow dying in the 60's! I will be the first to admit that, although I have read the plaque a zillion times, I know nothing about the cow or anything else in Kokomo for that matter! LOL I tried to get the pics, but couldn't figger out how to post them on here as I am still learning how to do this. Enjoy!




Old Ben was born in 1902 on the farm of Mike and John Murphy about half way between Bunker Hill and Miami near what is known as Haggerty's crossing. He weighed 125 pounds at birth. It was said he had to rest on his knees to nurse when he was less than a week old. He gained about 100 pounds a month, and at 20 months he weighed one ton, reaching two tons at the age of 4 years in 1906.
In February, 1910, Ben slipped on some ice and fell heavily, breaking his leg. With understandable reluctance, the Murphy's called in a vet from Marion and had him shot. There is contraversy on his weight at the time of his passing: 4,585 or 4,720 pounds. He was 6 and 1/2 feet tall at the shoulder, 14 feet around and 16 and 1/4 feet from his nose to the tip of his tail.
A taxidermist in New York stuffed and mounted his hide. The Murphy brothers continued to display their famous steer on their farm until they sold it in 1919. Some say the stuffed form was donated to the City of Firsts in 1919, other accounts state that it was bought and paid for at the price of $300.00, crooked horn and all. Old Ben is on display in the Visitor's Center located in Highland Park.



SYCAMORE STUMP
The stump is one of Howard County's few remaining landmarks of the past. The old tree originally stood in the west end of Howard County at a point about two miles due north of New London. According to the description of those who remember the tree, it was a hundred feet high before storms broke it down to a huge, hollow stump. The trunk was more than 50 feet in circumference and one of its lower branches was reported to be eight feet in diameter. The tree was estimated to be 1,500 years old according to newspaper articles.
On Sunday, June 18, 1916, the stump was moved to Highland Park where it could be preserved as a relic of the county's pioneer period. The stump is on display at the Visitor's Center located in Highland Park.