World's Largest Stump

Highland Park in Kokomo holds the remains of a sycamore that a City of Kokomo development official calls “the biggest sycamore stump in the world”. He told Indiana Public Media in April 2026 that the tree grew along Wildcat Creek in western Howard County, reaching about 57 feet in circumference and about 100 feet tall, and was estimated to be maybe 800 years old. He said four or five of the park's large living sycamores would fit within the stump's circumference. Lightning damage left it dying, he said, and people thought it should be brought to Highland Park. The Kokomo Post reported in 2024 that the stump was moved to the park in 1916 to preserve it as a relic of the area's pioneer days, hauled by a 35-horsepower tractor over two days while crowds watched; it gave the stump's weight as 21 tons. The Post put the age at between 800 and 1,500 years, while a Visit Indiana page says 1,500 by ring count. Discover Indiana says storms broke the tree down in 1915 and gives its circumference as 50 feet. The Living New Deal records that the park's main building, built by the National Youth Administration in 1937 to 1938, houses the stump. Old Ben, the stuffed steer, is next door as a separate attraction; the official called Highland Park “our most popular park”, and locals call the pair “the Steer and the Stump”. Check with Kokomo Parks and Recreation for visiting hours.