LaPorte County

History

LaPorte County was formed in 1832. La porte means "the door" or "the port" in French. French travelers or explorers so named the area after discovering a natural opening in the dense forests that used to exist in this region, providing a gateway to lands further west.

From 1832 to 1835, LaPorte County had its boundaries and jurisdiction of the land west of it, going all the way to the east border of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois (land which is now Porter and Lake counties).

Before European-American settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day LaPorte County, and adjacent Starke County to the south belonged to the Potawatomi Indian nation. These Indians were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on what survivors called the Trail of Death.

LaPorte County's initial European-American settlers were Yankee migrants, that is to say they were from New England or were from upstate New York and had parents who were from New England, and were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. They were part of a wave of New England settlers moving west into what was then the Northwest Territory after the completion of the Erie Canal through the Mohawk Valley of New York State.

These first settlers in LaPorte County specifically hailed from the Massachusetts towns of Granville, Boston, Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Andover, Nantucket Island, and Hampshire County; the Connecticut towns of Colchester, Wethersfield, Granby, and New Haven; the New Hampshire towns of Bradford, Amherst and Goffstown; the Vermont villages of Dorset, Albany and Fairfax; many also came from Orange County, Vermont, Caledonia County, Vermont and Penobscot County, Maine. They were mainly members of the Congregational Church. As result of the Second Great Awakening, many became Baptists and many also converted to Pentecostalism and Methodism. When they arrived in what is now LaPorte County, there was nothing but virgin forest and prairie. The New England settlers cleared roads and brush, developed farms, constructed churches, erected government buildings, and established post routes. As a result of this migration, La Porte County was partially culturally continuous with early New England culture for many years.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 613.26 square miles (1,588.3 km2), of which 598.30 square miles (1,549.6 km2) (or 97.56%) is land and 14.96 square miles (38.7 km2) (or 2.44%) is water. The highest point, at 957 feet (292 m), is in southwestern Galena Township near County Roads East 600 North and North 150 East. The lowest point, at 581 feet (177 m), is along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Adjacent counties

Berrien County, Michigan (north/Eastern Time Zone border)

St. Joseph County (east/Eastern Time Zone border)

Starke County (south)

Jasper County (southwest)

Porter County (west)

Cook County, Illinois (northwest) - boundary in Lake Michigan

National protected area

Indiana Dunes National Park – also in Lake and Porter counties

Major highways

I-80 / I-90 / Indiana Toll Road

I-94

U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 30

U.S. Route 35

U.S. Route 421

State Road 2

State Road 4

State Road 8

State Road 39

State Road 104

State Road 212

Railroads

Canadian National Railway

Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad

Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad

Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad

CSX Transportation

Norfolk Southern Railway

South Shore Line (commuter rail)

Municipalities

The municipalities in LaPorte County and their populations as of the 2010 Census:

Townships

LaPorte County contains 21 townships, more than any other county in the state. The townships, with their populations as of the 2010 Census, are:

Unincorporated towns

Lakeland

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 112,417. The median age was 41.4 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 106.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 107.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 78.4% White, 10.8% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.0% from some other race, and 6.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.1% of the population.

63.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 36.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 43,799 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.6% were married-couple households, 19.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 49,780 housing units, of which 12.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.4% were owner-occupied and 28.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 111,467 people, 42,331 households, and 28,228 families residing in the county. The population density was 186.3 inhabitants per square mile (71.9/km2). There were 48,448 housing units at an average density of 81.0 per square mile (31.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.1% white, 10.8% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.7% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 11.5% were Polish, 8.3% were English, and 5.9% were American.

Of the 42,331 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 39.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $56,679. Males had a median income of $45,537 versus $30,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,599. About 9.9% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

K-12 schools

School districts include:

John Glenn School Corporation

La Porte Community School Corporation

Michigan City Area Schools

New Durham Township Metropolitan School District

New Prairie United School Corporation

South Central Community School Corporation

Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation

Colleges and universities

Ivy Tech Community College

Purdue University Northwest

Public libraries

The county is served by five different public library systems:

LaCrosse Public Library

LaPorte County Public Library has its main location in La Porte as well as the Coolspring, Fish Lake, Hanna, Kingsford Heights, Rolling Prairie and Union Mills branches.

Michigan City Public Library

Wanatah Public Library

Westville-New Durham Township Public Library has its main location in Westville.

Hospitals

Northwest Health - La Porte – 84 beds

Franciscan Health Michigan City, Michigan City – 310 beds

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in La Porte have ranged from a low of 12 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −28 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.68 inches (43 mm) in February to 4.79 inches (122 mm) in June.

Politics

From 1992 to 2012, LaPorte County was reliably Democratic, although John Kerry came within 198 votes of losing the county in 2004. In recent years, it has been increasingly Republican, with Donald Trump winning the county in all three of his presidential runs.

LaPorte County is split between Indiana's 1st and Indiana's 2nd congressional district and is represented by Rudy Yakym and Frank Mrvan in the United States Congress. It is also part of Indiana Senate districts 5 and 8 and Indiana House of Representatives districts 7, 9, 17 and 20.

County elected officials:

Board of Commissioners

Source:

Steve Holifield (R, 2nd)

Connie Gramarossa (R, 1st)

Joe Haney (R, 3rd)

County Council

Source:

Adam Koronka (R)

Justin Kiel(R)

Jimmy Pressel III (R)

Jennifer Heath (D)

Brett Kessler (R)

Mike Mollenhauer (D)

Mark Yagelski (D)

Elected officials:

Assessor: Michael R. Schultz (D)

Auditor: Michael Rosenbaum (R)

Clerk: Heather Stevens (R)

Coroner: Lynn Swanson (R)

Prosecutor: Sean Fagen (R)

Recorder: Elzbieta Bilderback (R)

Sheriff: Ronald C. Heeg (R)

Surveyor: John Matwyshyn (R)

Treasurer: Dan Barenie (R)