Porter County Indiana

In my family history search, I am particularly interested in the Hannon, O'Donahue and related families of this area. As good Irish folks, these names will have spelling variations -- which makes them a little more effort to locate.


Porter County was created on February 1, 1836. The County was named for Capt. David Porter, naval officer during the War of 1812.

The County Seat is Valparaiso. The first plat for the city dated July 7, 1836, bears the name of Portersville, however, the name of the County Seat was changed to Valparaiso during the first year and is seems to have been done by the local authorities. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Porter County are LaPorte County (east), Starke County (southeast), Jasper County (south), Lake County (west).

Porter County is divided into 12 Civil Townships as follows: Boone, Center, Jackson, Liberty, Morgan, Pine, Pleasant, Portage, Porter, Union, Washington and Westchester. Cities, Towns and Communities include Boone, Burdick, Chesterton, Clanricards, Coburg, Grove, Hebron, Hurlburt, Kouts, Malden, Morris, Nickel, Porter, Sedley, Suman, Valparaiso and Woodville.

The Porter County Official Government Website
Porter County Township Map
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Porter County: The county newspaper holdings are under regular revision, as new microfilm holdings are added. These files are not up to date; there are continuous updates and corrections.
Official County Historians
Porter County, Indiana History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain

Porter County, organized in 1836, was named in honor of Commodore David Porter, of the United States Navy. It is bounded north by Lake Michigan, east by LaPorte, south by the Kankakee, which separates it from Jasper, and west by Lake County. Its average length is 35 miles, and the breadth 15 miles. The names of the several townships are Winchester, Jackson, Liberty and Portage, in the north; Washington, Center, Union and Porter, in the center; and Pleasant, Morgan and Boone, in the south. The population in 1840 was 2,162; at this time [1849] it is about 5,000. The surface of the country is gently undulating. About one-fourth of the county is timbered in oak, walnut, poplar, pine, maple, butternut and beech, one-third barrens, and the remainder prairie and bottomland. Except near Lake Michigan and the marshes of the Kankakee, the general character of the soil is good, and best adapted to wheat, oats, corn and grazing.

There are in the county three gristmills, eight sawmills, one carding and one fulling mill, a printing office, four lawyers, ten physicians, nine preachers, and the usual proportion of carpenters, blacksmiths, wagon-makers, tailors, shoemakers, etc. There are several small lakes in the county, among which are Flint, Spectacle and Eliza Lakes. The taxable land amounts to 155,380 acres.

1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature

Porter County is compromised of three distinct sections. In the north is the lake and beach section; in the center, the Morainic Hills, and in the south the Kankakee Marsh region. This Marsh, formerly considered worthless, was drained and some parts have become rich farming land while others have reverted to marsh. Porter County contains some of Indiana's most outstanding natural features. Among these is the magnificent range of sand hills near Lake Michigan known as "The Dunes" and the group of morainic basin and kettle-hole lakes near Valparaiso, although originally it was called Portersville.

It is a northwestern border being Lake Michigan. It has an area of 415 square miles, divided into twelve townships. The incorporated city is Valparaiso, 8,079; towns: Chesterton, 2,213; Porter, 805; Hebron, 693; Kouts, 583; Ogden Dunes, 55, and Dune Acres, 12. Total county population 1890, 18,052; 1900, 19,175; 1910, 20,540; 1920, 20,256; 1930, 22,821.

Valparaiso is forty-four miles southeast of Chicago and is served by three railroads. It is a manufacturing city and its industries include steel, mica, school desks, Bakelite, paint, and electrical specialties.

Among the Valparaiso's features are the Public Library, Memorial Opera House, and the Fair Grounds. On the grounds of the library at the place the Old Sac Trail crossed the city, the Porter County Historical Society has erected a marker. The opera house is a memorial to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War and is used as local headquarters of the G. A. R. and W. R. C. This latter organization has erected a marker at the grave of Mary C. McCarthy, a Civil War nurse who is buried in the Old City Cemetery. In the Maplewood Cemetery they have also placed a monument to the unknown dead of Porter County. The Fair Grounds here was used as an encampment for the Ninth Indiana Regiment during the Civil War.

The city is best known for Valparaiso University, founded by Henry B. Brown September 16, 1873. Two years after the university was started, Oliver P. Kinsey became associated with Mr. Brown, and together they applied to their problem all of their knowledge on the subject. Valparaiso University has an enrollment of more than 5,000 students, 22 departments, 11 school buildings, including three in Chicago for medical and dental work and a library containing over 12,000 works of reference. The classes are in session the entire year. Its largest department is the normal college, which gives instruction to more than 1,100 students annually, and a large percentage of the students earn all or part of their expenses at Valparaiso. The university has no secret societies, nor does it compete with other institutions in the fields of athletics. It is one of the largest universities in the United States in point of attendance and its students come form all over the United States and foreign countries.

Porter County supplies much of the truck garden produce used by Chicago. This specialized type of farming is very extensive and, with dairying, forms an important phase of activity.

A number of types of clay that produce several kinds of bricks are found in this county.

Porter County had twenty-six manufacturing establishments, according to figures of the 1935 federal census. A total of 592 wage earners were employed on payrolls of $555,630. The value of the products was $2,773,030.

The Pavilion and Arcade Hotel at Indiana Dunes State Park are nationally known summer resorts.

The county had 1,845 farms averaging 118.2 acres each. The value was $12,709,753. A total of 38,743 head of livestock was reported. The county's tax valuation, according to 1936 appraisal, was $44,615,280.



Links:
http://www.myindianagenealogy.com/in_county/por.htm Porter County Map and Information
http://www.in.gov/history/7909.htm Northern Indiana Historical Markers Interactive Map
http://www.in.gov/history/index.htm Indiana History Web Site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Porter_(naval_officer) Captain David Porter