LaPorte County, Indiana

LaPorte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 112,417. The county seat is the city of La Porte, and the largest city is Michigan City. This county is part of the Northwest Indiana and Michiana regions of the Chicago metropolitan area. The LaPorte County Courthouse is located in the county seat of La Porte and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

LaPorte County was formed in 1832. La porte means "the door" or "the port" in French.

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, IL (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.

But by 1850, the three Eastern states that had contributed the most residents to LaPorte County were New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, surpassing those migrants from New England. LaPorte County had the largest number of Southerners north of the Wabash Valley.

During the Civil War, the Louisville Journal noted that the 29th Indiana Regiment (mustered out of LaPorte) "may almost be regarded as a Kentucky regiment for a large majority of its members are either natives or descendants of native Kentuckians". Three Union Camps reigned in LaPorte County helping the Union to Civil War victory.

When the county was initially proposed and organized, its boundaries did not extend as far south or east as they do today. A section of land north of the Kankakee River originally belonged to Starke County. However, residents living in that area had difficulty crossing the Grand Kankakee Marsh that surrounded the river in order to reach the rest of the county. It was necessary to travel some distance east to Lemon's bridge, before making the journey south. Effectively isolated from the rest of Starke County, these residents asked that their land be annexed to LaPorte County, which was completed on January 28, 1842. Thereafter, the Kankakee River formed the southern boundary of the county. Finally, on January 10, 1850, some twenty sections of land were annexed from St. Joseph County to the east, giving LaPorte County the boundaries that essentially exist to this day. although state law refers to "LaPorte County."

LaPorte County is noted for being the last-known place of the Belle Gunness serial murders. Bodies of her victims were discovered after her house burned and she disappeared in 1908. Gunness lived on a farm on the outskirts of the county seat.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 97.56%) is land and (or 2.44%) is water. The highest point, at , The townships, with their populations as of the 2010 Census, are:

Unincorporated towns

Lakeland

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+LaPorte County, Indiana – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|93,330

|90,695

|style='background: #ffffe6; |85,957

|84.76%

|81.36%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76.46%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|11,052

|11,835

|style='background: #ffffe6; |11,874

|10.04%

|10.62%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.56%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|306

|246

|style='background: #ffffe6; |250

|0.28%

|0.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.22%

|Asian alone (NH)

|483

|570

|style='background: #ffffe6; |743

|0.44%

|0.51%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.66%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|16

|13

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|Other race alone (NH)

|126

|97

|style='background: #ffffe6; |467

|0.11%

|0.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|1,391

|1,918

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,123

|1.26%

|1.72%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.56%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,402

|6,093

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,985

|3.09%

|5.47%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.10%

|Total

|110,106

|111,467

|style='background: #ffffe6; |112,417

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

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.

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. The population density was . There were 48,448 housing units at an average density of .

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.

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

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, 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 in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

LaPorte Community School Corporation
Metropolitan School District of New Durham Township
Michigan City Area Schools
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

Politics

From 1992 to 2012, LaPorte County had been reliably Democratic although John Kerry came within 198 votes of losing the county in 2004. But in recent years it has been increasingly Republican with Donald Trump winning the county in all 3 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