Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area, and contains a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas. It is bordered on the north by Lake Michigan and contains a portion of the Indiana Dunes. It includes Marktown, Clayton Mark's planned worker community in East Chicago.

History

Early settlement

Originally inhabited by the Potawatomi, Lake County was established by European Americans on February 16, 1837. From 1836 to 1837 it was part of Porter County. The original county seat was Liverpool, but in 1840 Lake Court House, later renamed as Crown Point, was chosen.

Lake County's population grew slowly before the 1850s. Construction of railroads to link Chicago to the rest of the country stimulated rapid development, and tens of thousands of settlers and immigrants bought land in the region. Small-scale industrialization began, but was primarily relegated to the northern coast of the county, where it could take advantage of the railroads along the coast and shipping on the Great Lakes. The 1900 Census gives a population of 37,892 residents.

Industrialization and immigration

Inland Steel Company established a plant in East Chicago in 1903 and U.S. Steel founded one in Gary in 1906; with industrial jobs the demand for labor associated with industrial jobs, the county's population exploded. Immigrants poured into the area from all over Central and Eastern Europe (there was also a smaller Mexican immigrant community). In addition, both black and white migrants came from many regions of the United States, particularly Appalachia and the South. Mostly rural blacks went north in the Great Migration, seeking both industrial jobs and escape from Jim Crow violence and disenfranchisement in the South.

By 1930, Lake County's population surpassed 260,000, with first- and second-generation Americans constituting a majority of the population. The second wave of the Ku Klux Klan gained a large following here in the 1920s, as it did for a time in the rest of Indiana. The KKK organized against the numerous European immigrants, who were mostly Catholic. While the steel industry reigned supreme, other industries also found the county to be an ideal location for cheap land and well-developed transportation networks, such as automobiles, oil, chemicals, consumer goods, food processing, and construction supply companies.

The Great Depression was devastating to Lake County, as it was to other areas with economies based on heavy industry. The Depression, combined with industrial strife, changing demographics, and unionization, caused a realignment of politics in Lake County. It became a stronghold of the Democratic Party; Lake County has supported the Democratic nominee for president in every election since 1932 (exceptions occurred in 1956 and 1972). Indiana's 1st congressional district has elected Democratic candidates in every election since 1930.

World War II restored prosperity, as industry revived to support the war effort. Good economic times continued into the 1970s. During this period, unions helped industrial workers gain middle-class wages. In addition to attracting refugees and immigrants from Europe, black Americans and Mexicans migrated here in the postwar period in even higher numbers than in the 1910-1930 period. As minority populations exploded in such industrial cities as East Chicago and Gary, racial tensions surfaced again. Following construction of state and federal highways, development of cheaper land provided newer housing to middle-class people who could afford it. Both whites and established black families moved out of the aging industrial cities.

The population recovered somewhat during the 1990s and 2000s, as the local economy adjusted. Suburban growth has also been driven by commuter populations of workers who are employed in Chicago and commute via expressways or the South Shore Line. In 2007, it was estimated that 44,000 workers commuted from Lake County, Indiana, to Chicago for work.

  • Americall Group, Inc. – Hobart
  • Ameristar Casino – East Chicago
  • BP Whiting Refinery – Whiting
  • Canadian National Railway – Whiting
  • Cargill – Hammond
  • Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Works – East Chicago
  • Community Hospital – Munster
  • Franciscan Alliance, Inc. – locations throughout the region
  • Franciscan Health Hammond – Hammond (closed)
  • Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana – Gary
  • Horseshoe Casino – Hammond
  • Majestic Star Casino – Gary (closed)
  • Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus – Merrillville
  • NiSource – Merrillville
  • Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza – Merrillville (closed)
  • St. Catherine Hospital – East Chicago
  • St. Mary Medical Center – Hobart
  • Times Media Company – Munster
  • Unilever – Whiting
  • U.S. Steel Gary Works – Gary

Education

Public school districts

The administration of public schools in Lake County is divided among 16 corporations and governing bodies, more than any other Indiana county.

  • Crown Point Community School Corporation – Center and Winfield townships
  • Gary Community School Corporation – City of Gary
  • Griffith Public Schools – Town of Griffith
  • Hanover Community School Corporation – Hanover Township
  • Lake Central School Corporation – St. John Township
  • Lake Ridge Schools Corporation – unincorporated Calumet Township
  • Lake Station Community Schools – City of Lake Station
  • Merrillville Community School Corporation – Ross Township
  • River Forest Community School Corporation – Town of New Chicago and some portions of adjacent communities
  • School City of East Chicago – City of East Chicago
  • School City of Hammond – City of Hammond
  • School City of Hobart – City of Hobart within Hobart Township
  • School City of Whiting – City of Whiting
  • School Town of Highland – Town of Highland
  • School Town of Munster – Town of Munster
  • Tri-Creek School Corporation – Cedar Creek, Eagle Creek and West Creek townships

Private schools

Elementary and secondary schools operated by the Diocese of Gary:

  • Andrean High School, Merrillville (9–12)
  • Aquinas School at St. Andrew's, Merrillville (PK–8)
  • Bishop Noll Institute, Hammond (9–12)
  • Our Lady of Grace, Highland (PK–8)
  • St. Casimir, Hammond (PK–8)
  • St. John Bosco, Hammond (PK–8)
  • St. John the Baptist, Whiting (PK–8)
  • St. John the Evangelist, St. John (PK–8)
  • St. Mary, Crown Point (PK–8)
  • St. Mary, Griffith (PK–8)
  • St. Michael, Schererville (PK–8)
  • St. Stanislaus, East Chicago (PK–8)
  • St. Thomas More, Munster (PK–8)

Other parochial and private schools:

  • St. Paul's Lutheran School, Munster (PK–8)
  • Trinity Lutheran School, Crown Point (PK–8)
  • Trinity Lutheran School, Hobart (PK–8)

Colleges and universities

  • Calumet College of St. Joseph
  • Hyles–Anderson College
  • Indiana University Northwest
  • Ivy Tech Community College
  • Purdue University Northwest
  • University of Phoenix
  • Indiana Wesleyan University

Public libraries

The county is served by seven different public library systems:

  • Crown Point Community Library has its main location with a branch in Winfield.
  • East Chicago Public Library has its main location and the Robart A. Pastrick branch.
  • Gary Public Library has its main location, the Gary Public Library and Cultural Center, and the Kennedy and Woodson branches.
  • Hammond Public Library
  • Lake County Public Library has its main location in Merrillville as well as Cedar Lake, Dyer-Schererville, Griffith-Calumet Township, Highland, Hobart, Lake Station-New Chicago, Munster and St. John branches.
  • Lowell Public Library has its main location with branches in Schneider and Shelby.
  • Whiting Public Library

Hospitals

  • Community Hospital, Munster – 454 beds
  • Franciscan Health Crown Point, Crown Point – 203 beds (Level III Trauma Center)
  • Franciscan Health Dyer, Dyer – 223 beds
  • Franciscan Health Munster, Munster – 63 beds

Media

The Times, based in Munster, is the largest daily newspaper in Lake County and Northwest Indiana and the second largest in the state. Lake County is also served by the Post-Tribune, a daily newspaper based in Merrillville.

Lakeshore Public Television operates WYIN-TV Gary on channel 56 and is the local PBS station in the Chicago television market.

These eight broadcast radio stations serve Lake County and are part of the Chicago market:

  • WJOB (1230 AM) – Hammond
  • WWCA (1270 AM) – Gary
  • WLTH (1370 AM) – Gary
  • WLPR (89.1 FM) – Lowell
  • WRTW (90.5 FM) – Crown Point
  • WPWX (92.3 FM) – Hammond
  • WXRD (103.9 FM) – Crown Point
  • WZVN (107.1 FM) – Lowell

Climate and weather

thumb|Satellite imagery of Lake County, IN

In recent years, average temperatures in Lowell have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June. Temperatures at or below occur on average 11 days annually and exceed degrees on 14 days. In spring and early summer, the immediate shoreline areas sometimes experience lake-breeze that can drop temperatures by several degrees compared to areas further inland. In summer, thunderstorms are common, occurring an average 40–50 days every year, and on about 13 days, these thunderstorms produce severe winds.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

  • Surveyor: Bill Emerson, Jr. (D)
  • Treasurer: John Petalas (D)

† President

Politics

While the state of Indiana is strongly Republican, having voted Republican in every election since 1964 (except in 2008), Lake County has long been a Democratic stronghold due to being part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It has given pluralities or majorities to Democrats in every presidential election since 1932 with the exceptions of 1956 and 1972. Like the rest of the Rust Belt, however, Lake County has recently trended Republican, with Donald Trump scoring the highest percentage of the vote since 1972 in the 2024 presidential election.

Lake is part of Indiana's 1st congressional district, which is held by Democrat Frank J. Mrvan. In the State Senate, Lake is part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th districts, which are held by three Democrats and one Republican. In the Indiana House of Representatives, Lake is part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 19th districts, which are held by four Democrats and four Republicans.

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2008 presidential primary

In the 2008 Democratic presidential primary on May 6, 2008, Lake County was one of the last counties to report results. Lake County had reported no results at 11 p.m. ET, and at midnight ET, only 28% of Lake County's vote had been reported. A large number of absentee ballots and a record turnout delayed the tallies, and polls closed an hour later than much of the state because Lake County is in the Central Time Zone.

Culture and contemporary life

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Entertainment and the arts

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  • Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, concerts held at Living Hope Church – Merrillville
  • Theatre at the Center, located at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts – Munster

Major attractions

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  • Ameristar Casino – East Chicago
  • Horseshoe Casino – Hammond
  • Majestic Star Casino – Gary
  • Majestic Star Casino II – Gary
  • Pierogi Fest – Whiting
  • Southlake Mall – Hobart
  • Three Floyds Brewing – Munster

Professional sports teams

  • Gary SouthShore RailCats, an American Association professional baseball team, play their games at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary.

Recreation

;List of parks and recreational facilities – Lake County Parks and Recreation

;List of recreational facilities – Indiana Dunes National Park

Demographics