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 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. |
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