Portage Township is one of twelve

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Porter County, Indiana Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 47,085. Portage Township was established in 1835. The residents of Portage Township played pivotal roles in the conservation of the

Indiana Dunes Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

History

Portage Township was organized in 1836, and most likely was named after

Portage County, Ohio Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akr ...

. The

Nike Missile Site C47 Nike Missile Site C-47 is a former missile site near Portage, Indiana. The Project Nike, Nike defense system was a Cold War-era missile system in the United States. Nike missiles were radar guided, supersonic antiaircraft missiles. The planners h ...

and Josephus Wolf House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Cities and towns

The largest community in the township is the city of

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

. The bedroom community of Ogden Dunes is also in this township.Porter County, Indiana Sesquicentennial, 150, 1836-1986.

Parks

The city of Portage has an extensive park system. Also within the township is

Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

's primary beach of West Beach and a new facility called Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.

Education

Portage Township is home t
Portage Township Schools
Higher education: *

Purdue University North Central Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a public university with two campuses in Northwest Indiana, one in Hammond and another in Westville. It is part of the Purdue University system and offers more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree p ...

(classes offered at Portage High School) *

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) is a public university in Gary, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University and was established in 1963. Academics IU Northwest is located on a campus in the northwest corner of the state. ...

Ivy Tech ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

(classes offered at Willowcreek Middle School; full-service campus to be built in 2008) High school: *

Portage High School Portage High School is a public high school in Portage, Indiana that serves grades 9 through 12. The school has been in the area since the 1960s but can be dated back to the 1940s. The school serves the Portage, Indiana area as well as the South ...

Middle schools:
Willowcreek Middle SchoolFegely Middle School
Elementary schools:
AylesworthCentralCrismanJonesKyleMyersSaylorSouth Haven
The corporation is reviewing the results of a population growth study to determine future facility needs. Current options include: 1) Constructing a ninth elementary school; 2) Constructing a third middle school; or 3) Constructing an intermediate (5th-6th grade) school. For the 2007–2008 school year the Portage Township Schools student enrollment was 8,541.

References

External links

Indiana Township Association

United Township Association of Indiana
{{authority control Townships in Porter County, Indiana Populated places established in 1835 Townships in Indiana