Porter County 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 ...

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Ind ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Chicago and West Michigan Railway The Chicago and West Michigan Railway (C&WM) is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan between 1881 and 1899.Joseph Bailly Homestead is located in

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 ...

on Howe Road, just north of U.S. 20. It is the residence of three generations of the Bailly family. Joseph and Marie Bailly arrived here in 1822 from the St. Joseph River in Michigan. He had been a fur trader on Lake Michigan for nearly 30 years when he set up his family home along the

Little Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...

.Cultural Sites of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, National Park Service, 2006 The

Chellberg Farm Chellberg Farm (sometimes Anders Kjellberg Farm) is a historic farmstead which in 1972 became part of Indiana Dunes National Park. Chellberg Farm is significant as it represents the ethnic heritage of a nearly forgotten Swedish-American settlement. ...

is also a three generation home, but of the family of Anders Kjellburg (Chellberg). He brought his family to this Swedish community in 1869, purchasing from the Bailly descendants. The farm is located on Mineral Springs Road, north of U.S. 20. Augsburg Luthern Church Porter Indiana

The Augsburg Swedish Lutheran Church and Cemetery are located on Beam Street, west of town. The Cemetery was begun in 1878.Porter County, Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures; Historic Landmarks of Indiana, July 1991 Inventory The

Willow Creek Confrontation Willow Creek is a neighborhood in the city of Portage, Indiana in Porter County. It is the location of the junction of the Garrett Subdivision, Porter Subdivision, and Barr Subdivision, all sections of the CSX Railroad. History Willow Creek i ...

, an altercation between railroads, occurred in Willow Creek which is in Porter, and is memorialized with a historical marker. North of Willow Creek is the site of another significant event involving the town's railroads. Porter Junction is where the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

and its subsidiary, the Michigan Central Railroad, crossed each other at grade. (Michigan Central was also involved in the Willow Creek Confrontation noted above. The

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

also diverted from this location just east of the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

, also known as a "diamond".) In 1921, the crew of a northbound MIC passenger train missed a signal to stop before the "diamonds" in order to let a westbound NYC passenger train through. As a result, the MIC train struck a derail device meant for such a situation so as to prevent the trains from colliding, but in spite of derailing, the MIC train didn't completely stop until after part of it was already obstructing the diamonds. The crew of the NYC train couldn't stop in time, and smashed through one of the MIC's coaches between 45 and 55 mph before derailing itself. The collision resulted in the grisly deaths of 35 passengers on the MIC train, as well as the deaths of the engineer and fireman on the NYC train. The crash gained such notoriety due to the graphic aftermath that it eventually pushed Congress to mandate the installation of

cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an e ...

in locomotives throughout the United States. The diamond crossing, meanwhile, was removed sometime during the Conrail era. In addition to the Joseph Bailly Homestead, the Good Fellow Club Youth Camp and Porter Town Hall 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 ...

.

Geography

Porter is located at (41.626005, -87.071798). According to the 2010 census, Porter has a total area of , of which (or 95.68%) is land and (or 4.32%) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 4,858 people, 1,832 households, and 1,310 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 1,978 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.9%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.6% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 6.6% of the population. There were 1,832 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.5% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.12. The median age in the town was 39.1 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 10.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 4,972 people, 1,844 households, and 1,300 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 1,966 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.14%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.82%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.58%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.62% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.61% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.69% of the population. There were 1,844 households, out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $50,625, and the median income for a family was $60,254. Males had a median income of $50,799 versus $26,055 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $24,615. About 4.9% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Town of Porter, Indiana website
{{authority control Towns in Porter County, Indiana Towns in Indiana