Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

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 ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census.

History

The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

people by the U.S. Government in October 1832. Chiqua's town or Chipuaw was located a mile east of the current Courthouse along the

Sauk Trail The Sauk Trail was originally a Native American trail running through what are present-day Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in the United States. From west to east, the trail ran from Rock Island on the Mississippi River to the Illinois River near ...

. Chiqua's town existed from or before 1830 until after 1832. The location is just north of the railroad crossing on State Route 2 and County Road 400 North. Located on the ancient Native American trail from Rock Island to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, the town had its first log cabin in 1834. Established in 1836 as ''Portersville'', county seat of Porter County, it was renamed to Valparaiso (meaning "Vale of Paradise" in Old Spanish) in 1837 after

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, near which the county's namesake David Porter battled in the

Battle of Valparaiso A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. The city was once called the "City of Churches" due to the large number of churches located there at the end of the 19th century. Valparaiso Male and Female College, one of the earliest higher education institutions admitting both men and women in the country, was founded in Valparaiso in 1859, but closed its doors in 1871 before reopening in 1873 as the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute. In the early 20th century, it became Valparaiso College, then

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

. It was initially affiliated with the Methodist Church but after 1925 with the Lutheran University Association (which has relationships both with the

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, and with the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

) and expanded significantly after World War II. From the 1890s until 1969, there were no African-American residents in Valparaiso. This has been attributed to Valparaiso being a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

. There was also substantial activity by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, which negotiated to purchase Valparaiso University in 1923. The first African-American family to move to Valparaiso faced intimidation and eventually left the city when a visiting relative was murdered. In recent years, the city's racial composition has diversified. Valparaiso also has a long history of being a transportation hub for the region. In 1858, the

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern Rai ...

reached Valparaiso, connecting the city directly to Chicago. By 1910, an interurban railway connected the city to

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. Today, while the city no longer has a passenger train station, it is still very much a part of the "Crossroads of America" due to its proximity to

I-65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

, and I-94. Additionally, the Canadian National railroad still runs freight on the tracks, including through the downtown area. Until 1991, Valparaiso was the terminal of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

'' commuter service.

Geography

The city is situated at the junctions of

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

, State Road 2, and State Road 49. According to the 2010 census, Valparaiso has a total area of , of which (or 99.69%) is land and (or 0.31%) is water.

Topography

The city is situated on the

Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of gla ...

Glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

has left numerous features on the landscape here. Kettle lakes and knobs make up much of this hilly area of Northwest Indiana. The Pines Ski Area is the only remaining

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

in the city; the other one is under the university's Chapel of the Resurrection, however, grading of land in that area makes that particular kame almost nonexistent. Many

glacial erratics A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

can be found throughout the city. The moraine has left the city with mostly clay soil.

Climate

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 incl ...

of 2010, there were 31,730 people, 12,610 households, and 7,117 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 13,506 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.9%

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 on ...

, 3.3%

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, 2.1%

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 ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 2.2% 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 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 7.1% of the population. There were 12,610 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 33.4 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 15.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 27,428 people, 10,867 households, and 6,368 families residing in the city. The

was 971.6/km² (2,515.4/mi²). There were 11,559 housing units at an average density of 409.4/km² (1,060.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.35%

, 1.60%

, 0.23% Native American, 1.49%

, 0.02%

, 0.79% from

, and 1.52% from two or more races.

of any race were 3.34% of the population. There were 10,867 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 17.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,799, and the median income for a family was $60,637. Males had a median income of $46,452 versus $26,544 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 city was $22,509. About 4.8% of families and 9.1% 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 8.1% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

* Featured in '' Valparaiso'', a play by

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, per ...

* The Valparaiso Downtown Commercial District, Washington Street Historic District, and the Banta Neighborhood feature many historic homes; architectural designs include, Italianate, Arts & Crafts, and English/Cottswold.

Live theater

* Chicago Street Theatre, run by the local Community Theater Guild. * The Memorial Opera House, a musical theater venue. * Valparaiso Theatrical Company, a non-profit community theatre group focused on providing fund-raising opportunities for other non-profit organizations through theatrical performance.

Museums

Brauer Museum of Art The Brauer Museum of Art is home to a collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art, world religious art, and Midwestern regional art. It is located in the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts (VUCA) on the campus of Valparaiso University ...

* Museum of Fire Fighting * Porter County Museum, also known as the Old Jail Museum

City fairs

The city holds two major festivals every year: the Popcorn Festival and the Porter County Fair. The Popcorn Festival is held on the first Saturday after Labor Day. It honors Orville Redenbacher, a former resident who built a popcorn factory there. Redenbacher participated in most of the festival's parades until his death in 1995. The festival also features foot racing events and multiple concerts in addition to typical fair activities. The Porter County Fair consists of carnival attractions and hosts a variety of shows such as a demolition derby, motocross races, and live musical performances.

Public library

Valparaiso has a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

, a branch of the Porter County Public Library System.

Historic buildings and districts

* Porter County Courthouse replaced an earlier brick building in 1883. The current building is 128 feet by 98 feet. It was built with a square tower rising out of the center. The tower was 168 feet tall with a clock on each side. A fire in 1934 damaged in the interior requiring the removal of the tower.Neeley, George E.; City of Valparaiso, A Pictorial History; G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri; 1989

National Register of Historic Places

There are a number of buildings and districts in the city 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 ...

. *

Conrad and Catherine Bloch House The Italianate House at 608 Academy Street, Valparaiso, Indiana was constructed by Conrad and Catherine Bloch in about 1873. The double-pile brick house has a commanding presence on a double lot at the corner of Park and Academy Streets. A bri ...

* Haste-Crumpacker House * Heritage Hall * Immanuel Lutheran Church *

Dr. David J. Loring Residence and Clinic The Loring Residence and Clinic was the first facility built to provide medical services to Valparaiso, Indiana. The residence has continued to provide for public service through its current use by the Valparaiso Woman's Club. Dr. Loring used h ...

* William McCallum House *

Charles S. and Mary McGill House Charles S. and Mary McGill House is a historic home located at Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana. It was built in 1926, and is a two-story, Z-shaped Tudor Revival style brick dwelling. It has a steeply pitched cross-hipped roof and features s ...

Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House The Porter County Museum (PoCo Muse) is located at 20 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana. From May 11, 1975, until March 12, 2020, the museum was located in the old Porter County Jail and sheriffs residence, located at 153 Franklin Street Valpa ...

Porter County Memorial Opera Hall The Porter County Memorial Hall, also known as Memorial Opera House, is an historic Grand Army of the Republic memorial hall located in Valparaiso, Indiana. It was the meeting place of Chaplain Brown GAR Post No. 106, one of 592 GAR posts in India ...

David Garland Rose House The David Garland Rose House was built circa 1860 in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. David Rose was a local businessman. This Gothic Revival house is unusual in that it is eight-sided, an octagon. Each of the eight gables include decorated ...

* DeForest Skinner House * Valparaiso Downtown Commercial District * Washington Street Historic District (Valparaiso, Indiana)

Parks and recreation

Valparaiso has an extensive city park district. In 2005 there were 13 parks with another in the planning stages.

Parks

Valparaiso Indiana Valplayso Glenrose North 07

200 East (East McCord Rd) – a community park with a playground; where many of the city's legendary athletes played football as youngsters. Football at 200 East Park is a staple for young kids growing up in the neighborhood.
Bicentennial Park (Burlington Beach Road & Campbell St) – Provides a full range of activities, including a playground, basketball courts, ball diamond and picnic shelters. A prairie restoration is under way in the north half of the park.
Central Park Plaza ( Lincolnway and Lafayette St) – is the centerpiece of the Downtown Valparaiso revitalization and opened the summer of 2011. It has an outdoor amphitheater for concerts and other special events as well as a splash pad in the center of the park for kids to play.
Fairgrounds Park (Calumet & Evans Avenues) – Has the largest complex of ball diamonds and soccer fields in the city. A playground and basketball court are available. Numerous city sports leagues use Fairgrounds Park for their games and tournaments. The park is surrounded by a paved walking circuit that is well occupied on nice days.
Foundation Meadows (Campbell Street & Bullseye Lake Rd) – One of the city's newer parks.
Glenrose South (1500 Roosevelt Road) – Provides several ball diamonds and when school is out, Thomas Jefferson Middle Schools track is available for those interested in walking. Glenrose South has been the home of the Valparaiso

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

Fireworks display and celebration since 2005.
Jessee-Pifer Park (Elmhurst & Madison Streets) – a community park with a basketball court and picnic shelter.
Kirchhoff Miller Woods, (Roosevelt Road & Institute St – a community park that provides for basketball, baseball, tennis, picnicking and a playground.
Ogden Gardens/Forest Park (Campbell Street and Harrison Blvd) – Ogden Gardens is the home of the city's botanical garden. The Campbell Street end is a formal garden with a variety of planting that bloom throughout the year. The Gazebo is a favorite place for weddings, wedding pictures and high school prom pictures. A Japanese garden is included with a 22,000-gallon Koi pond. Forest Park is to the west with an open grassy picnic area below a wooded picnic area with a shelter.
Rogers-Lakewood Park (Meridian Road (N Campbell Street)) – Provide opportunities for swimming, fishing, and hiking trails. It is connected to the north side communities of Valparaiso by the Campbell Street Bike Trail (hiking and biking).
Tower Park (Evans Ave and Franklin St.) is a community park that offers basketball, baseball, tennis, picnicking and a playground. During winter months, one of the basketball courts is turned into the community skating rink.
Valplayso/Glenrose North (Glendale Blvd and Roosevelt Rd) is the home of Valplayso, a community-designed and community-built playground. At the other end of the parking lot are several ball fields. Separated from Glenrose South by only the Middle Schools track, Glenrose North hosts over half of the community during the Fourth of July Celebration.
West Side Park (Joliet Rd) is a community park with a ball field and a playground.
Will Park (Morgan Blvd and Brown St) is a community park with a basketball court, playground, and picnic shelter.

Golf

*Valparaiso Country Club *Forest Park *Creekside *Mink Lake (Closed) *The Course at Aberdeen

Bike trails

Valparaiso is building a series of bike trails across the city. Currently, (March 2012) most of the identified bike routes are part of the county's system of recommended roads and streets.

Biking and hiking

''Campbell Street Bikeway'' runs from Rogers-Lakewood Park south to Vale Park Road (CR 400 N). It continues south on the opposite side of Campbell St. base Valparaiso High School, ending south at Ogden Gardens (Harrison Blvd). At Vale Park, it connects to the ''Vale Park trail'' to Valparaiso Street . A new bike loop is being built that circles north along Valparaiso Street to Bullseye Lake Rd, east to Cumberland Crossing (not open to the public (2008), south to Vale Park, turning west to on Vale Park to return to the corner of Vale Park and Valparaiso Street. At Glendale, the ''Campbell Street Bikeway'' connects to the ''Glendale cross town bike lane''. These travel east on Glendale, ending on North Calumet at the Walgreens corner.

Government

Valparaiso has an elected mayor, an elected clerk-treasurer, and an elected council. All of these positions are elected for four-year terms in November of the year before a presidential election year and assumes office on January 1.

Education

Higher education

was founded in 1859, and occupies on the south side of the city near downtown. The university is a cultural center of the city, hosting venues such as the

, with more than 2,700 pieces of 19th- and 20th century American art.

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 ...

operates one of its 23 regional campuses in the city. From 2006 until 2016,

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 ...

had a two-building satellite campus in Valparaiso.

Primary and secondary education

*Public schoolsVerizon Yellow Pages, Portage-Valparaiso; November 2007 Valparaiso Public School District

**Valparaiso Community Schools ***

Valparaiso High School Valparaiso High School is a public high school in Valparaiso, Indiana. History Valparaiso High School opened in 1871 as Valparaiso City Public Graded School in a facility that had been built in 1861 by the local Presbyterian members as the Val ...

***Porter County Career and Technical Center ***Benjamin Franklin Middle School ***Thomas Jefferson Middle School ***Central Elementary ***Cooks Corner Elementary School ***Heavilin Elementary ***Flint Lake Elementary School ***Thomas Jefferson Elementary School ***Memorial Elementary ***Northview Elementary School ***Parkview Elementary **East Porter County Schools ***Washington Township High School; serves part of the city of Valparaiso *Private schools **Christ Baptist Christian Academy **The Classical Academy **Immanuel Lutheran School (K-8) **Montessori School of Valparaiso **Saint Paul's Catholic School (K-8) **Spirit Of God Accelerated Education, **South Haven Christian School **Victory Christian Academy

Media

Newspapers

Valparaiso is served by two regional newspapers: * ''

The Times of Northwest Indiana ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...

'' (or NWI Times), was founded in 1906 and is the second largest of Indiana's 76 daily newspapers. It is based on

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. * The ''Post-Tribune'' of Northwest Indiana was founded in 1907, serving the Northwest Indiana region. The Post-Tribune is owned by Tribune Company and is based in

Merrillville Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...

Magazines

''North Valpo Neighbors'' and ''South Valpo Neighbors'' are published in Valparaiso.

Radio

The primary local radio stations are

WLJE WLJE (105.5 FM) is a radio station that has been broadcasting a country music format for over 35 years. Licensed to Valparaiso, Indiana, United States, it serves Northwest Indiana. The station is currently owned by Adams Radio Group, LLC, throug ...

105.5 FM "Indiana 105", which broadcasts

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

WAKE Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...

1500 AM, which plays adult standards, and WVLP 98.3 FM "ValpoRadio", a non-profit, low power FM community radio station. Valparaiso formerly had a fourth local station,

WNWI WNWI (1080 AM) is a time brokered radio station broadcasting an ethnic radio format. Licensed to Oak Lawn, Illinois, United States, it serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by the Birach Broadcasting Corporation. WNWI operate ...

1080 AM, which relocated to

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

in 1998 and is now a Chicago-market station. Radio is usually from the Chicago market.

Infrastructure

Valparaiso gets all of its water from

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

s that draw water from depths between 90 and . The supply is treated with chlorine solution to remove the iron. Valparaiso also has three sewer retention basins. Valparaiso's energy is provided by NIPSCO. The Schaeffer Power Plant is located south of Valparaiso, in Wheatfield. A city bus service, the

V-Line The V-Line is the local bus operation in Valparaiso, Indiana. Service began on October 1, 2007 making Valparaiso one of the smallest cities in the United States to have its own independent public transit system. Operations The V-line was origina ...

, was founded in 2007. It operates between downtown, the university, shopping centers, the city's northern neighborhoods, and Dune Park station of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District. On October 6, 2008, Valparaiso inaugurated an express bus service to and from Chicago, Illinois called ChicaGo DASH. Buses depart Valparaiso on weekday mornings and return from Chicago in the evenings. Valparaiso is served by four highways.

is the major east–west artery on the southern side of the city.

Indiana State Road 49 State Road 49 (SR 49) is a , north–south state highway in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 12 (Dunes Highway) in Porter near the entrance to Indiana Dunes Stat ...

, the major north–south artery, connects with

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships in Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 14,241 at the 2020 Census. The three towns of Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and Porter are known as the Duneland a ...

and the

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a tolled freeway that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main Street of the ...

. Indiana Route 130 runs northwest to

Hobart, Indiana Hobart is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,890 at the 2020 census, up from 29,059 in 2010. It has been historically primarily residential, though recent annexation has added a notable retail corridor to the city ...

Indiana State Road 2 State Road 2 (SR 2) in the U.S. State of Indiana is an east–west route running from the Illinois border at Illinois Route 17 east to the outskirts of South Bend, Indiana, at the U.S. Route 20/ U.S. Route 31 freeway, also known as the ...

, which connects

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

and Lowell, passes through the southeast corner of the city. Three railroads pass through the city. The

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

operates on the tracks that were previously the

Nickel Plate Road The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York (state), Ne ...

, the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

is the former

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...

and the

Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad The Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad is a short line railroad offering service from Tolleston, Indiana to Crestline, Ohio, United States over the former Fort Wayne Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It began operations in 2004 as a divi ...

operates on the tracks that were previously used by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

Notable people

Newton Arvin Fredrick Newton Arvin (August 25, 1900 – March 21, 1963) was an American literary critic and academic. He achieved national recognition for his studies of individual nineteenth-century American authors. After teaching at Smith College in N ...

, literary critic * John L. Bascom, politician *

Harry Benham Harry Benham (February 26, 1884 – July 17, 1969) was an American silent film actor. Background Benham was born in Valparaiso, Indiana. As a child, he and his family moved to Chicago, where he was raised and attended school. Benham had a talen ...

, actor *

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

, actress * Mary Blatchley Briggs (1846– 1910), writer and women's organizer * Kevin L. Brown, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) player *

Mark N. Brown Mark Neil Brown (born November 18, 1951) is an American engineer, retired colonel in the United States Air Force and former NASA astronaut. Brown spent a total of ten days in space, over two Space Shuttle missions. Personal life Brown was born N ...

, astronaut *

Josephine Cochrane Josephine Garis Cochran (later Cochrane; March 8, 1839 – August 3, 1913) was an American inventor who was the inventor of the first commercially successful automatic dishwasher, which she designed in the shed behind her home; she then constructe ...

, invented and patented the modern dishwasher *

Bryce Drew Bryce Homer Drew (born September 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously he served as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and in the same capacit ...

, professional basketball player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), 1998–2004; head coach for Vanderbilt University men's basketball team since 2016 *

Michael Essany Michael Essany (born October 22, 1982, in Valparaiso, Indiana) is an American comedian and talk show host. Essany hosted '' The Michael Essany Show'' on local, national and international television for seven years. He has also written a column f ...

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

talk show host and author *

Gina Fattore Gina Fattore (born June 18, 1968, in Kankakee, Illinois, USA) is an American producer known for her creation of USA Network series ''Dare Me''. She was also a producer and writer for popular TV shows such as ''Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls,'' an ...

, producer and writer of ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagshi ...

'', '' Parenthood'' and showrunner of '' Dare Me'' *

Chris Funk Christopher Funk (born November 28, 1971) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as a member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy-gurdy, mandol ...

, guitarist for The Decemberists *

Henry C. Gordon Henry Charles Gordon (December 23, 1925 – September 24, 1996), (Col, USAF), was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. Early life and education Gordon was born in V ...

, astronaut *

Mark A. Heckler Mark A. Heckler is a former president of Valparaiso University. He was named the 18th president of the university on July 1, 2008, succeeding Alan Harre, and served until September 1, 2020, when he was named president emeritus. At Valparaiso Un ...

, 18th president of Valparaiso University *

Robbie Hummel Robert John Hummel (born March 8, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player and current TV commentator. He played college basketball for Purdue University. He currently is a member of Princeton 3X3 on the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. On ...

, professional basketball player in the NBA since 2012 *

Samuel Austin Kendall Samuel Austin Kendall (November 1, 1859 – January 8, 1933) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Samuel A. Kendall was born in Greenville Township, Pennsylvania. He attended the public sch ...

, politician * Mike Kellogg, retired

Moody Radio Moody Radio is one of the largest Christian radio networks in the United States. Located in downtown Chicago, Moody Radio has 71 owned and operated stations

announcer *

Hub Knolls Oscar Edward "Hub" Knolls (December 18, 1883 – July 1, 1946) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in two games for the 1906 Brooklyn Superbas. A double in his only at-bat left Knolls with a rare MLB career batting average Batti ...

, former pitcher in

Heather Kuzmich Heather Kuzmich (born April 19, 1986) is an American fashion model. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is studying video game design. She is best known for being a contestant of ''America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9'', in which she was the ...

, 4th runner-up of

America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9 The ninth cycle of ''America's Next Top Model'' was the third season of the series to be aired on The CW network. This cycle's promotional tagline was "The Future Of Fashion." The promotional song was "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna. The prizes f ...

Earl F. Landgrebe Earl Fredrick Landgrebe (January 21, 1916 – June 29, 1986) was an American politician and businessman who served as a Republican senator in the Indiana Senate and member of the United States House of Representatives. During the Watergate sca ...

, politician, staunch defender of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Charles F. Lembke Charles F. Lembke (March 4, 1865 – July 18, 1923) was an American architect and contractor who was prominent in Valparaiso, Indiana. Lembke built many downtown Valparaiso-area buildings, such as the Memorial Opera House (National Register, 1984 ...

, architect and contractor. He built many downtown area buildings, such as the Memorial Opera House, Carnegie public Library, Hotel Lembke, and several local schools. .National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form; US Dept of the Interior, National Park Service; Dr. David J. Loring Residence and Clinic; Bertha Stalbaum & Alice Vietzke; Valparaiso Woman’s Club; Valparaiso, Indiana, June 11, 1984 * David E. Lilienthal, politician *

Orville Redenbacher Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American food scientist and businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name which is now owned by ConAgra. ''The New York Times'' descri ...

, hybrid popcorn developer *

Sean Manaea Sean Anthony Manaea ( ; born February 1, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. He played co ...

, professional baseball player in MLB *

Jeff Samardzija Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (; born January 23, 1985), nicknamed "Shark", is an American professional former baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time All-American ...

, professional baseball player in MLB *

Carly Schroeder Carly Brook Schroeder (born October 18, 1990) is an American actress and U.S. Army officer. She is best known for playing Serena Baldwin, the daughter of Scotty Baldwin and Lucy Coe in the ''General Hospital'' spin-off ''Port Charles''. She ...

, actress *

Walter Wangerin, Jr. Walter Wangerin Jr. (February 13, 1944 – August 5, 2021) was an American author and educator best known for his religious novels and children's books. Biography Wangerin was born in Portland, Oregon, where his father was a Lutheran pastor. H ...

, author and professor at Valparaiso University * R. Harold Zook, architect

References

External links

*
Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Cities in Porter County, Indiana Chicago metropolitan area County seats in Indiana Cities in Indiana Populated places established in 1836 Northwest Indiana 1836 establishments in Indiana

History

Geography

Topography

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

2000 census

Arts and culture

Live theater

Museums

City fairs

Public library

Historic buildings and districts

National Register of Historic Places

Parks and recreation

Parks

Golf

Bike trails

Biking and hiking

Government

Education

Higher education

Primary and secondary education

Media

Newspapers

Magazines

Radio

Infrastructure

Notable people

See also

References

External links