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

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Porter County, Indiana Porter County is a county (United States), 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, Indiana, Valparaiso. The county is part of ...

, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

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 tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

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. 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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 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 Old Spanish (, , ; ), also known as Old Castilian or Medieval Spanish, refers to the varieties of Ibero-Romance spoken predominantly in Castile and environs during the Middle Ages. The earliest, longest, and most famous literary composition in O ...

) in 1837 after

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, near which the county's namesake David Porter battled in the Battle of Valparaiso during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. 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, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

. 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 a major branch of Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, sa ...

, and with the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

) 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, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

. There was also substantial activity by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, 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 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 population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

. 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,

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

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, 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 intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's '' Calumet'' commuter service.

Geography

The city is situated at the junctions of U.S. Route 30, 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, a prominent

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

feature formed by receding glaciers and creating a distinct hilly landscape in the region.

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 be ...

has left numerous features on the landscape here. Kettle lakes and knobs make up much of this particular area of Northwest Indiana. The Pines Ski Area is the only remaining kame 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 erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

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 (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 (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 geog ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 2.2% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 . There were 11,559 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.35%

, 1.60%

, 0.23% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.02%

, 0.79% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races.

or Latino 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, 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 consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...

* 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 at

* 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, most often a lending 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 servic ...

, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. * Conrad and Catherine Bloch House * Haste-Crumpacker House * Heritage Hall * Immanuel Lutheran Church * Dr. David J. Loring Residence and Clinic * William McCallum House * Charles S. and Mary McGill House * Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House * Porter County Memorial Opera Hall * David Garland Rose House * 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, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

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. Rock Island (Coolwood Dr &, Frontage Rd) is a "tourist attraction" found in front of the Strack & Van Til grocery store just off of the US 30 highway. The curb that splits the right and left turn lanes has been responsible for a number car crashes and accidents. Over the weekend between May 17 and May 19 of 2024, community members decorated the curb with rocks, signs, traffic cones, and other miscellaneous decor, including a flamingo and a blanket for one of the rocks. This has since been considered an inside joke, featuring its own Google reviews as an official tourist attraction.
Rogers-Lakwood 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, pickleball, 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 Brauer Museum of Art, with more than 2,700 pieces of 19th- and 20th century American art. Ivy Tech operates one of its 23 regional campuses in the city. From 2006 until 2016, Purdue University North Central had a two-building satellite campus in Valparaiso.

Primary and secondary education

*Public schools Valparaiso Public School District

**Valparaiso Community Schools *** Valparaiso High School ***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 Middle-High School Washington Township Middle-High School is a public high school and middle school located in Washington Township, Porter County, Indiana, Washington Township, just east of Valparaiso, Indiana. See also * List of high schools in Indiana Referenc ...

; serves part of the city of Valparaiso *Private schools **Immanuel Lutheran School (K-8) **Montessori School of Valparaiso **Saint Paul's Catholic School (K-8) **Victory Christian Academy (K-12)

Media

Newspapers

Valparaiso is served by two regional newspapers: * '' The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (or NWI Times), was founded in 1906 and is the second largest of Indiana's 76 daily newspapers. It is based on

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. * 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.

Magazines

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

Radio

The primary local radio stations are WLJE 105.5 FM "Indiana 105", which broadcasts

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, WAKE 1500 AM, which plays

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

, and WVLP 98.3 FM "ValpoRadio", a non-profit, low power FM community radio station. Valparaiso formerly had a fourth local station, WNWI 1080 AM, which relocated to

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in 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 shares borders with the ...

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 on the earth 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, 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. U.S. Route 30 is the major east–west artery on the southern side of the city. Indiana State Road 49, the major north–south artery, connects with

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U ...

and the

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road 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 ...

. Indiana Route 130 runs northwest to

Hobart, Indiana Hobart ( , ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,752 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 ...

. Indiana State Road 2, which connects

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

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 operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

operates on the tracks that were previously the Nickel Plate Road, the Canadian National is the former

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...

and the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad operates on the tracks that were previously used by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...

Notable people

* Douglas J. Adams, U.S. Navy admiral * Newton Arvin, literary critic * John L. Bascom, politician * Harry Benham, actor * Beulah Bondi, 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 league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) player * Mark N. Brown, astronaut * Josephine Cochrane, invented and patented the modern dishwasher * Bryce Drew, professional basketball player in the

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

(NBA) * Michael Essany,

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

talk show host and author * Gina Fattore, 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. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

'', ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'', '' Parenthood'' and showrunner of '' Dare Me'' * Chris Funk, guitarist for The Decemberists * Henry C. Gordon, astronaut * Mark A. Heckler, 18th president of Valparaiso University *

Zach Holmes Zacharias Holmes (born September 11, 1991), also known as Zackass, is an American stunt performer and television personality. He is best known as the star and co-creator of MTV's '' Too Stupid to Die'', and new '' Jackass'' member in '' Jackass ...

, new '' Jackass'' member * Robbie Hummel, professional basketball player in the NBA since 2012 * Samuel Austin Kendall, politician * Mike Kellogg, retired Moody Radio announcer * Hub Knolls, former pitcher in

* Heather Kuzmich, 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 has arrived." The promotional song was " Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna. The prizes ...

* Earl F. Landgrebe, 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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

* Charles F. Lembke, architect and contractor. He built many downtown area buildings.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 * Sean Manaea, professional baseball player in MLB * Orville Redenbacher, hybrid popcorn developer * Henry P. Rusk, dean of the Department of Agriculture at the University of Illinois * Jeff Samardzija, professional baseball player in MLB * Carly Schroeder, actress * Walter Wangerin, Jr., 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