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LaPorte County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
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LaPorte County was created on 9th of January 1832 and was formed from St. Joseph County and Unorganized Land. The County was named for "the door" or "the port" in the French language. The County Seat is La Porte. It was first settled in 1832 by R. Harris, J. M. Wilson, William Hawkins, Geo. Thomas, and others. General W. Wilson was the proprietor. By 1849 it contained a flourishing Medical College, an Academy and several High Schools, about 350 houses, mostly frame, and 2,000 inhabitants. See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to La Porte County are Berrien County, Michigan (north), St. Joseph County (east), Starke County (south), Jasper County (southwest), Porter County (west). LaPorte is divided into 21 Civil Townships as follows: Cass, Center, Clinton, Cool Spring, Dewey, Galena, Hanna, Hudson, Johnson, Kankakee, Lincoln, Michigan, New Durham, Noble, Pleasant, Prairie, Scipio, Springfield, Union, Washington and Wills. Washington Township was once part of Union Township while Prairie Township was part of Hanna Township. Cities, Towns and Communities include Ackerman, Alida, Belfast, Byron, Fish Lake, Hanna, Haskells, Hayville, Heston, Hudson Lake, Kingsbury, Kingsford Heights, La Crosse, Lalimere, Lakeland, Lake Park, La Porte, Magee, Michigan City, Mill Creek, New Carlisle, Otis, Pinelake, Pinola, Rolling Prairie, Smith, South Center, South La Porte, South Wanatah, Stillwell, Thomaston, Tracy, Trail Creek, Union Center, Union Mills, Wanatah, Waterford, Wellsboro, Westville and Youngs.
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NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered. See also the LaPorte County Courthouse History LaPorte County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1832 , Probate Records from 1832 and Court Records from 1832 and is located at 813 Lincolnway Suite 105, La Porte, Indiana 46350; 219-326-6808 La Porte, 219-874-5611 Michigan City. LaPorte County Recorder has Land Records from 1831 and is located at 555 Michigan Ave, Suite 201, LaPorte, IN 46350; Phone: (219) 326-6808 ext. 280, 234, 209, Fax: (219) 326-0828.
LaPorte County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at County Complex, 4th Floor, Suite 401A, 809 State St., La Porte, IN 46350; (219) 326-6808 Ext. 200 Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Court Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for LaPorte County, Indiana are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in LaPorte County, Indiana are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms. See Also Statewide Records that exist for Indiana Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Census Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states. You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Maps. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Military Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically. Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over. Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in LaPorte County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the LaPorte County Tombstone Transcription Project. Baptist records are found at Franklin College (in Franklin); Methodist at DePauw University (in Greencastle); Mennonite at Goshen College (in Goshen); Presbyterian at Hanover College (in Hanover); Disciples of Christ at their historical society in Nashville, Tennessee; and French Catholic at Vincennes University in the Byron R. Lewis Collection. There are also Catholic church histories and records at the Catholic Archives, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Quaker records are at Earlham College (at Richmond). The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862. The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found. Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for LaPorte County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing LaPorte County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain LaPorte County, so called from the French name of the large and beautiful prairie, which it includes, was organized in 1832. It is bounded north by the State of Michigan, east by St. Joseph, south by Starke, and west by Porter, and it contains 562 square miles. It is divided into the following townships, to-wit: Michigan, Springfield Galena and Hudson, on the north; Cool Spring, Center, Kankakee and Wills, second tier; New Durham, Scipio and Pleasant, third tier; Clinton, Noble and Union, fourth tier; and Cass and Van Buren in the southwest corner. The population in 1840 was 8,184, and at this time [1849] it is about 12,500. The range of country east and west, from eight to twelve miles southeast of Lake Michigan, is timbered land and parts of it are somewhat hilly, and the soil is mostly thin. The timber there is oak and hickory. The level part is covered with beech, poplar, sugar, etc., and in the vicinity of the Lake and Michigan City are sand hills, covered mostly with pine. The country south of the above, for six or eight miles in width, is gently undulating prairie, interspersed with groves of timber and small lakes, which has a very rich soil; still farther south, are burr oak barrens, a few dry prairies, and the Kankakee marshes, of which portions are better for grazing than for grain. It is estimated that 188 sections of land lie in the different prairies in the county, the principal of which are Rolling, Door or LaPorte, Stillwell, Domain and Hog prairies, which, with the exception of a few wet places, are well adapted to wheat, oats, corn, barley, hemp and vines, and garden vegetables of every description. Fruit succeeds well, and the wet prairies, when drained, are well adapted to grass. The burr oak barrens are still little inferior to the prairies in respect to soil. The surplus articles exported are wheat, flour, corn, oats, pork, beef, etc., of which there have been at leas $500,000 annually taken from Michigan City, principally the products of the county. Stock, horses, etc., are also driven to Chicago and Detroit. The completion of the Railroad between these two points, which will pass through this part of the State, will add largely to its wealth and prosperity. There are in LaPorte County thirteen gristmills, many of them merchant mills and among the best in the State, twenty-seven sawmills, four carding machines, two fulling mills, one large furnace, two printing offices, sixty stores and groceries, sixteen lawyers, twenty-two physicians and forty-five preachers, and good mechanics of the trades most in demand, are found in sufficient numbers. The taxable land amounts to 257,000 acres, and including the small lakes, there are 100,000 acres not taxable. The writer, who has traveled extensively in the "flat woods" of Indiana, could never pass over the fine scenery and beautiful prospects presented by the prairies, groves and lakes of LaPorte County, without feelings of wonder and admiration; and he has repeatedly, in his excursions, encountered entire strangers, who, it seemed, were involuntarily forced to pause and express the pleasure and delight with which they concurred in his sentiments. 1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature LaPorte County is one of the state's greatest resort sections and also an industrial center. It is bordered on the northwest by Lake Michigan. Across the county from east to west runs an elevated ridge forming a watershed, dividing the surface waters into tributaries of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi Rivers. In addition to Lake Michigan there are a number of other lakes, most of which are drained by the Kankakee River. The highest point of the surface in the county is about 270 feet above the surface of Lake Michigan and 870 feet above the ocean. The soil of the county is varied, consisting of sandy timber loam, prairie loam and vegetable mold, and is especially adapted to the growth of potatoes, wheat and corn. According to history, this is part of the territory visited by Father Marquette. The date of the first settlement by white men is nor certain, though it was in either the township of New Durham or, as is more generally believed, Hudson Township, settled in 1828. The Indians of the region were of the Pottawatomie Tribe. One of the largest counties in the state, LaPorte embraces an area of 595 square miles, divided into twenty-one townships. This is the largest number of townships in any Indiana county. The incorporated cities are LaPorte, 15,755, and Michigan City, 26,735; towns: Westville, 496; LaCrosse, 568; Long Beach, 436; Trail Creek, 295; Pottawattomie Park, 23, and Lakeland. Total county population in 1890 was 34,445; 1900, 38,386; 1910, 45,797; 1920, 50,443; 1930, 60,490. The Interlaken School for Boys is located at Rolling Prairie in LaPorte County. It is one of the most unique educational institutions in America and was established by Dr. Edward A. Rumely. It is a boys' training or preparatory school, western state universities recognize its certificate, and it gives thorough preparation for eastern colleges, as well as German universities. Special courses in scientific agriculture and related subjects are offered with practical experience in the use of all farm tools and the care of cattle. The school has a 500-acre farm, which is equipped with every modern appliance. The Indiana State Prison was established by authority of an act approved March 5, 1859, providing for the erection of a prison in that part of the state north of the National Road. It was first known as the Northern Indiana State Prison. Its site at Michigan City was chosen March 1, 1860, and approved by the Governor the next day. The organic law required that a certain number of convicts should be transferred from the Jeffersonville prison and their labor utilized in the work of construction. The first detachments of these arrived in Michigan City April 5, 1860, and were housed in temporary quarters. The new institution was made a receiving prison by an act approved June 1, 1861, and from that day until April 1, 1897, was the place of confinement for all persons sentenced to State Prison from the counties north of the National Road. An act approved February 26, 1897, converted this institution into the Indiana State Prison for the incarceration of men convicted of treason or murder in the first or second degree and all men thirty years or over convicted of felony in any court in the state. LaPorte is located fifty-nine miles southeast of Chicago and is served by three railroads. It is important not only as a center of agriculture, but from an industrial standpoint. According to 1935 federal census figures, the city had thirty-seven manufacturing establishments employing 2,285 wage earners. These earned $2,262,673. The value of the products was $10,098,673. Michigan City, the largest city in the county and one of Indiana's important manufacturing centers, is located fifty-six miles southeast of Chicago and is served by four railroads, as well as the Great Lakes Lines. Its industries include the manufacture of railroad cars, mining machinery, boilers, heating apparatus, furniture, hosiery, gloves, shirts, overalls, blouses, lumber, water coolers, nickel plate ware, bricks, and bicycles. In addition there are numerous fishing concerns. The Kuhn Ice and Coal Co. is among the county's well-known businesses. According to the figures of the 1935 federal census, the city had forty-five manufacturing establishments employing 2,989 wage earners on pay rolls totaling $2,517,006. Value of the manufactured products was $14,163,969. This city is best known throughout the Middle West as an outstanding summer resort, situated as it is on the shores of Lake Michigan. Thousands visit the city weekly during the summer. One of the points of interest in the city is the modern harbor. Michigan City is the site of Indiana State Prison. According to 1935 federal census figures, the county had ninety manufacturing establishments employing 5,446 wage earners. Pay rolls for these totaled $4,936,951. The value of the manufactured product was $25,045,146. The county had 2,565 farms with an average of 130.9 acres each. The value of these was $18,450,035. A total of 57,172 head of livestock was reported. The total county tax valuation as of 1936 was $86,835,884. ? |
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