Porter County, Indiana

Founding: 1836 (declared in 1835)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: David Porter, U.S. naval captain
Seat: Valparaiso (1836–)

Land area: 418 square miles

Population (2020): 173,215

Population (historic): 2,162 (1840); 10,313 (1860); 17,227 (1880); 19,175 (1900); 22,821 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1840–1910; 1920–2020

Subdivisions: Two cities; nine towns; six CDPs; 12 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 5,490 (8.1%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 62.2%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 9.3%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 12.1%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 6.9%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $2,093
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,901

Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.2 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,791
Average farm size (1920): 104.4 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Germany, New York, Sweden, Illinois, and Pennsylvania

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Valparaiso

Namesake: Valparaíso, Chile

Founding: 1836 (platting as Porterville); 1837 (post office); 1850 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 34,151

Population (historic): 522 (1850); 2,765 (1870); 5,090 (1890); 6,987 (1910); 8,079 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1910; 1920–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,043 (14.9%)

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