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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Outstanding Buildings

1. John Prentiss House (1873). 2708 Froberg Road. Center. Italianate.
2. Miller Baum House (c. 1885). 312 Mander Road. Jackson. Italianate.
3. George Patton House (c. 1865). 239 East 300 South. Morgan. Italianate. Altered.
4. Behrens Farm (c. 1870). 601 Burdick Road. Pine. Italianate.
5. Josephus Wolf House (c. 1875). 453 West 700 North. Portage. Italianate.
6. Elmer Wolf Farm (1890). 610 Oxford Road. Portage. Romanesque.
7. Hazard Sheffield Farm (1853). 326 State Route 2. Porter. Italianate.
8. Joseph Bailly House (c. 1835/1891). 733 Howe Road. Westchester. Shingle.
9. Augsburg Swedish School (c. 1880). Oak Hill Road, east of Dunes Highway. Westchester.

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