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Indiana Counties

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Indiana Counties

Indiana is divided into 92 counties. The oldest and newest Counties in Indiana are Knox County (created 1790) and Newton County (created 1857).

The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi.) and the smallest is Ohio (87 sq. mi.). According to the Indiana Constitution, no county may be created of less than 400 square miles, nor may any county smaller than this be further reduced in size.

Many Indiana Counties are named for the US Founding Fathers and personalities of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and Battle of Tippecanoe; early leaders of Indiana Territory and Indiana, as well as surrounding states like Michigan and Kentucky; plus Native American tribes and geographical features.

La Porte County, Indiana

La Porte County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: La Porte
Year Organized: 1832
Square Miles: 598

Court House:

813 Lincolnway
County Complex
La Porte, IN 46350-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

From the French term meaning "The Door" this county's name reflects her natural access to the Great Lakes.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

LaPorte County was established by an act of the Legislature on the 9th of January 1832 and formally organized April 1, that year. La porte means "the door" in French. French travelers or explorers so-named the area after discovering a natural opening in the dense forests that used to exist in this region, providing a gateway to lands further west.

Before white settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day La Porte County, and adjacent Starke County to the south belonged to the Potawatami Indian nation. These Indians were forcibly removed to Kansas by the United States government in 1838, and many died on what survivors called the Trail of Death.

When the county was initially proposed and organized, its boundaries did not extend as far south or east as they do today. A section of land north of the Kankakee River originally belonged to Starke County. However, residents living in that area had difficulty crossing the river, often traversing difficult, swampy terrain in order to arrive at the seat of their county to pay taxes or conduct other business with county officials. It was necessary to travel some distance east to the nearest bridge, before making the journey south. These residents asked that their land be annexed to La Porte County, which was completed on January 28 1842. Thereafter, the Kankakee River formed the southern boundary of the county. Finally, on January 10 1850, some twenty sections of land were annexed from St. Joseph County to the east, giving La Porte County the boundaries that exist to this day

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.

Geography

The county has a total area of 613 square miles (1,588 km²), of which 598 square miles (1,549 km²) is land and 15 square miles (38 km²) (2.41%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Berrien County, Mich.
East: St. Joseph County
Southeast: Starke County
West: Porter County
Northwest: Lake Michigan

Cities and Towns:

- Cass	township
- Center	township
- Coolspring	township
- Dewey	township
- Hanna	township
- Johnson	township
- Kankakee	township
- Kingsbury	town	Incorporated Area
- Kingsford Heights	town	Incorporated Area
- La Crosse	town	Incorporated Area
- La Porte (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Lincoln	township
- Long Beach	town	Incorporated Area
- Michiana Shores	town	Incorporated Area
- Michigan	township
- Michigan City	city	Incorporated Area
- New Durham	township
- Pleasant	township
- Pottawattamie Park	town	Incorporated Area
- Prairie	township
- Springfield	township
- Trail Creek	town	Incorporated Area
- Union	township
- Wanatah	town	Incorporated Area
- Westville	town	Incorporated Area
- Wills	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."