Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at least 500 inbound commuting workers to St. Joseph County daily." Those counties include Elkhart, La Porte, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan. As of the 2020 census, those seven counties had a population of 867,747.
The St. Joseph River is a 210-mile-long (340 km) river that flows in a generally westerly direction through southern Michigan and northern Indiana, United States, before emptying into Lake Michigan. The St. Joseph River drainage basin covers 4,685 square miles (12,130 km2), and is the third largest watershed draining to Lake Michigan. The land within its bounds is primarily used for agriculture. The river and its tributaries provide a variety of paddling and fishing environments. Historically, the river served as an important canoe transportation route for various Native American tribes, and for French Canadian Voyageurs.
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana, United States. The name refers to both the physical line and the service operated over that route. The line was built in 1901–1908 by predecessors of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, which continues to operate freight service. Passenger operation was assumed by the NICTD in 1989, who also purchased the track in 1990. The South Shore Line is one of the last surviving interurban trains in the United States. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,406,900, or about 5,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, is an unofficial region of northern Indiana, United States that is located at the northwestern corner of the state. Though there is no official definition of the region, it is based on the Gary, Indiana Metropolitan Division, which comprises Jasper, Lake, Porter and Newton counties in Indiana, and the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metropolitan Statistic Area, which comprises LaPorte, with unofficial definitions also including Starke and Pulaski counties. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and parts of it are in the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census, the largest definition of Northwest Indiana has a population of 866,965 and is the state's second largest urban area after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. It is also the home of the Indiana Dunes, parts of which have been preserved through conservation efforts. The town of Ogden Dunes houses the Hour Glass, a museum showcasing the ecological and conservation efforts of O. D. Frank.
Northern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Michigan to the north, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's northernmost 26 counties, its main population centers include Northwest Indiana, Michiana, and the Fort Wayne metropolitan area.
Indiana's 2nd congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northern Indiana. It includes South Bend, Elkhart, and Warsaw.
Olive Township is one of thirteen townships in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 3,914.
Rolling Prairie is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kankakee Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 562.
Hudson Lake is a train stop operated by the South Shore Line in the unincorporated community of Hudson Lake, Indiana. It is one of a very few interurban stations located in a rural region of the United States, being located approximately halfway between the much larger communities of Michigan City and South Bend. The station is composed of a passenger shelter, a sign, a small concrete pad, and a small parking lot.
U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Indiana is a main east–west highway that is parallel to the Indiana Toll Road. The western terminus of US 20 is at the Illinois state line and the eastern terminus is at the Ohio state line. US 20 through Whiting, East Chicago, and Gary is concurrent with US 12 twice. The route varies between one-way, two-lane, and four-lane streets, in Northwest Indiana. From the east side of Gary to west of South Bend, US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway. The route then heads around the west and south sides of South Bend and Elkhart as a four-lane limited access divided highway. East of State Road 15 (SR 15), US 20 is two-lane rural highway.
Lydick is an unincorporated community in Warren Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.
New Carlisle was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Arch and Zigler Streets in New Carlisle, Indiana. The station opened c. 1908 and was built by the Chicago, South Bend and Northern Indiana Railway whose line was immediately north of the South Shore Line. Both lines used the station until the Northern Indiana Railway abandoned its South Bend–Michigan City line leaving the South Shore as the sole occupant. The station remained in service on the South Shore Line until July 5, 1994, when it was closed as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, and Rolling Prairie.
LaLumiere was a South Shore Line flag stop located at Wilhelm Road in LaPorte County, Indiana. The station opened prior to 1910 and closed on July 5, 1994, as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle.
Willard Avenue was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Willard Avenue and 10th Street in Michigan City, Indiana. The station opened prior to 1937 and closed on July 5, 1994, as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge, Kemil Road, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle.
Ambridge was a South Shore Line flag stop located at Bridge Street in the Ambridge Mann neighborhood of Gary, Indiana. The station opened in 1920, and closed on July 5, 1994, as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle.
Dune Acres was a South Shore Line flag stop located at Mineral Springs Road serving Dune Acres in Porter County, Indiana. The station opened prior to 1910, and it was originally known as Mineral Springs Road. The station closed in 1994, as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge. Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle. The station did not close on July 5, 1994, like the other stations, instead closing after parking was expanded at the Dune Park station.
Kemil Road was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Kemil Road and U.S. 12 in Porter County, Indiana. The stop was located at the eastern edge of the Indiana Dunes State Park. It was established in 1977 on the initiative of South Shore Recreation, a citizens group, and closed in 1994.
The town of New Carlisle, abutting the LaPorte County line in Olive Township in northwestern St. Joseph County, perches on a hill overlooking the rich Terre Coupee prairie to the east. Its main street, Michigan Street, at forty-five feet is wider than the town's other streets and has been from its platting in 1835 a part of an improved thoroughfare, first the Michigan Road, later the Lincoln Highway and, finally, US 20. Two parallel railroads, Conrail and the electrically powered South Shore, run along the town's north edge at the bottom of the hill, beyond which still lies open farmland. This is largely true to the west and south as well, although in recent years commercial development has occurred at the western edge of town along US 20 at the county line, and some residential development to the south. Along US 20 to the east is a long line of ca. 1950 housing development, which until recently edged farmland between the highway and the railroads. Now much of this farmland is zoned industrial, owing largely to the construction less than 2 miles (3.2 km) away of the enormous I/N Tek steel mill, completed in 1990, and its subsidiary I/N Kote, in 1991. The district is the main commercial district on Michigan Street.
The Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend Railway formed in 1901, is the earliest predecessor of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad.
