Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago metropolitan area. Porter County is the site of much of the Indiana Dunes, an area of ecological significance. The Hour Glass Museum in Ogden Dunes documents the region's ecological significance.
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area, and contains a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas. It is bordered on the north by Lake Michigan and contains a portion of the Indiana Dunes. It includes Marktown, Clayton Mark's planned worker community in East Chicago.
Gurnee is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area. Best known for being the location of Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills, the village sees an average of over 26 million visitors annually.
Chesterton is a town in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships in Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 14,241 at the 2020 Census. The three towns of Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and Porter are known as the Duneland area.
Valparaiso, colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census.
Boone Grove is an unincorporated rural community in Porter County, Indiana, southwest of the city of Valparaiso.
The Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad (CNY) was a proposed high-speed electric air-line railroad between Chicago and New York City. At roughly 750 miles (1,210 km) it would have been over 150 miles (240 km) shorter than the two primary steam railroads on that route, the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad. The promoters' vision proved wildly optimistic and, in the end, only a short interurban route in the vicinity of Gary, Indiana was built and operated. It was the most ambitious of several such proposals at the dawn of electric railroading, all of which ended in failure.
State Road 49 (SR 49) is a 44.15-mile (71.05 km), north–south state highway in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 12 in Porter near the entrance to Indiana Dunes State Park. The southern terminus is a rural intersection with State Road 14 in Barkley Township at Lewiston, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Rensselaer.
Center Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 43,267.
Jackson Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,328.
Morgan Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,684.
Pleasant Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,432.
Porter Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,367.
Washington Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,785.
Westchester Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. It is included in the Calumet, Northwest Indiana, and Great Lakes regions. It is located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Chicago. It stretches from the famous Indiana Dunes on its northern border, south to the Valparaiso Moraine, a ridge of rolling hills left by the last glacier to pass through the area. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,396.
Portage is a city in Portage Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, on the border with Lake County. The population was 37,926 as of the 2020 census. It is the largest city in Porter County, and third largest in Northwest Indiana.
Wheeler is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in northern Union Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies along State Road 130, northwest of the city of Valparaiso. Although Wheeler is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 46393. The population of Wheeler was 443 at the 2010 census.
Tremont, Indiana, is a ghost town formerly located in what is now the Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Park in Westchester Township in northern Porter County, Indiana. It was first established in 1833. It was located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and County Road 100 East, near Indiana 49. The community is named for three massive sand dunes that are now contained within the State park. They are Mount Tom, Mount Holden 170 feet (52 m), and Mount Green 160 feet (49 m).
The lost towns are a group of places that are still commonly used by county residents. Each was at one time a post office, a store that served a part of the county, a grain elevator used by farmers to ship their crops, or a development that was or may still remain a unique designation. There may be a residential association or some other legal body devoted to the area. More often, these communities are communities of people who still refer to their homes by these geographic designations.
Tremont was a flag stop on the South Shore Line located at Tremont Road in Porter County, Indiana. The station was built by the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway and opened circa 1908, serving its namesake town and later the Indiana Dunes.
