The Vidette-Messenger Centennial EditionThe 1936 special edition celebrating Porter County's centennial year . . . .
The following article has been transcribed from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger, published in Valparaiso, Indiana. This particular special edition focuses on Porter County's centennial celebration and contains a 94-page compendium of Porter County history up to that time.
Return to the index of articles from The Vidette-Messenger's Porter County Centennial special edition.
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso,
Porter County, Indiana; August 18, 1936; Volume 10, Section 2, Page 10.
PORTER COUNTY IS GATEWAY TO CHICAGO DISTRICT
From Beginning All Modes Of Transportation Have Had To Route Through This Area
Porter county's
steady growth is undoubtedly due in part to the fact that it has always been on
a natural route from Chicago, the metropolis of the West, to the East and
Northeast, resulting in an early development of transportation facilities.
In its first decade the county's transportation was that of all frontier
communities of the time -- horseback, horse teams, or ox teams, and some by Lake
Michigan. When the first settlers, the Morgans, came to the county in 1833, from
Virginia, they traversed an old route which was soon afterward established as a
stage line between Detroit and Chicago.
Arrive in Porter county, they staked off claims in the places of their desire,
Jesse, in Westchester township, and Isaac and William in Morgan township.
The same year the Morgans set foot on Porter county soil, 1833, was an important
era in the history of the community. A stage line was established, and coaches
were operated between Chicago and Detroit. This line proved to be the impetus
for an influx of settlers into the county. The Chicago and Detroit Road passed
through the Morgan place, and Jesse Morgan was invited by the officials of the
line to act as "mine host." He accordingly christened his come the "Stage
House," and had no lack of guests in his hostelry.
In the early history of the county the main highways led to Michigan City, a
great market place for produce and supplies. Farmers from all parts of the
county resorted to this city for their trading.
The best roads obtaining were to be found in the north part of the county. On
February 6, 1837, Daniel M. Lea, of LaPorte county, William Frakes, of Porter
county, and William Hatton, of Lake county, were appointed commissioners to view
mark and locate a state road from LaPorte to Portersville (now Valparaiso), and
thence to west to the Porter county line, and thence west to the seat of justice
in Lake county to the Illinois line.
The highway they marked nearly a hundred years ago is now part of the Lincoln
Highway, of State Road 2, over which the modern motor cars travel in a few hours
the distance that required many days for the pioneer, trudging along beside his
plodding oxen.
This bit of enterprise led to the establishment of numerous stage lines from
Chicago to Valparaiso and points east. The road was gradually improved, although
for many years t was almost impassable at certain seasons. Today it is a modern
highway of concrete and asphalt.
Other highways were projected throughout the county, including the plank road to
Michigan City, costing $128,000, but the railroad fever was sweeping the
country. Naturally its first development was in the east, connecting the older
and more populous settlements. But the great rush of settlers to the west was
pointing to the possibilities of profitable investment for capital, and when the
county was 14 years of age the first train on the Michigan Central railroad,
steamed through the north end of the county, closely followed by the New York
Central.
In 1858, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago was laid through Porter County.
The road passed through Valparaiso, where a large grain depot was built and
brought a great deal of business to the county seat and led to the incorporation
of the city, in 1865.
Before the coming of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, stage
lines did a big business in Valparaiso, and the town prospered accordingly. The
stores and hotels did a rushing business, and the local teamsters were rolling
in wealth acquired from hauling the possessions of the emigrants farther west.
This was the beginning of the end of the end for the stage lines, and when the
railroad pushed westward through the county toward Chicago the stages gave up
the ghost.
?In the meantime railroad lines were projected from Joliet to LaPorte and from
Logansport to Chicago, to pass through Valparaiso. The former was never built
and the latter passes through the southern part of the county as the Logansport
division of the Pennsylvania system.
The Peninsular railroad reached Valparaiso in 1874. It soon passed into the
hands of the Chicago and Port Huron Railroad Company and not long afterward
became a part of the Grand Trunk system. The road was completed to Chicago in
1875. About the time this road was built the Baltimore and Ohio railroad also
came through the county. This road enters the county on the east near the
northeast corner of Washington township and runs northwest until it crosses the
western boundary about two miles south of Lake Michigan.
Some trouble occurred when this line reached the Michigan Central at Crisman in
the fall of 1874. The Michigan Central disputed the right of the new road to
cross its right of way and stationed a number of men there to prevent the
Baltimore and Ohio from crossing. The latter company sent a force of armed men
to the scene and for a little while it looked as though civil war was imminent.
In the end trouble was averted and a settlement reached.
Valparaiso citizens through the city council contributed a $40,000 gift to the
Grand Trunk. For many years the gifts was permitted to stand against the city's
credit as a bond issue, and no attempt was made to refund it until Mayor P. L.
Sisson became mayor. Then annual payments were begun on the principal. Now after
nearly sixty years the city is still paying on the debt.
The Chicago, New York and St. Louis railroad, the Nickel Plate, was built
through the county in 1881. Not long after the building of the Nickel Plat came
the Chicago and Erie railroad, running through Kouts, Boone Grove and Hurlburt.
The Wabash railway, (formerly the Montpelier and Chicago), enters the county
from the east near Clear Lake, runs northwest to Morris, thence west via Crocker
and McCool, and crosses the western boundary a short distance south of the
Baltimore and Ohio.
About the beginning of the present century the Chicago, Cincinnati and
Louisville (now the Chesapeake and Ohio) was built through the county parallel
to and about four miles north of the Erie. Malden and Beatrice are the leading
Porter county stations on this road.
In addition to these main lines the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern enters the county
on the west, about a mile north of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago, and
runs northeast to Chesterton; a branch of the Pere Marquette system runs from
Chesterton northeast into LaPorte county; the Chicago and Eastern Illinois
crosses the extreme northeast corner, and a branch of th New York Central line
has been extended to Dune Park.
Two electric lines traverse the county. They are the Chicago, Lake Shore and
South Bend railroad, which operates high-powered express trains between South
Bend and Chicago, and the Valparaiso and Gary railway, between Valparaiso and
Gary, via Woodville. Other electric lines were promoted, but never carried
through. Valuation of steam and electric property in Porter county, according to
the 1935 assessment is $15,718,410.
Article transcribed by Steven R. Shook