Area code 219

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Area code 219 is a North American Numbering Plan area code for Northwest Indiana that includes Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, Jasper and counties. The area code includes such cities as Hobart, Whiting, Gary, Hammond, Merrillville, Munster, Highland, Valparaiso, Michigan City, and La Porte.

[edit] History

In 1948, area code 317 was split into northern and central sections. Central Indiana retained the 317 area code, and Northern Indiana received the new 219. This made it the first new area code created after the original system went into effect a year earlier in 1947. Eventual depletion of numbers by the end of the 20th century prompted a three-way split of the area code. A random drawing was held to determine which region would retain 219, and Northwest Indiana was selected. 574 was then assigned to the north-central area (South Bend), and 260 to the northeast (Fort Wayne). The area codes split on January 15, 2002, with mandatory dialing taking effect five months later on June 14, 2002.^[1]