Valparaiso, Indiana

City of Valparaiso
—  City  —
Franklin Street in Valparaiso

Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): Valpo
Motto: "Vale of Paradise"
Location in Indiana
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Indiana
County Porter
Township Center
Government
 • Mayor Jon Costas (R)
Area
 • Total 11.0 sq mi (28.5 km2)
 • Land 10.9 sq mi (28.2 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)  0.73%
Elevation 794 ft (242 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 27,428
 • Density 2,515.4/sq mi (971.6/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 46383-46385
Area code(s) 219
FIPS code 18-78326[1]
GNIS feature ID 0449849[2]
Website http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/

Valparaiso ( /ˌvɑːlpəˈreɪzoʊ/ vahl-pə-ray-zoh) is a city in, and is the county seat of, Porter County, Indiana, United States.[3] The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the second-largest city in Porter County.

Contents

History

The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the Potawatomi Indians by the U.S. Government in October 1832. Chiqua's town or Chipuaw[4] was located a mile east of the current Courthouse along the Sauk Trail. Chiqua's town existed from at or before 1830 until after 1832.[5] The location is just north of the railroad crossing on State Route 2 and County Road 400 North.

Located on the ancient Indian trail from Rock Island to Detroit, the town had its first log cabin in 1834.[6] This log cabin was later used as the hiding place of Charles Manson in 1975. Established in 1836 as Portersville, county seat of Porter County, it was renamed to Valparaiso (meaning "Valley of Paradise" in Spanish) in 1837 after Valparaíso, Chile, near which the county's namesake David Porter battled in the War of 1812.[7] The city was once called the "City of Churches" due to the large number of churches it was home to at the end of the 19th Century. The city also has a long history of being a travel hub for the region. In 1858 the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne, and Chicago Railroad reached Valparaiso and connected the city directly to Chicago. By 1910 an interurban railway had connected the city to Gary, Indiana. Today, while the city no longer has a passenger train station, it is still very much a part of the "Crossroads of America" due to its proximity to I-94, I-80, I-90, and I-65. Until 1991 it was the terminal of Amtrak's Calumet commuter service.

Flag

Inspired by the sights of rolling hills topped with trees and surrounding rich farmland, the flag's primary color is green. White, being a symbol of purity, was chosen as a secondary color to represent the city's deep religious roots. Gold was chosen as a third color to represent the quality of schooling, community life, and government in the area. Emblazoned on the flag is a "V" which stands for the V's of Valparaiso: Valparaiso University, Valparaiso High School, and Valparaiso Technical Institute. The center circle of the flag contains the Valparaiso University Chapel of the Resurrection (for education), a symbol for a church, a tree (for agriculture), and a gear (for industry). The Words "Valparaiso, Indiana" as well as the date of conception, 1866, are found encircling the four symbols. [2]

Geography

Valparaiso is located at (41.476151, -87.056919).[8]

The city is situated at the junctions of U.S. Route 30, State Road 2, Interstate 80, and State Road 49.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 square miles (28 km2), of which, 10.9 square miles (28 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.73%) is water.

Topography The city is situated on the Valparaiso Moraine, which is near the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Glatiation has left numerous features on the landscape here. Perhaps hundreds of Kettle lakes and knobs make up the majority of this hilly area of northwest Indiana. The Pines Ski Area is the only remaining Kame in the city; the other one is under the university's Chapel of the Resurrection, however, grading of land in that area makes that particular kame almost nonexistent. Many glacial erratics can be found throughout the city. The moraine has left the city with mostly clay soil.

Climate data for Valparaiso, Indiana
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 33
(1)		 35
(2)		 45
(7)		 59
(15)		 70
(21)		 80
(27)		 84
(29)		 83
(28)		 76
(24)		 65
(18)		 48
(9)		 36
(2)		 60
(16)
Average low °F (°C) 16
(−9)		 20
(−7)		 27
(−3)		 38
(3)		 48
(9)		 57
(14)		 62
(17)		 60
(16)		 53
(12)		 43
(6)		 31
(−1)		 20
(−7)		 40
(4)
Rainfall inches (mm) 2.1
(53)		 1.9
(48)		 3
(76)		 3.6
(91)		 4.1
(104)		 4
(102)		 3.2
(81)		 3.5
(89)		 3.2
(81)		 3.1
(79)		 2.6
(66)		 2.1
(53)		 36.2
(919)
Snowfall inches (cm) 8.8
(22.4)		 8
(20)		 7
(18)		 1.5
(3.8)		 0.3
(0.8)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.4
(1)		 3.7
(9.4)		 8.8
(22.4)		 38.5
(97.8)
Source: Weatherbase [9]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1850 522
—
1860 1,698 225.3%
1870 2,765 62.8%
1880 4,461 61.3%
1890 5,090 14.1%
1900 6,280 23.4%
1910 6,987 11.3%
1920 6,518 −6.7%
1930 8,079 23.9%
1940 8,736 8.1%
1950 12,028 37.7%
1960 15,227 26.6%
1970 20,020 31.5%
1980 22,247 11.1%
1990 24,414 9.7%
2000 27,428 12.3%
2010 31,730 15.7%
Source: US Census Bureau

As of the 2010 Census Valparaiso had a population of 31,730. 90.7% of the population lived in households. There were 12,610 households with 56.4% of them being family households. 93.4% of housing units in Valparaiso were occupied. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 85.6% non-Hispanic white, 3.3% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian Indian, 1.8% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% non-Hispanic reporting some other race, 2.1% from two or more races and 7.1% Hispanic or Latino.[10]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 27,428 people, 10,867 households, and 6,368 families residing in the city. The population density was 971.6/km² (2,515.4/mi²). There were 11,559 housing units at an average density of 409.4/km² (1,060.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.35% White, 1.60% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.34% of the population.

There were 10,867 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 17.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,799, and the median income for a family was $60,637. Males had a median income of $46,452 versus $26,544 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,509. About 4.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Mayors by party affiliation
Party[11] Mayors
Republican 13
Democratic 13

Valparaiso has an elected mayor and an elected council. The mayor is elected for a four year term in November of the year before a presidential election year and assumes office on January 1.[12]

Mayor Term Began Term Ended Political Party
Thomas J Merrifield
1865
1868
 Democratic
Thomas G. Lytle
1868
1872
 Republican
John N. Skinner
1872
1882
 Democratic
Thomas G. Lytle
1882
1886
 Republican
Alvin D. Bartholomew
1886
1888
 Democratic
Thomas G. Lytle
1888
1892
 Republican
Frank P. Jones
1892
1894
 Democratic
Col. I.C. B. Suman
1894
1898
 Republican
Addison E. Woodhull
1898
1902
 Democratic
William F. Spooner
1902
1906
 Democratic
William H. Williams
1906
1910
 Republican
William F. Spooner
1910
1914
 Democratic
Perry L. Sisson
1914
1922
Edgerton W. Agar
1922
1926
 Republican
William F. Spooner
1926
1928
 Democratic
Louis F. Leetz
1928
1930
 Republican
Harold J. Schenck
1930
1935
 Republican
Charles L. Bartholomew
1935
1944
 Republican
Garrett Conover
1944
1948
 Republican
Elden Kuehl
1948
1952
 Democratic
John E. Wiggins
1952
1960
 Republican
Donald E. Will
1960
1968
 Republican
Bryce E. Billings
1968
1972
 Republican
Elden Kuehl
1972
1984
 Democratic
David A. Butterfield
1984
2004
 Democratic
Jon Costas
2004
current
 Republican

Education

Higher education

The city is the site of multiple colleges and universities. Purdue University North Central has a satellite campus in Valparaiso, and one of Ivy Tech's 23 regional campuses is located in the city. Valparaiso is also home to namesake Valparaiso University, occupying 310 acres (1.3 km2) on the south side of the city near downtown. The university is also a cultural center of the city, hosting venues such as the Brauer Museum of Art, home to more than 2,700 pieces of 19th- and 20th century American art.

The official history of Valparaiso University was written by Prof. Richard Baepler. His Flame of Faith, Lamp of Learning details the colorful and impressive history of the University from its Methodist roots in 1859 to its lasting reputation as a Lutheran University (1925). The intellectual story of Valparaiso University in the post-war years might be best summarized by Prof. John Strietelmeier who wrote that what united the VU thinkers of this period was "the dream that somewhere there might be a place where high faith and high intellect might meet to provide an apostate age with a new vision and a new hope." Streietelmeier was a Professor in Geography and an Editor of the University's "The Cresset." His writings represent a critical set of impressions from the 1950s and 1960s at VU and are collected by Baepler in his Witness to His Generation: Selected Writings of John Strietelmeier along with a significant biography of Strietelmeier's life and intellectual context.

Primary and secondary education

Culture

Live theater

Valparaiso hosts an annual Popcorn Festival in the downtown area

Museums

Local media

Newspapers

Magazines

Parks & recreation

Valparaiso boasts of an extensive city park district. There are currently thirteen parks with another in the planning stages. Recent purchase of the old Sears building on Lafayette between Indiana St and Lincolnway.[14]

Parks 200 East, (east McCord St) – a community park with a playground and ball diamond.
Bicentennial Park, (Burlington Beach Road & Campbell St) – Provides a full range of activities, including a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, ball diamond and picnic shelters. A prairie restoration is under way in the north half of the park.
Central Park Plaza, (Lincolnway and Lafayette St) – is the Center piece of the Downtown Valparaiso revitalization and opened the summer of 2011. It has an outdoor Amphitheater for concerts and other special events as well as a Splash pad in the center of the park for kids to play.
Fairgrounds Park (Calumet & Evans Avenues) – Has the largest complex of ball diamonds and soccer fields in the city. A playground and basketball court are available. Numerous city sports leagues use Fairgrounds Park for their games and tournaments. The park is surrounded by a paved walking circuit that is well occupied on nice days.
Foundation Meadows (Campbell Street & Bullseye Lake Rd) – One of the city's newer parks.
Glenrose South, (1500 Roosevelt Road) – Provides several ball diamonds and when school is out, Thomas Jefferson Middle Schools track is available for those interested in walking. Glenrose South has been the home of the Valparaiso 4 July Fireworks display and celebration since 2005.
Jessee-Pifer Park, (Elmhurst & Madison Streets) – a community park with a basketball court and picnic shelter.
Kirchhoff Miller Woods, (Roosevelt Road & Institute St – a community park that provides for basketball, baseball, tennis, picnicking and a playground.
Ogden Gardens/Forest Park, (Campbell Street & Harrison Blvd) – Ogden Gardens is the home of the city's botanical garden. The Campbell Street end is a formal garden with a variety of planting that bloom throughout the year. The Gazebo is a favorite place for weddings, wedding pictures and high school prom pictures. A Japanese garden is included with a 22,000 gallon Koi pond. Forest Park is to the west with an open grassy picnic area below a wooded picnic area with a shelter.
Rogers-Lakewood Park, (Meridian Road (N Campbell Street)) – Provide opportunities for swimming, fishing, and hiking trails. It is connected to the north side communities of Valparaiso by the Campbell Street Bike Trail (hiking and biking).
Tower Park, (Evans Ave & Franklin St.) – a community park that offers basketball, baseball, tennis, picnicking and a playground. During winter months, one of the basketball courts is turned into the community skating rink.
Valplayso/Glenrose North, (Glendale Blvd & Roosevelt Rd) – is the home of Valplayso, a community designed and community built playground. At the other end of the parking lot are several ball fields. Separated from Glenrose South by only the Middle Schools track, Glenrose North host over half of the community during the Fourth of July Celebration.
West Side Park, (Joliet Rd) – a community park with a ball field and a playground.
Will Park, (Morgan Blvd & Brown St). – a community park with a basketball court, playground, and picnic shelter.

Golf

Bike Trails Valparaiso is building a series of bike trails across the city. Currently, most of the identified bike routes are part of the counties system of recommended roads and streets.[15]

Bikeways (& hikeways), separated from traffic:
Campbell Street Bikeway runs from Rogers-Lakewood Park south 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to Vale Park Road (CR 400 N). It continues south on the opposite side of Campbell St. base Valparaiso High School, ending 2 miles (3.2 km) south at Ogden Gardens (Harrison Blvd).

At Vale Park, it connects to the Vale Park trail to Valparaiso Street 1 mile (1.6 km). A new bike loop 3 miles (4.8 km) is being built that circles north along Valparaiso Street to Bullseye Lake Rd, east to Cumberland Crossing (not open to the public (2008). South to Vale Park, turning west to on Vale Park to return to the corner of Vale Park and Valparaiso Street.

At Glendale, the Campbell Street Bikeway connects to the Glendale cross town bike lane. These travel east 2 miles (3.2 km) on Glendale, ending on North Calumet at the Walgreens corner.

City fairs

The city holds two major festivals every year: the Popcorn Festival and the Porter County Fair. The Popcorn Festival is held on the first Saturday after Labor Day. It honors Orville Redenbacher, a former resident who built a popcorn factory there. Redenbacher participated in most of the festival's parades until his death in 1995. The festival also features racing events and a balloon launch in addition to typical fair activities. The Porter County Fair consists of carnival attractions and hosts a variety of shows such as a demolition derby, motocross races, and live musical performances.

Shopping

Infrastructure

Valparaiso gets all of its water from wells that draw water from depths between 90 and 120 feet (37 m). The supply is treated with chlorine solution to remove the iron [6], and is backed up by diesel fuel generators to maintain the supply during power outage. Valparaiso also has three sewer retention basins. The water department works with the recycling and waste reduction district to educate residents about the hazards of household waste.

Valparaiso’s energy is provided by NIPSCO, which also provides five hundred other companies with energy in states such as Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The NIPSCO energy plant is located only about twenty minutes south of Valparaiso, in Wheatfield Indiana at the Schaeffer Power Plant. [7]

On October 1, 2007, Valparaiso inaugurated a city bus service, the V-Line. It operates between downtown, the university, shopping centers and the city's northern neighborhoods. It also offers an express service to the Indiana Dunes at the Dune Park train station of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District Friday though Sunday (Friday through Saturday during Valparaiso University's spring, summer and winter breaks), timed to meet certain trains. V-Line does not operate on holidays.

A commuter bus service to Chicago started later this year and is called ChicaGo Dash. Its main station and hub are at Valparaiso's Village Station, a former railroad depot. It was designed eventually to serve as a Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District train station as well. The trains were meant to go be linked to the South Shore line and will go to and from Chicago picking up passengers along the way. However, the recent studies suggested that the originally proposed route would not attract enough passengers to be sustainable. NICTD is currently considering alternative routing though Gary in hopes that this will prove to be more viable.

Valparaiso is served by three highways- U.S. Route 30 serves as the major east-west artery on the southern side of the city, Indiana Route 49 serves as the major north-south artery connecting it with Chesterton, Indiana and the Indiana Toll Road. Indiana Route 130 serves as a northwest-southeast route connecting it with Hobart, Indiana.

The three major railroads that have tracks passing through the city are Norfolk Southern Railway, Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad, and Canadian National Railway. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates on the tracks that were previously used by the Nickel Plate Road, and the CF&E Railroad operates on the tracks that were previously used by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Buildings of Note

Historic Districts and Structures

Notable natives and residents

See also


Harry "The Horse" Danning

References

  1. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  4. ^ One of the earliest Authentic histories of Porter County, Indiana, From 1832 to 1876; Deborah H. Shults-Gay; ca 1917
  5. ^ Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History; Helen Hornbeck Tanner; University of Oklahoma Press; Norman,Oklahoma, 1987; map 25
  6. ^ Valparaiso City Employees. "City History." City of Valparaiso. 14 Feb 2008 [1]
  7. ^ Baker, Ronald L.; Marvin Carmony (1995). Indiana Place Names. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-253-28340-X. 
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  9. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Valparaiso, Indiana". http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=075357&refer=. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  10. ^ 2010 profile of general population and housing characteristics of Valparaiso from the US Census
  11. ^ Mayors of Valparaiso
  12. ^ Sesquicentennial, The way We Were in 1986, Sesquicentennial Board; Porter County, Indiana; 1986
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Verizon Yellow Pages, Portage-Valparaiso; November 2007
  14. ^ Your GUide to Summer Fun! Indiana Dunes, The Casual Coast; Porter County Convetion and Recreation and Visitors Commission, 2005
  15. ^ Northwest Indiana Bike Map, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Spring 2008
  16. ^ Neeley, George E.; City of Valparaiso, A Pictorial History; G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri; 1989

External links

Municipalities and communities of Porter County, Indiana, USA
County seat: Valparaiso
Cities
Towns
Townships
Unincorporated
communities
  • Beverly Hill
  • Blackhawk Beach
  • Boone Grove
  • Brummitt Acres
  • Coolwood Acres
  • Graham Woods
  • Haglund
  • Hillcrest
  • Lakes of the Four Seasons‡
  • Lake View
  • Lincoln Hills
  • Long Lake Island
  • Marian Manor
  • Northwood Park
  • Roble Woods
  • South Haven
  • Sylvan Manor
  • Wake Robin Fields
  • Westhill
  • Wheeler
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‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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