Rolling Prairie is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP) in
Kankakee Township,
LaPorte County,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, United States. As of the
2010 census, it had a population of 582.
History
The first cabin was built here in 1831 by Ezekiel Provolt. More settlers arrived, built cabins and named the settlement "Nauvoo". On November 26, 1853, the village was platted by J. W. Walker and named "Portland". The name of "Rolling Prairie", descriptive of the undulating terrain, was later adopted by one of the railroad companies operating through the town.
Rolling Prairie had
a stop on the
South Shore Line
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 and the South Bend International Airport ...
until 1994, when it was closed along with several other flag stops with low ridership.
Geography
Rolling Prairie is located in northeastern LaPorte County at , in the northeast part of
Kankakee Township.
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
passes through the southern side of the community, leading east to
South Bend
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
and west to
Michigan City.
Indiana State Road 2
State Road 2 (SR 2) in the U.S. State of Indiana is an east–west route running from the Illinois border at Illinois Route 17 east to the outskirts of South Bend, Indiana, at the U.S. Route 20/ U.S. Route 31 freeway, also known as th ...
passes just south of Rolling Prairie, leading southwest to
La Porte, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Rolling Prairie CDP has an area of , of which , or 1.39%, are water.
Education
Rolling Prairie has a
public library, a branch of the La Porte County Public Library.
Rolling Prairie Elementary School occupies the building that was previously Rolling Prairie High School before the high school was merged with New Carlisle High School to form New Prairie High School. The elementary is one of three elementary schools in the New Prairie United School Corporation.
Demographics
References
Census-designated places in LaPorte County, Indiana
Census-designated places in Indiana
{{LaPorteCountyIN-geo-stub