Lake County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. 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 ...

is Crown Point. The county is part of

Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, comprises Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 ...

and the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and h ...

, 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 Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

. It includes Marktown,

Clayton Mark Clayton Mark (June 30, 1858 – July 7, 1936), one of the pioneer makers of steel pipe in the United States, was an industrialist in the Chicago area who founded the Mark Manufacturing Company in 1888, a firm for the fabrication and sale of water-w ...

's planned worker community in East Chicago.

History

Early settlement

Originally inhabited by the Potawatomi and generations of indigenous ancestors, Lake County was established by European Americans on February 16, 1837. From 1832 to 1836 the area that was to become Lake County was part of La Porte County.Kenneth J. Schoon (2003). ''Calumet Beginnings: Ancient Shorelines and Settlements at the South End of Lake Michigan''. Indiana: Indiana University Press. pps. 20-23. From 1836 to 1837 it was part of

Porter County 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 m ...

. It was named for its location on Lake Michigan. The original county seat was

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, but in 1840 Lake Court House, later renamed as Crown Point, was chosen. Lake County's population grew slowly before the 1850s. Construction of railroads to link

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to the rest of the country, stimulated rapid development, and tens of thousands of settlers and immigrants bought land in the region. Small-scale industrialization began, but was primarily relegated to the northern coast of the county, where it could take advantage of the railroads along the coast and shipping on the Great Lakes. The 1900 Census gives a population of 37,892 residents.

Industrialization and immigration

Inland Steel Company The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building. Inland Steel was an i ...

established a plant in East Chicago in 1903 and U.S. Steel founded one in Gary in 1906; with industrial jobs the demand for labor associated with industrial jobs, the county's population exploded. Immigrants poured into the area from all over Central and Eastern Europe (there was also a smaller Mexican immigrant community). In addition, both black and white migrants came from many regions of the United States, particularly Appalachia and the South. Mostly rural blacks went north in the Great Migration, seeking both industrial jobs and escape from Jim Crow violence and disenfranchisement in the South. By 1930, Lake County's population surpassed 260,000, with first- and second-generation Americans constituting a majority of the population. The second wave of the Ku Klux Klan gained a large following here in the 1920s, as it did for a time in the rest of Indiana. The KKK organized against the numerous European immigrants, who were mostly Catholic. While the steel industry reigned supreme, other industries also found the county to be an ideal location for cheap land and well-developed transportation networks, such as automobiles, oil, chemicals, consumer goods, food processing, and construction supply companies. The Great Depression was devastating to Lake County, as it was to other areas with economies based on

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

. The Depression, combined with industrial strife, changing demographics, and unionization, caused a realignment of politics in Lake County. It became a stronghold of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

; Lake County has supported the Democratic nominee for President in every election since 1932 (exceptions occurred in 1956 and 1972).

Indiana's 1st congressional district Indiana's 1st congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northwestern Indiana. The district is based in Gary and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs. It consists of all of Lake and Porter counties, as well as most of ...

has elected Democratic candidates in every election since 1930.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

restored prosperity, as industry revived to support the war effort. Good economic times continued into the 1970s. During this period, unions helped industrial workers gain middle-class wages. In addition to attracting refugees and immigrants from Europe, black Americans and Mexicans migrated here in the postwar period in even higher numbers than in the 1910-1930 period. As minority populations exploded in such industrial cities as East Chicago and Gary, racial tensions surfaced again. Following construction of state and federal highways, development of cheaper land provided newer housing to middle-class people who could afford it. Both

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

and established black families moved out of the aging industrial cities.

Recent history

Lake County's population peaked at 546,000 in 1970. Severe industrial decline took place during the 1973-1991 period, brought on by foreign competition, new management philosophies that called for major workforce reductions, and productivity gains from technology. The decline was particularly intense in the steel industry: steel employment exceeded 60,000 in the 1960s, and declined progressively to just 18,000 by 2015. Lake County's population declined 13% to bottom out at 475,000 in 1990. The industrial decline of the 1980s cast a long shadow over Lake County: the county did not regain the level of employment it had in 1980 until 1996, after which the employment level roughly flatlined. The county's economic output peaked in 1978, and has not since recovered, remaining 15-20% below the peak after adjusting for inflation. As prosperity declined, so did the immigration that powered the county's explosive population growth before 1950: per the 2000 census, only 5.3% of Lake County's residents were foreign-born, compared to over 11% for the United States as a whole. The population recovered somewhat during the 1990s and 2000s, as the local economy adjusted. Suburban growth has also been driven by commuter populations of workers who are employed in Chicago and commute via expressways or 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 ...

. In 2007, it was estimated that 44,000 workers commuted from Lake County, Indiana, to Chicago for work. The decline of industrial cities and growth of suburbs has been so sharp, that by 1990 a majority of the County's population lived outside of the four traditional industrial cities. Lake County still continues to struggle with urban decline and poverty, suburban sprawl and traffic jams, and a stagnating population.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 79.63%) is land and (or 20.37%) is water. The northern and southern portions of the county (north of U.S. 30 and south of Lowell) are mainly low and flat, except for a few sand ridges and dunes and were both once very marshy and had to be drained. The lowest point, at , is along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The central part of the county is higher and hillier. As you travel south from the low and relatively flat lake plain in the northern part of the county, the land gradually rises in elevation until the peak of the

Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glac ...

. The highest point, at , is in northeastern Winfield Township near 109th Street and North Lakeshore Drive in Lakes of the Four Seasons. From here the land descends south into the Kankakee Outwash Plain until the Kankakee River is reached. The

geographic center In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. I ...

of Lake County is approximately northwest of Burr Street and West 113th Avenue in Center Township .

National protected area

Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

– ''also in LaPorte and

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

counties''

Airports

Gary/Chicago International Airport Gary/Chicago International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Gary, in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is three miles northwest of the city center of Gary, and southeast of the Chicago Loop. It is operated by the Gar ...

Griffith-Merrillville Airport Griffith-Merrillville Airport is a public-use airport two miles east of Griffith, in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is privately owned by Griffith Aviation, Inc. Facilities The airport covers at an elevation of 634 feet (193 m). Its ...

Major highways

Interstate 65 in Lake County is called the

Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...

Memorial Highway. Interstate 80/94/US 6 is the Frank Borman Expressway from the Illinois state line east to the Indiana Toll Road interchange in the eastern portion of the county. Interstate 94 has been referred to as the Chicago-Detroit Industrial Freeway. US 6 is part of the

Grand Army of the Republic Highway U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

. Broadway (Indiana 53) is also the Carolyn Mosby Memorial Highway. Indiana 51 is known for its entire length as the Adam Benjamin Memorial Highway. US 30 is part of the historic

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

. US 12 from Gary eastward is part of

Dunes Highway A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

. Cline Avenue (Indiana 912) from US 12 north and westward is known as the Highway Construction Workers Memorial Highway.

Railroads

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

* Canadian National Railway *

Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad The Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad is a short line railroad offering service from Tolleston, Indiana to Crestline, Ohio, United States over the former Fort Wayne Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It began operations in 2004 as a div ...

Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad , also known as the South Shore Line, is a Class III freight railroad operating between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. The railroad serves as a link between Class I railroads and loc ...

* CSX Transportation *

Gary Railway The Gary Railway is owned and operated by Transtar, Inc., a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation. It currently runs along 63 miles of yard track throughout Gary, Indiana as a class III switching carrier for local steel supply. The ...

Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a Class III railroadSurface Transportation BoardThe Belt Railway Company of Chicago -- Trackage Rights Exemption -- Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company January 9, 2002 in the United States. Ownership The IHB ...

* Norfolk Southern Railway *

Adjacent counties

Municipalities

The municipalities in Lake County, and their populations as of the 2010 Census, are:

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

* Lake Dalecarlia – 1,355 * Lakes of the Four Seasons – 3,936
''(7,033 including portion in

)'' * Shelby – 539

Unincorporated communities

Ainsworth Ainsworth may refer to: Places ;Canada *Ainsworth Hot Springs, British Columbia ;United Kingdom *Ainsworth, Greater Manchester, England ;United States * Ainsworth, Indiana *Ainsworth, Iowa *Ainsworth, Nebraska *Ainsworth, Wisconsin *Ainsworth, Wa ...

* Belshaw * Brunswick * Creston * Deep River * Deer Creek * Dinwiddie * Green Acres * Illinoi (partial) * Klaasville * Kreitzburg * Leroy *

* New Elliott * Orchard Grove *

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

* Range Line * Ross * Southeast Grove

Townships

The 11 townships of Lake County, with their populations as of the 2010 Census, are: * Calumet – 104,258 * Cedar Creek – 12,097 *

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

– 31,756 * Eagle Creek – 1,668 *

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

– 12,443 * Hobart – 39,417 *

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

– 162,855 * Ross – 47,890 * St. John – 66,741 * West Creek – 6,826 * Winfield – 10,054

Economy

Despite the decline of heavy industry, manufacturing was still the largest employment sector in Lake County in 2010 with over 45,000 workers employed, followed closely by healthcare and social assistance at 44,000 workers, public administration at 40,000 workers, retail trade at 37,000 workers, accommodation and food services at 25,000 workers, and construction at 15,000 workers. Lake County's GDP in 2010 was measured at nearly $25 billion. Manufacturing was also the largest sector of the economy in economic terms, contributing over $5.8 billion to the county's GDP in 2010. It was followed by healthcare and social assistance at $2.6 billion, public administration at $2.5 billion, and retail trade at $1.9 billion. While Lake County's average income was approximately 24% higher than the national average in 1978, in 2010 Lake County had fallen significantly behind the United States as a whole, with average income being approximately 12.9% lower. The national average surpassed Lake County sometime around 1986. Businesses with the largest number of employees in the county are: * Americall Group, Inc. – Hobart * Ameristar Casino – East Chicago *

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second la ...

– East Chicago * BP Whiting Refinery – Whiting * Canadian National Railway – Whiting * Cargill – Hammond * Community Hospital – Munster * Franciscan Alliance, Inc. – ''locations throughout the region'' * Franciscan Health Hammond – Hammond * Horseshoe Casino – Hammond * Majestic Star Casino – Gary * Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus – Merrillville *

NiSource NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands ...

– Merrillville * Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza – Merrillville ''(closed)'' * St. Catherine Hospital – East Chicago * St. Mary Medical Center – Hobart * Times Media Company – Munster *

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

– Whiting * U.S. Steel Gary Works – Gary

Education

Public school districts

The administration of public schools in Lake County is divided among 16 corporations and governing bodies, more than any other Indiana county. *

Crown Point Community School Corporation Crown Point Community School Corporation is a public school district based in Lake County, Indiana. The corporation was established in 1900, they have grades K-12. The Superintendent is Dr. Todd Terrill since July 2020 and the corporation opera ...

–

and Winfield townships *

Gary Community School Corporation Gary Community School Corporation serves most students who reside in Gary, Indiana. History In 2017, Gary Community Corp became the first school system in Indiana involved in a state takeover. Control of the district was transferred from the ...

– City of Gary *

Griffith Public Schools Griffith Public Schools is a school district in Lake County, Indiana Lake County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's List of counties in Indiana, ...

– Town of Griffith * Hanover Community School Corporation – Hanover Township *

Lake Central School Corporation Lake Central School Corporation is a public school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K� ...

– St. John Township *

Lake Ridge Schools Corporation Lake Ridge Schools Corporation is based in unincorporated Lake County, Indiana, United States and serves students within the unincorporated sections of the Calumet Township and portions of Gary. Schools Secondary schools 6-12 schools * En ...

– unincorporated Calumet Township * Lake Station Community Schools – City of Lake Station *

Merrillville Community School Corporation {{short description, School district in Indiana Merrillville Community School Corporation is a school district headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, United States. The district serves Ross Township which includes the entire town of Merrillville ...

– Ross Township * River Forest Community School Corporation – Town of New Chicago and some portions of adjacent communities * School City of East Chicago – City of East Chicago *

School City of Hammond School City of Hammond is a school district serving the city of Hammond, Indiana, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in ...

– City of Hammond *

School City of Hobart School City of Hobart is a school district headquartered in Hobart, 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 larges ...

– City of Hobart within Hobart Township * School City of Whiting – City of Whiting * School Town of Highland – Town of Highland * School Town of Munster – Town of Munster *

Tri-Creek School Corporation Tri-Creek School Corporation is a school district in Lowell, Lake 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 a ...

– Cedar Creek, Eagle Creek and West Creek townships

Private schools

Elementary and secondary schools operated by the Diocese of Gary: *

Andrean High School Andrean High School is a co-educational, college preparatory secondary school in Merrillville, Indiana. It is located in the Diocese of Gary. The school was founded in 1959, and named for St. Andrew, the patron saint of the first bishop of the di ...

, Merrillville (9–12) * Aquinas School at St. Andrew's, Merrillville (PK–8) *

Bishop Noll Institute Bishop Noll Institute is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Hammond, Indiana. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary. History The school opened as Catholic Central High School on September 16, 1921. It was founded by the Sisters ...

, Hammond (9–12) * Our Lady of Grace, Highland (PK–8) * St. Casimir, Hammond (PK–8) * St. John Bosco, Hammond (PK–8) * St. John the Baptist, Whiting (PK–8) * St. John the Evangelist, St. John (PK–8) * St. Mary, Crown Point (PK–8) * St. Mary, Griffith (PK–8) * St. Michael, Schererville (PK–8) * St. Stanislaus, East Chicago (PK–8) * St. Thomas More, Munster (PK–8) Other parochial and private schools: * St. Paul's Lutheran School, Munster (PK–8) * Trinity Lutheran School, Crown Point (PK–8) * Trinity Lutheran School, Hobart (PK–8)

Colleges and universities

* Calumet College of St. Joseph * Hyles–Anderson College *

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) is a public university in Gary, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University and was established in 1963. Academics IU Northwest is located on a campus in the northwest corner of the state. ...

Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary in ...

Purdue University Northwest Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a public university with two campuses in Northwest Indiana, one in Hammond and another in Westville. It is part of the Purdue University system and offers more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree p ...

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

Public libraries

The county is served by seven different public library systems: * Crown Point Community Library has its main location with a branch in Winfield. * East Chicago Public Library has its main location and the Robart A. Pastrick branch. * Gary Public Library has its main location, the Du Bois Library, as well as the Brunswick, Kennedy and Woodson branches. * Hammond Public Library * Lake County Public Library has its main location in Merrillville as well as Cedar Lake, Dyer-Schererville, Griffith-Calumet Township, Highland, Hobart, Lake Station-New Chicago, Munster and St. John branches. * Lowell Public Library has its main location with branches in Schneider and Shelby. * Whiting Public Library

Hospitals

* Community Hospital, Munster – 458 beds * Franciscan Health Crown Point, Crown Point – 236 beds (Level III adult trauma center) * Franciscan Health Dyer, Dyer – 198 beds * Franciscan Health Hammond, Hammond – 215 beds * Franciscan Health Munster, Munster – 63 beds * Methodist Hospitals – 536 beds ** Northlake Campus, Gary ** Southlake Campus, Merrillville * St. Catherine Hospital, East Chicago – 189 beds * St. Mary Medical Center, Hobart – 215 beds

Media

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', based in Munster, is the largest daily newspaper in Lake County and Northwest Indiana and the second largest in the state. Lake County is also served by the '' Post-Tribune'', a daily newspaper based in Merrillville. Lakeshore Public Television operates

WYIN-TV WYIN (channel 56), branded on-air as Lakeshore PBS, is a secondary PBS member television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, United States, serving the Chicago area. It is owned by Northwest Indiana Public Broadcasting, Inc., as a sister station ...

Gary on channel 56 and is the local

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

station in the Chicago television market. These eight broadcast radio stations serve Lake County and are part of the Chicago market: * WJOB (1230 AM) – Hammond *

WWCA WWCA (1270 AM) is a radio station in Gary, Indiana. It airs a Catholic format, and is part of Relevant Radio's Spanish language network. History Radio station WWCA, an ABC Radio affiliate in Gary, experienced its peak in popularity during the 1 ...

(1270 AM) – Gary *

WLTH WLTH (1370 AM) is a radio station in Gary, Indiana east of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Michilliana Broadcasting, LLC. The station's current format is African-American Talk Radio. Notable radio alumni of WLTH include Steve King ...

(1370 AM) – Gary * WLPR (89.1 FM) – Lowell * WRTW (90.5 FM) – Crown Point *

WPWX WPWX (92.3 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station licensed to Hammond, Indiana and serving the Chicago metropolitan area in addition to Northwest Indiana, and is owned by Crawford Broadcasting. The station broadcasts from a transmitter a few ...

(92.3 FM) – Hammond * WXRD (103.9 FM) – Crown Point * WZVN (107.1 FM) – Lowell

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Lowell have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June. Temperatures at or below occur on average 11 days annually and exceed degrees on 14 days. In winter, lake-effect snow increases snowfall totals compared to the areas to the west. In spring and early summer, the immediate shoreline areas sometimes experience lake-breeze that can drop temperatures by several degrees compared to areas further inland. In summer, thunderstorms are common, occurring an average 40–50 days every year, and on about 13 days, these thunderstorms produce severe winds.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the

Constitution of Indiana The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...

, and by the

Indiana Code The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the U.S. state of Indiana. The contents are the codification of all the laws currently in effect within Indiana. With roots going all the way back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana h ...

. County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes. Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government. Court: The county maintains a

small claims court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...

that can handle some civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court. County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner,

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

, surveyor, and circuit court clerk Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

affiliations and to be residents of the county.

County elected officials

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

:'' * Kyle W. Allen, Sr. ( D, 1st)† * Jerry J. Tippy ( R, 2nd) * Michael C. Repay ( D, 3rd) ''

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

:'' * David Hamm ( D, 1st) * Elsie Brown-Franklin ( D, 2nd) *

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American a ...

( D, 3rd) * Daniel E. Dernulc ( R, 4th) * Christine Cid ( D, 5th) * Ted F. Bilski ( D, 6th)† * Christian J. Jorgensen ( R, 7th) ''

Elected Officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

:'' * Assessor: LaTonya Spearman ( D) * Auditor: John E. Petalas ( D) *

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

: Lorenzo Arredondo ( D) * Coroner: Merrilee D. Frey ( D) * Prosecutor: Bernard A. Carter ( D) *

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

: Michael B. Brown ( D) * Sheriff: Oscar Martinez, Jr. ( D) * Surveyor: Bill Emerson, Jr. ( D) *

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

: Peggy Holinga Katona ( D) † ''President''

Politics

While the state of Indiana is strongly Republican, having voted Republican in every election since 1964 (except in 2008), Lake County has long been a Democratic stronghold, giving pluralities or majorities to Democrats in every Presidential election since 1932 with the exceptions of 1956 and 1972. Lake is part of

, which is held by Democrat Frank J. Mrvan. In the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, Lake is part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th districts, which are held by three Democrats and one Republican. In the Indiana House of Representatives, Lake is part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 19th districts, which are held by four Democrats and four Republicans.

2008 presidential primary

In the

2008 Democratic presidential primary From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African Am ...

on May 6, 2008, Lake County was one of the last counties to report results. Lake County had reported no results at 11 p.m. ET,Indiana's Lake County has tradition of late vote tallies
and at midnight ET, only 28% of Lake County's vote had been reported. A large number of absentee ballots and a record turnout delayed the tallies, and polls closed an hour later than much of the state because Lake County is in the

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordina ...

. Early returns showed Senator Barack Obama leading by a potentially lead-changing margin, leaving the race between Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and Obama "too close to call" until final tallies were reported. Crime The NWI Times reported that over 800 registered sex offenders live in Lake and Porter Counties of Indiana in 2021.

Culture and contemporary life

Entertainment and the arts

Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Indiana. Originally called the Gary Symphony, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) performed their first show on December 7, 1941, opening with th ...

, concerts held at Living Hope Church – Merrillville * Theatre at the Center, located at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts – Munster

Major attractions

* Ameristar Casino – East Chicago * Horseshoe Casino – Hammond * Majestic Star Casino – Gary * Majestic Star Casino II – Gary *

Pierogi Fest The Pierogi Fest is an annual festival in Whiting, Indiana, United States, organized by the Whiting–Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce (WRCoC). It gets its name from the pierogi, a Polish dumpling. It draws more than 250,000 visitors each year. T ...

– Whiting * Southlake Mall – Hobart *

Three Floyds Brewing Three Floyds Brewing is a brewery founded in 1996 by brothers Nick and Simon and their father Mike Floyd in Hammond, Indiana. Since 2000, the brewery has been located in Munster, Indiana. Three Floyds opened a brewpub adjacent to the brewery i ...

– Munster

Professional sports teams

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

, an

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

team, play their games at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary.

Recreation

;List of parks and recreational facilities – Lake County Parks and Recreation ;List of recreational facilities – Indiana Dunes National Park

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 496,005 people, 188,157 households, and 127,647 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 208,750 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 64.4% white, 25.9% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 5.8% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 16.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.1% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 11.1% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 9.6% were

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

, 5.4% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and 3.7% were American. Of the 188,157 households, 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.19. The median age was 37.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $58,931. Males had a median income of $50,137 versus $33,264 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,142. About 12.2% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Bibliography

* *

Notes

References

External links

Lake County official website

Lake County Parks

South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority
{{authority control Indiana counties 1837 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1837

Lake County, Indiana Lake County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's List of counties in Indiana, second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point, Indiana, Cro ...

Northwest Indiana Sundown towns in Indiana