Lake County, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lake County, Indiana | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Indiana |
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 Indiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1837 |
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| Seat | Crown Point |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
626 sq mi (1,621 km²) 497 sq mi (1,287 km²) 129 sq mi (334 km²), 20.65% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
484,564 975/sq mi (376/km²) |
| Website: www.lakecountyin.org/index.jsp | |
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2000, its population was 484,564, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point.[1] This county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area.
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[edit] History
Lake County was formed in 1837. From 1832 to 1836 the area that was to become Lake County was part of La Porte County.[2] From 1836 to 1837 it was part of Porter County.[3] It was named for its location on Lake Michigan.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 626 square miles (1,622 km²), of which 497 square miles (1,287 km²) is land and 129 square miles (335 km²) (20.65%) is water. Most of the county is fairly flat. However, some hills and ridges do exist. There are many remnants of the ancient shorelines of Lake Michigan. Traveling south from the southern shore of Lake Michigan, the land first rises in elevation until the Valparaiso Moraine is reached, the highest area in the county. From there the land then descends into the Kankakee Outwash Plain until the Kankakee River is reached.
[edit] Commercial Airport
[edit] Major highways
Interstate 65
Interstate 80
Interstate 90
Interstate 94
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 12
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 231
Indiana State Road 2
Indiana State Road 53
Indiana State Road 55
[edit] Railroads
- Canadian National Railway
- Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad
- Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad
- CSX Transportation
- Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
- Norfolk Southern Railway
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Cook County, Illinois (west and north, in Lake Michigan)
- Porter County (east)
- Jasper County (southeast)
- Newton County (south)
- Kankakee County, Illinois (southwest)
- Will County, Illinois (west)
[edit] National protected area
[edit] Demographics
| Lake County Population by year |
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2000 484,564 |
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As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 484,564 people, 181,633 households, and 126,961 families residing in the county. The population density was 975 people per square mile (376/km²). There were 194,992 housing units at an average density of 392 per square mile (151/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 66.72% White, 25.33% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.96% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. 12.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The most commonly cited national ancestries were German (12.2%), Polish (9.6%) and Irish (7.1%).
In 2000, there were 181,633 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.70% were married couples living together, 16.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,829, and the median income for a family was $50,131. Males had a median income of $41,986 versus $26,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,639. About 9.70% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
- Cedar Lake
- Crown Point
- Dyer
- East Chicago
- Gary
- Griffith
- Hammond
- Highland
- Hobart
- Lake Dalecarlia
- Lake Station
- Lakes of the Four Seasons
- Lowell
- Merrillville
- Munster
- New Chicago
- Schererville
- Schneider
- St. John
- Whiting
- Winfield
[edit] Townships
[edit] Education
The administration of public schools in Lake County is divided among 16 corporations and governing bodies, more than any other Indiana county. [1]
- Crown Point Community School Corporation – Web site
- Gary Community School Corporation – Web site
- Griffith Public Schools – Web site
- Hanover Community School Corporation – Web site
- Lake Central School Corporation – Web site
- Lake Ridge Schools Corporation – Web site
- Lake Station Community Schools – Web site
- Merrillville Community School Corporation – Web site
- River Forest Community School Corporation – Web site
- School City of East Chicago – Web site
- School City of Hammond – Web site
- School City of Hobart – Web site
- School City of Whiting – Web site
- School Town of Highland – Web site
- School Town of Munster – Web site
- Tri-Creek School Corporation – Web site
Colleges and Universities
- Calumet College of St. Joseph
- Hyles-Anderson College
- Indiana University Northwest
- Ivy Tech Northwest
- Purdue University Calumet
- Kaplan College
[edit] Major businesses
- BP
- Cargill
- Commonwealth Edison (coal fired powerplant)
- Dietrich Industries (steel framing)
- Harrah's Casino
- Horseshoe Casino
- Lear Corporation (auto interiors)
- Majestic Star Casino
- Mittal Steel
- NiSource
- PepsiAmericas
- Unilever
- US Steel
[edit] Newspapers
The Times is the largest daily newspaper 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.
[edit] Indiana State Quarter
The northwest tip of Lake County is seemingly missing from the state outline on the Indiana state quarter. The outline of the state on the quarter shows the Lake Michigan shore line continuing in a southwest direction from the Porter/Lake County line to the Illinois-Indiana state line, showing Lake Michigan where Gary and Hammond are located. Unlike the similar occurrence with Dade County, Georgia on the Georgia state quarter, fewer complaints were made concerning the omission.
[edit] 2008 Presidential Primary
In the 2008 Democratic presidential primary on May 6, 2008, Lake County was one of the last counties to report results.[5] Lake County had reported no results at 11 p.m. ET,[6] and at midnight ET, only 28% of Lake County's vote had been reported.[7] 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.[6] Early returns showed Senator Barack Obama leading by a potentially lead-changing margin, leaving the race between Senator Hilary Clinton and Obama "too close to call" until final tallies were reported.
Rudy Clay, the mayor of Gary, the largest city in Lake County, predicted the bizarre events, telling CNN, "They are going to point at Indiana and say Hillary Clinton is leading by one point but Gary ain't come in yet."[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Lake County official website
- Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Lake County Sheriff's DEPT
- Indiana State Police
- LakeNET, The Information Connection for Lake County, IN
[edit] References
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Calumet Beginnings: Schoon, Kenneth J.
- ^ Calumet Beginnings: Schoon, Kenneth J.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Awaiting one county « - Blogs from CNN.com
- ^ a b Indiana's Lake County has tradition of late vote tallies
- ^ Races tightens in Indiana
- ^ Gary Mayor Predicts Possible Indiana Shocker - The Trail: Washingtonpost.com
- Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8
3. Kenneth J. Schoon, Calumet Beginnings, 2003, p. 20-23.
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