| City of La Porte, Indiana | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
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| Nickname(s): The Maple City | |
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| Coordinates: 41°36′33″N 86°43′3″W / 41.60917°N 86.7175°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | LaPorte |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Kathleen A. Chroback (D) |
| Area | |
| - Total | 12.2 sq mi (31.5 km2) |
| - Land | 11.5 sq mi (29.7 km2) |
| - Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) |
| Elevation | 814 ft (248 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 21,621 |
| - Density | 1,886.5/sq mi (728.4/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 46350, 46352 |
| Area code(s) | 219 |
| FIPS code | 18-42246[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0450449[2] |
| Website | http://www.cityoflaporte.com |
La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in La Porte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat.[3] Its population was 21,621 at the 2000 census. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin Combined Statistical Area. La Porte is located in northwest Indiana, east of Gary, and west of South Bend and was first settled in 1830. The current mayor is Kathy Chroback, a Democrat serving her second term in 12 years. She is La Porte's first female mayor, and recently replaced Republican Leigh Morris.
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Geography
La Porte is located at 41°36′33″N 86°43′3″W / 41.60917°N 86.7175°W (41.609057, -86.717567)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.2 square miles (31.5 km²), of which, 11.5 square miles (29.7 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (5.83%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 21,621 people, 8,916 households, and 5,545 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,886.8 people per square mile (728.4/km²). There were 9,667 housing units at an average density of 843.6/sq mi (325.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.60% White, 1.92% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 3.39% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.52% of the population.
There were 8,916 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,376, and the median income for a family was $45,784. Males had a median income of $32,319 versus $22,756 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,900. About 7.7% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor is elected in citywide vote. The city council consists of seven members. Five are elected from individual districts. Two are elected at-large.
Features
The La Porte Community School Corporation has one high school (La Porte High School), two middle schools (Boston Middle School and Kesling Middle School), and eight elementary schools (Crichfield, Hailmann, Riley, Handley, Indian Trail, Kingsbury, Kingsford Heights and Lincoln). The LPCSC contains approximately 6,500 students.
La Porte High School has won the most state titles in Indiana Baseball, 8.
Radio stations in La Porte include WCOE, 96.7 FM, and WLOI, 1540 AM. La Porte receives its television broadcasts and other radio broadcasts from nearby Chicago and South Bend.
The famous Advance-Rumely tractor company had a factory in La Porte from which it made steam engines and eponymous green kerosene tractors.
Notable natives or residents
- William Scholl ( Dr.Scholl): Born: 22-Jun-1882 Died: 29-Mar-1968
- George Allesee: former pro baseball player
- Jeffrey Ake: kidnapped while in Iraq in April 2005; he has not yet been found.
- Abram Andrew: United States Representative from Massachusetts
- Chuck Baldwin: Baptist minister and 2008 Presidential nominee of the Constitution Party
- Chris Bootcheck: Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- David J. Cook: western lawman and famous City Marshall
- Art Cross: former race car driver; first Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500
- Daniel Edwards: Famous artist and sculptor
- Charlie O. Finley: former owner of the Oakland Athletics, lived in La Porte for most of his life.
- Michael Fout: 2007 Cross Country National Champion
- Belle Gunness: serial killer
- Rear Admiral Royal R. Ingersoll: famous American military veteran; the USS Ingersoll is named after him.
- Karl Paul Link: an American biochemist best known for his discovery of the anticoagulant warfarin
- Eric McCann: Local radio personality
- Andrew McKenna: chairman of the Illinois Republican Party; graduated from La Lumiere School, a Catholic boarding school in La Porte.
- Daniel McMillen: Economist, University of Illinois
- Isamu Noguchi: Japanese-American artist and landscape architect.
- Tom Nowatzke: former National Football League running back
- Tony Raines: NASCAR driver
- Ron Reed: former MLB pitcher
- John G. Roberts: Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; was captain of the football team at La Lumiere School, a Catholic boarding school in La Porte.
- Ken Schreiber: Winnest High School Coach in any sport in Indiana (Baseball 1010-217), won 7 State Titles as the Coach of the La Porte Slicers.
- Slug Signorino: Commercial artist; illustrator for The Straight Dope
- E.E. "Doc" Smith : Science fiction writer
- Scott Skiles: Milwaukee Bucks head coach
- Emerson Spartz: Founder of MuggleNet, the most-visited Harry Potter Web site in the world.
- David Willis: a webcomic writer and artist, most recently the creator of Shortpacked!
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- La Porte, Indiana is at coordinates 41°36′33″N 86°43′03″W / 41.609057°N 86.717567°WCoordinates: 41°36′33″N 86°43′03″W / 41.609057°N 86.717567°W
- City of La Porte, Indiana website
- Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce
- The LaPorte County Herald-Argus website
- What's New LaPorte? Community Stories website
- The La Porte County Public Library
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