Orland, Indiana

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1940 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Millgrove Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46776. It stands on Crooked Creek. The Survey maps it on the Orland quadrangle. 389 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 955 feet above sea level.

Orland within Steuben County

On record in Orland

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Fawn River State Fish Hatcherylisted 1997

Population over time

2 figures

Orland fell from 434 to 389 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	434
2020	389	-45 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1940 USGS Orland quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1941 USGS Orland quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1953 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1956 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1960 USGS Orland quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Elkhart quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
1992 USGS Orland quadrangle1:24000

In the county-history sources

9,104 words on this township

History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885 names this settlement in its chapter on Millgrove Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The first settlement was made on the site of the village of Orland. This village is situated in the western part of Mill Grove Township, on sections 20 and 29, about a mile and a half south of the boundary line between the States of Michigan and Indiana, and the same distance east of the Lagrange County line. Its distance from Angola is about thirteen miles in a northwesterly direction. It is near the little stream of water called in Michigan Fawn River, more commonly known in this county as Crooked Creek. The immediate location of the village is on a level plateau of what was called burr-oak openings in early times, there being also on the southern border of the town a little scope of prairie land. The land in the whole region about Orland, for miles each way, was and is the richest and most fertile of any lands that attracted the attention of the pioneers of the country. It is not surpassed in value, all natural qualities considered, by any land elsewhere in the West.

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

In the spring of 1834 John Stocker, father of L. H. Stocker, Esq., prospected for a Western home for himself and family and for a number of others who wished to " locate" out West. Mr. Stocker and the families who were interested in the prospecting tour were from Windham County, Vt. They forthwith, upon the representation of Mr. Stocker in regard to the country, started with their households, and in the summer and fall of 1834 settled on the very inviting tracts comprising what is now Orland and vicinity. It was in June or July of that year that Benjamin Pierce and wife, Abel Blanchard and family of five children, including his son who became afterward the well-known Elder Blanchard, of Wolcottville, accompanied by John Stocker and wife and four children, George D. Palmenter,wife and onechild,and S. A. Palmenter, came from Vermont and " located."

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

During the following year, 1835, other settlers came from the same section in Yermont and joined their fortunes with the pioneers. Among those who came in that year were Chester Stocker, wife and two children, Nelson Newton, wife and two children, S. C. Sabin, Elisha Sabin, wife and one child, Miles Coe, wife and three children, and Alexander Ward, wife and three children, from Vermont; Eliza Eaton, from Massachusetts; Henry Depue, wife and nine children, from Ohio; and J. C. Cutler, from New York City. About the same time Levi Depue settled on a homestead four miles east of the new settlement. None of the heads of families who came in 1834 are still living. The first white child born was a daughter of Benjamin Pierce; she afterward became Mrs. Sarah Townsend. The first death of an adult among these settlers was that of Mrs. Abel Blanchard, who died early in 1835. The first deaths among the children occurred also in 1835, and were the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Newton. They died of scarlet fever, within a few days of each other. Of those who came to Orland in 1835 only one. Nelson Newton, yet survives here. Stephen C. Sabin went to Oregon a few years ago.

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Millgrove Township - it names this place 17 more 17 times.

Fires near this place

2 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Orland between 2019 and 2020, burning about 2 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Equipment and vehicle use	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
1 April 2019	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 0000104 - 2019
9 January 2020	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 2000006 - 2020

Every fire recorded in Steuben County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Orland: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Garman Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Rice Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
State Line Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Steuben County

Storms near this place

20 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Orland in 20 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 2025	Tornado (EF1)	Orland	$100,000	Damage survey from the National Weather Service along with Steuben County EMA found damage consistent with a tornado that touched down on the south side of Orland, IN. The tornado destroyed an old, small barn on the south side, before uprooting and snapping several trees and a communications pole in east Orland. The tornado damaged the roof of an apartment building, including ripping up the wood sheathing on the south end of the building. Non-conclusive, likely rear flank downdraft winds severely damaged a large barn at N 900 W and W State Rd 120 and a set of trees just off to the east. Across the street, a dozen or so trees were uprooted or snapped in a cemetery. Tree damage was also noted in the adjacent tree line. The tornado reached max width at the border of IN/MI where a large swath of significant tree damage occurred to a piece of property owned by the Indiana Toll Road. A semi-truck was reported to be blown over on the Toll Rd. The tornado crossed into Michigan with intermittent light structural and tree damage occurring near East Gilead and extending northeastward. The tornado reached maximum intensity of 105 mph (EF-1) when it struck a farm on E Pearl Road, tearing roofs off large silos, destroying a section of barn, driving 2x4 into the nearby home, and destroying another out building to the west.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	$15,000	Downed power lines and a broken utility pole on CR 350 N, west of IN 327.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	$15,000	Damage to a house as well as three sheds and a fence.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	$2,000	A 24 to 30 inch diameter tree was down at the intersection of SR 120 and 900 W.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	$1,000	The emergency manager reports a tree down.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Spotter reports an estimated wind gusts of 98.4 mph using a hand held anemometer.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	A survey of damage a swath of tree damage extended from near Orland southeast to Lake Gage, Pine Canyon Lake, Crooked Lake and the west side of Angola. The most extensive damage occurred from the southeast side of Lake Gage to the east side of Pine Canyon Lake, Some structure damage was noted, mainly due to trees falling onto structures. Maximum winds are estimated up to 75 mph.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	EM reports multiple trees down.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Local media reported trees uprooted or snapped from Orland to Pleasant Lake. Several roads were closed from the downed trees.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Emergency management officials reported several tree limbs down.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Central dispatch reported trees, tree limbs and power lines down across the northwestern part of the county.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Emergency management officials reported a large tree down at County Road 900 West and State Route 120.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Emergency management officials reported trees down in the area, with one onto a house.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Emergency management reported trees down in Orland.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Trees and power lines down.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Orland	-	Several large trees blown down taking power lines down as well.
July 2008	Hail	Orland	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Orland	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Orland	-	no account filed
August 1999	Hail	Orland	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Steuben County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Panama	3.8 miles	16
Inverness	4.6 miles	16
Nevada Mills	4.7 miles	16
Flint	6.0 miles	15
Otter Lake	6.3 miles	15
Lake James	6.8 miles	16
Indian Hills	7.5 miles	13
Crooked Lake	8.0 miles	16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Orland	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2022114	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 440699. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.