Portage, Indiana
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Portage Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46368. It stands on Crisman Ditch. The Survey maps it on the Portage quadrangle. 37,926 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 636 feet above sea level.
On record in Portage
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 2 records
- Nike Missile Site C47listed 2000
- West Beach Historic Districtlisted 2025
Population over time
2 figuresPortage grew from 36,828 to 37,926 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 | 36,828 | |
| 2020 | 37,926 | +1,098 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 19 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1934 USGS Porter quadrangle1:48000
- 1940 USGS Porter quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Garyton quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1968 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
8,499 words on this townshipThe county-history sources names this settlement in its chapter on Portage Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
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 Portage Township - it names this place 10 more 10 times.
Fires near this place
469 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 469 fires within 5 miles of Portage between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,593 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 47 were 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 123 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 121 |
| Debris and open burning | 57 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 47 |
| Fireworks | 34 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 26 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 19 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | FLEA2 |
| 6 September 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | RAIL FIRE |
| 6 September 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | NORTH |
| 5 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MISSEDFIRE |
| 4 September 2018 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MILL |
| 30 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.2 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CAN |
| 27 September 1997 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | PAINT |
| 25 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MIDDLE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Portage: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Sand Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Crisman Sand Company | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lorenz Brothers Pit Number 1 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Zehner Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
32 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Portage in 32 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2007 | Lightning | Portage | $50,000 | A mobile home was struck by lightning, which caused a fire and damaged the mobile home beyond livable conditions. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $35,000 | A large tree fell onto a pickup truck and a van, crushing both. A large tree was uprooted on Charlotte Street, falling onto a house. Tree limbs and power lines were also blown down. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $5,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in northern Porter County. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $5,000 | Several large trees were blown down. A roof was blown off a picnic shelter in Woodland Park. Tree limbs and power lines were also blown down. Three horses escaped after a tree fell onto a fence. One of the horses was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on US 20. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $5,000 | Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across parts of northwest Porter County. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down large tree limbs and power lines. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | $1,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Portage which resulted in power outages and road closures. |
| July 2025 | Flood | Portage | - | Four inches of water was reported on roads near the intersection of Eleanor Street and Central Avenue. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Portage | - | A photo shared on social media showed quarter size hail. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Multiple large tree limbs were blown down. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | A half inch galvanized steel pipe supporting a bird house was blown over. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Trees were blown down on Tecumseh Street. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Portions of a wooden fence were blown over. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | A large tree limb was blown down onto a shed. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Numerous tree limbs were blown down. One tree limb damaged a car. |
| April 2020 | Hail | Portage | - | Several reports of hail 1 to 1.50 inches in diameter were received from the Portage area. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Power lines and power poles were blown down near Jellystone Park. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Multiple large trees were blown down. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | A tree was blown down. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph. Large tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Widespread tree damage was reported in Portage. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Portage | - | Numerous roads were flooded and closed in the Portage and Chesterton areas including the intersection of State Road 2 and State Road 49; Governor Road and Robins Road. A few cars were stranded in the flood waters. Creeks and ditches were reported out of their banks along with flooded fields. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. Lawn chairs and patio furniture were overturned. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Portage | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. |
| February 2024 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
| October 2020 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Portage | - | no account filed |
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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisman | 0.8 miles | 19 | |
| Willow Creek | 0.8 miles | 19 | |
| Woodland Village | 1.4 miles | 19 | |
| McCool | 1.7 miles | 19 | |
| Garyton | 1.9 miles | 19 | |
| Pleasant Valley | 2.0 miles | 19 | |
| Salt Creek Estates | 2.2 miles | 19 | |
| Crocker | 3.0 miles | 17 |
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 Portage | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q666957 | 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 449815. 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.








