Western Acres, Indiana
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Westchester Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46304. It stands on Peterson Ditch. The Survey maps it on the Chesterton quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 17 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 Chesterton quadrangle1:24000
- 1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Chesterton quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Chesterton quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
16,139 words on this townshipCounties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : Historical and Biographical, published 1882; History of Porter County, Indiana : a Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, published 1912 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Westchester Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Westchester Township - 16,139 words.
Fires near this place
163 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 163 fires within 5 miles of Western Acres between 1992 and 2020, burning about 213 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 13 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 | 45 |
| Debris and open burning | 26 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 23 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10 |
| Fireworks | 9 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Other causes | 4 |
| Smoking | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | TREMONT STUMP |
| 4 September 2018 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MILL |
| 30 September 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 5.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | STEEL FIRE |
| 27 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 20 September 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CHESTERON ASSIST |
| 17 September 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | SPARKLER |
| 1 September 1994 | Fireworks | 5.3 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | BIRTHDAY 2 |
| 9 August 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MIDWEST |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Western Acres: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorenz Brothers Pit Number 1 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Zehner Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | 1.2 miles | 17 | |
| Chesterton | 1.3 miles | 17 | |
| Haglund | 1.9 miles | 17 | |
| Morgan Park | 2.1 miles | 17 | |
| Babcock | 2.2 miles | 17 | |
| Crocker | 2.2 miles | 17 | |
| Meadowbrook | 2.3 miles | 17 | |
| Forest Oaks | 2.4 miles | 17 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 445830. 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.







