Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
“Porter Town Hall is a historic town hall located at Porter, Indiana. It was built in 1913, and is a two-story, square Bungalow / American Craftsman style red brick building.”
Wikipedia article Porter Town Hall, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 42 National Register listings published here for Porter County · listed in 2000 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Westchester Township in Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : Historical and Biographical, published 1882 names Porter. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
V isolated labor at the spinning wheel. After his release, he was compelled to join the Huzzars, but in about three days he deserted and went to Antwerp, where he was engaged as hotel porter, on account of ability to speak French and German, until he made enough to take him to America, three months later. He soon went to work on the Sault Ste. Marie Canal at Lake Superior, then soon to Detroit, Chicago, then to different places, and on steamers on Lake Michigan. In 1854, he began work for Hiram Joy, the Chicago ice king, remaining nine years, when he bought land near Chesterton ; for a year was in Chicago, also at Lake Superior, where he made considerable money. For some time, he was Deputy Sheriff in Houghton, Mich., near Lake Superior. He is the originator of the present brick-yards at New Porter. Since 1875, He has farmed. For four years before, he kept store at New Porter. He has been a member of the I. 0. 0. F. Lodge. Since 1876, he has been Justice of the Peace. He was married November 15, 1855, to Elizabeth Foederath, a German. She died exactly ten years after her marriage. In 1868, he married Theresa Kuhn, also a German. He has five children living. He is Independent in politics, a public-spirited citizen and a live business man.
Passage source: Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : Historical and Biographical, published 1882.
August Hylander, the other member of the firm of Hylander Brothers, was born August 21, 1838, in Sweden ; he lived at home until thirteen years old, when he entered as clerk in a store in Helsingborg, remaining for eighteen years. He then came to America and settled in Porter County and has been here ever since, with the exception of a short time in Chicago. In 1876, he began clerking for Jay Pinney, and continued until he, with his brother, established their present firm. He is a member of th,e Swedish Lutheran Church. The brothers are of similar belief in politics. August was married in 1881, to Matilda Swanson, a native of Sweden ; they have one boy - Ernst W.
Passage source: Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : Historical and Biographical, published 1882.
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 Westchester Township - 16,139 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 185 fires within 5 miles of Porter Town Hall between 1992 and 2020, burning about 249 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 15 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 | 50 |
| Debris and open burning | 25 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 24 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 18 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Fireworks | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Other causes | 5 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2001 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | TAB FIRE |
| 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 |
| 3 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HANDCREW |
| 26 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | BARN |
| 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 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Porter Town Hall: 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 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Porter, the town this property stands in, in 10 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | Flood | Porter | - | Lane flooding was reported on Interstate 94 one mile east of Chesterton. A photo showed lanes flooded near the Route 49 interchange. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | Trees were blown down. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | Large trees were snapped near their base. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | Numerous trees were blown down including a tree down on a road near Route 20 and County Road 50. |
| January 2013 | Hail | Porter | - | Hail lasted for five minutes and completely covered the ground. Hail size ranged from peas up to quarters. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | A tree was blown down in an alley. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Porter | - | Nickel size hail was reported at the Indiana Dunes National Park. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | Tree limbs and power lines were knocked down. |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porter | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Hail | Porter | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nike Missile Site C-32 | 0.7 miles | 2025 | |
| Edward Astoria and Margaret Wilson House | 0.8 miles | 2025 | |
 | George Brown Mansion | 0.9 miles | 1998 |
 | New York Central Railroad Passenger Depot | 1.0 miles | 1998 |
 | Norris and Harriet Coambs Lustron House | 1.0 miles | 1992 |
 | Chesterton Residential Historic District | 1.1 miles | 2009 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 00000678 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Porter County | All 42 listed properties in this county. |
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