Half of Porter Township’s homes were built after 1988
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #566 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Porter Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Porter Township is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #566 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Porter Township’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Porter Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Porter Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Porter had its start in the 1850s when the railroad was extended to that point.
The Joseph Bailly Homestead is located in Indiana Dunes National Park on Howe Road, just north of U.S. 20. It is the residence of three generations of the Bailly family. Joseph and Marie Bailly arrived here in 1822 from the St. Joseph River in Michigan. He had been a fur trader on Lake Michigan for nearly 30 years when he set up his family home along the Little Calumet River.
The Chellberg Farm is also a three generation home, but of the family of Anders Kjellburg (Chellberg). He brought his family to this Swedish community in 1869, purchasing 80 acres (32 ha) from the Bailly descendants. The farm is located on Mineral Springs Road, north of U.S. 20.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Porter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Palmer sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Porter Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMichigan Central Railroad Station, circa 1910 - Porter, Indiana, c. 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Porter Township’s page.
Porter Township is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #566 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Porter Township?
4% of Porter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1988.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1915
2005
2004
2003
