Valparaiso’s post office opened in 1837, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #205 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 73 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
The Valparaiso post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Portersville (1836), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 522 in 18502020 census: 34,151189 years
How historic is Valparaiso?
A−
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Valparaiso post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Valparaiso’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Valparaiso is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #205 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Valparaiso’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 Valparaiso’s 27.4 sits above most of its state (69% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 95 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Valparaiso’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the Potawatomi people by the U.S. Government in October 1832. Chiqua's town or Chipuaw was located a mile east of the current Courthouse along the Sauk Trail. Chiqua's town existed from or before 1830 until after 1832. The location is just north of the railroad crossing on State Route 2 and County Road 400 North.
In June, 1854, James C. Maxwell, proprietor of the Tremont House in Valparaiso, advertised that "An omnibus runs daily from here to connect with the cars on the ]\Iie!ii;;im Central and the JVIichigan Southern & Northern Indiana railroads." This omnibus ran from Valparaiso tn Calumet, {now Chestral. n ), Imt tlie fare charged carmot be learned. About the same time Mol))ii\' Carr began running a stage line from Valparaiso to Calumet, leaving Valparaiso at two o'clock in the afternoon and returning tin' same eventirr The fare on this line was sev
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Valparaiso, [Indiana] from the earliest times to the present1876 · page 14Read the page →
Read the text
HE TOWN of Valparaiso became incorporated by special act of the Legislature, in the year 1850. Obadiah Dunham was the first inspector of elections. The town remained incorporated during a period of fifteen years, at the end of which time it contained the requisite population for incorporation as a city.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Valparaiso, [Indiana] from the earliest times to the present1876 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
In '59 began the career of Valparaiso as an educational centre. On the summit which overlooks the town from the southeast, was built the Valparaiso Male and Female College, an institution of the Methodists.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Valparaiso, 1836 to 1989
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 Valparaiso. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Valparaiso 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 Valparaiso.
Every building
Valparaiso, building by building, 1886–1910
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Valparaiso’s post office has been open since 1837. Another post office, Portersville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Portersville
1836–1837
Valparaiso
1837–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Marian ManorWilliamsburg Manor
Gone or out of use
Columbia SchoolschoolFirst Baptist ChurchchurchFirst Presbyterian ChurchchurchGarner Public SchoolschoolNazarene ChurchchurchPorter County JailbuildingSaint Pauls Roman Catholic ChurchchurchValparaiso High SchoolschoolValparaiso Technical Instituteschool
1cemetery inside Valparaiso
Union Street
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Valparaiso’s history
What year was Valparaiso founded?
The Valparaiso post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Valparaiso rank for history?
Valparaiso is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #205 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.
What is on the National Register in Valparaiso?
16 listings: 15 buildings, among them the Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Valparaiso Downtown Commercial District, with 73 contributing buildings. 95 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Valparaiso?
14% of Valparaiso’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (16), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
![In June, 1854, James C. Maxwell, proprietor of the Tremont House in Valparaiso, advertised that "An omnibus runs daily from here to connect with the cars on the ]\Iie!ii;;im Central and the JVIichigan Southern & Northern Indiana railroads." This omnibus ran from Valparaiso tn Calumet, {now Chestral…](https://images.townratings.com/story/5007/bk-6db923bf0b3da1a3-l.jpg)
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