Editing La Porte, Indiana (section)

==History==
The settlement of La Porte was established in July 1832. Abraham P. Andrew, one of the purchasers of the site, constructed the first sawmill in that year.  The first settler arrived in October, building a permanent cabin just north of what would become the courthouse square.<ref name="cityoflaporte.com">{{cite web | title       = Live and Love La Porte - Visiting | url       = http://www.cityoflaporte.com/vis_history.asp | date       = 2012-07-22 | archiveurl       = https://web.archive.org/web/20100310222933/http://www.cityoflaporte.com/vis_history.asp | archivedate       = March 10, 2010 | access-date       = March 13, 2010 | url-status       = bot: unknown }}</ref>

After the US extinguished land claims by the [[Potowatomi]] and other historic tribes of the area by treaty and [[Indian removal#North|removal]] to Indian Territory, in 1833, a federal land office was established in La Porte.  People came to this office from newly established surrounding counties to buy land from the government, including Solon Robinson, founder of [[Crown Point, Indiana|Crown Point]].<ref>Moore, Powell A.; ''The Calumet Region, Indiana's Last Frontier; Indiana Historical Collections'', Vol. XXXIX; Indiana Historical Bureau, Reprint 1977</ref>  The office was moved to [[Winamac, Indiana|Winamac]] in 1839.<ref>[http://www.in.gov/icpr/2605.htm Indiana Commission on Public Records].  Retrieved 03/12/10.</ref>

By 1835, the settlement had grown to the extent that La Porte was incorporated as a town.  A newspaper was established in 1836. La Porte Medical School, the first of its kind in the Midwest, was founded in 1842.

By 1852, La Porte had become a well-established settlement of considerable size for its time and vicinity, with 5,000 residents.  In that same year, it was granted a city charter by the Indiana General Assembly, and the first mayor was elected.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BYVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA627 | title=History of LaPorte County, Indiana: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages, and Townships | publisher=C. C. Chapman & Co. | year=1880 | pages=627}}</ref>  La Porte continued to grow, attracting numerous, diverse industries, the largest of which became the [[Advance-Rumely]] Company.  Advance-Rumely developed and manufactured the Oil-Pull tractor engine, considered to have played a pivotal role in the agricultural development of the [[Great Plains]].  By 1869, Advance-Rumely was the largest employer in La Porte.<ref name="cityoflaporte.com"/>

During the 1850s, numerous maple trees were planted along Indiana and Michigan Avenues in the city by local resident Sebastian Lay.  Subsequently, La Porte became known as the "Maple City".  Today, Indiana and Michigan Avenues comprise a historic district in the city, containing many homes and other structures of architectural and historical interest.  Between 1892 and 1894, the third and current [[LaPorte County Courthouse|LaPorte county courthouse]] was erected at a cost of $300,000.  The structure is built of red sandstone from [[Lake Superior]], shipped by boat to Michigan City and then by rail to La Porte.  The courthouse is considered{{by whom|date=November 2023}} to be one of La Porte's best-known structures.<ref>[http://www.cityoflaporte.com/vis_history.asp Official Website of the City of La Porte, History of La Porte.  Retrieved 10/10/10.]</ref>  In 2007 the exterior of the building was extensively restored at a cost of $2.9 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kenherceg.com/pdfs/portfolio_architectural.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713142824/http://www.kenherceg.com/pdfs/portfolio_architectural.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-13 }}  Ken Herceg & Associates.  Retrieved 10/10/10.</ref>

===Historic sites districts===
*[[Downtown LaPorte Historic District]]
*[[Francis H. Morrison House]]
*[[Indiana and Michigan Avenues Historic District]]
*[[Marion Ridgeway Polygonal Barn]]