Editing Lake County, Indiana (section)

===Early settlement===
Originally inhabited by the [[Potawatomi]] and generations of indigenous ancestors, Lake County was established by European Americans on February 16, 1837.<ref name=estdate/> From 1832 to 1836 the area that was to become Lake County was part of [[La Porte County]].<ref name=schoon>Kenneth J. Schoon (2003). ''Calumet Beginnings: Ancient Shorelines and Settlements at the South End of Lake Michigan''. Indiana: Indiana University Press. pps. 20-23.</ref> From 1836 to 1837 it was part of [[Porter County]].<ref name=schoon/> It was named for its location on [[Lake Michigan]].<ref>{{cite book|author=De Witt Clinton Goodrich & Charles Richard Tuttle|publisher=R. S. Peale & Co.|year=1875|location=Indiana|title=An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana|url=https://archive.org/details/anillustratedhi02tuttgoog| page=[https://archive.org/details/anillustratedhi02tuttgoog/page/n567 565]}}</ref> The original county seat was [[Liverpool, Indiana|Liverpool]], but in 1840 Lake Court House, later renamed as Crown Point, was chosen.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Frederick Howat|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|year=1915|location=Chicago|title=A Standard History of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet Region, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkPWAAAAMAAJ&q=editions%3Artn_UNMRTgQC&pg=PA100| page=44}}</ref>

Lake County's population grew slowly before the 1850s. Construction of railroads to link [[Chicago]] to the rest of the country stimulated rapid development, and tens of thousands of settlers and immigrants bought land in the region. Small-scale industrialization began, but was primarily relegated to the northern coast of the county, where it could take advantage of the railroads along the coast and shipping on the Great Lakes. The 1900 Census gives a population of 37,892 residents.