With a population of nearly 37,000, Portage is the third largest city in the Northwest Indiana, and part of Portage Township, Porter County. Incorporated as a town in 1959, Portage officially became a city in 1967.

Like the vast majority of the region, prior to Europeans settling in, Native American Indians called this area home.  The Mound Builders first, followed by the Wea Tribe later inhabited what is now Portage for many generations until the Wea were forced South by the aggressive Potawatomi Tribe, who in turn were displaced by “the white man.”

Although the Potawatomi were a fierce, warring tribe, Chief Pokagon was a diplomat and politician and encouraged diplomacy rather than war when the Europeans wanted to settle in the area.  Historical data shows that the French were actually the first explorers to venture into the area (Marquette, De La Croix, Joliet or Hennepin it’s not truly known who).  The Potawatomi eventually sold land to the settlers in 1812 known as Garyton which was one of the first communities in Portage Township.  By the 1830’s, European settlers had made the entire area their own. 

Before Portage became a town, it consisted primarily of three separate townships with lots of farmland in between. The small towns were named McCool, Crisman and Garyton. In 1950, those communities only had 2,116 residents amongst them.   In fact, Portage Township was primarily a farming community until railroad development began in earnest in the 1850s /1860s.   And that changed everything.

The Michigan Central (The first railroad to build in the area) was completed in 1852 and connected Chicago to Detroit. This permitted Portage farmers to easily ship crops, livestock and dairy to Chicago and all major markets on the way.  The railroads enabled another industry to flourish too: Sand.  Yes, sand became a new industry in Portage due to the growing construction demand in of Chicago. 

The Michigan Central, which was eventually bought by the New York Central Railroad, twenty years later had company. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad crossed the Michigan Central near Crisman by 1874. 

But despite the advent of the railroads, Portage remained mostly agrarian, relying on the trains to sustain its economy.  In fact, between the 1870s and the depression era and throughout the 1930’s, Portage did not grow all that much.  

This was not helped by the Great Depression, as the steel mills were hit hard and labor was laid off in droves.  As a result the farmers of Portage had no one to sell their produce or live stock to. Many lost their farms.

But things changed in World War II, as Portage came to life like never before in its history, as the Steel mills kicked into high gear and labor was in high demand, drawing many workers to the area. 

After World War II, the economy remained strong due to the high demand for Detroit autos and the boom of 50’s home appliances.  Both relied heavily on steel produced at the local steel mills and the population of Portage grew very quickly drawing families seeking good wages in the steel mills and related industries. 

Eventually the Port of Indiana was built in 1961 to accommodate trade with the world via Lake Michigan and by 1963, Bethlehem Steel began construction of a plant which was located partly in Portage. This endeavor added 6,000 jobs to the area.

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