[13] Originally inhabited by the Potawatomi and generations of indigenous ancestors, Lake County was established by European Americans on February 16, 1837.

[15] The original county seat was Liverpool, but in 1840 Lake Court House, later renamed as Crown Point, was chosen.

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.

Mostly rural blacks went north in the Great Migration, seeking both industrial jobs and escape from Jim Crow violence and disenfranchisement in the South.

The second wave of the Ku Klux Klan gained a large following here in the 1920s, as it did for a time in the rest of Indiana.

While the steel industry reigned supreme, other industries also found the county to be an ideal location for cheap land and well-developed transportation networks, such as automobiles, oil, chemicals, consumer goods, food processing, and construction supply companies.

[17] The Great Depression was devastating to Lake County, as it was to other areas with economies based on heavy industry.

The Depression, combined with industrial strife, changing demographics, and unionization, caused a realignment of politics in Lake County.

As minority populations exploded in such industrial cities as East Chicago and Gary, racial tensions surfaced again.

Following construction of state and federal highways, development of cheaper land provided newer housing to middle-class people who could afford it.

Severe industrial decline took place during the 1973-1991 period, brought on by foreign competition, new management philosophies that called for major workforce reductions, and productivity gains from technology.

Lake County still continues to struggle with urban decline and poverty, suburban sprawl and traffic jams, and a stagnating population.

[19] The northern and southern portions of the county (north of U.S. 30 and south of Lowell) are mainly low and flat, except for a few sand ridges and dunes and were both once very marshy and had to be drained.

As you travel south from the low and relatively flat lake plain in the northern part of the county, the land gradually rises in elevation until the peak of the Valparaiso Moraine.

The highest point, at 801 feet (244 m),[6] is in northeastern Winfield Township near 109th Street and North Lakeshore Drive in Lakes of the Four Seasons.

Interstate 80/94/US 6 is the Frank Borman Expressway from the Illinois state line east to the Indiana Toll Road interchange in the eastern portion of the county.

Manufacturing was also the largest sector of the economy in economic terms, contributing over $5.8 billion to the county's GDP in 2010.

[22] Elementary and secondary schools operated by the Diocese of Gary: Other parochial and private schools: The county is served by seven different public library systems: The Times, based in Munster, is the largest daily newspaper in Lake County and Northwest Indiana and the second largest in the state.

The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

[41] Board of Commissioners:[3] County Council:[3] Elected Officials:[3] † President While the state of Indiana is strongly Republican, having voted Republican in every election since 1964 (except in 2008), Lake County has long been a Democratic stronghold due to being part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

Like the rest of the Rust Belt, however, Lake County has recently trended Republican, with Donald Trump scoring the highest percentage of the vote since 1972 in the 2024 presidential election.

In the Indiana House of Representatives, Lake is part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 19th districts, which are held by four Democrats and four Republicans.

[47] A large number of absentee ballots and a record turnout delayed the tallies, and polls closed an hour later than much of the state because Lake County is in the Central Time Zone.

Crime The NWI Times reported that over 800 registered sex offenders live in Lake and Porter Counties of Indiana in 2021.