Community Profiles
LaGrange County
Howe
LaGrange
Shipshewana
Topeka
Unincorporated
Towns
Brighton
Emma
Honeyville
Stroh
South Milford
Ontario
Wolcottville
Community Directory
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Business Organizations
Clubs & Organizations
Churches
County Schools
Government
Health & Human Services
Festivals
Parks & Recreation
Emergency
Numbers
LaGrange County Map
KPCNews.com
Copyright Kendallville Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
Farmers,
industrialists thrive in LaGrange County
LaGrange
County is known for its agriculture. In fact, the words “la grange”
are French for “the farm.”
Look at LaGrange County and you’ll see plenty of farms and a community
that is proud of its rural heritage.
But you’ll also see a growing, progress-minded county that is looking
toward the future and placing infrastructure for potential expansion
.
If you look at the population of LaGrange County, you’ll see it has
grown to more than 34,000 people in the past few years.
Look at the people of LaGrange County as a whole, and you’ll see
Amish — 37 percent of the people in the county are of the Amish religion
— and non-Amish living and working side by side, often hand in hand.
Yes, you’ll see farmers, but also industrialists.
You’ll see Rotarians, Lions, Kiwanians, Exchangites and Masons.
You’ll see nature activists alongside auctioneers, war veterans and
historians, artists, educators, craftsmen and volunteers.
You’ll see highly active town and county Chambers of Commerce and
business associations.
You’ll see people from all walks of life actively participating in
an energetic, colorful and lively community.
You’ll see a thriving and growing tourism industry, especially in
the western half of the county, where an auction and flea market in Shipshewana
nearly doubles the population of the county for a few days a week all
summer.
Look at LaGrange County and you’ll see a historic region that is
indeed proudly rural and sometimes deliberately slow-paced, but also dynamic,
diverse, and always growing.
Jac Price, a local businessman with a seat on the nine-county Northeast
Indiana Workforce Investment Board, said he sees advancement in commercial
and economic growth as inevitable for the county.
‘‘I think that growth needs to be controlled,” he said.
“We need to recognize that there will be growth and ... are working
to make that growth work to everyone’s benefit.
“We’re becoming diversified, and because of that diversification
we need to do ... things to create an atmosphere in which everyone’s
able to participate,” Price said.
‘‘Change is happening all around us and it is ongoing.”
HISTORY: The county seat originally was in Lima, now Howe, when the first
courthouse was built in 1833. Since LaGrange was the geographical center
of the county, it became the logical choice for the new county seat in
1843.
The first courthouse in LaGrange was a two-story wooden frame building
constructed in 1844. The cornerstone of the present courthouse was laid
on Aug. 15, 1878. On Nov. 13, 1879, the courts took possession of it.
The total cost of the red brick structure was $71,675.32 — $25,000
more than the contract price. The county offices and the sheriff were
housed in the courthouse for many years after it was built.
Today, the county clerk’s office, the Circuit and Superior courts
and the probation department are housed in the courthouse. The LaGrange
County Office Building was completed in 1986 to house all other county
offices, but the county is currently looking to expand even further, with
a few offices, such as that of the sewer district, already having moved
to another location.
POPULATION: Approximately 34,000.
GOVERNMENT: The three members of the county commissioners meet at 9 a.m.
the first and third consecutive Mondays and Tuesdays of each month in
the LaGrange County Office Building. The seven-member county council meets
at 8:30 a.m. the second Monday of each month in the LaGrange County Office
Building.
RECREATION: LaGrange County has a park system which includes one nature
center, four parks and several public beaches. Detailed information about
the parks may be found in another section of this publication.
POLICE: The county sheriff’s department provides police protection
throughout LaGrange County. For emergencies, call 911. For non-emergencies,
call 463-7491.
