Porter County Museum

Photo of Porter County Museum located at 20 Indiana Ave.
Photo of Porter County Museum located at 20 Indiana Ave. Taken by Trent Albert of Albert Photographic.

The Porter County Museum (PoCo Muse) is a museum that is located at 20 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana.

From May 11, 1975, until March 12, 2020, the museum was located in the old Porter County Jail and sheriffs residence, located at 153 Franklin Street Valparaiso, Indiana, across the street from its current home. The jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1] The museum was founded in 1916 by the Porter County Historical Society (now the PoCo Muse Foundation), the PoCo Muse is the oldest institution devoted to the history and culture of Porter County, Indiana.

Artifacts were displayed in the lower level of the Valparaiso Public Library from 1916 until 1937, on the top floor of the Porter County Courthouse from 1938 until 1973, and inside the 1871 Porter County Jail and Sheriff's Residence from 1975 until 2020. Currently The PoCo Muse is located across from two of its previous homes at 20 Indiana Avenue in downtown Valparaiso.[2]

  • Cornerstone
    Cornerstone
  • Front door to Sheriff's House
    Front door to Sheriff's House
  • Window Styling
    Window Styling
  • Main stairway
    Main stairway
  • Rosette of front entrance
    Rosette of front entrance
  • Jail with square & round towers
    Jail with square & round towers
  • Prisoner cell
    Prisoner cell

Bibliography

  • "Counties of Porter and Lake Indiana", Weston A. Goodspeed, Historical Editor and Charles Blanchard, Biographical Ed.; F.A. Battey & Co. 1883; Chapter, "History of Porter County", pg 23
  • "History of Porter County", Volume I, Then Lewis Publishing Co; Chicago-New York; 1912, pp. 58–59.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Mullins, Lanette; Images of America; Valparaiso – Looking Back, Moving Forward; Arcadia Publishing; Chicago, Illinois; 2002; pg. 71.
  2. ^ "History".
  • Kosky, Ken. "County Crime Rate Stays same in '09". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  • Mullins, Lanette; Images of America; Valparaiso – Looking Back, Moving Forward; Arcadia Publishing; Chicago, Illinois; 2002
  • Neeley, George E.; City of Valparaiso, A Pictorial History; G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri; 1989
  • Porter County Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory; Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; July 1991
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