What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 11am - 5pm Wednesday 11am - 5pm Thursday 11am - 5pm Friday 11am - 5pm Saturday 11am - 5pm Sunday 11am - 5pm

Porter County Museum

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Valparaiso, IN
Porter County Museum

The award-winning PoCo Muse is open with free general admission Tuesday-Sunday, 11a-5p.
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Exhibits change frequently, a variety of engaging programs are available every month, and free half-hour guided tours are offered on Saturdays at 2p. The Porter County Museum engages Porter County's rich past with its evolving present to educate, enrich, and inspire our communities.

11/17/2024

11/16/2024

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 30, at 10a for "Small Museum Saturday." Get a glimpse of the inner workings at our small, award-winning museum during this behind-the-scenes tour.

Join PoCo Muse Executive Director Kevin Pazour to hear stories about the museum’s history, see our normally-off-limits Collections Storage Area, and learn about how we care for our Collection when it isn’t on exhibit.

Reservations for this tour are required. Email [email protected] or call (219) 510.1836 to reserve your place on this tour.

In the spirit of Small Business Saturday, we hope you will make a gift in support of our work at pocomuse.org/donate.

11/14/2024

Do you recognize this view? The back of this photograph in our collection reads:

"Of course you never saw this place. I handed this picture to the loafers on the court house benches and ask[ed] them [if they’d] ever been here. 'No, we don't know where it is.' 'Didn't you ever see those buildings before[?]' 'No.' I said, 'Then your eyesight is sure bum as you are sitting here looking at them now.' 'How in hell did the mountains get there[?]'”

This altered 1960 photograph shows the north side of East Lincolnway in Valparaiso, east of its intersection with Franklin Street during a parade. A mountain backdrop has been cleverly imposed on the image, creating the illusion of a very different region of the country.

Plan your visit to see "Building Memory" in our Robert Cain Gallery.

11/12/2024

A streetcar of the Valparaiso & Northern Railway turns the corner at the junction of Calumet Avenue and Franklin Street in Valparaiso. Seen on the left of this circa 1910 photograph, courtesy of Steven Shook, is the notable “Triangle” of Valpo’s Central Neighborhood where residents and students of Valparaiso High School, now Central Elementary, would gather and wait for the interurban to pick them up.

Plan your visit to learn more about the rise and fall of Porter County’s electric rail line in our newest featured exhibit, "The V&N: Porter County's Electric Interurban Rail Line."

11/11/2024

Today is Veterans Day, a special day set aside every year on November 11 to thank and honor all individuals who served honorably in the military during both wartime and peacetime. Prior to 1954, Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day, which commemorated the 1918 armistice that led to the end of the First World War.

This photograph of what appears to be a patriotic parade on East Lincolnway, near its intersection with Michigan Street in downtown Valparaiso, was taken from a rooftop on the south side of the street, likely on Armistice Day 1923. Thanks to our newspaper archive, we know the building, at left, was being finished in October 1923 for John F. Sievers, who leased the first floor to the Mark Palmer Auto Agency. A second image by this unknown photographer from the same day shows no building to the immediate west of the "garage" building. Sievers' second building, the Rexall Drug Store, was finished and opened on the then-vacant site in March 1924. Although we don't know for sure, the previous details give us a pretty good idea that this image had to be taken between October 1923 and March 1924.

11/10/2024

In the early 1900s, electric interurbans were extremely popular. Literally meaning "between cities," interurbans conveniently brought people to nearby towns when connecting roads weren't always paved or accessible. They were especially popular in Indiana and Ohio, where they nearly overtook steam-powered passenger service. For a brief moment during their peak in the 1910s, interurbans were the fifth-largest industry in the nation.

The Valparaiso & Northern Railway (V&N) was an electric interurban train line in Porter County that began service in 1910. For almost 30 years, the V&N connected Valparaiso to Chesterton by way of the lake resorts between them. Like nearly all of the electric lines in the country, the V&N was originally intended as a feeder line to the ambitious cross-country Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad.

This joyful image of two gentleman posing in a field of flowers in front of a car from the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad comes from the collection at the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. It captures the exciting promise of the proposed cross-country line, which began its local venture in La Porte.

Plan your visit to learn more about the rise and fall of Porter County’s electric rail line in our newest featured exhibit, "The V&N: Porter County's Electric Interurban Rail Line." We are open with free admission six days a week, Tuesday-Sunday, from 11a to 5p. Complimentary guided tours are offered most Saturdays at 2p. For more information, visit pocomuse.org.

11/07/2024

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Stop by Hebron's Stagecoach Inn on Saturday, November 9, 2024, between 10a and 2p, for our living-history event honoring the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), an organization of Civil War veterans. This free event is presented in partnership with the Hebron Parks & Recreation Department.

The Stagecoach Inn (pictured here, credit to Tacy Borgman) is located at 127 N. Main Street in Hebron, Indiana.

Address

20 Indiana Avenue
Valparaiso, IN
46383

Opening Hours

Tuesday	11am - 5pm
Wednesday	11am - 5pm
Thursday	11am - 5pm
Friday	11am - 5pm
Saturday	11am - 5pm
Sunday	11am - 5pm

Telephone

+12195101836

Website

http://pocomuse.org/

Alerts

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Videos

Dick Brauer's Presentation on Historical Valparaiso Homes

Did you miss Dick Brauer's talk last week? Don't fret! Check out our recording of Dick's presentation so you can learn more about the architecture of some of the homes and buildings showcased in the 2019 Historical Valparaiso Home Tour.

We're also telling stories using robots! Stop by the Museum today before 6p to experiment and create art!

We're learning about light at the PoCo Muse! Stop by before 6 for hands-on activities exploring science, technology, and art!

Shortcuts

We Are Porter County

From the marshes of the Kankakee to the sands of the Indiana Dunes, a diverse people have embraced this diverse land. And though the world of today looks very different than that of the county’s founding, the land beneath our feet has remained constant, reminding us that we are Porter County.

STARTING OUT

The PoCo Muse began when the Porter County Historical Society temporarily gathered artifacts to create a display for Indiana’s Centennial Celebration in 1916. When some of the contributors did not want their objects back, the permanent collection was born. Our unique assortment of artifacts stems from the hard work, determination, and perseverance of several generations of members and volunteers.

It has been difficult to pinpoint an exact start date for regular hours of operation, but most sources show that the collection was officially showcased on a regular basis on the lower level of the Valparaiso Public Library in the early 1930s.

NEXT STEPS

When library space became restricted because of the collection’s growth, the Porter County Commissioners allowed the PoCo Muse to move into the third floor of the remodeled Porter County Courthouse. Doors to the Porter County History Museum first opened to the public on January 17, 1938.

CURRENT HOME

After 36 years, the collection once again needed a larger venue. With much debate, the collection moved to the former Porter County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence on September 17, 1974. The Old Jail Museum officially opened its doors to the public on May 11, 1975—59 years after the collection was first publicly displayed in Porter County. On June 23, 1976, the jail and residence was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In May 2007, the Old Jail Museum officially changed its name back to the Porter County Museum. The Board of the Historical Society of Porter County felt the name was more representative of the collection. On March 1, 2008, Kevin Matthew Pazour was hired by the Porter County Commissioners as the first full-time Executive Director of the Porter County Museum.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

On May 12, 2010, the Porter County Heritage Corporation, an independent non-profit tasked with planning for the Porter County Museum’s future, was created by the Historical Society of Porter County. During a special meeting on June 18, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Historical Society signed over the entire collection of artifacts to the newly formed Porter County Heritage Corporation. The re-branded Porter County Museum of History re-opened to the public in September 2010 with expanded public hours, revitalized exhibits and programs, and a sharpened focus on local history.

THE POCO MUSE ERA

It was early 2012 when the Porter County Museum adopted the PoCo Muse moniker. On December 17, 2012, the Porter County Heritage Corporation officially became the Porter County Museum Foundation. The PoCo Muse is dedicated to engaging Porter County’s rich past with its evolving present to educate, enrich, and inspire our communities.

Header image is a detail of the Blue Willow Serving Platter on display in From a Bailly Point of View at the PoCo Muse. This piece belonged to the Bailly family and is transfer printed earthenware that dates from 1830-1915 based on the pattern.