LAPORTE — LaPorte is known as a city built by farm machinery churned out for more than a century.
Many people may not know that its early beginnings were tied to a saw mill.
According to historians, the settlement of LaPorte was established in July 1832 and Abraham P. Andrew, one of the purchasers of the site that same year, constructed its first saw mill.
The first settler arrived a few months later and lived in a permanent cabin just north of the existing downtown courthouse built with bricks of red standstone from Lake Superior in the early 1890s.
Growth was such that LaPorte was incorporated as a town just three years later and the following year a newspaper was established.
Notoriety began taking root with the arrival in the 1840s of the LaPorte Medical School, considered to be a first of its kind in the Midwest.
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One of its graduates was William Mayo, who in 1889 went on to establish the famed Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
By 1852, LaPorte had become well established with a population of about 5,000 and that same year became a city.
As the city kept growing, it became home to numerous industries, including Advance-Rumely, a company responsible for the famous Oil Pull tractor engine often credited with transforming agriculture in the Great Plains.
Advance-Rumely was the city's largest employer and remained so even after in the 1920s becoming Allis Chalmers, which operated in LaPorte until the early 1980s.
A good share of its residents were also among the most educated and politically connected in the nation.
John Barron Niles, for example, came here from Dartmouth college in the 1830s and as a lawyer was closely involved with the major railroads as they were being developed through the area, said Leigh Morris, a local historian and former president and CEO of LaPorte Hospital.
Niles went on to become a senator and judge and was a member of the constitutional convention from 1851 to 1853.
"There was a whole group of very well educated people that settled in LaPorte early on," Morris said.
Other famous LaPorte residents from the past include the world renowned sculptor, Naguchi, former Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley and Fred Mennen, the inventor of Jiffy Pop popcorn.
Another more infamous person from LaPorte was Belle Gunness, a serial killer who came here in 1881 from Europe.
She's believed responsible for the deaths of more than 40 men she lured to her residence under the guise of companionship before she either died in a fire at her farmhouse or disappeared.
According to history, some believe Gunness started the blaze and skipped town, judging by her bank accounts being nearly emptied and questions on whether it was actually her body that was among the remains recovered.
Another LaPorte native, Jeff Ake, tragically became famous when he was taken captive by terrorists in Iraq in 2005 while on a business trip to improve the quality of the water in that country.
Ake was shown on television sets worldwide flanked by gunmen.
His fate remains unknown.
LaPorte is still known for baseball, producing eight state championships from the late 1960s to 2000.
Seven of the state titles were under the leadership of Ken Schreiber, who after retiring as head coach in 1998, had more than 1,000 victories and is presently enshrined in several halls of fame for amateur sports.
At least two of his players went on to become pitchers in the major leagues.
Ron Reed was a reliever in the '60s and '70s known for a successful run with the Atlanta Braves and Chris Bootcheck, who had short stints in recent years with the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.
The city's nickname ''Maple City'' originated from the planting of maple trees during the 1850s by Sebastian Lay along Indiana Avenue and Michigan Avenue, thoroughfares that still bring LaPorte recognition today for its wealth of uniquely designed Victorian-style homes.
LaPorte Mayor Blair Milo said she's amazed that for a city its size there have been so many "tremendous contributions" across the globe from the people and products made here over the years.
Milo, 28, is noted for being one of the youngest mayors elected in Indiana. She settled into her position four years ago.
She's also made lists in different national publications for being one of the more up and coming public officials in the country.
"There are so many different things that have stemmed from this community that have created such a positive impact," Milo said.