Valparaiso, Indiana

City of Valparaiso
City
Lincolnway in downtown Valparaiso
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Valpo
Motto: "Vale of Paradise"
Location in Indiana
Coordinates: 41°28′34″N 87°3′25″W / 41.47611°N 87.05694°W / 41.47611; -87.05694Coordinates: 41°28′34″N 87°3′25″W / 41.47611°N 87.05694°W / 41.47611; -87.05694
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Porter
Township	Center
Incorporated	July 8, 1836
Government
• Mayor	Jon Costas
Area
• Total	15.58 sq mi (40.35 km2)
• Land	15.53 sq mi (40.22 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)  0.32%
Elevation	794 ft (242 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	31,730
• Estimate (2012)	32,014
• Density	2,043.1/sq mi (788.8/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	46383-46385
Area code(s)	219
FIPS code	18-78326
GNIS feature ID	0449849
Website	http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/

Valparaiso (/ˌvɑːlpəˈreɪzoʊ/ vahl-pə-RAY-zoh) is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census.

The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the Potawatomi people by the U.S. Government in October 1832. Chiqua's town or Chipuaw was located a mile east of the current Courthouse along the Sauk Trail. Chiqua's town existed from at or before 1830 until after 1832. The location is just north of the railroad crossing on State Route 2 and County Road 400 North.

Located on the ancient Naive American trail from Rock Island to Detroit, the town had its first log cabin in 1834. Established in 1836 as Portersville, county seat of Porter County, it was renamed to Valparaiso (meaning "Vale of Paradise" in Old Spanish) in 1837 after Valparaíso, Chile, near which the county's namesake David Porter battled in the Battle of Valparaiso during the War of 1812. The city was once called the "City of Churches" due to the large number of churches located here at the end of the 19th Century.