La Porte County Historical Society

This museum houses LaPorte County family heirlooms and historical photographs (including this photo of the Lincoln Funeral Train as it passed through LaPorte County), a collection of antique firearms and the Kesling Automobile Collection consisting of more than 30 vintage automobiles collected by Dr. Peter C. Kesling and his wife Charlene. They range in age from a 1903 Winton to a 1982 DeLorean, the car made famous in the movie “Back to the Future.” The 1903 Winton was driven from California to New York City by Dr. and Mrs. Kesling in 2003. Before 1830, all of La Porte and Starke Counties were a part of the Pottawatomie Nation. All of the land from the Wabash River to Lake Michigan belonged to the Pottawatomie Indians. They were a peaceful people and had trails or traces that ran through the forests, marshes and around the lakes and along the rivers and creeks. In 1838, the Indians were removed by the United States Government to the Osage County of Kansas. Many of these Indians were old and could not stand the long trip and died on the way, so it has been called the March of Death.