Burns Harbor, Indiana
town in Indiana, United States
Burns Harbor is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States on the shores of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Burns Harbor had a population of 2,055. Burns Harbor is located adjacent to the Indiana Dunes, an area that conservationists have fought hard to preserve.
History
Burns Harbor was founded in 1966. The town took its name from a local port which was named for the harbor's promoter Randall W. Burns.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Burns Harbor has a total area of 6.78 square miles (17.56 km2), of which 6.66 square miles (17.25 km2) (or 98.23%) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.31 km2) (or 1.77%) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Burns Harbor had a population of 2,055. The median age was 35.9 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older.
The public source identifies “Burns Harbor, Indiana” as town in Indiana, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Burns, Harbor and Indiana.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Burns Harbor, Indiana”, the useful work is to connect “town in Indiana, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2680659. VIAF identifies the subject as 150087955. The Library of Congress control number is n79126061. Authority coordinates are 41.626, -87.133. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1966 and 2010.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Burns Harbor, Indiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Burns Harbor, Indiana primary sources, Burns Harbor, Indiana archive and Burns research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Burns Harbor, Indiana”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Burns Harbor, Indiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.