Westville, Indiana
town in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States
Westville is a town in New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. The population, as of the 2020 census is 5,257. It is included in the Michigan City, Indiana-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Westville is located in Northwest Indiana, also known as The Region.
History
Westville was platted in 1851, and incorporated as a town in 1864. It was a station and shipping point at the junction of two railroads.
Rev. John Milton Whitehead lived in Westville at the time of his enlistment as a chaplain in the 15th Indiana Infantry Regiment. Whitehead received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Stones River when he "went to the front during a desperate contest and unaided carried to the rear several wounded and helpless soldiers."
The Everel S. Smith House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Westville has a total area of 3.09 square miles (8.00 km2), all land.
The public source identifies “Westville, Indiana” as town in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Westville, Indiana and town.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Westville, Indiana”, the useful work is to connect “town in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2499782. VIAF identifies the subject as 128179260. The Library of Congress control number is no2002056149. Authority coordinates are 41.541, -86.901. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1851, 1864 and 1990.
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 “Westville, Indiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Westville, Indiana primary sources, Westville, Indiana archive and Westville 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 “Westville, Indiana”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Westville, 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.