chat loading...
Skip to Main Content

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest IU Northwest


Archives and Special Collections

Calumet Regional Archives logo

Oak Hill Cemetery Calumet Township cover

Local History Indexes

The dedicated people from the Northwest Indiana Genealogy Society (NWIGS) created a number of online indexes regarding local research areas, such as cemeteries, companies/industries, marriage records, government records, and more. The indexes live on their webpage,  NWIGS Lake County Records. 

In addition, these genealogists created several indexes related to collections within the Calumet Regional Archives which are free and open to the public via IUScholarWorks.

Rooseveltian school yearbook cover from 1988Local High School Yearbooks

The CRA Yearbook Collection exists in print and relates to both Lake and Porter County.

However, our partners at the Lake County Public Library (LCPL) digitized numerous yearbooks over the years, which are free and open to the public online. 

City of Gary City Directory, 1916Local City Directories

The CRA City Directory Collection includes Lake and Porter County. The following years are available within the reading room. However, the Lake County Public Library has digitized numerous directories over the years. 

  • Crown Point: 1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972-73, 1981
  • East Chicago:  1925-1927, 1940, 1958
  • Gary: 1908-09, 1911, 1913, 1916, 1978-1979, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925-30, 1935, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952, 1957-75 
  • Hammond: 1937, 1941, 1956, 1963, 1966
  • Valparasio: 1954, 1963-1965, 1969-1976, 1978, 1980-1989
  • Lake County: 1909, 1999, 2003-2016

Cover image of a telephone directory from 1910. Local Telephone Books

The CRA Telephone Book Collection consists of books in print from surrounding cities. The largest collection is from Gary, which spans from 1908-1999 and is available in the reading room. Some of these may be available online courtesy of the Lake County Public Library.