The realization of a need for a Historical Society came about with an awakening of interest in La Porte County history following the publication of the monumental work by Rev. E. D. Daniels’ published history of the county.  The Supt. of Schools expressed the value of such a society and the work it would do to gather and preserve materials about the county’s history.
  One of the first acts of the new Society was to secure the relics left by the late W. A. Jones, consisting largely of rare firearms secured by this La Portean while traveling throughout the world.  In his will was a bequest to the City of La Porte of his famous collection of firearms and antiques.  The bequest, however, was made on the condition that the City prepare a suitable room in the Carnegie Library building in La Porte for the housing of the antiques and the proper care for them.  The Historical Society became the caretaker of this collection in an area provided for the Society for its Museum in the basement of the Carnegie Library.
With the growth of its collection and a need for more space, the Society was offered an area in the basement of the La Porte County CourtHouse.  This officially opened April 3, 1938.  Although this space was “well lighted and ventilated and the hundreds of historical items in the museum were shown to best advantage,” the Society’s collections continued to grow and space again was at a premium.  Residents from all parts of the County generously donated items to share and preserve La Porte County history. In April 1978, La Porte County provided a two-story addition to the new La Porte County Security Complex to house the museum.  The move to this location was completed on September 17, 1978 and the museum was again open to the public.
In 2004, the demand for space by County Officials prompted a move of the Society’s Museum.  After considering several locations and also the possibility of the County building a building to house the historical society museum, Dr. Peter Kesling made an offer of the Door Prairie Auto Museum, a 10-year old building to the County.  His offer was accepted and he reinvested a majority of the purchase price in an addition to the museum adding sufficient space to house the Society’s collections, the W. A. Jones Weapons Collection which has been in the Society’s care since 1921, a number of Dr. Kesling’s cars to be on display and additional space for a meeting room, library and archives.  The Museum closed its doors in the Security Complex to the public at the close of business October 15, 2005, with a move anticipated into the new facility purchased by the County government.  The Museum reopened to the public in the former Door Prairie Auto Museum, 2405 Indiana Avenue, La Porte, in July 2006 with the Grand Opening held on Saturday, September 30, 2006.