PoCo Muse Podcast: Recent Episodes
Porter County Museum
Understanding the past provides perspective on the present. Join the Porter County Museum, and host Quinn Albert, as we take a deep dive into the history of Porter County Indiana. Porter County is located in Northwest Indiana — a region often grouped into Chicagoland. The county borders the dune-spotted coast of Lake Michigan to its north, and the Kankakee River to the south. In this podcast we will explore the history of the county from the perspective of the old Porter County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence. From prohibition to jailbreaks, mob violence to environmental protests, the stories tied to these two structures will provide listeners with a deeper understanding of Porter County's history.
Join Quinn Albert and Jeff Schultz, the official PoCo Muse film critic, as they continue their discussion of the movie-going experience in Porter County. This mini episode dives into the offerings of the Hollywood Connection, the short-lived theatre and entertainment center in Valparaiso from 1998 to 2000, before discussing some other notable "Hollywood connections” from Porter County.
In the third episode of the PoCo Muse Podcast, we take a step away from the history of the county jail and take a short walk down the street to the Premier Theatre in downtown Valparaiso. In this episode, Quinn Albert has a conversation with Jeff Schultz, the official PoCo Muse film critic, about the history of the Premier Theatre which opened in 1921 and closed in 1982. This family-owned theatre was a center for entertainment and culture for multiple decades, and in this episode we will be sharing some of the stories that it left behind.
In the second Mini Episode of the PoCo Muse Podcast, we dive into a few of the escape attempts from Porter County Jail. Episode 2 covered an escape from 1912, when two prisoners managed to walk out the front door of the Sheriff’s residence. Here we will take a further look into the hows of that escape as well as other techniques inmates have employed when attempting to escape from the old Porter County Jail.
Sometimes the history of Porter County ends up being much larger than expected. In this episode, we take a deep dive into an escape from the old Porter County Jail and explore the many different events that happened leading up to the escape. Why was the sheriff and a posse of deputies on the other side of the county while his wife and daughter were left to stand guard? What caused the Indiana Governor (and future Vice President) to send two militias and enact martial law in Porter County? Porter County in the fall of 1912 was an eventful place, and in this episode we will tell you all about it.
One of the most important items in our collection is the building that houses it. In this minisode, we hope to paint a picture of the building itself — its physical characteristics and architectural details — that is at the center of so much of the history of Porter County, Indiana.
To see a photos of the museum, check out https://www.pocomuse.org/building-photos. For more information on the PoCo Muse and the history of Porter County Indiana check out our website https://www.pocomuse.org/
Welcome to the PoCo Muse Podcast! In this episode we will introduce the museum's home — the old Porter County Jail and Sheriff's Residence. From there, we'll take a step back to explore a brief history of Porter County's population. How have the county's demographics changed over the years?
For more information on the PoCo Muse and the history of Porter County Indiana check out our website https://www.pocomuse.org/
Welcome to the brand new PoCo Muse Podcast! The inaugural season will focus on telling stories of the old Porter County Jail (now the current home of the PoCo Muse), the people who lived, worked, or were imprisoned there, and its impact on the county as a whole.