Laporte County Race of Giants
LaPorte County was formed in 1832. La porte means “the door” or “the port” in French. French travelers or explorers so named the area after discovering a natural opening in the dense forests that used to exist in this region, providing a gateway to lands further west.
Near the junction of the Kanakee with the Little Kanakee on the farm of Wm. Flannigan, directly under the apes of the principle mound, on a plane about one to one and a half feet was formed three skeletons in a semi recliningposition, and facing northeasterly. The central one was that of a man, fully matured of much more than the ordinary Anglo Saxon’s size and proportions of the present day.
At his right was one that was markedly feminine, much smaller and younger, and structure, also young and not a large as the central figure.
History of just 100 Years, Vol., 1. 1938 Laporte County Indiana
While workman were engaged in digging for sand at Van Meter’s Bend, near Kanakee, Saturday,
they unearthed the bodies of six men that are supposed to be those of an extinct race of Giants.
The bones are much larger than those of present day.
The mound has produced a large number of skeletons and many interesting relics.
- The Ottawa Free Trader (Ottawa Illinois) June 2, 1888
- Ft. Wayne Daily Gazette, July 26, 1872. “Perhaps were eight feet high”
- History of Just 100 Years. Volume 1, Laporte County, Indiana 1938. “fully matured.”