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⛲The IN Town that was Founded as a Resort
Plus - Explore one of Indiana's best small town shopping districts, grab dinner lakeside, and cheer on the Grace College Lancers.
Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
April 12, 2026
Winona Lake
Small Town Breakdown
Originally developed as a resort town, Winona Lake, Indiana is a small town with an elite shopping district, great eateries, and rich high school history. It’s one of the many towns Nate Spangle and the Get Indiana crew has checked off in the quest to visit 1,000 towns across Indiana in 2026.
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Fast Facts
📍LOCATION: Northeast Indiana
Winona Lake sits near the center of Kosciusko County.
U.S. Highway 30 runs just north of town, leading east to Fort Wayne and west to Plymouth, Valparaiso and Chicago.
2.5 hours north of Indianapolis
1 hour southeast of South Bend
50 minutes west of Fort Wayne
👥 POPULATION & RANKING
5,107 residents (as of 2024)
Ranks as Indiana’s 135th-largest town/city
Second-largest incorporated town/city in Kosciusko County behind the seat of Warsaw (16,111).
📏 LAND AREA
2.94 square miles
📅 FOUNDED
Kosciusko County was established in February 1835, and the county was organized in 1836.
It was named in honor of Polish man Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who came to America and served under General George Washington for America’s freedom.
In 1881, three brothers – J.F., J.E., and C.C. Beyer – bought land near Eagle Lake, now Winona Lake. The dairy farmers initially used the area’s artesian springs as a source of natural refrigeration for their business, but then in 1887, they built a resort called Spring Fountain Park, complete with a racetrack, roller coaster, hotel, and place to host Chautauqua programs – a series of concerts, plays, and speakers.
Presbyterian church leader Dr. Solomon Dickey bought the resort in 1894, named it Winona Assembly and Summer School Association while continuing the Chautauqua programs and adding summer Bible conferences and schools, and improved the resort with the building of homes, cottages and a canal.
Many famous people performed there, including Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley and Helen Keller. Former Chicago White Stockings ballplayer and noted evangelist Billy Sunday moved there in 1911, with his presence making Winona Lake a haven for religious community.
In one early 1910s summer alone, 250,000 people came to the Winona Assembly. Today, the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Winona Lake became known as such in 1905 before becoming incorporated in 1913.
🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, Orthopedic Services, Lake Recreation, Tourism & Retail
Founded in 1926, ABC Industries, Inc. manufactures mine, tunnel, and industrial ventilation products. They also offer a complete line of industrial textile fabrics for recreational vehicles, returnable packaging, automotive, structural, and military industries.
Orthopedic practices like WarsawONE, Parkview Orthopedics and The Orthopedic Hospital are major employers to Winona Lake residents.
The Village at Winona
Everything starts at The Village at Winona, which is home to a paved greenway, hiking trails, four restaurants, 20 shops, and fishing, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding and canoeing on the lake.
Parks and Pavilions
If you like the outdoors, Limitless Park is home to a popular splash pad, playground and pickleball courts. Spring Fountain Park can be rented as well.
The year-round venue Miller Sunset Pavilion was also inspired by the Billy Sunday Tabernacle and is on the same ground as the original tabernacle. It has an ice rink in the winter and hosts festivals, community events, art fairs, farmers markets and weddings throughout the year.
At Fire & Ice Café, guests say they feel relaxed while dining out, and that’s no accident. The café is 100% gluten-free and thoughtfully allergen-friendly, but it’s also warm, modern, and refreshingly human. Whether you're new to Indy or a regular, the space has a way of making everyone feel like a familiar face. Check ‘em out at 6211 Allisonville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46220.
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Cougars and Tigers
Winona Lake is home to the Lakeland Christian Academy Cougars, founded in spring 1974. Lakeland Christian Academy does not have any IHSAA state titles, in part because it didn’t become an IHSAA-sanctioned school until the 2016-17 school year. The Cougars do have a number of impressive state accolades in the Indiana Christian Athletic Association (ICAA), including a boys soccer runner-up finish in 1984 and state titles in 1985, ‘86 and ‘87. Boys soccer also won a 2010 state title in the Indiana Christian School Tournament (ICST). In the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), girls basketball finished as 1994 state runner-ups.
The closest public school to Winona Lake is Warsaw Community High School, home of the Tigers. Warsaw is no stranger to winning IHSAA state championships with seven in school history. Girls basketball secured the first two in 1976 and ‘78, followed by boys basketball in 1984, softball in 1991, boys golf in 2005 and unified track & field in 2014 and ‘16.
Grace College
Grace College is a liberal arts college that is a national powerhouse in athletics. The Lancers have won 22 NAIA national championships, 21 of them since 2019, along with well over 50 conference championships.
Good Grub
The River Coffeehouse uses Generous Coffee from Warsaw, Indiana, and they deliver with coffee, lattes, breakfast sandwiches and pizza. They have over 500 Google reviews and 4.6 stars.
Cerulean offers Asian inspired dishes, with its Bento boxes and brussel sprouts as the favorites. They also serve sushi and ramen bowls.
Boathouse Restaurant with lakeside dining is another hot spot in Winona Lake, dishing up steaks, seafood, pasta, ribs and more while offering a perfect view of Winona Lake. They have 4.5 stars on nearly 2,500 Google reviews. It makes for a great small town date night.
For dessert, Social Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop has sandwiches, salads, homemade waffle cones, and two dozen flavors of hand-dipped ice cream.