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The Perfect Indiana Date Night
Kentland is home to the Old Colonial Inn, Pun'kin Vine Fair, a former Indiana governor, and so much more.
Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
August 16, 2026
Kentland
Small Town Breakdown
Next time you’re headed to or through the Region, swing through the Newton County seat of Kentland for a bite at the Old Colonial Inn, a visit to its many parks, or the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair in July.
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Fast Facts
📍LOCATION: Northwest Indiana
Kentland is located in southern Newton County.
U.S. Route 41 runs north-south through town, leading north to Hammond and Chicago and south to Terre Haute and Evansville.
U.S. Route 24 runs east-west through town, leading east toward Fort Wayne and west toward Illinois.
50 minutes northwest of Lafayette
One hour and 40 minutes south of Chicago
One hour and 45 minutes northwest of Indianapolis
Two hours and 10 minutes southwest of South Bend
👥 POPULATION & RANKING
1,632 residents (as of February 2026)
Ranks as Indiana’s 244th-largest incorporated town/city
Largest incorporated town/city in Newton County
📏 LAND AREA
1.5 square miles
📅 FOUNDED
Newton County was formed in December 1859 and organized in April 1860, making it the youngest of Indiana’s 92 counties.
It was named after Revolutionary War Sergeant John Newton.
The county was originally established by the state legislature in 1835 but merged into Jasper County by 1839. Twenty years later, it was re-created from the western portion of Jasper County.
Kentland was originally founded as Kent in 1860, when it was designated as the county seat.
Settler Alexander Kent bought most of the land in the Newton County area for roughly $1.00 per acre, with most of the land being wet prairie and marshlands. Herdsmen and field hands helped make the land productive.
The Kentland Courthouse was built in 1906 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, AgriBusiness
See the full rundown of businesses in Kentland here.
Kentland has been home to the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair since 1920. There’s a little miss and mister pageant, teen and queen pageant, live entertainment, a truck and tractor pull, rodeo, demolition derby, and more.
Old Colonial Inn
If you’re looking to have a date night, the Old Colonial Inn restaurant is located in the former Hotel Kentland, circa 1894, on the courthouse square. The restaurant was established in 1964, five years before Hotel Kentland closed its doors. The menu reflects the restaurant’s original menu, with steaks, seafood, prime rib, and more.
Pool and Parks
The Blue Devil Lagoon is the community pool and is open from Memorial Day through the beginning of the school year, and sometimes Labor Day depending on staff availability.
Kentland is also home to many parks. Batton Park has a playground, music concerto, tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, and ball diamond. Wonder Park has a playground, and Cast Park features a catch-and-release fishing pond, playground, walking path, and sledding hill.
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George Ade and Governor McCray
Kentland has been the birthplace to a few famous individuals, most notably George Ade and Indiana Governor Warren McCray.
Ade was a humorist and playwright, and he purchased a 65-acre tract with Purdue alumni David E. Ross, who was former president of the Board of Trustees. Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium was dedicated in 1924.
Governor McCray was Indiana’s 30th governor but was forced to resign in 1924 after committing mail fraud because of a private financial collapse and loans solicited through the postal service. He served three years in prison and received a full pardon from President Herbert Hoover in 1930.
The Good Table & ‘Za
The Good Table Restaurant has been a staple in Kentland since opening in 1998, but they experienced a fire on April 11, 2026, and are temporarily closed. They plan to open again, and donations to help with the rebuild can be made here.
Monical’s Pizza is an Italian cuisine chain restaurant that delivers seven days a week. Locals love their thin-crust pizza and breadsticks.
South Newton Rebels
South Newton High School is located between Kentland, Brook, and Goodland, and its athletic teams are known as the Rebels. South Newton has not won an IHSAA state championship in school history, but it did make history by becoming the first Indiana high school to join an athletic conference located in Illinois. They joined the Sangamon Valley Conference in 2015 and rejoined the Midwest Athletic Conference in 2019.