Main Street Mural

The Town of Upland is located 65 miles northeast of Indianapolis and 50 miles southwest of Fort Wayne. Upland is just 2 miles east of I-69 on State Road 22. View Google Map  With a population of approximately 3700, Upland has a comfortable hometown feel yet possesses features of larger communities.

Visit Upland's Labor Day Weekend Festival!

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At this site, you can read about the history of Upland and get information on everything from community events to local government.  Today, Upland is the home of The Pierce Company , the famous ice cream of Ivanhoes, the new Memorial Park, and the highly rated Taylor University just to name a few. 

Upland is a growing community.  We welcome the opportunity to help business grow and families have a safe and enjoyable place to call home.

As with many Midwestern towns, the founding of Upland was directly related to the expansion of the railroad across the United States. During this time, people in the area understood the prosperity that the railroad could bring. James Johnson and Henry Wise, among others, joined to organize a town in Grant County to function as a stop on the railroad line. The train station was located on a hill, the highest elevation point between Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. The area was then named “Upland”.

Upland connected New York and Chicago in a straighter line than going south around Indianapolis, or by traveling through northern Indiana. The town was organized; stock was sold; the first railroad in Grant County was begun. Jacob Bugher, the proprietor of Upland, ushered in a new era to Grant County when the first railroad engine steamed into Upland on August 16, 1867, and brought great prosperity to the area.

Railroad Depot

In 1887,a new boom came with the discovery of large amounts of natural gas. The primary occupation evolved from farming to glass manufacturing. Because of the vast amounts of new industry related to the gas boom, the area became known as the “gas belt” and before long Upland had three glass factories. Even though the gas boom ended, Upland survived because of the non-gas related business that remained after the boom ended.