San Pierre Map
San Pierre is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starke County, Indiana, United States. The population was 156 at the 2000 census. In spite of being an unincorporated town, San Pierre has a post office, ZIP Code 46374.
Established and laid out in 1854, the area was originally called Culvertown, although a post office had been established as River in 1853. According to one local tradition, the village later took the name of San Pierre, named after a nearby French-Canadian saloon owner. The story goes that 'Pierre' built a shack some 400 feet south of the village of Culvertown and began to sell whisky there. As a consequence of this inducement, the town shifted slightly to the south and the name was changed to San Pierre. Another tradition records the village being named after a French railroad worker called 'Pierre', with San being added to provide more importance to the name. In any case, the name was changed simply to Pierre in 1894, possibly as a result of increasing tension between Spain and the United States, leading up to the Spanish-American War. Finally the name was changed back to San Pierre in 1899. Before the downturn of the railroad industry, San Pierre had a train station at the intersection of the Monon and New York Central railways, and thus was a stop on the route of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train.
Due to its closeness to the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, each year San Pierre and the surrounding vicinity is briefly home to more than 10,000 of the sandhill crane species of bird during their fall migration. The bird has become so synonymous with the town that it has become an unofficial emblem of the community, including a depiction on the welcome sign.
Nearby cities include Kouts, Francesville, Knox, Hanna, Wanatah.