History of Indiana Time

What Time Is It in Indiana? Indiana Time
Background of the Project
What time is it in Indiana?
What is 'Indiana Time?'
When They Change Clocks
Research Links
More Historical Tidbits
What time will it be in 2006?

Awarded a Times Pick by the Los Angeles Times on 3/31/98.

If you have more questions about Daylight Saving Time, check out WebExhibits. Select or scroll to Changes and Irregularities.

The measurement of time is a human invention. It exists only because humans agree on the ways time is measured...seconds, minutes, days. When we change from daylight to standard time, it's only because we agree on it. But time itself doesn't need a clock or us. Time flows measured or unmeasured. It flows with or without us.   -- Jok Church You Can distributed 10/30/2005 ©2001  Universal Press Syndicate

On October 30, 2005, at 02:00 DST, all areas currently operating on Daylight Saving Time adjusted clocks to 01:00. In Indiana, 77 counties were already operating at 01:00 EST and made no adjustment. However, five Indiana counties near Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville, KY, adjust from EDT to EST and five near Chicago, IL, and five surrounding Evansville, IN, adjust from CDT to CST.

If the April 28, 2005, Indiana state legislation stands up, on April 2, 2006, Indiana will no longer be counted as one of three states which do not Spring ahead from "standard" to "daylight saving" time or Fall back from daylight to standard six months later. The Indiana Legislature voted to approve Daylight Saving Time for Indiana and to petition the US Department of Transporation to hold hearings to determine the location of the dividing line between the Eastern and Central time zones, relative to Indiana.

Hopefully, what follows is not intended to represent the superiority of any position, but rather to illustrate the historical complexity of the issue. The MCCSC welcomes factual corrections to any data presented in this material. Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. Background of the Project:

What time is it in Indiana? began as a curriculum-integration project for a group of 8th graders in 1997. The product is a chart which simply answers the question: What time is it in Indiana?. What is 'Indiana Time?' is material that has been added since 1998.

We have added research links after the Indiana chart and discussion. In addition, staff at the Bloomington (IN) Herald-Times have unearthed some historical tidbits, published in the Tuesday, 27 February 2001, Hotline. We have added an historical section, using both that information and information gathered by the students but left off the original page. We have a explanation of the differences between the Navajo Reservation (which extends into New Mexico) and The Hopi Partitioned Land in Arizona. And just in, a commentary on the impact of "Chicago Time or South Bend Time?" on school districts in the northwest corner of Indiana.

The concept of student-driven curriculum project, using technology as a presentation, data-gathering, project-development resource is now the centerpiece in a full-blown two year staff development effort by the MCCSC. Visit our Good Teaching Through Technology page to follow this project.

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. Original Student Project
[additional material set off by square brackets]
What time is it in Indiana?
[Until April 2, 2006]

This material will reflect the information that most of Indiana
does not observe Daylight Saving Time. As has been noted,
Indiana law was changed April 20, 2005.

Indiana is [as of April 2, 2006, no longer] one of three states which do not Spring ahead from "standard" to "daylight saving" time or Fall back from daylight to standard six months later. Arizona* and Hawaii are the others. Under the US Uniform Time Act of 1966, the Department of Transportation is in charge of time zones in the United States and ensuring that jurisdictions observing daylight saving time begin and end on the same date. However, states may determine participation in Daylight Saving Time.

The US Uniform Time Act of 1966 places Indiana in the Eastern time zone.

[The following illustrates how confusing even the "facts" can be. The original information collected for the project indicated that, ] In 1969, ten (10) counties in the Chicago and Evansville corners of the state were moved to the Central time zone where they join Chicago in using Daylight time.

[After this site was publicized by the Los Angeles Times, our attention was directed to the website of the Indiana Film Commission <http://www.state.in.us/film/location/timezone.html> which states at <http://www.state.in.us/film/location/index.html>

Time Zones
...
When the U.S. is on Standard Time, most of Indiana (including Indianapolis) is the same time as New York. When the U.S. is on Daylight Savings Time, most of Indiana (including Indianapolis) is the same time as Chicago.

There are exceptions: Eleven counties in the northwest and southwest of the state occupy the Central Time Zone and do go on Daylight Savings Time. In addition, five counties in the south and southeast unofficially observe Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
...

Thus, the following change was made to this information:, "In 1991, an eleventh, Starke County, in the northwest (Chigago area) was added."

However, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, provided by a correspondent, indicates just the opposite: The three petitions from Starke (and two by Jasper) counties filed from 1970 through 1991 were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern. While Jasper's requests were denied, The third Starke request was granted and it moved to Eastern in 1991. (See these references below.)]

Also in 1969, five (5) counties near Cincinnati and Louisville, while in the Eastern zone with the remaining 77 counties, were permitted to observe Eastern Daylight Time. Indiana State law, however, is allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to keep those 77 counties on Eastern Standard Time (EST) all year long.

 
Thus, US and Indiana law create three different time arrangements in the Hoosier State:

1. 77 counties (including state capital Indianapolis are in the Eastern Time Zone but do not change to Daylight time in April; instead they remain on Standard Time all year long; [yellow on map and chart]
2. 10 counties -- five near Chicago, IL, and five near Evansville, IN, are in the Central Time Zone and use both Central Standard and Central Daylight; [red on map and chart] and
3. five other counties -- two near Cincinnati, OH, and three near Louisville, KY -- are in the Eastern Time Zone but use both Eastern Standard and Eastern Daylight. [green on map and chart]

[*The U.S. Department of Transporation made a change in the time zone for Starke County in 1991. According to the Indiana Film Commission, Starke petitioned and was moved to the Central zone with the Group 2 (Chicago-area) counties. A 1967 Indiana statute was over-ridden by a 1968 lawsuit involving national television networks. However, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, indicates that the three petitions from Starke (and two from Jasper) counties were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern. In 1991, Starke's third request was granted.]

	Winter Time Zone		Summer Time Zone
Area and Indiana Counties	Last Sunday October*	Time When Noon at Capital [ *- see dates	First Sunday April* table below ]	Time When Noon at Capital
1 Indianapolis    and most of Indiana,    including [Starke*] and Bloomington (77)	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Standard EST	Noon
2 Chicago, IL    and Jasper, Lake,    LaPorte, Newton, Porter,     counties (5) and	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
Evansville, IN    and Gibson, Posey,    Spencer, Vanderburgh,    and Warrick counties (5)	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
3 Cincinnati, OH    and Dearborn and Ohio    counties (2) and	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
Louisville, KY    and Clark, Floyd    and Harrison counties (3)	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. What is 'Indiana Time?'

'Indiana Time' is Eastern Standard Time [EST], with some exceptions.

Many believe that Indiana changes time zones in the Summer. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that in the Winter, most of Indiana is the same time as New York (which is also Eastern), and in the Summer, Indiana is the same time as Chicago (which is Central).

Actually, by going to Daylight time in April, the Central Zone Springs ahead from Standard to CDT, which is the same as Eastern Standard (Indiana time). By switching from Eastern Daylight (EDT) to Standard in October, the rest of the Eastern Zone Falls back to EST (Indiana time). Indiana and Hawaii are constants -- always Standard time.

["Arizona can be confusing, as well. The Arizona portion of the Navajo reservation, which consists of most the northeastern corner of the state, DOES observe DST. And to further complicate matters, the Hopi Partitioned Land, which lies in the midst of the Navajo reservation, follows the the Arizona standard, remaining on Mountain Standard Time year round." -- courtesy of Kent Fletcher.]

From 1942-1945, Indiana and the US were on Daylight time to conserve wartime electricity.

In 1949, the Indiana State Legislature placed Indiana in the Central zone. From 1949 to 1957, the state was riddled with both Central and Eastern areas, some practicing Daylight time, some not. In 1957, the legislature put the entire state on Central Standard Time -- but made only Indianapolis a participant in Daylight Saving Time. [Interestingly, the 1966 Uniform Time Act now reserves establishing which time zone to the Federal government but still allows the State to determine participation in Daylight Saving Time.]

[At least one source reports that "Indianapolis Time worked its way eastward along the US 40 corridor to near the Ohio border." The November 22 and 25, 2004, Stephanie Salter articles for the Terre Haute [IN] Tribune-Star (and reprinted in the Kokomo [IN] Tribune) indicate that Indiana was "split down the middle" in 1961, except for Marion County (Indianapolis) and the five counties to the north, west and south -- Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Morgan and Johnson, which were on Eastern.

The 1961 Central zone began with St. Joseph in the north and went south through Marshall, Fulton, Miami, Howard and Tipton -- until it reached Hamilton. It swung west through Clinton to Tippecanoe and south again through Montgomery, Putnam and Owen. There, it veered east through Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew until turning south through Jackson and Washington and southwest through Crawford and Perry to the Ohio River.

Indianapolis (central), Fort Wayne (and the northeast), Richmond (the east) and the southeast Ohio River counties anchored the Eastern time zone in Indiana. The Chicago area (northwest), Terre Haute (west), Bloomington (west-central) and Evansville (southwest) were the major areas in Indiana's Central time zone.

The US Uniform Time Act of 1966 places Indiana in the Eastern time zone. In 1968, Network TV broadcasters in New York City brought suit against US Secretary of Transportation Alan S. Boyd for failing to enforce the 1966 legislation. DOT allegedly told Indiana legislators they could work out different time zone boundaries. The media won their case, enjoining DOT from "not enforcing" the DST provisions of the act.

In 1969, six (6) counties in the Chicago (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, and Starke) and five (5) counties in the Evansville (Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick) corners of the state were moved to the Central time zone, where they also use Central Daylight Time. Two (2) counties near Cincinnati (Dearborn and Ohio) and three (3) near Louisville (Clark, Floyd and Harrison), while in the Eastern zone with the remaining 77 counties, observe Eastern Daylight Time. This observation of DST in the 15 counties is "unofficial," never having been approved by the state legislature.

[According to the Indiana Film Commission Online, three times during the 1980's, Starke, a northwest (Chicago area) county, Starke, petitioned to be shifted from Eastern to Central. The Film Commission, reports that DOT approved the change in 1991. However, as stated elsewhere, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, indicates that the petitions from Starke (and Jasper) counties were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern.]

Indiana State law, however, is allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to keep those 77 counties Eastern Standard Time (EST) all year long.

From 1973-1975, Indiana and the US observed Daylight time following the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. On January 6, 1974, implementing the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were set ahead for a fifteen-month period through April 27, 1975. This experiment worked, but Congress did not continue the experiment in 1975 because of opposition -- mostly from the farming states.

[End of Original Student Project]

 

'Chicago Time or South Bend Time?'

"Last winter I gave a 'Speech to Inform' at a Toastmaster club about the school district time zone commitments of the area in which I grew up. I learned that my description confused people ...even with 'graphics.' H'mm. Perhaps it is confusing ...

"La Porte County is the third county in Indiana east of the Chicago area. It considers itself economically tied to the Chicago region and follows the Central time zone as needed.

"In the northeast portion of this county are four townships (Galena, Kankakee, Wills, Hudson) tied in with Olive Township in the eastern adjacent county of St. Joseph, where South Bend, IN and Notre Dame University are located. East of Olive Township is Warren Township ..if memory serves me correctly. Ref.: New Prairie School district (New Carlisle and Rolling Prairie, IN).

"Situation ...dating from about 1965 to the present: If the school zone didn't have consistent pickup policies for its kids, then it may be that two separate hourly pickups would have to be arranged.

"If the Warren Township and the Olive Township bus driver cycles were matched then an extra $60,000 (in 1965 $) per year expenses would be avoided.

"Thus, the school district time zone is set for the Eastern zone, even four years later.

"As people live in one county and may work in another, everyone will be disturbed to some fashion, no matter which choice may be selected, even if they don't have children in the school system. A routine winter question for residents of these townships may be: 'Chicago time or South Bend time?'"

courtesy of
Bob Russell, CPIM, PMP
EDS - E Solutions/PMC-Midwest
MS 6229
750 Tower Drive, 6th floor
Troy, MI 48098

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. What time will it be in 2006?

Most Hoosiers expected that, effectively, the 77 counties which now stay on Eastern Standard Time 12 months would change to DST along with five other Indiana counties and the rest of the US next Spring. The petitions to US DoT were to determine whether that DST would be Eastern Daylight or Central Daylight.

If Eastern, then it was expected that Indiana would have at least those 77 counties, plus the 5 near Louisville and Cincinnati (82) on Eastern Daylight. If Central, then the 77 would join the current 5 around Evansville and the 5 near Chicago (87) on Central Daylight.

"At least" because the US DoT may decide that leaving the 10 on Central (if the state goes Eastern) or leaving the 5 on Eastern (if the state goes Central) would be violations of the "one zone per state" guideline. Thus, it is possible that by next Spring all 92 counties will be either Eastern Daylight or Central Daylight.

However, the federal government proposed Tuesday, October 25, 2005, that five (5) additional counties -- Knox, Perry, and Pike counties near Evansville in the southwest corner of the state, and St. Joseph and Starke counties in the northwest corner switch to Central time, while twelve (12) others which had petitioned for a change remain in the Eastern time zone. This would divide Indiana into 77 counties (the 77+5-5) on EST/EDT and 15 (10+5) on CST/CDT.

According to the Thursday, January 8, 2006, Bloomington Herald-Times, US DoT is recommending switching three (3) more (a total of eight (8)) counties -- Daviess, Dubois, and Martin counties near Evansville in the southwest corner of the state -- to the fifteen (15) already recommended for the Central zone. This would divide Indiana into 74 counties (the 77-3) on EST/EDT and 18 (15+3) on CST/CDT.

Ironically, Starke had originally been designated Central in 1966 until three petitions finally resulted in a move in 1991 of Starke to the Eastern zone. If this holds, it would return to its 1966 time zone.

In the Chicago area, DoT denied requests from Fulton, Marshall and Pulaski counties to move to Central. While Elkhart asked to stay Eastern, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said it would not be economically workable to separate Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, leaving Elkhart in the "possible" column.

Requests from the Lafayette area by Carroll, Cass and White counties were denied by DoT. Tippecanoe asked to remain Eastern, while Benton and Fountain had petitioned to change to Central and then withdrew their requests.

In the Terre Haute area, Vigo County on the Indiana-Illinois border had asked to remain Eastern, but Sullivan and Vermillion counties wanted to move to Central.

Near Evansville, DoT originally denied requests by Daviess, Dubois and Martin while adding Perry and Pike to the five (5) already Central, and then reversed that in January. Orange asked to remain Eastern. Farther north, near Bloomington, Lawrence County's request to be Central was denied.

When officials in Allen County (Fort Wayne) and Marion County (Indianapolis) asked to stay Eastern, other counties in those areas followed suit.

Status for 2006 and following	Winter Time Zone		Summer Time Zone
Area and Indiana Counties	Last Sunday October*	Time When Noon at Capital [ *- see dates	First Sunday April* table below ]	Time When Noon at Capital
1 Indianapolis    and most of Indiana,    including Bloomington [(77-5-3) (69)]	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
3 Cincinnati, OH    and Dearborn and Ohio    counties (2) and	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
Louisville, KY    and Clark, Floyd    and Harrison counties (3) [69+2+3 = 74]	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
2 Chicago, IL    and Jasper, Lake,    LaPorte, Newton, Porter,     counties (5) and [removed St Joseph 1/18/06] added Pulaski [1-18-06] and Starke counties (2) [7] and	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
Evansville, IN    and Gibson, Posey,    Spencer, Vanderburgh,    and Warrick counties (5) and Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry and Pike counties (6)[11], [7+11 = 18]	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC.

Some Historical Tidbits

The Standard Time Act of 1918 standardized the time zones first implemented by the railroads nearly 30 years before and mandated adoption of daylight time for the entire country. That mandate was repealed, under pressure from the states, in 1919. -- US Naval Observatory.

"The Department of the Navy serves as the country's official timekeeper, with the Master Clock facility at the Washington Naval Observatory"--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993

The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is established as the Department of Defense reference for time by DoD Directive 5160.51 of 14 Jun 85 and SECNAV Instruction 4120.20 of 04 Feb 86.

There have been several instances where Daylight time was uniformly applied across the country. From 1942-1945, daylight time was adopted across the nation to conserve wartime electricity. A similar measure was taken in 1973-1975 following the oil embargo of 1973. On January 6, 1974, implementing the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were set ahead for a fifteen-month period through April 27, 1975. This experiment worked, but Congress did not continue the experiment in 1975 because of opposition -- mostly from the farming states.

From the US Naval Observatory:

• At one time US railroads had nearly 300 time zones across the US. These were the times in local communities, on the clocks on churches or county buildings.
• Benjamin Franklin's An Economical Project, written in 1784 while a delegate to Paris, is the earliest known DST proposal.
• London builder William Willett could have been at home in Indiana. His proposal in 1907 was that clocks be moved ahead 20 minutes each Sunday in April and moved back 20 minutes each Sunday in October.
• In Russia, DST is a 2 hour adjustment.
• The 1966 act set the beginning date for the "last week in April" and the ending date as the "last Sunday in October." In 1986, President Reagan established the start as "the first Sunday in April."

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC.

Other Timely Resources:

Saving or Savings?
Interestingly, the US Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Sub-Chapter IX, Standard Time, Legal Information Institute, Cornell University, never uses the phrase "daylight saving" or "daylight savings" at all. It's called "advancement of time." A GeoSystems page is titled "...Saving..." but the URL itself uses "savings":
        http://www.geosys.com/cgi-bin/genobject/daylight_savings/tigd65f.
Timezone Converter, refers to "daylight savings time."

Two consistent sources are the California Energy Commission, and TimeChange Services, which use "saving" throughout.

WebExhibits.Com provides a comprehensive explanation of Daylight Saving. The following table is their work:

 

Year	DST Begins 2 a.m.	DST Ends 2 a.m.
1995	April 2	October 29
1996	April 7	October 27
1997	April 6	October 26
1998	April 5	October 25
1999	April 4	October 31
2000	April 2	October 29
2001	April 1	October 28
2002	April 7	October 27
2003	April 6	October 26
2004	April 4	October 31
2005	April 3	October 30
2006	April 2	October 29
2007	March 11	November 4
2008	March 9	November 2
2009	March 8	November 1
2010	March 14	November 7

© Web Exhibits -- When We Change Our Clocks.
Contains US calculator valid 1976-2099; EU 1996-2099.

Other Articles:
"Changing clocks a sore subject," Champaign-Urbana [IL] News-Gazette, 4 Apr 98
"Shedding light on saving time," Kokomo [IN] Tribune, 1 Apr 00 [link expired]
"Where you always have to check your watch," The Bergen Record, 6 Dec 66 [link expired]
"State one of three that doesn't spring forward, fall back,"
    Stephanie Salter, Terre Haute [IN] Tribune-Star, 22 Nov 04
"Time for a change," Stephanie Salter, for the Kokomo [IN] Tribune, 25 Nov 04

 

Starke County Research:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290511
In this state, the last change was Starke County's move to Eastern time in 1991.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/11463124.htm
Since 1967, seven counties have asked to be moved from Central to Eastern; only two of the requests were approved -- those from Pike and, after three tries, Starke.
Until the 2005 legislation, No county had ever asked to go from Eastern to Central.
Ten counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone and already observe daylight-saving time to stay in sync with Illinois.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290498/1006/NEWS01
Currently, 82 Indiana counties are in the Eastern time zone, and 10 counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone. The bill will validate five counties in southeastern Indiana that have been illegally observing daylight-saving time.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4429678/detail.html
Five counties each in the northwest and southwest pockets of the state are in the Central zone and observe daylight time.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/11524795.htm
Counties on Central Daylight Time: Gibson, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/breakingnews/posts/2976.html
That would allow St. Joseph and Starke counties -- Eastern time zone regions that abut the Central time zone -- to exempt themselves from daylight time.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290412
10 counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone and observe daylight time.

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16327
Consider, of the state's 92 counties, 77 are on Eastern time year-round, five observe Eastern Daylight time and 10 observe Central Daylight time.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/indiana/county/counties.htm
Starke County Eastern Time Zone

http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/zonehelp.tzc?cc=US&ccdesc=United%20States
America/Indiana/Knox Eastern Standard Time - Indiana - Starke County

Indiana Daylight Saving Time and Time Zone History
1967 - 1969 Six counties in Northwest Indiana (Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, and Starke) and six counties in Southwest Indiana (Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Gibson, and Pike) were placed in the Central Time Zone. The remainder of the state was placed in the Eastern Time Zone.
1981: Starke County requests to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation did not find the requisite basis to change Starke County from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone.
1986 - 1987: Jasper County and Starke County petition the Department of Transportation to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation denied the petitions of both counties.
1991: Starke County petitions the Department of Transportation to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation grants the petition. Starke County is moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone effective October 27, 1991. (See 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997) Page 2 of 2
2005: April 28, 2005, Indiana legislature votes to approve Daylight Saving Time for the entire state of Indiana and to petition the US Department of Transporation to hold hearings to determine the location of the dividing line between the Eastern and Central time zones, relative to Indiana.
2005: October 25, 2005, US DoT proposed that five additional Inidana counties switch to Central Time, denying the petitions of a dozen others. St. Joseph and Starke would join Jasper, Lake, Laporte, Newton and Porter in northwest Indiana and Knox, Perry and Pike would join Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties in southwest Indiana on Central Time.
2006: January 18, 2006, US DoT ruled that three additional southwest Indiana counties, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, would join Knox, Perry and Pike as new Central Time counties. The ruling reversed the status of both St Joseph, returning it to Eastern, and Pulaski, moving it to Central in northwest Indiana.

http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2004/11/22/news/news06.txt
Terry Kimmel, executive director of the Starke County Development Foundation Inc., for example, lives in Central zone LaPorte County but works in Eastern zone Starke County . Thus "two watches, different clocks in the house, etc," said Kimmel.

Background of the Project What time is it in Indiana? What is 'Indiana Time?' When They Change Clocks Research Links More Historical Tidbits What time will it be in 2006? Awarded a Times Pick by the Los Angeles Times on 3/31/98. If you have more questions about Daylight Saving Time, check out WebExhibits. Select or scroll to Changes and Irregularities.

The measurement of time is a human invention. It exists only because humans agree on the ways time is measured...seconds, minutes, days. When we change from daylight to standard time, it's only because we agree on it. But time itself doesn't need a clock or us. Time flows measured or unmeasured. It flows with or without us.   -- Jok Church You Can distributed 10/30/2005 ©2001  Universal Press Syndicate On October 30, 2005, at 02:00 DST, all areas currently operating on Daylight Saving Time adjusted clocks to 01:00. In Indiana, 77 counties were already operating at 01:00 EST and made no adjustment. However, five Indiana counties near Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville, KY, adjust from EDT to EST and five near Chicago, IL, and five surrounding Evansville, IN, adjust from CDT to CST.

If the April 28, 2005, Indiana state legislation stands up, on April 2, 2006, Indiana will no longer be counted as one of three states which do not Spring ahead from "standard" to "daylight saving" time or Fall back from daylight to standard six months later. The Indiana Legislature voted to approve Daylight Saving Time for Indiana and to petition the US Department of Transporation to hold hearings to determine the location of the dividing line between the Eastern and Central time zones, relative to Indiana.

Hopefully, what follows is not intended to represent the superiority of any position, but rather to illustrate the historical complexity of the issue. The MCCSC welcomes factual corrections to any data presented in this material. Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. Background of the Project:

What time is it in Indiana? began as a curriculum-integration project for a group of 8th graders in 1997. The product is a chart which simply answers the question: What time is it in Indiana?. What is 'Indiana Time?' is material that has been added since 1998.

We have added research links after the Indiana chart and discussion. In addition, staff at the Bloomington (IN) Herald-Times have unearthed some historical tidbits, published in the Tuesday, 27 February 2001, Hotline. We have added an historical section, using both that information and information gathered by the students but left off the original page. We have a explanation of the differences between the Navajo Reservation (which extends into New Mexico) and The Hopi Partitioned Land in Arizona. And just in, a commentary on the impact of "Chicago Time or South Bend Time?" on school districts in the northwest corner of Indiana.

The concept of student-driven curriculum project, using technology as a presentation, data-gathering, project-development resource is now the centerpiece in a full-blown two year staff development effort by the MCCSC. Visit our Good Teaching Through Technology page to follow this project.

Back to the TopThe MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. Original Student Project
[additional material set off by square brackets]
What time is it in Indiana?
[Until April 2, 2006]

This material will reflect the information that most of Indiana
does not observe Daylight Saving Time. As has been noted,
Indiana law was changed April 20, 2005.

Indiana is [as of April 2, 2006, no longer] one of three states which do not Spring ahead from "standard" to "daylight saving" time or Fall back from daylight to standard six months later. Arizona* and Hawaii are the others. Under the US Uniform Time Act of 1966, the Department of Transportation is in charge of time zones in the United States and ensuring that jurisdictions observing daylight saving time begin and end on the same date. However, states may determine participation in Daylight Saving Time.

The US Uniform Time Act of 1966 places Indiana in the Eastern time zone.

[The following illustrates how confusing even the "facts" can be. The original information collected for the project indicated that, ] In 1969, ten (10) counties in the Chicago and Evansville corners of the state were moved to the Central time zone where they join Chicago in using Daylight time.

[After this site was publicized by the Los Angeles Times, our attention was directed to the website of the Indiana Film Commission <http://www.state.in.us/film/location/timezone.html> which states at <http://www.state.in.us/film/location/index.html>

Time Zones
...
When the U.S. is on Standard Time, most of Indiana (including Indianapolis) is the same time as New York. When the U.S. is on Daylight Savings Time, most of Indiana (including Indianapolis) is the same time as Chicago.

There are exceptions: Eleven counties in the northwest and southwest of the state occupy the Central Time Zone and do go on Daylight Savings Time. In addition, five counties in the south and southeast unofficially observe Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
...

Thus, the following change was made to this information:, "In 1991, an eleventh, Starke County, in the northwest (Chigago area) was added."

However, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, provided by a correspondent, indicates just the opposite: The three petitions from Starke (and two by Jasper) counties filed from 1970 through 1991 were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern. While Jasper's requests were denied, The third Starke request was granted and it moved to Eastern in 1991. (See these references below.)]

Also in 1969, five (5) counties near Cincinnati and Louisville, while in the Eastern zone with the remaining 77 counties, were permitted to observe Eastern Daylight Time. Indiana State law, however, is allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to keep those 77 counties on Eastern Standard Time (EST) all year long.

 

Thus, US and Indiana law create three different time arrangements in the Hoosier State:

1. 77 counties (including state capital Indianapolis are in the Eastern Time Zone but do not change to Daylight time in April; instead they remain on Standard Time all year long; [yellow on map and chart]
2. 10 counties -- five near Chicago, IL, and five near Evansville, IN, are in the Central Time Zone and use both Central Standard and Central Daylight; [red on map and chart] and
3. five other counties -- two near Cincinnati, OH, and three near Louisville, KY -- are in the Eastern Time Zone but use both Eastern Standard and Eastern Daylight. [green on map and chart]

[*The U.S. Department of Transporation made a change in the time zone for Starke County in 1991. According to the Indiana Film Commission, Starke petitioned and was moved to the Central zone with the Group 2 (Chicago-area) counties. A 1967 Indiana statute was over-ridden by a 1968 lawsuit involving national television networks. However, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, indicates that the three petitions from Starke (and two from Jasper) counties were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern. In 1991, Starke's third request was granted.]

	Winter Time Zone		Summer Time Zone
Area and Indiana Counties	Last Sunday October*	Time When Noon at Capital [ *- see dates	First Sunday April* table below ]	Time When Noon at Capital
1 Indianapolis    and most of Indiana,    including [Starke*] and Bloomington (77)	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Standard EST	Noon
2 Chicago, IL    and Jasper, Lake,    LaPorte, Newton, Porter,     counties (5) and	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
Evansville, IN    and Gibson, Posey,    Spencer, Vanderburgh,    and Warrick counties (5)	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
3 Cincinnati, OH    and Dearborn and Ohio    counties (2) and	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
Louisville, KY    and Clark, Floyd    and Harrison counties (3)	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. What is 'Indiana Time?'

'Indiana Time' is Eastern Standard Time [EST], with some exceptions.

Many believe that Indiana changes time zones in the Summer. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that in the Winter, most of Indiana is the same time as New York (which is also Eastern), and in the Summer, Indiana is the same time as Chicago (which is Central).

Actually, by going to Daylight time in April, the Central Zone Springs ahead from Standard to CDT, which is the same as Eastern Standard (Indiana time). By switching from Eastern Daylight (EDT) to Standard in October, the rest of the Eastern Zone Falls back to EST (Indiana time). Indiana and Hawaii are constants -- always Standard time.

["Arizona can be confusing, as well. The Arizona portion of the Navajo reservation, which consists of most the northeastern corner of the state, DOES observe DST. And to further complicate matters, the Hopi Partitioned Land, which lies in the midst of the Navajo reservation, follows the the Arizona standard, remaining on Mountain Standard Time year round." -- courtesy of Kent Fletcher.]

From 1942-1945, Indiana and the US were on Daylight time to conserve wartime electricity.

In 1949, the Indiana State Legislature placed Indiana in the Central zone. From 1949 to 1957, the state was riddled with both Central and Eastern areas, some practicing Daylight time, some not. In 1957, the legislature put the entire state on Central Standard Time -- but made only Indianapolis a participant in Daylight Saving Time. [Interestingly, the 1966 Uniform Time Act now reserves establishing which time zone to the Federal government but still allows the State to determine participation in Daylight Saving Time.]

[At least one source reports that "Indianapolis Time worked its way eastward along the US 40 corridor to near the Ohio border." The November 22 and 25, 2004, Stephanie Salter articles for the Terre Haute [IN] Tribune-Star (and reprinted in the Kokomo [IN] Tribune) indicate that Indiana was "split down the middle" in 1961, except for Marion County (Indianapolis) and the five counties to the north, west and south -- Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Morgan and Johnson, which were on Eastern.

The 1961 Central zone began with St. Joseph in the north and went south through Marshall, Fulton, Miami, Howard and Tipton -- until it reached Hamilton. It swung west through Clinton to Tippecanoe and south again through Montgomery, Putnam and Owen. There, it veered east through Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew until turning south through Jackson and Washington and southwest through Crawford and Perry to the Ohio River.

Indianapolis (central), Fort Wayne (and the northeast), Richmond (the east) and the southeast Ohio River counties anchored the Eastern time zone in Indiana. The Chicago area (northwest), Terre Haute (west), Bloomington (west-central) and Evansville (southwest) were the major areas in Indiana's Central time zone.

The US Uniform Time Act of 1966 places Indiana in the Eastern time zone. In 1968, Network TV broadcasters in New York City brought suit against US Secretary of Transportation Alan S. Boyd for failing to enforce the 1966 legislation. DOT allegedly told Indiana legislators they could work out different time zone boundaries. The media won their case, enjoining DOT from "not enforcing" the DST provisions of the act.

In 1969, six (6) counties in the Chicago (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, and Starke) and five (5) counties in the Evansville (Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick) corners of the state were moved to the Central time zone, where they also use Central Daylight Time. Two (2) counties near Cincinnati (Dearborn and Ohio) and three (3) near Louisville (Clark, Floyd and Harrison), while in the Eastern zone with the remaining 77 counties, observe Eastern Daylight Time. This observation of DST in the 15 counties is "unofficial," never having been approved by the state legislature.

[According to the Indiana Film Commission Online, three times during the 1980's, Starke, a northwest (Chicago area) county, Starke, petitioned to be shifted from Eastern to Central. The Film Commission, reports that DOT approved the change in 1991. However, as stated elsewhere, information from 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997, Page 2 of 2, indicates that the petitions from Starke (and Jasper) counties were to be removed from Central and placed in Eastern.]

Indiana State law, however, is allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to keep those 77 counties Eastern Standard Time (EST) all year long.

From 1973-1975, Indiana and the US observed Daylight time following the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. On January 6, 1974, implementing the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were set ahead for a fifteen-month period through April 27, 1975. This experiment worked, but Congress did not continue the experiment in 1975 because of opposition -- mostly from the farming states.

[End of Original Student Project]

 

'Chicago Time or South Bend Time?'

"Last winter I gave a 'Speech to Inform' at a Toastmaster club about the school district time zone commitments of the area in which I grew up. I learned that my description confused people ...even with 'graphics.' H'mm. Perhaps it is confusing ...

"La Porte County is the third county in Indiana east of the Chicago area. It considers itself economically tied to the Chicago region and follows the Central time zone as needed.

"In the northeast portion of this county are four townships (Galena, Kankakee, Wills, Hudson) tied in with Olive Township in the eastern adjacent county of St. Joseph, where South Bend, IN and Notre Dame University are located. East of Olive Township is Warren Township ..if memory serves me correctly. Ref.: New Prairie School district (New Carlisle and Rolling Prairie, IN).

"Situation ...dating from about 1965 to the present: If the school zone didn't have consistent pickup policies for its kids, then it may be that two separate hourly pickups would have to be arranged.

"If the Warren Township and the Olive Township bus driver cycles were matched then an extra $60,000 (in 1965 $) per year expenses would be avoided.

"Thus, the school district time zone is set for the Eastern zone, even four years later.

"As people live in one county and may work in another, everyone will be disturbed to some fashion, no matter which choice may be selected, even if they don't have children in the school system. A routine winter question for residents of these townships may be: 'Chicago time or South Bend time?'"

courtesy of
Bob Russell, CPIM, PMP
EDS - E Solutions/PMC-Midwest
MS 6229
750 Tower Drive, 6th floor
Troy, MI 48098

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC. What time will it be in 2006?

Most Hoosiers expected that, effectively, the 77 counties which now stay on Eastern Standard Time 12 months would change to DST along with five other Indiana counties and the rest of the US next Spring. The petitions to US DoT were to determine whether that DST would be Eastern Daylight or Central Daylight.

If Eastern, then it was expected that Indiana would have at least those 77 counties, plus the 5 near Louisville and Cincinnati (82) on Eastern Daylight. If Central, then the 77 would join the current 5 around Evansville and the 5 near Chicago (87) on Central Daylight.

"At least" because the US DoT may decide that leaving the 10 on Central (if the state goes Eastern) or leaving the 5 on Eastern (if the state goes Central) would be violations of the "one zone per state" guideline. Thus, it is possible that by next Spring all 92 counties will be either Eastern Daylight or Central Daylight.

However, the federal government proposed Tuesday, October 25, 2005, that five (5) additional counties -- Knox, Perry, and Pike counties near Evansville in the southwest corner of the state, and St. Joseph and Starke counties in the northwest corner switch to Central time, while twelve (12) others which had petitioned for a change remain in the Eastern time zone. This would divide Indiana into 77 counties (the 77+5-5) on EST/EDT and 15 (10+5) on CST/CDT.

According to the Thursday, January 8, 2006, Bloomington Herald-Times, US DoT is recommending switching three (3) more (a total of eight (8)) counties -- Daviess, Dubois, and Martin counties near Evansville in the southwest corner of the state -- to the fifteen (15) already recommended for the Central zone. This would divide Indiana into 74 counties (the 77-3) on EST/EDT and 18 (15+3) on CST/CDT.

Ironically, Starke had originally been designated Central in 1966 until three petitions finally resulted in a move in 1991 of Starke to the Eastern zone. If this holds, it would return to its 1966 time zone.

In the Chicago area, DoT denied requests from Fulton, Marshall and Pulaski counties to move to Central. While Elkhart asked to stay Eastern, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said it would not be economically workable to separate Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, leaving Elkhart in the "possible" column.

Requests from the Lafayette area by Carroll, Cass and White counties were denied by DoT. Tippecanoe asked to remain Eastern, while Benton and Fountain had petitioned to change to Central and then withdrew their requests.

In the Terre Haute area, Vigo County on the Indiana-Illinois border had asked to remain Eastern, but Sullivan and Vermillion counties wanted to move to Central.

Near Evansville, DoT originally denied requests by Daviess, Dubois and Martin while adding Perry and Pike to the five (5) already Central, and then reversed that in January. Orange asked to remain Eastern. Farther north, near Bloomington, Lawrence County's request to be Central was denied.

When officials in Allen County (Fort Wayne) and Marion County (Indianapolis) asked to stay Eastern, other counties in those areas followed suit.

Status for 2006 and following	Winter Time Zone		Summer Time Zone
Area and Indiana Counties	Last Sunday October*	Time When Noon at Capital [ *- see dates	First Sunday April* table below ]	Time When Noon at Capital
1 Indianapolis    and most of Indiana,    including Bloomington [(77-5-3) (69)]	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
3 Cincinnati, OH    and Dearborn and Ohio    counties (2) and	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
Louisville, KY    and Clark, Floyd    and Harrison counties (3) [69+2+3 = 74]	Eastern Standard EST	Noon	Eastern Daylight EDT	1:00 PM
2 Chicago, IL    and Jasper, Lake,    LaPorte, Newton, Porter,     counties (5) and [removed St Joseph 1/18/06] added Pulaski [1-18-06] and Starke counties (2) [7] and	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon
Evansville, IN    and Gibson, Posey,    Spencer, Vanderburgh,    and Warrick counties (5) and Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry and Pike counties (6)[11], [7+11 = 18]	Central Standard CST	11:00 AM	Central Daylight CDT	Noon

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC.

Some Historical Tidbits

The Standard Time Act of 1918 standardized the time zones first implemented by the railroads nearly 30 years before and mandated adoption of daylight time for the entire country. That mandate was repealed, under pressure from the states, in 1919. -- US Naval Observatory.

"The Department of the Navy serves as the country's official timekeeper, with the Master Clock facility at the Washington Naval Observatory"--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993

The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is established as the Department of Defense reference for time by DoD Directive 5160.51 of 14 Jun 85 and SECNAV Instruction 4120.20 of 04 Feb 86.

There have been several instances where Daylight time was uniformly applied across the country. From 1942-1945, daylight time was adopted across the nation to conserve wartime electricity. A similar measure was taken in 1973-1975 following the oil embargo of 1973. On January 6, 1974, implementing the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were set ahead for a fifteen-month period through April 27, 1975. This experiment worked, but Congress did not continue the experiment in 1975 because of opposition -- mostly from the farming states.

From the US Naval Observatory:

• At one time US railroads had nearly 300 time zones across the US. These were the times in local communities, on the clocks on churches or county buildings.
• Benjamin Franklin's An Economical Project, written in 1784 while a delegate to Paris, is the earliest known DST proposal.
• London builder William Willett could have been at home in Indiana. His proposal in 1907 was that clocks be moved ahead 20 minutes each Sunday in April and moved back 20 minutes each Sunday in October.
• In Russia, DST is a 2 hour adjustment.
• The 1966 act set the beginning date for the "last week in April" and the ending date as the "last Sunday in October." In 1986, President Reagan established the start as "the first Sunday in April."

Back to the Top The MCCSC Learning Network subscribes to Policy and Guidelines 2521 of the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Links contained on these pages to information or other organizations are presented as a service and neither constitute nor imply endorsement or warranty. © 1998 MCCSC.

Other Timely Resources:

Saving or Savings?
Interestingly, the US Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Sub-Chapter IX, Standard Time, Legal Information Institute, Cornell University, never uses the phrase "daylight saving" or "daylight savings" at all. It's called "advancement of time." A GeoSystems page is titled "...Saving..." but the URL itself uses "savings":
        http://www.geosys.com/cgi-bin/genobject/daylight_savings/tigd65f.
Timezone Converter, refers to "daylight savings time."

Two consistent sources are the California Energy Commission, and TimeChange Services, which use "saving" throughout.

WebExhibits.Com provides a comprehensive explanation of Daylight Saving. The following table is their work:

 

Year	DST Begins 2 a.m.	DST Ends 2 a.m.
1995	April 2	October 29
1996	April 7	October 27
1997	April 6	October 26
1998	April 5	October 25
1999	April 4	October 31
2000	April 2	October 29
2001	April 1	October 28
2002	April 7	October 27
2003	April 6	October 26
2004	April 4	October 31
2005	April 3	October 30
2006	April 2	October 29
2007	March 11	November 4
2008	March 9	November 2
2009	March 8	November 1
2010	March 14	November 7

© Web Exhibits -- When We Change Our Clocks.
Contains US calculator valid 1976-2099; EU 1996-2099.

Other Articles:
"Changing clocks a sore subject," Champaign-Urbana [IL] News-Gazette, 4 Apr 98
"Shedding light on saving time," Kokomo [IN] Tribune, 1 Apr 00 [link expired]
"Where you always have to check your watch," The Bergen Record, 6 Dec 66 [link expired]
"State one of three that doesn't spring forward, fall back,"
    Stephanie Salter, Terre Haute [IN] Tribune-Star, 22 Nov 04
"Time for a change," Stephanie Salter, for the Kokomo [IN] Tribune, 25 Nov 04

 

Starke County Research:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290511
In this state, the last change was Starke County's move to Eastern time in 1991.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/11463124.htm
Since 1967, seven counties have asked to be moved from Central to Eastern; only two of the requests were approved -- those from Pike and, after three tries, Starke.
Until the 2005 legislation, No county had ever asked to go from Eastern to Central.
Ten counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone and already observe daylight-saving time to stay in sync with Illinois.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290498/1006/NEWS01
Currently, 82 Indiana counties are in the Eastern time zone, and 10 counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone. The bill will validate five counties in southeastern Indiana that have been illegally observing daylight-saving time.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4429678/detail.html
Five counties each in the northwest and southwest pockets of the state are in the Central zone and observe daylight time.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/11524795.htm
Counties on Central Daylight Time: Gibson, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/breakingnews/posts/2976.html
That would allow St. Joseph and Starke counties -- Eastern time zone regions that abut the Central time zone -- to exempt themselves from daylight time.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050429/NEWS02/504290412
10 counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana are in the Central time zone and observe daylight time.

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16327
Consider, of the state's 92 counties, 77 are on Eastern time year-round, five observe Eastern Daylight time and 10 observe Central Daylight time.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/indiana/county/counties.htm
Starke County Eastern Time Zone

http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/zonehelp.tzc?cc=US&ccdesc=United%20States
America/Indiana/Knox Eastern Standard Time - Indiana - Starke County

Indiana Daylight Saving Time and Time Zone History  (Local Copy)
1967 - 1969 Six counties in Northwest Indiana (Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, and Starke) and six counties in Southwest Indiana (Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Gibson, and Pike) were placed in the Central Time Zone. The remainder of the state was placed in the Eastern Time Zone.
1981: Starke County requests to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation did not find the requisite basis to change Starke County from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone.
1986 - 1987: Jasper County and Starke County petition the Department of Transportation to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation denied the petitions of both counties.
1991: Starke County petitions the Department of Transportation to be moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Department of Transportation grants the petition. Starke County is moved from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone effective October 27, 1991. (See 56 Federal Register 13609 and 56 Federal Register 51997) Page 2 of 2
2005: April 28, 2005, Indiana legislature votes to approve Daylight Saving Time for the entire state of Indiana and to petition the US Department of Transporation to hold hearings to determine the location of the dividing line between the Eastern and Central time zones, relative to Indiana.
2005: October 25, 2005, US DoT proposed that five additional Inidana counties switch to Central Time, denying the petitions of a dozen others. St. Joseph and Starke would join Jasper, Lake, Laporte, Newton and Porter in northwest Indiana and Knox, Perry and Pike would join Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties in southwest Indiana on Central Time.
2006: January 18, 2006, US DoT ruled that three additional southwest Indiana counties, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, would join Knox, Perry and Pike as new Central Time counties. The ruling reversed the status of both St Joseph, returning it to Eastern, and Pulaski, moving it to Central in northwest Indiana.

http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2004/11/22/news/news06.txt
Terry Kimmel, executive director of the Starke County Development Foundation Inc., for example, lives in Central zone LaPorte County but works in Eastern zone Starke County . Thus "two watches, different clocks in the house, etc," said Kimmel.