I TEDS!
DETROIT
H
f I S R 0 A I!
HICAGO
^- ^Z^fir~ 5-,^.
1 .' CALUMET DISTRICT ' < •
.... The Red Man came and saw and
pitched his tent amid Nature's dunelands.
Ah! who shall write the epic story of the
heretofore unwritten drama that was there
unfolded . . . the fierce hatreds, and strug-
gles fraught with tragedy; the sublime pas-
sions of love, the long periods of peace, where
in his native poetic eloquence, he conversed
with earth and sky, dreaming great dreams,
looking up at the brilliant stars, his classic
bronze features fanned by the soft-scented
breath of the Indian summer? . . . The
buzz of machines, the whirl of wheels, and
the rush of steam everywhere fill the air . . .
The Red Man of the Calumet has vanished
— engulfed and forgotten in the march of
civilization.
— Father John Baptiste deVille
THE CALUMET REGION
HISTORICAL GUIDE
Containing the early history of the region as well as the contemporary
scene within the cities of Gary, Hammond, East Chicago
(including Indiana Harbor) , and Whiting
Compiled by the
WORKERS OF THE WRITERS' PROGRAM OF THE
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
in the State of Indiana
Sponsored by
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF GARY and
THE GARY COMMERCIAL CLUB
and CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
CARMAN PRINTING CO.
1939
Copyright, 1939
By the Board of Education of Gary, Indiana
FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
JOHN M. CARMODY, ADMINISTRATOR
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
F. C. HARRINGTON, COMMISSIONER
FLORENCE KERR, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
JOHN K. JENNINGS, ADMINISTRATOR FOR INDIANA
GORDON F. BRIGGS, SUPERVISOR OF INDIANA WRITERS' PROJECT
Printed in the United States of America
To the governor of Indiana, M. Clifford
Townsend, during whose incumbency the
State of Indiana celebrated with its sister
states the sesquicentennial of the organization
of the Northwest Territory and Lake
County, Indiana celebrated its centennial.
PREFACE
This Guide is one of a series of guidebooks to states, cities, and
metropolitan areas compiled by the Writers' Program, Work Projects
Administration. A special unit of field workers and editors under the
supervision of the editorial staff of the State office of the Indiana Writers'
Project, for more than a year has been collecting, writing, and editing the
material contained herein. Headquarters for the work has been the Gary
Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce, Gary, Indiana.
Fringing the southern tip of Lake Michigan in northwest Indiana is an
arc of land about 16 miles long, and at most, ten miles wide. Within this
arc is a grouping of four industrial cities: Gary, Hammond, East Chicago
(including Indiana Harbor), and Whiting. The area, through local
usage, is known as the Calumet Region.
The term Calumet Region, as used in the title of this book, has been
arbitrarily circumscribed to mean these four cities and their immediate
environs. The term is not susceptible of precise definition. Popular
usages vary in their geographical delimitation of the region. Thus there
are some who hold it to embrace all the territory lying contiguous to the
southerly shore of Lake Michigan from St. Joseph, on the eastern coast,
to Waukegan, on the western, as far south as the basin of the Kankakee
River. Others restrict it to the Lake Michigan litterol from South Chicago
(included) to and embracing Michigan City, with a southerly extension
to the Little Calumet River.
For the purpose of this guidebook it has been thought advisable to fix
the western limit as the Illinois-Indiana State boundary, co-terminous
with the western boundary of Hammond, and the eastern as the easterly
line of the Indiana Dunes State Park. The southern line of the region
has been set as the southernmost point in the city of Gary, about ten miles
from the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Numerous towns, hamlets, and
points of interest are treated as environs.
Because of its industrial and commercial eminence and the resultant
wholly industrial cities, the Calumet Region dramatically illustrates the
industrial age — the twentieth century.
This region, within a few miles of the eastern city limits of Chicago, lay
dormant during the nineteenth century waiting for electricity and the
machine age to give it life.
IX
This volume is unusual among the Writers' Program series for
two reasons: First, because the book is a guide to a region that is wholly
new and wholly industrial, and second, because it is a guide to four indus-
trial cities, Gary, Hammond, East Chicago and Whiting, an unusual
metropolitan area.
How can a region as young as the Calumet Industrial Region be said
to have a history? How can an industrial area have any interest for the
layman? These two questions were met on every hand by the editors.
However, they were heartened by those contemporary annalists who main-
tain that the true history of the twentieth century is the story of indus-
trialism, and by those historiographers who say that, although the vital
events of a city or a region have been hurried forward from stage to
stage, the record of them is history.
To those who heretofore have found no romance in the whirring of
wheels, the spinning of cylinders, the raising and lowering of giant cranes;
to those who have found no beauty in spraying fountains of molten steel
or in the red glow in the sky from a Bessemer furnace, a new apprecia-
tion will be given, it is hoped, through this book. It is hoped also that
to the stranger will be revealed the treasures and resources of the area,
and that, through this volume, the citizens of this area will be given a
new pride of possession.
The editors are indebted to many individuals and organizations for
assistance. Acknowledgement is made to the Gary Public Library and
to the Gary Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce for generously
providing offices for the work. For wholehearted assistance in research,
acknowledgments are extended to the Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago,
Gary, and the Chicago Newberry libraries. For supplying information,
giving criticism, suggestions, and reading manuscripts, thanks are extended
to John B. Peterson, Crown Point; A. Murray Turner, Miss Myrtle Maye
Huehn, and Dr. Hedwig Kuhn, Hammond; Lawrence Becker, Indiana
Harbor; Hurley Lee Ragon, Lowell; Harry L. Warriner, Alfred Jones,
Frank Gavit, Captain H. S. Norton, Ray Thomas, Frank Sheehan, and
Miss Elizabeth Ames, Gary; and to Mr. John T. Frederick, Regional
Director of the Writers' Program, Chicago. For maps in this
volume we are indebted to the cartographic department of the Illinois
Writers' Project. For the articles on the history of the Work-Study-Play
System, the Judiciary, Military Activities and the Dune Country in the
Calumet Region, the editors are greatly indebted to Mrs. James A. Pat-
terson and James A. Patterson, both of Gary; Foster Bruce of Crown
Point and Mrs. Frank J. Sheehan of Gary, and A. B. Dickson and
Virginia Moe of Gary respectively. The moral support of the Chambers
of Commerce in Gary, Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago, together
with their other invaluable assistance, also is acknowledged. At all times
helpful were the various county and city departments and for this the
editors are deeply grateful.
For making possible the publication of this volume, the project is
genuinely indebted to H. B. Snyder, editor of the Gary Post-Tribune.
To our sponsors, the Gary Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce
and the Gary Board of Education; and to all those institutions and to all
individuals who, in advance, reserved copies of the Calumet Region His-
torical Guide., we are grateful.
To the Calumet Guide, all workers on the local project have con-
tributed, according to their capabilities; field workers have collected data
in the field; research workers have delved into library shelves; typists
have typed and retyped; special writers, loaned to the staff, have sub-
mitted essays; and the small editorial staff in the Calumet Guide office
has struggled to keep up with incoming copy. While the work, from
the beginning, has been under the personal supervision of Naomi Harris
Phillips, the volume is truly a product of co-operative effort.
GORDON F. BRIGGS, Supervisor, Indiana Writers' Project.
XI
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface IX
THE REGION
Calendar of Events 1
Character and Setting _ 3
Early Cartography 6
Red Man of the Calumet - 10
Under Three Flags 1_ 15
The First Citizen ^_ , „ 25
1776-1917 29
The Religious History of the Calumet Region 34
The Judiciary of Lake County 38
The Fine Arts 46
The Negro in the Calumet Region 51
Labor 56
Transportation _. 67
Industrial Tour I ...... 8 1
Industrial Tour II ...... 9 1
Industrial Tour HI - . 97
Industrial Points of Interest 104
Environs of the Calumet District I 116
Environs of the Calumet District II 123
The Dune Country I : 129
The Dune Country II ...... ..133
Points of Interest, Indiana Dunes ..136
Wild Flowers in \hc Dune Country ..142
GARY
General Information 147
Chronology ....148
In Retrospect _ 1 49
Steel Engraving 163
Utilities — 172
Work-Study-Play System 178
Points of Interest I 183
Points of Interest II .....186
Points of Interest III ..192
HAMMOND
General Information , 1 99
Chronology 200
Lithograph , _201
Points of Interest , 209
EAST CHICAGO
General Information ., 213
Chronology 214
Industrial Mural ... 215
Points of Interest 223
WHITING
General Information — „...- 227
Chronology .... _. _ 227
Done in Oil —.. — .228
Points of Interest 235
Bibliography _ _ _ 255
xn
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Lake Michigan : 1
Embryonic Dunes 1
The Wild Beauty of the Dunes ..... 16
The Marriage Tree, Bailly Homestead : 17
Chapel, Bailly Homestead 17
"Steel Harbor" 64
White Hot Steel Ingot Being Rolled Into Blocks in Inland Steel Co. 65
"Tiny Men Move Busily Among the Monsters," Gary Steel Mills — . 80
Inland Steel Co. on "Made Land" over Lake Michigan 80
White Hot Slabs Being Conveyed Through the Inland Steel Plant 97
Cutting Steel Rails— Gary Steel Mills 97
Steel, Dripping like Flame-colored Syrup — Gary Steel Mills .„ 112
Ingot of Hot Steel Being Lifted from Soaking Pits in Gary Steel Mills 113
Gary Sheet and Tin Mill , 81
Plant of Lever Brothers, Hammond 81
Blast Furnaces, Gary Works - 96
"... 12,000 Tons of Ore Have Been Unloaded in Less Than Four Hours
by Seven Electric Unloaders," Gary Harbor 96
Water Tower, Jefferson Park, Gary.... _____ 175
Emerson School, Gary, A Work-Study-Play School 175
First Congregational Church, Gary __, 190
Gothic Tower on City Church, Gary ,.— ..190
Gary Gateway in Foreground 158
In Gary's Residential Sections, 1, 2, 3 158-174
Gary's Spanish Center 175
A Trinity of Foreign Churches 175
A Foreign Rialto .....191
"Siesta in Gary's Black Belt" 191
Roosevelt High School Entrance 191
"Water Tanks Loom Everywhere" 204
Hammond Filtration Plant in Lake Front Park 205
George Rogers Clark School, Hammond 205
Hammond City Hall _ 218
Hammond Civic Center ... 218
Woodmar Country Club, Hammond ._.. .„ _ 219
Roosevelt High School Auditorium, East Chicago. ... 219
XIII
MAP APPENDIX
THE REGION
PAGE
The Calumet Region— 1939 240
Early Regional Maps 240-24 1
Tour Maps 242-253
Environs of the Calumet District 'I 242
Environs of the Calumet District II 243
Industrial Tour I 244
Industrial Tour II 244
Industrial Tour III 245
Additional Industrial Points of Interest 246-247
Gary — Tour I 248
Gary— Tour II . 249
Gary— Tour III 250
Hammond 251
East Chicago 252
Whiting .. _ 253
XIV
The Region
Lake Michigan
By L. Toriello
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 1
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
January — Gary Independent Amateur Basketball Tourney — Memorial
Auditorium. Sponsored by Lake County Merchants.
February — Annual Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Tourney — Memorial
Auditorium. Sponsored by Gary Post-Tribune.
Lake and Porter Counties' Annual Independent Basketball Tourna-
ment— Crown Point Community Gym — Community Building. Spon-
sored by Independent Merchants Group.
Lake County Federation Day at Hoosier Art Salon in Chicago. Spon-
sored by Hoosier Art Patrons of Lake County.
Annual Boy Scout Week — Crown Point.
March — Annual Concert — Polish Arts Club — Hammond Civic Center.
April — Annual Spring Bazaar presented by students and faculty of
Catholic Central High School, Hammond.
Annual Military Bali — held at Masonic Temple. Sponsored by R.O.
T.C. units of Gary School System.
Lake County Annual Rabbit Show — County Fair Grounds — Crown
Point, Indiana. Sponsored by Lake County Rabbit Breeders' Asso-
ciation.
Annual Aerial Membership Round-up of Lake County American
Legion men.
May — National Maritime Day observed throughout county.
Annual Music Festival — Crown Point Community Building.
Annual South Shore Music Festival — Chapel of the University of
Chicago.
May Festival — Polish Arts Club — Marquette Park — Gary.
June — Crown Point Annual Garden Show — Community Building. Spon-
sored by Crown Point Yard and Garden Club.
Annual Croation National Day — Washington Park, East Chicago.
Annual Flower Show — Marquette Park — Refectory Building. Spon-
sored by Gary Yard and Garden Club.
Annual Gary Amateur Golf Tournament — Gary Country Club. Spon-
sored by Gary Post-Tribune.
Calumet Kennel Club — Dog Show — Goodman Annex, 650 Massachu-
setts St., Gary. Staged by A. Henderson of Chicago.
Annual Slovak Day Celebration — Wicker Park, Hammond. Spon-
sored by Slovak Catholics of Lake County.
Flag Day Program — Indiana Dunes State Park. Sponsored by North-
ern Indiana Chapters of Daughters of American Revolution.
Northwest District Indiana State Nurses Association — Picnic grounds
of County Fair Grounds, Crown Point.
July — Annual Picnic Lake County Socialists— Wicker Park, Hammond.
Annual German Day — Crown Point Fair Grounds. Sponsored by
United German Societies.
Moody Bible Conference — Moody Bible Conference Grounds, Cedar
Lake.
2 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
August — Macedonian Day — Gary.
Jugo-Slav Day Picnic.
Creation National Day — Gary.
Annual Lake County Teachers' Institute Session — Crown Point High
School Assembly Room.
Lake County Fair — Fair Grounds, Crown Point.
September — Creation Day — Gary.
Lowell American Legion Post's Annual Labor Day Celebration — Oak-
land Park.
Wine Festival — Miramar Ballroom, Gary.
Art Lecture — Polish Arts Club — Hammond Civic Center.
Liederkranz Annual Concert.
October — Annual Founders Day Dinner of Gary Young Men's Christian
Association — Gary Y. M. C. A.
Columbus Day Celebrations.
Gary Chess and Checker Tournaments — Gary Y. M. C. A. Spon-
sored by "Y" Chess and Checker Club.
Annual Artists' Ball — Polish Arts Club, Hammond.
November — Hungarian Grape Festival — Hungarian Social Club — Temple
Beth-el, Gary.
Steel City Annual Chrysanthemum Exhibit — Marquette Park — Re-
fectory Building.
Armistice Day service throughout Lake County churches. Sponsored
by American Legion Posts.
Opening of Red Cross Roll Call with dinner — Hotel Gary.
Lake County Federation of Women's Clubs annual council — Gary
Y. W. C. A.
Annual Antique and Hobby Show, Y. M. C. A.
December — Annual Art Salon — Horace Mann School Building. Spon-
sored by Gary College.
Annual Automobile Show — Goodman Building, 650 Massachusetts St.,
Gary. Sponsored by Gary Automotive Trades Association.
Annual banquet of Lake County Medical Society — Crystal Ballroom,
Hotel Gary.
Annual Yuletide presentation of the "Messiah" by Gary Municipal
Chorus — Horace Mann High School Auditorium.
Annual Christmas Party of Lake County's underprivileged children —
Parthenon Theater, Hammond. Sponsored by Orak Shriners.
Annual Christmas Pageant — held at southwest corner, County Court-
house Lawn, Crown Point. Sponsored by Tri-Kappa, Psi-Iota Xi,
and leading citizens.
Annual Beta Gamma Upsilon Sorority Charity Ball — Crystal Ballroom,
Hotel Gary.
Annual Christmas Parade and Pageant sponsored by Gary Public
Schools and Merchants' Bureau of Gary Commercial Club.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 3
CHARACTER AND SETTING
tTNG in the most northwesterly county of Indiana and embracing
the cities of Gary, Hammond, East Chicago (including Indiana
Harbor) , and Whiting, the Calumet Region fringes the southwestern curve
of Lake Michigan for a distance of 16 miles. From west to east, tracing
the crescent of the lake line, is a continuous array of factories and mills,
miles of tall smokestacks, lifting cranes, silver oil tanks, heavy black gas
tanks in their bright steel frames, an endless march of grey mills along
the flat sands, never-ending piles of coal and bright brown ore. Eastward
and northward lies a range of sand hills and dunes, one of the most inter-
esting natural phenomena in North America. Radiating outward from the
crescent, east and south, are the little towns, Hobart, Merrillville, and the
suburbs of Hammond, until the land assumes the character of rural
Indiana, with truck gardens and farms.
In 1905 the total population of this area was 19,000. More than half
of the region was a wilderness of swamps, swale, and sand dunes, unin-
habited and uninviting. Within twenty miles of Chicago, great tracts
were as wild as they had been when they were trod by the Indian.
Today, with a population of 260,000, the Calumet has become, in only
three decades, one of the greatest industrial centers of the world. Nowhere
else in America is there such a concentration of diversified industrial
operations. Dominated by the heavy industries — the manufacture of steel,
railroad equipment, and chemicals, and the refining of oil — the region
possesses 221 various companies which manufacture 1,217 different prod-
ucts. Represented in this group are several plants — a steel works, a rail
mill, a cement plant, and a generating unit — which top the list of their
own category as the world's largest. One of the five large oil refineries
is the largest departmentalized refinery in the world.
The show places of the Calumet area are the "Works," the furnaces,
coke ovens, mills, refineries, and factories. The large industries include
"Big Steel" (seven plants of the United States Steel Corporation) , "Little
Steel" (Inland Steel Company), Standard Oil Refinery and four other
large refineries. The assessed valuation of Lake County is $395,475,110
(the estimated actual valuation is $1,000,000,000) , of which about 87 per
cent is on property in the manufacturing center. Naturally, the propor-
tion of the population engaged in the manufacturing and mechanical in-
dustries— more than 70,000 persons are gainfully employed within the
industries on an annual payroll of approximately $85,000,000 — is abnor-
mally high; the national percentage is 28.0 but that of Gary and East
4 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Chicago is 63.5. Annually products valued at $600,000,000, ranging from
ordinary household articles through steel are manufactured.
Three commercial harbors handle 15,000,000 tons of waterborne traffic
yearly between the region and the harbors of Canada, Great Britain, Ger-
many, Norway, Esthonia, and Africa. The port of Indiana Harbor and the
Ship Canal is a part of the Great Lakes-Gulf of Mexico Waterway Sys-
tem, not yet entirely completed. These, with six U.S. highways, twelve
trunk railroad lines, four belt lines, three convenient airports and a network
of State and county highways, offer transportation accommodation neces-
sary for industrial development.
The Calumet Region is proud of its industrial pre-eminence. The scene
it presents in the amassing of great industries — steel mills sprawled across
the waterfront, freight trains creeping through a vast network of railway
tracks, oil-filled air, the din of chugging engines, and the thunder of
dumping slag — is depressing to some; to others, because it is creative, it
is inspiring. Mass production, long distance transmission, laboratories, are
the vital subjects within this area.
Realizing that it is without the mellowness of age, Calumet seizes upon
and exploits its industrial sovereignty. Attention is directed to the complete
topographical transformation that was necessary before home or factory
could be built. When the Standard Oil Company began its plant, the first
to be built on the lake front, the south and east sides of the property were
mostly under water. It was necessary to "wheel sand into the water for
paths and to build sand-rings around the foundations of the tanks to dam
back the water." When the tanks were put into service, a boat was used to
get from one tank to another to operate valves and read gauges. When
the Gary Steel Mills were built, swamps were drained, the channel of the
Grand Calumet River was changed, and sand dunes 60 to 80 feet high
were leveled.
The most beautiful dune country in this area extends eastward from
Gary along the shore of the lake to Michigan City. It is covered by a
range of high sand hills from a half mile to a mile wide, whose base is a
wide sandy beach, made flat by action of the waves upon the shore. Its
white "singing sands" and the shallowness of the water far into the lake
have helped to popularize this beach, making the dune shore a favorite
playground. Because of the presence of Arctic vegetation side by side with
tropical plants, and because there are 1,400 specimens of wild flowers
here, botanists from all over the world visit the dunes. Because of the
unusual variety of insects, eminent entomologists come to the dune coun-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 3
try, and because the alteration of the earth's structure is so well defined,
geologists study the region.
A part of the dune country has been turned into a State park to preserve
its scenic beauty and historical significance and to restrain the industrial
expansion which in a short time undoubtedly would mar it.
Hammond is the oldest of the four cities which have developed in the
Calumet area, dating back, as a settlement under a different name, to 1851.
Indicative of the maturity of the city, Hammond possesses some of the
very few structures in the entire region which might be termed old, resi-
dences built in the style of the late seventies and early eighties. These
remnants of the last century give Hammond a similarity to other midwest
cities. However, it is a typical industrial community and more than seventy
industries are located here.
Gary, the steel city, the largest and the youngest of the four, has
literally sprung up over night. The newness of everything in Gary is impres-
sive— miles of new buildings, new churches, new schools, new dwellings,
new streets, new trees. The general aspect of the city is distinguished by
four features: large, well constructed public school buildings and their
campuses, churches of strikingly diverse construction, the prevalence and
design of settlement houses, and the number and extent of the public
parks. Possessing the earmarks of a mill town, including a foreign-born
population that exceeds the native-born of the age of 35 or over, Gary eats,
sleeps, and thinks in terms of steel.
Although the name East Chicago suggests that the city adjoins Chicago,
it is really twenty miles southeast. Situated on the south shore of Lake
Michigan, East Chicago's area of eleven square miles is the seat of impor-
tant heavy industries, and from the standpoint of land and water trans-
portation and the meeting of the two, the city is the most important
terminal in Indiana. In relation to its population, it is the most highly
industrialized city in the Calumet and has the smallest number of "white
collar" workers. East Chicago is divided into two distinct districts, which
have given rise to the local sobriquet "The Twin City."
Just as Gary is tied to steel, so Whiting is inextricably bound to oil.
The very air of the community is permeated with the smell of it. Oil is
the economic life-blood of the city; the Standard Oil Company pays 67
per cent of the city taxes. Whiting is exceptional in that, because of the
peculiar circumstances of the area, zoning laws, and density of population,
it probably has reached the full extent of possible growth.
Calumet's four cities, geographically and industrially, form a unit. They
merge into each other so completely that a tourist frequently passes from
6 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Gary to Hammond or to East Chicago, unaware that he has entered
another city. In many ways they are bound to one another. A single
Chamber of Commerce attends both Whiting and North Hammond
(Robertsdale) . The industries of West Gary are served by the East Chi-
cago Telephone Exchange. Highway, park, and city planning of each
city is done in co-operation with the Chicago Regional Planning Commis-
sion. They are all typical of the modern industrial city. Each one, however,
is an administrative entity and will be treated as such in the guide units
which follow.
EARLY CARTOGRAPHY
Maps of the last half of the sixteenth century, though inaccurate,
provide bases for the assumption that there was penetration along the
St. Lawrence toward the Great Lakes in that period.
Gastaldi's map of LaNuova Francia, contained in Ramusio's Voyages
III, gave the first crude delineation of the Great Lakes. In 1569, Gerardus
Mercator used Carrier's narrative to draw the Great Lakes on his marine
chart.
On Champlain's map of 1632, all of the Great Lakes, with the excep-
tion of Lake Michigan, are indicated. Champlain represents the Potawa-
tomi Indians as "Les gens de feu" and "Assistagueronons." Several rivers
bounding the region of Lake Michigan are delineated but not named.
The first use by a cartographer of the word Potawatomi is found in this
map of Champlain's. The word appears on the map at approximately the
present location of Lake Michigan. Louise Phelps Kellogg, in The French
Regime in Wisconsin and the Northwest, says that "Sanson's map of
North America in 1650 has the first outline of the Great Lakes, showing
their true relation to one another." (Crexius' map of 1660 gives the same
lake outlines as that of Sanson.) Miss Kellogg's reference is to the Amerique
Septentrionale (1650) of Nicolas Sanson d' Abbeville, on whose map the
region at the foot of what is now known as Lake Michigan is designated
as inhabited by the "N. du Feu," or "Nation of the fire."
There is no indication on Sanson's map of the two streams now known
as the Grand and Little Calumet. These two watercourses appear to have
been first indicated in the tracings of Jean Baptiste Franquelin, hydrog-
rapher to the French king. This map shows the region around the
southern end of Lake Michigan (depicted on it as the Lake of the
Illinois), as inhabited by the "Nation du Feu," and there is indicated a
small stream rising apparently in what is now known as Porter County, In-
diana, and flowing westward and northward into Lake Michigan. There is
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 7
no reason to doubt that this was intended to show the course of the river
later known as the Calumet. In that time, the division that was indicated
by the names Grand and Little Calumet was not recognized, the two streams
being considered as one.
Hennepin's map, drawn at Amsterdam in 1698, embodied the Lake of
the Illinois (Lac des Illinois). Hennepin indicated the presence of Pota-
watomi at the extreme northwest shore of the lake.
"Lac des Poutouatomi" (Lake of the Potawatomi) was delineated by
Delisle in his map drawn in 1703. Delisle also designated Lake Michigan
as "Lac de Illinois." Several rivers emptying into Lake Michigan along
its eastern shore line were named, LeGrande Riviere, R. Marquet, R.
Marameg, R. Noire. The Chicago River appears on this map as the
"Checagu."
The Calumet River also appears on a map drawn by Coronelli at Venice
in 1695. It is not named. Coronelli's map shows Lake Michigan as "L.
Degli Illinois o' Michigan." Coronelli has drawn Fort Miami, and Fort
and River Chicago (Chekagou). The boundary line of Lake County,
the Kankakee River, is shown and named as R. Keatiki.
In a letter of Father Marest in the Jesuit Relations, dated Nov. 9, 1712,
Michigan is spelled as it is today. Previously it had been spelled Match-i-
h-gan-ing and Misch-i-gon-ong.
In the Charlevoix-Bellin map, drawn in Paris in 1744, the word, Illinois,
is dropped and the present, Lake Michigan, is employed. Bellin gave to
the lake a "pronounced southeastwardly slope which was adopted by many
later cartographers." This map is interesting to historians of "The Cal-
umet" in that it shows that position at the foot of Lake Michigan near
the Calumet River of a village of the Potawatomi. It also designates the
Kankakee and Wabash Rivers and their sources. The Kankakee River is
called "R. dec Teakiki," Potawatomi is spelled, Patwautaimis. Fourteen
rivers emptying into eastern Lake Michigan, including the St. Joseph,
are named.
Lake Michigan is shown with a westwardly slope in Jeffery's map, Lon-
don, 1761. The Calumet Region is designated as the home of the Potawa-
tomi (spelled, Pouteouatamis) . Teakiki (the present Kankakee) is drawn
and named Huakiki. Fort Joseph is located.
That the Calumet region was once called by cartographers "Quadoche"
is revealed by the early maps of John Mitchell, 1755, and the Jeffery's
map, 1761. The Huron Indians were called "Quadoche" by the Iroquois.
Since there was a tribe of Potawatomi called the Huron Potawatomi, it
is possible that this region was at one time the home of this tribe.
8 THlE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
The Hohman Danville map, Nuremberg, 1756, also calls the region
south and east of Lake Michigan, Quadoghe. The "Pouteoutamis" are
placed on the southeastern shore of "Mishigan Lake." On this map the
river Galien appears as R. Galline.
Hutchin's 1778 map indicates a portage between the Little Calumet
and the Grand Calumet, near the mouth of Lake Calumet. Andrew's map
of 1782 also shows this portage.
In 1793, Amos Doolittle, of Boston, drew a map of the Great Lakes
region in which appeared for the first time a name for the Calumet River.
It was designated, Gr. Kannomic R. The Kankakee had become Theakiki.
With the conclusion of the first of the Indian treaties to which the
Potawatomi were a party, various government maps of the Lake Michigan
region were drawn. There is extant in the Indiana State Library at Indi-
anapolis "A map of the N. W. Territory of the United States compiled
from actual surveys and the best information by Samuel Lewis, 1796."
Upon this map there is designated the "Gr. Kenomic," ("Grand Keno-
mic"). General Hull's map, drawn prior to 1802, indicates the present
Calumet River as Killimick. On this map Hull designated Petit Fort
(now a part of Indiana Dunes State Park) as "Little Fort," the Grand
Killomick R., and a Potawatomi village on the south bank of this river.
The distances given on Hull's map are interesting:
"From Chicago to Little Killomick, 15 m.
Little to Big Kellimock, 21 m.
From mouth of Big Kellimock to Little Fort, 12 m.
From Fort to Riviere Du Chemin (Michigan City) , 14 m."
In Mitchell's map, 1817, the Calumet River is called Kinnamick:
Hulshuon's map, 1778, gives the spelling Kennomick. Indeed, in all the
early maps the word is spelled to suit the whims of the cartographers,
other terminologies including Ko-ko-mik, Ken-no-mic, Kan-no-mo-konk,
Kennomikau, Callanic, Calamenk, Calmic, and Callimink. Little has been
told of the origin of the word, "Calumet," which was French. The name
was probably given to the sluggish stream in the latter part of the eight-
eenth century by a French priest or trader. Three assumptions as to the
choice by the French of this word for the river have been made. The first
is based on the Indian word for the river, Kannomick, as used on maps
as early as 1793. It is maintained that this was an Indian variant of the
word Kinnikinick (Chippeqa-Kinikinigon) , which meant an Indian pre-
paration of tobacco. It is explained that the French, observing the Indian
custom at ceremonial gatherings of passing a tobacco pipe from one to an-
other as a token of amity, and noting also that the stem of this pipe (invar-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 9
iably decorated with brightly colored pendants, its most striking feature)
was made of a reed from which the pith had been removed, leaving a hol-
low cylinder through which the tobacco smoke was drawn, dubbed the
insignia with their word for reed, calumet, a new designation for a device
that was "ever reappearing in the relations of the whites with the savages."
The second assumption is that the various Indian words used to desig-
nate the river meant "long deep still water" and that the word "Calumet"
was an effort on the part of the French to convey in French the gutturals
of a true Indian appellation, Kenomic. It is possible also that the Indian
variants, Kanomic, Killimick, were corruptions of Calumet. The employ-
ment of the qualifying word, Grande, lends color to this assumption, since
it at least is genuinely French.
The third supposition is that the river was called Wimbosh-mash-kig,
meaning Hollow Reed River, because of the heavy growth of reeds which
fringed the stream. The French simply translated the word into the
French, Chalumeau, of which "Calumet" is a dialectical form used in
Canadian French and then introduced into English and literary French.
Why cartographers did not employ the designation, Wimbosh-mosh-kig
on early maps is not explained.
Early historians of this region have accepted the name Calumet as
being in use in their time, without attempting to explain it, and a reference
to earlier written records is little more enlightening. Solon Robinson,
probably the first literate American to settle in the region, says that, of
his own knowledge, the Bennett tavern was opened in 1834 "near the
mouth of the old Calumic," a locality which is identified as being on the
Lake Michigan shore near the eastern boundary of the present city of
Gary. And James H. Luther, who did some freighting through the region,
speaks of the hardships of traversing the dunes and marshes of the
"Calumet area" as he experienced them in 1834. But this was written in
1884 and it is not clear that Luther, in using the term Calumet, was
employing one which was in vogue in 1834, or whether he adopted a term
which was used by the generation for which he was writing.
In 1817 the demarcation of the line determining the northern border
of the adjoining State of Ohio was undertaken, the surveyors having
been instructed to take as their starting point the extreme southern point
of Lake Michigan and to run their line due east to the shore of Lake
Erie. The surveyors, in delineating the western extension of the Michigan-
Ohio Boundary, mapped with some attention to detail part of the region
now known as the Calumet. In particular, they indicated the course of
what we call the Little Calumet, but they called it the "Calumet."
10 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
The next map available is Tanner's New American Atlas, dated "1819-
1823" to be found in the Indiana State Library. This shows the "Gr.
Calumet" and the "Lit. Calumet" (though the drawing is faulty) . The
spelling, and evidently the pronunciation, were still subject to wide vari-
ations, for in the map of the survey of the Chicago-Detroit road, dated
1825, the orthography "Calamick" is used.
Later government survey maps became more accurate both as to
terminology and locations. In 1827 E. P. Kendricks, surveyor for the gov-
ernment, drew a map of the region. Thomas Brown and Thomas Hender-
son, Deputy U. S. Surveyors, submitted maps of the "ten-mile strip"
in 1829.
In a "Map of the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and part of
Michigan Territory," engraved for Flint's Geography & History of the
Western States, probably in 1829, the name "Kennomekon" is used where
one would expect to find Calumet.
In 1838, J. H. Young published at Philadelphia a Tourists' Pocket Map
of the State of Indiana, and this reverts to the usage, Calumet, designating
the two rivers as the Grand and the Little, respectively.
Finally, in 1834, the Federal Government ordered a survey of this
portion of what had been the Northwest Territory, and men were
assigned to run the township lines in what is now the Calumet Region.
They adopted the nomenclature they found in use in the region, fixing
the names and the spelling thereof of the two water courses that drain
the terrain. They labeled them the Grand Calumet and the Little Calumet
respectively.
The name Calumet was accepted by the American cartographers in its
Anglicized form and eventually was used to designate public and private
institutions, highways, parks, cities within the region, and finally the
entire region contiguous to the Calumet River, a usage that in the twentieth
century began to have national and international significance.
RED MAN OF THE CALUMET
Like the other Indian tribes encountered in the State by the missionaries,
fur traders, and early settlers, the Potawatomi, living and hunting
throughout the Calumet and northern Indiana, belonged to the Algon-
quian family. The Potawatomi (from Potawatamink, meaning "people of
the place of the fire") along with the Chippewa and Ottawa — originally
one people — probably reached the region around the upper end of Lake
Huron together. They then separated, but the three tribes occasionally
banded together to form a loose confederacy.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 11
The earliest record of the Potawatomi is in the Jesuit Relations for
1640; they were then living near the Winnebago. The next year they were
at Sault St. Marie, fleeing before the Sioux. Father Allouez tells of meet-
ing in 1667 a band of their warriors at Chequamagon Bay. Some were
living on the islands in the mouth of Green Bay around the Jesuit Mission
of St. Francois Xavier in 1670. By the end of the seventeenth century,
they were moving southward; Potawatomi bands were living at Chicago
and along the St. Joseph River. In 1795, when the Treaty of Greenville
was signed, they announced their intention of occupying Indiana as far
south as the Wabash. A few years later there were about 50 Potawatomi
villages in an area around the head of Lake Michigan, a large part of
northern Illinois, and Indiana north of the Wabash River.
Early descriptions of this tribe vary. French accounts are favorable,
describing the Potawatomi as docile and affectionate toward the mission-
aries and fur traders. A lasting friendship developed between the two
peoples. The Potawatomi were said to be more humane and civilized than
other tribes, with a natural politeness and friendliness even for strangers —
a rare trait among the Indians. The women of the tribe were reserved and
showed some refinement in manners. The Potawatomi as a rule did not
drink to excess but were confirmed and enthusiastic gamblers. Although
they were tolerant of the teachings of the Jesuits, polygamy was a common
practice.
An English account describes them as "a very wild, savage people, who
have an aversion to Englishmen and generally give them as much trouble
as possible." They were accused of robbery and murder, acts of violence
incited by the French fur traders against the British. It is probable that
the Potawatomi were good friends and bitter enemies, and were able to
maintain their morale and pride at a time when white settlers, civilization,
and the struggle of nations for an empire in America were pushing the
red man from his home in the Old Northwest.
Their relationship with the French, always close, led them to take an
active part in the French and Indian War against the British. After the
signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, they were prominent in Pontiac's
Conspiracy, also directed against the English. They next took up arms,
this time in behalf of the British, at the outbreak of the American Revo-
lution. They fought with the Miamis and other tribes in the border wars
against the American troops until Anthony Wayne decisively defeated
the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The signing of the Treaty of
Greenville brought peace to the northwestern frontier until the Battle of
Tippecanoe, when the Potawatomi fought under the Prophet. Many of
12 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
this tribe fought through the War of 1812, serving under Tecumseh until
his defeat at the Battle of the Thames. With the end of the war, a
western movement of vast proportions began; settlers poured into Indiana
in search of cheap land, and with the settlers came stronger Government
military forces. The days of the Indian in the Old Northwest were almost
ended.
The Indians, contrary to general belief, depended primarily upon agri-
culture for a livelihood. The Potawatomi women cultivated maize, beans,
squash, melons, and tobacco. Wild rice, nuts, berries, and roots were part
of their diet. The men occupied themselves with hunting, fishing, and
trapping. Hunting parties searched for black bear sleeping in caves in
the winter; and fish were speared through holes in the ice. Waterfowl were
plentiful throughout the marshes and streams of the Calumet; ducks and
geese were killed in the spring and preserved in brine. Muskrat and mink
were trapped and their fur provided the Indians with a valuable commod-
ity for trading.
The Potawatomi village usually consisted of a number of lodges con-
structed of birch or skins covering a framework of sapling poles. Mats of
bark or rushes served as a floor, and the fire was built in the center. In
the Calumet the Indians had both winter and summer homes and, during
the hunting season, it was not unusual to find a village completely
deserted.
Ordinarily the Potawatomi dressed simply. The men wore calico shirts,
leggins, moccasins, and a blanket; the women a broadcloth skirt and a
blanket. However, the ceremonial dance, taking place at night, was an
occasion for dress and decoration. The old men, dressed to resemble
demons, danced the medicine dance. The younger men of the tribe, all
highly ornamented, danced in a circle, told of their achievements, and at
intervals assumed postures symbolic of war or hunting. The women and
girls adorned themselves with paint, wampum, and white chemises and
took part in their own dance.
The religious beliefs of the Potawatomi were only vaguely conceptual-
ized by the Indians themselves. Their pantheon included the Great Spirit,
which originally may have been the sun, and the gods of fire, sea, and
the four cardinal points of the compass. The manito, a power believed to
reside in plants and animals, was important in their religious life. Later
on they believed in a good and evil spirit, a reflection of Christian doc-
trine. Dogs, especially raised for the occasion, were eaten at religious
ceremonials; and, like many northwest tribes they held the "feast of
dreams," when their special or individual manito was chosen. Burial was
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 13
usually by inhumation, although scaffold exposure, placing the body upon
the boughs of trees, was sometimes practiced as the Potawatomi had
some belief in the resurrection of the body. The tribe was divided into
15 gentes, and their totems were the golden carp, tortoise, crab, frog, and
crane.
The most important Indian trail running through the Calumet was the
Old Sauk Trail, the principal east and west Indian route across America.
Today, the old Lincoln Highway or State 330 follows, for the most part,
this old Indian trail through Lake County. The Potawatomi Trail, coming
into the county from the northeast, reached an important terminal at Lake
Station (East Gary) where the Potawatomi had workshops, dancing
floors, and burial grounds. Here the trail branched, one branch running
between the south shore of the Lake and the Grand Calumet River to
Fort Dearborn (Chicago) , the other running south to Liverpool and then
through Schererville and Dyer to Patterson, Illinois.
Indian villages in Lake County were numerous. More or less temporary,
they were inconspicuously located, always away from the main trails.
Their summer homes were on Cedar Lake, Fancher Lake (Crown Point) ;
Wood's Mill, near Hobart, and in the high groves along Eagle, Cedar,
and West Creeks. Favorite sites for winter homes were the islands in the
Kankakee and on the ridges along the Calumet.
The gradual drift of settlers into northern Indiana eventually made
occupancy of the same region by red and white men incompatible with
the happiness and safety of both, and the Government's policy of buying
all the Indian lands in the State was begun in Lake County October 16,
1826, when by the Treaty of Mississinewa1, a strip of land ten miles wide
lying on the northern border of the county was purchased from the
Potawatomi. The remainder of the county, with the exception of about
10,000 acres of land which were reserved for 18 Potawatomi chiefs and
sub-chiefs, was acquired October 27, 1832, by the Treaty of Tippecanoe.
The most important of the Potawatomi to receive reservations in Lake
County was Leopold Pokagon ("rib"), second chief of the tribe. He
' Articles of a treaty made and concluded near the mouth of the Mississinewa, upon the
Wabash, in the State of Indiana, this 16th day of Oct., in the year of our Lord, 1826,
between Lewis Cass, James B. Ray, and John Tipton, commissioners on the part of the
United States and the Chiefs and warriors of the Potawatomi Tribe of Indians.
Article 1 ...
And the said tribe (Potawatomi) also cede to the United States all their right to
land within the following limits; beginning at a point upon Lake Michigan, 10 miles
due north of the southern extreme thereof, running thence, due east, to the last ceded
by the Indians to the United States by the Treaty of Chicago; thence south, with the
boundary thereof, 10 miles; thence, west, to the southern extreme of Lake Michigan;
thence, with shore thereof, to the place of beginning.
— Treaty of Mississinewa
Oct. 16, 1826.
14 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
married a niece of Topenebee, who was Grand Sachem of the tribe for
forty years. His reservation consisted of a section of land where Hobart
now stands. Pokagon was baptized and many of his tribe became Chris-
tians. A chapel he attended eventually developed into the University of
Notre Dame. His son, Simon, who held a reservation on the site of
Miller, succeeded him as chief.
Chief Saganaw received 542 acres lying between the Grand Calumet and
the Wabash Railroad in Gary. His father was an Irish officer in the
British army. Educated in Catholic schools, Saganaw spoke English and
French, as well as several Indian dialects. He is said to have been Tecum-
seh's secretary.
Perhaps the most influential of these Indians was Shabonee (Built-
Like-a-Bear) , a grand nephew of Pontiac. He married a Potawatomi
woman and became peace chief of the tribe. At one time he was second
in command of Tecumseh's federation, but later became friendly to the
United States.
The most loyal friend of the United States among the Calumet Indians
was John Baptiste Chandonnai, a nephew of Topenebee. He was a
Government scout; knowing the Indians living between Fort Dearborn and
Detroit, he reported any British activity in this region to the Government.
While Door Prairie, LaPorte County, was his home, he held 578 acres
between Hobart and Gary.
Alexander Robinson, or Chee-chee-bing-way (Blinking Eyes), although
not a reservee in Lake County, spent much of his time on the Calumet
River. He was a fur trader in the employ of John Jacob Astor. The son
of a Scotch trader and an Ottawa squaw, he became a Potawatomi upon his
marriage to a daughter of Chief Francois Chevalier, whom he succeeded.
Other Potawatomi of importance to hold land in Lake County were
chiefs Weesaw (Sociable), Ben-Ack ("A-Little-One-Sided") , Re-re-mo-
saw ("Parish" or "Perresh") , and Ashkum ("More So") .
Beginning in 1836 the Calumet Potawatomi were removed to reserva-
tions west of the Mississippi River. Most of them were united on a reser-
vation in Kansas in 1846; in 1868 they moved to Oklahoma, where they
are now living. A few are living in Michigan. Today a few trail marks,
Indian relics, and placenames are all that remain in the Calumet Region of
the original "People of the Place of Fire."
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 15
UNDER THREE FLAGS
PEOPLE OF THE PLACE OF FIRE
Three nations have actually ruled over the areas now designated "The
Calumet Region," France, England, and the United States. Before their
rules, the area was dominated by the Nations du Feu (Nations of the
Fire) , the designation used for several Indian tribes by a cartographer as
early as 1650 and by Franquelin in his map of 1688. While the antece-
dents of these tribes are lost in legend, one tribe, the Potawatomi, as
has been said, wandered back and forth through the region at the southern
extreme of Lake Michigan.
Political administration in the region began in 1524, when Giovanni
Verrazano, a Florentinian pilot in the employ of the French, made a
voyage to the eastern coast of North America and claimed for Francis I,
King of France, all the territory that lay north of the Spanish possessions
in Florida.
UNDER THE FRENCH FLAG
It was not until 1671 that the French imposed more than nominal
authority on the Potawatomi. In a pageant held at Sault Saint Marie
Daumond De Saint Lusson, representative of Louis XIV, heralded to the
Potawatomi and to the other tribes of the west that they were to be hence-
forth subjects of France.
Trappers, voyageurs, coureurs du bois, advance guards of French rule,
had before this period penetrated the wilderness and established relations
with the nomads. Black-gowned and brown-robed priests at times pre-
ceded, accompanied, or followed them. Jean Nicolet, discoverer of Lake
Michigan, penetrated the Lake Michigan region in 1665. Father Menard,
the first of the Jesuits, came west in 1660; Allouez, 1665; Marque tte, in
1666; and Dablon in 1669. The last three were often in the Calumet
Region. In 1673 Marquette again visited the Dune Country. Some his-
torians say that, on his homeward trips, Marquette used the Calumet
Portage between the Little Calumet and the Grand Calumet at Hegewisch.
It is believed that Marquette camped at the eastern mouth of the Grand
Calumet River (now in Marquette Park, Gary) and at Fort Creek (Indi-
ana Dunes State Park) . Blanchard in his Northwest Indiana states that
a mission was established on the Calumet in 1696.
The trappers established fur- trading posts; inevitably their settlements
and activities furthered the interests of France. It is assumed by historians
that accounts of the tribe that dwelt around the southern shore of what
16 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
was then known as "Lac des Illinois," now Lake Michigan, were carried
back to Quebec, but the French were established in the eastern part of
Canada for more than a hundred years before the flag of France was
flown over the Great Lakes region.
Quebec was the foundation of all authority in New France, whether
political or ecclesiastical. The government carried its jurisdiction from the
St. Lawrence through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi to its
mouth. But for administrative purposes there was a division of authority
in the western country as between what was known as the province of
Canada and the province of Louisiana. The whole of the area known as
the Calumet Region lay within the province of Canada.
The jurisdiction of the Quebec government was shadowy in territory
outside of that contiguous to the St. Lawrence. At some of the stations
established by the Jesuits there was no sign of French rule. At other
places, the French maintained a show of military authority. There were
posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and at other points
down the Mississippi, as well as at strategic places scattered throughout
the western empire of the French King. There were, in addition, many
minor outposts where stores of goods were maintained and to which
trappers conveyed their bales of furs.
One such post was established on a high bluff near the mouth of the
St. Joseph River at Lake Michigan in the present town of St. Joseph.
Here, the famous Sieur de La Salle built a fort in 1679. La Salle, if he did
not penetrate the Calumet Region, skirted it as he sailed along the
southern shore of Lake Michigan and again on the Kankakee River.
Brennan thinks it probable that La Salle on his walk from the Illinois
country to Montreal followed the old Potawatomi trail through Tolleston
and Miller, thence through the dunes to Michigan City. It does not
appear that any other trading post was maintained in proximity to the
Calumet Region until 1750-1755, when a fort, known as Petite Fort, was
built by the French in the dunes (now Indiana Dunes State Park).
Although small in size and used mainly as a trading post, Petite Fort was
strong. Built on the crest of a high dune, the little stockaded stronghold
was at times garrisoned by regular military authoritv. It has been de-
scribed as a tassement or palisaded blockhouse.
UNDER THE ENGLISH FLAG
The period of English domination began with the peace of Paris in
1763, by which Louis XV of France surrendered Canada to George III
of England, and ended with the treaty of peace concluding the American
I
The Marriage Tree, Bailly Homestead
Chapel Bailly Homestead
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 17
War of Independence, ratified at Paris on September 3, 1783, by pleni-
potentiaries of the King of England, George III, of Louis XVI of
France, and of Charles III of Spain. England by this pact agreed to with-
draw within the borders of Canada, the present boundary lines, but it
was not until 1796 that this was done.
After the British had conquered New France, they strengthened Petite
Fort and garrisoned it with British troops. In 1780, however, the fort was
abandoned. (On August 15, 1813, Lieutenant Swearingen, marching over-
land to Fort Dearborn, camped at this old fort.)
During the British reign of this territory, several incidents occurred
which were indirectly related to the Revolutionary war and to the Calumet
area. Fort St. Joseph was attacked twice during this period, and late in
the autumn of 1780 a party of French irregulars, in the absence of the
fort's Indian defenders, plundered it of goods and furs, carrying the loot
off with them in a retreat towards the Mississippi. The British officer at
Fort St. Joseph followed as soon as he could gather a force of men, and
overtook the plunderers about 12 miles west of what is now Michigan
City, or very near Petite Fort, where a battle resulted in defeat of the
marauders.
UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG
By the treaty of peace signed in 1783, the Continental Congress came
into possession of all the British possessions lying below the boundary line
of Canada. This line ran through the middle of the Great Lakes, not in-
cluding Lake Michigan, which was agreed upon as wholly within the
jurisdiction of the United States.
Long before war had arisen between the colonies and the mother
country, nebulous claims to territory lying to the west of the colonies had
troubled the political atmosphere. Virginia, New York, Massachusetts,
and Connecticut asserted authority over immense domains that had not
even been charted, and how to adjust these claims became a problem.
It was finally decided to transfer them to the Continental Congress. Led
by New York in 1782, the states surrendered all authority beyond a cer-
tain defined western boundary. Thus Congress came into control of some
430,000 square miles lying between the Ohio River on the south, the
Mississippi River on the west, and the Great Lakes on the north, the vast
area afterwards known as the Northwest Territory. In this way the Calu-
met Region became a part of the national domain.
The statute of July 13, 1787, that made this area a part of the United
States, contained a provision that the area embraced was ultimately to be
18 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
carved into not more than five States and not less than three. Within a
generation, the march of population had determined that the figure
should be five, the nascent States being Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
and Wisconsin.
The ordinance embodied another provision, designed to fix the boun-
daries of the first unit. It was declared that when such a unit was deter-
mined upon, its western boundary should be a line drawn due north from
the confluence of the Great Miami with the Ohio River, and if Congress
had decided that the Northwest Territory was to be divided into three
States, the western boundary of Ohio, as the new territory was to be
known, was to run straight to the Canadian border, but if the decision
was for five States, then the northern boundary of Ohio was to be a line
drawn due eastward from the extreme southern bend of Lake Michigan.
In 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided into five States; the area
beyond the western boundary of Ohio, the unorganized portion of the
Northwest Territory, was assigned to the new Territory of Indiana, the
lines of the other three territories in contemplation (Illinois, Michigan, and
Wisconsin) not having been fixed as yet. A territorial government was set
up at Vincennes administered by William Henry Harrison.
The enabling act of 1800 had advanced Ohio one step farther toward
Statehood, but on April 30, 1802, when she entered the Union as a
sovereign State, she discovered, under a strict construction of the act, that
the city of Toledo was left outside her northern boundary, in territory
that was earmarked for the future State of Michigan.1
This episode was observed with great interest by Indianians; it awak-
ened the authorities at Vincennes to the implications of the east-and-west
line of the Northwest Ordinance, which constituted not only the boundary
line between Ohio and Michigan but also the line between Indiana and
Michigan. Acceptance of this boundary would mean restriction of
shore rights for Indiana to the small strip at the southernmost point of
the lake west to the future Indiana-Illinois line. Indeed, in 1805, the
northeastern part of the area today within Indiana State boundaries,
including the eastern half of the Calumet Region, was set up as Michigan
Territory. Such influence was exerted on Congress that in 1816, when the
act was passed which set up the State of Indiana, the northern boundary
of the new State was fixed at a point ten miles north of the southern
i Ohio did not refuse to accept the terms of the enabling act; she determined to
evade them. The State constitution provided in the event a final survey showed the city
of Toledo lying outside her northern boundary, that the boundary was to be shifted
some miles northward. Some thirty years later the problem developed into a serious
dispute with Michigan, which was finally settled when Congress passed a compromise
bill giving Ohio the disputed territory and offering Michigan the Northern Peninsula.
The dispute is known in history as the "Toledo War."
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 19
extremity of Lake Michigan. It is to this foresight that Indiana owes the
fact that much of the development which has taken place in the Calumet
Region (South Chicago industrial areas are also referred to as a part of
the Calumet Region) lies within its State lines.
Although numerous counties were formed soon after Indiana became a
State, and although colonization within these counties warranted local
government, Lake County long remained "the last frontier." (As late as
1834 this county was largely in the possession of the Potawatomi Indians;
until 1840 the region was spoken of as "the Indian country.")
The continued presence of Indians and the singular geographic features
of the northern part of Lake County served as barriers to colonization in
the Calumet Region. During part of the year the immense swamps be-
tween Lake Michigan and the Grand Calumet River and between the
latter and the Little Calumet became seas, dammed by fallen timber and
matted leaves. On the shore of Lake Michigan, sand hills some 200 feet
high, with bases of 300 to 400 feet, offered no attraction to the pioneer
home-seeker. Quaking bogs and tamarack swamps, around which the
Indian routed his path, made other areas impenetrable to the inexperienced
settlers. The only inland approach to the whole region was the circuitous
Indian trail.
A few intrepid fur traders, Alexander Robinson, Bertrand, Burnett, and
Coquillard, whose posts were at Chicago, Illinois; Bertrand, Michigan; St.
Joseph, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana, had ridden Indian ponies
or trudged along the wet sands at the lake's edge, or paddled in canoes,
between Fort Dearborn and their respective posts.
As before noted, the first parcel of land in the Calumet Region was
purchased in 1826 from the Indians by the United States in the Treaty
of Mississinewa. This was a part of the purchase along the northern width
of Indiana known as "the ten mile line," but the wild and inhospitable
terrain within and bordering this area tempted few squatters or traders.
Four years earlier Joseph Bailly, the first permanent settler in the north-
west corner of the state, had established a trading post at Baillytown, 12
miles east of Gary. A few stragglers from Detroit and the east had begun
to cross the region enroute to Fort Dearborn or to the far West.
In 1823 the Maj. S. H. Long expedition, authorized by the United
States War Department, had followed the shore line from the Carey
Mission at Nlles, Michigan, to encamp the night at the mouth of the
Grand Calumet River. William Keating, geologist of the expedition, gives
an excellent picture of the Lake Michigan shore line between Michigan
City and Gary in that year:
20 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
The view towards the north was boundless; the eye meeting
nothing but the vast expanse of water, which spread like a sea, its
surface at that time as calm and unruffled as though it were a sheet
of ice. Towards the south the prospect was limited to a few hundred
yards, being suddenly cut off by a range of low sand hills, which
arose to heights varying from 20 to 40 feet, in some instances rising
perhaps to upwards of 100 feet. When we first approached the
lake, it was covered with a mist, which soon vanished, and the bright
sun, reflected upon the sand and water, produced a glare quite
fatiguing to the eye. Our progress was in a southeasterly direction
along the beach which reminded us of the Atlantic along the coast
of New Jersey. The sand hills are undulating and crowned at their
summits with a scrubby growth of white pine and furze, while the
brow, which faces the lake is quite bare. In the rear of the hills, but
invisible from the beach, spreads a level country supporting a scatter-
ing growth of white pine, oak, beech, hop hornbeam (Ostrya vir-
giniana1). East and West of us a continuous narrow beach curved
gradually toward the north. ... At our evening encampment of
the 4th of June, we were at the southernmost extremity of the lake
(directly north of the Union Drawn Steel Company in Gary) and
could directly observe that its southeastern corner is the arc of a
greater circle than the southwestern. The streams passed this day,
during our ride along the beach were inconsiderable: the first, (Fort
Creek in Indiana Dunes State Park) is termed Riviere des Bois
probably from the quantity of driftwood near it. The English ap-
pellation for it is Stick River. The second which we met was the
Big Calamick (Kenomokonk) of the Indians.
With Major Long, in addition to Keating, were Thomas Say, naturalist,
Samuel Seymour, artist, James E. Calhoun, astronomer, Private Bemis,
guide, David McKee, U. S. Government blacksmith, and Andrew Allison,
Negro manservant.
In 1827, the first U. S. mail was carried from Fort Wayne to Fort
Dearborn through this region by David McKee. E. P. Kendricks made a
survey of the area in the "ten mile strip" for the State of Indiana. Ken-
drick wrote of the Calumet Region:
The Lake coast so far as I traversed it is a continued chain of
hills formed of beautiful white sand, in most places very high and
little or no vegetation. Back of these sand hills it is generally swamp
or marsh; therefore there are few places that the lake can be ap-
proached without difficulty. No harbors or islands are to be seen.
U. S. Government Deputy Surveyors Thomas Brown and Thomas
Henderson surveyed "to locate boundaries of Congressional townships
in the 'new purchase of ten-mile' strip" in the region in 1829.
i A member of a small genus of trees, also known as ironwood from its very hard,
tight, close-grained wood.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 21
At the Treaty of Tippecanoe in 1832, the Indian title to the remainder
of Lake County was extinguished, with the exception of Indian reserva-
tions of approximately ten thousand acres held by 18 Potawatomi chiefs.
In 1833 two events occurred which set the stage for the entrance of the
pioneers into the southern part of the county. The first was the completion
through the region of the Fort Dearborn-Detroit Trail, the second, the
opening of a government land office at LaPorte in an adjoining county.
In 1832 the State legislature had set up the county of LaPorte with
jurisdiction to the Illinois boundary on the west and to Lake Michigan
on the north and, therefore, over the Calumet Region. In 1836 Porter
County was carved out of LaPorte, with a provision that after February
15, 1837, the part of Porter lying west of certain lines was to be con-
sidered a self-governing unit under the title of Lake County.
Despite the fact that the Fort Dearborn-Detroit Trail traversed the
Calumet Region, few colonists stopped long north of the Little Calumet.
There were several taverns along the route to welcome the few travelers —
the Bennett Tavern, opened in 1832 at the mouth of the Grand Calumet,
the Berry Tavern, opened by Hannah Berry on the lake shore in 1834,
and the Gibson Inn, erected on the site of today's Bailly Branch Library,
Gary. The natural barriers, however, of this northern area of the county
remained; the country on either side of the trail continued inaccessible
and uninhabitable.
South of the Little Calumet marshes, small villages soon sprang up.
Solon Robinson, a Connecticut Yankee, and a few other first settlers,
avoiding the swamps and marshes in the northern part of the county,
entered the southern part from the southeast over the Sauk Trail, settling
at what was to be known as Lake Courthouse (Crown Point) . By 1837
more than 200 pioneers were to have settled in that part of the county
south of the Calumet Region, sharing the stream, soil, and game with
the Potawatomi. A squatter's union was organized by Robinson to protect
the settlers and their pre-empted lands against speculators.
Many efforts were made to colonize the Calumet area. The crowning
achievement of each was to be the building of a large industrial city,
peculiar forecast of the destiny of the region. Each time, however, lack
of money and engineering ingenuity resulted in failure, and the sand and
swamps remained as they were.
One of the ghost industrial cities, known as Indiana City, was located
at the former mouth of the Grand Calumet at a point now in Marquette
Park, Gary. The plat showed 78 lots, and streets which were to be 66 feet
wide. "Norcott's addition" of 41 blocks was platted at the same time.
22 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
First street was to begin at the lake. A number of buildings were com-
menced, but the "city" came and went without settlers.
Liverpool was the ambitious name for another "metropolis." In 1836
John C. Davis, Henry Frederickson, 'a "western" man from Elkhart
County, and John Chapman, laid out a town a few miles east of what
is now Gary, at the confluence of Deep River and the Calumet River.
The Liverpool plot was filed May 17, 1836. Within the space of three
days, $16,000 of lots were sold. A ferryboat was placed on Deep River.
For a period of time the stage line between Fort Dearborn and Detroit
passed through Liverpool, as did the stage line from Michigan City to
Joliet. The plat of the town reveals the hope for a municipality. The
center block of lots was marked "Public Square," a second group,
"Market Square," and a third group, "Church Square." George Earle,
of Falmouth, England, came to Liverpool to become owner of a large
tract of the town and surrounding territory. It was through Earle's
influence that the first county seat was located in Liverpool in 1839.
For a time it appeared that Liverpool would live up to the dream of its
founder, but it, too, soon became a deserted city.
That same year another industrial city was planned on the lake front
a few miles east of the future city of Gary at the mouth of Fort Creek.
This city, called City West, was to have a fine harbor; surveys of the
lake shore, which had been made, indicated that the natural advantages
for a harbor at this site were excellent. The city was laid out in lots, build-
ings were erected, commodious and costly houses were built, and large
hotels were constructed. A few colonists arrived, but the financial crash of
1837 put an end to hopes for City West. It, too, became a ghost city. (Dur-
ing the short life time of City West, it was visited by Daniel Webster.)
On March 28, 1837, the first election of county officials was held.
Solon Robinson was chosen first clerk of the Circuit Court of Lake
County. Samuel G. Sample was elected riding judge of the Circuit Court
and William B. Crooks and William Clark, associate judges. On October
30, 1837, the first term of the Lake Circuit Court was held in the Solon
Robinson log building at Lake Courthouse. Thus, political administration of
Lake County and of the Calumet Region had its inception. In 1840 Lake
Courthouse, through efforts of Solon Robinson, succeeded Liverpool as
county seat.
The coming of the first permanent settlers in the Calumet district fol-
lowed the entrance of railroads. Usually these settlers grouped themselves
along the railroads to form scattered hamlets.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 23
The most romantic figure in this phase of the history of the Calumet
was George W. Clark, engineer and author. Of Clark, who has been
called the "father of the Calumet Region," a local historian said:
George W. Clark was an adventurous young civil engineer when
he first came to Chicago in 1833. He was 23 years of age, but was
old in engineering experience, having participated in some of the
famous enterprises of his time, helping in the first location of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the oldest railroad in the United
States. The Illinois and Michigan canal and the Illinois Central
railway were projected in the thirties, and young Clark was em-
ployed on them both. Clark's reflective mind told him that the
wonderful agricultural wealth of the Middle West would surely
result in a "great metropolis at the foot of Lake Michigan, where
travel and transportation must surely converge." He did not em-
bark at once in the land project. The gold fever of 1849 took him
away from Chicago and we find him embarking from New York to
California with a large consignment of portable houses for the
miners and settlers. A terrific storm swept the cargo piled upon the
decks and Clark returned to New York for the second attempt.
This time he sailed on the Tennessee, the first steam passenger vessel
that ever sailed from New York to the Pacific Coast. . . . Clark
still retained his conviction regarding the future of the Calumet
district and he resolved to carry into execution the project to which
he devoted the remainder of his life.
In 1853, twenty years after his first appearance in Chicago, Clark began
buying land in Lake County. He continued during the next few years
until his lands extended from the Indiana State line to Gary, the middle
of Broadway being the eastern boundary of the tract. Indiana Harbor,
East Chicago, Gary, Whiting, and Hammond are built entirely or in part
upon this tract. The settlements of Pine, Clark, Buffington, Roby, and
Calumet also occupy portions of the Clark holdings.
It was from Clark that George T. Cline and Allen Dorsey purchased
4,000 acres of what is now Indiana Harbor, for $20,000. A number of
years later this land was divided, Dorsey taking the east half of the tract,
Cline the west half. The United States Steel Corporation is now the
owner of both the Cline and Dorsey tracts, including Buffington and
Clark Station.
With the establishment in 1851 of a terminal at Lake Station, now
East Gary, this village attracted a few hundred settlers, the majority of
whom had some connection with the railroads. In 1858 several German
families settled on the lake shore (now northwest Gary) and called their
community Clark, for George W. Clark.
24 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In 1857, after the building of the Michigan Central and Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne and Chicago railroads, a group of railroad men formed a
little settlement, known as Tolleston, in what is now the west central part
of Gary. Another group settled nearer the lake along the Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern (now the New York Central) and selected the name
Whiting's Crossing for their hamlet.
In the early 1880's, the Aetna Powder Company, considered a nuisance
industry, selected the region for the site of its plant because it was a
"favorite spot in this desert region" and the most desolate available in
the United States. Another "nuisance industry," the G. H. Hammond
Packing Company, selected the region in 1868 because "it was not
wanted elsewhere."
During the period between 1860 and 1880, several other hamlets were
established in the region, but inducements for establishing permanent
homes were few. Also, the Calumet wilderness had gained some notoriety
as a hideout for criminals.
In the 1870's plans were made once again for a center of trade on the
lake's edge. In 1872 a syndicate purchased 8,000 acres of the Clark land
from the latter's brother-in-law, Jacob Forsythe, for $450,000 and one half
the profits from the "industrial city." This city was established on the
present site of Roby (now in the north of Hammond) .
Suggestive of the future of the region, the name of a great English
steel town, Sheffield, was selected. Improvements evaluated at $80,000
were made; a hotel was actually built on the site; streets and sidewalks
were constructed; plats of the town and its various "additions" were filed.
Again a severe panic put an end to building, and there remains today no
remnant of this enterprise. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1910.
Sheffield Avenue in Hammond is the only reminder of the venture.
Similarly in 1881, the Earl of Leven and Melville, a Scottish peer,
member of the London brokerage firms of Melville, Evans, and Company,
saw "the coign of vantage" which the region presented. He negotiated a
deal for the purchase of 8,000 acres of the George W. Clark land for one
million dollars (the first million dollar deal of the region), but the plans
of this nobleman for a metropolis did not materialize.
The thousands of acres that now comprise Gary, Whiting, and East
Chicago were in 1888 almost as much of a wilderness as they were in the
early days of the century. The only exception were the scattered hamlets,
Whiting's Crossing, Millers Station, Clark, Hessville. Thousands of
acres were still primeval. The swamps, marshes, quaking bogs, and sand
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 25
hills had remained invincible.1 Although Chicago had become a city of
more than 1,000,000 and although there were nine trunk line railroads
traversing the area, the sixteen miles of lake shore and its hinterland
remained almost exclusively the province of hunters.
Exclusive of Hammond, the total population of the region now occu-
pied by Gary, East Chicago, and Whiting was, in 1888, not more than
800. Not until the latter part of that year, when the Standard Oil Com-
pany of Indiana bought a large acreage on the present site of Whiting,
did the Calumet begin to change its character. Attesting this, Alfred Jones,
historian of the Calumet Region says in a copyrighted article2 of the com-
ing of the Standard Oil Company to Whiting:
The year, 1888, marked the date when first Mr. Rockefeller's
trail crossed these parts. In brief the year, 1888, may be regarded
as the time when industrialization really began in this section.
Almost simultaneously, a canal was proposed for the region. A tank
works which would supply the oil company with tanks had established
itself nearby. By 1898 the American Steel Foundries and the W. B.
Conkey Company had built plants in Hammond. The first steel plant,
the Inland Steel Company, established itself in Indiana Harbor (East
Chicago) in 1901. Industrialization was beginning.
Unlimited funds of huge corporations and the marvels of scientific
engineering were now at hand. The region was stirring with life.
THE FIRST CITIZEN
In 1822 Joseph Bailly became an Indianian without knowing it. John
O. Bowers, in The Old Bailly Homestead, says:
So, in 1822, Mr. Bailly, with his family and housegoods, came and
located here in the heart of the Pottawatomie country, on the north
1 Weston Goodspeed in his Counties of Porter and Lake wrote as late as 1882:
"This land, so recently reclaimed from the waters of lake Chicago has not yet that
admixture of vegetable mold that is necessary to fix it for agricultural purposes. Most
of the enriching growth that has taken place has been confined principally to the low
wet portions. However, whatever this region lacks that it should have, or has that it
should lack, it has unquestionably advantages of location that in time will produce
great results. Its features that have proved most disadvantageous in the past may be
the most advantageous in the future. The northern portion is crowned with hills and
ridges of pure sand and gravel, surmounted with beautiful clusters of pine, cedar, and
other native forestry. Between the northern and central portions are low, flat, swampy
tracts of land usually serving as the valley of some sluggish stream. The township of
North (in the Calumet Region of today) is peculiar in many respects. Lying as it
does at the South end of Lake Michigan and indented as it is by the great saltleys
sea, one would naturally suppose that it would have been quickly settled before the
central and southern parts of the county were settled. Settlements were always made
on the coast before people thought of moving inland. With about 25 miles of coast
line and almost 50 miles of navigable streams; with nine railroads and three navigable
lakes, why should North township today to a great extent, be an unimproved and
sparcely populated region? The answer comes from its numerous marshes, sandhills,
and sterile soil."
2 Gary Post-Tribune, May 27, 1937.
26 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
bank of the Little Calumet River, at a point a short distance north-
west of what is now the town of Porter, in Porter County. He
thought he was locating in Michigan territory, in which he had
lived for so many years.
Indeed, Bailly could not have known for several years that his home
was in Indiana. There had been no survey to provide a basis for the
territorial line by the Ordinance of 1787, and there is record of confusion
over the line as late as 1829. This aristocratic French adventurer was
the first citizen of the Calumet Region.
He was born at Sainte-Anne de Varennes, Quebec, April 7, 1774. The
second son of Michel Bailly de Messein, he was christened Honore-Gatien-
Joseph. When he died in December of 1835, he was mourned as Joseph
Bailly, although at his burial his name was read as Joseph Aubert de
Gaspe Bailly de Messein. (His paternal grandfather was Ignace Aubert
de Gaspe).
It is not clear exactly when Bailly entered that section lying directly
south and southeast of Lake Michigan. Books of account, however,
were opened at Michillimackinac August 17, 1796. Bailly was then 22
years old. His father, a spendthrift, had died without providing for the
care of his family, and as Joseph was the oldest living son (the first child
died in infancy) , it devolved upon him to support his mother. The means
of doing that, and much more, were found in a stretch of sandy waste
and boggy marshes, interspersed with wooded tracts. Not a habitation
dotted the landscape, and Indian trails provided the only indication of
human existence in the area. But there were beavers, silver and red foxes,
black bears, wolverines, otters, mink, and lynx in abundance. Starting in
a small way, he soon became an important figure among fur traders, and
in the three summer months of 1803 handled nearly a half million dollars
worth of pelts. He established trading posts on the Grand, St. Joseph,
Kalamazoo, Wabash and Iroquois rivers, and was known from Canada
to New Orleans.
According to Bowers, Bailly, soon after arriving in Michigan, married,
in an Indian ceremony, the daughter of an Indian chief. Frances Howe,
a granddaughter of Bailly, says in her Story of a French Homestead in
the Northwest that this girl was of Indian and Eurasian blood. (Dis-
tinguished historians and anthropologists, say, however, there is no evidence
of "Eurasian" influence among the Indian tribes of Michigan and Indiana.
The consensus is that certain mystic rites, in which Miss Howe found
support for her "Eurasian" theory, originated with the Ojibwas and were
taken over, in part at least, by the Ottawas) . To Bailly's first wife were
born five sons, Alexis, Joseph, Mitchell, Philip, and Francis, and a daugh-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 27
ter, Sophie. The fur trader separated from his first wife, probably some
time in 1810.
Soon after the "divorce," Bailly, then living at Mackinac, met a friend
who told him the tragic story of a young woman arriving on the L'Arbre
Croche boat. She was Marie Le Fevre, whose father had died when she
was a child, leaving his half-breed wife and two daughters destitute.
Reared by the Indians, the girl was forced, after a brief Catholic educa-
tion, into an unhappy marriage with a Frenchman whom she left as soon
as she was able to repay her "dowery," a traditional Indian privilege. She
was, at the time Bailly met her, supporting her two daughters by her
handicraft. Bailly went to meet the boat, proposed to Marie, and was
accepted. Bowers says:
He (Bailly) promised to be a father to her two children and she
promised to be a mother to the children of Mr. Bailly. They agreed
to live together as husband and wife, and he thereupon introduced
her to his clerks and servants as Madame Bailly. ... It is stated
that this marriage was duly solemnized some later year.
In 1811, to Bailly and his second wife was born a daughter, christened
Esther.
The War of 1812 brought a trying period. Fur trading was greatly
curtailed, and the uncertainties of pioneer life increased. In 1814, Bailly
was arrested on suspicion of being a British spy and was in prison several
months.
By the time he built his log cabin on the Little Calumet, his period of
great prosperity had passed and his family increased by three, Rose, Ellen
or Eleanor, and Robert. Another daughter, Hortense, was born in the first
year or two of the family's residence in their new home.
By the standards of the times, Bailly was a man of culture. He had a
great enthusiasm for the value of education and was greatly interested in
the schooling of all his children. That he was successful in educating
them is borne out by the positions they held later in life. Alexis estab-
lished several trading posts and was a member of the first territorial legis-
lature of Minnesota; Joseph became a printer; Mitchell, a sculptor, and
Phillip, an engraver. Sophie was a teacher for several years and Eleanor
became Mother Superior at St. Mary's of the Woods, Terre Haute, Indi-
ana. Francis, the youngest child by his first wife, appears to have been the
only one who refused Bailly's plans for an education. It is related that
when the sons were sent on their way to Montreal to enter school, Francis
jumped out of the canoe and swam ashore, saying he didn't want to be
educated but wished to become a "medicine man." Francis remained with
28 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
an Indian tribe until it was removed to a reservation, and then settled in
Oceana County, Michigan, and became a farmer.
A listing of books in the Bailly homestead library indicates, from pub-
lication dates, that several volumes of, the classics were his. The 200 or
300 books of this library include textbooks of his children.
The primitive character of life in the Calumet Region in Bailly's day is
well indicated by a collection of letters and diary entries, A Winter in the
West. Huffman, the author, says under diary entry for January 1, 1834:
Away then we went, helter skelter, through the woods, scrambled
through a brook and galloped over an arm of the prairie, struck
again into the forest. A fine stream, called the Calamic (Calumet) ,
made our progress here more gentle for a moment. But immediately
on the other side of the river was an Indian trading post, and our
little French phaeton, who, to tell the truth, had been repressing his
fire for the last half hour, while winding among the decayed trees
and broken branches of the forest, could contain no longer. He
shook the reins on his wheel-horses and cracked up his leaders. . . .
The infuriated car strikes a stump, and the unlucky youth shot off
at a tangent as if he were discharged from a mortar. The whole
operation was completed with such velocity, that the first intimation
I had of what was going forward, was on finding myself two or three
yards from the shattered wagon, with a tall Indian in wolf skin cap
standing over me. A very respectable looking female, the wife,
probably, of the French gentleman who owned the post had civilly
furnished us with basins and towels to clean our hands and faces;
while the gray old Indian assisted in collecting our scattered baggage.
The spot where our disaster occurred was a sequestered, wild-
looking place. The trading establishment consisted of six or eight
log cabins of a most primitive construction, all of them gray with
age, so grouped on the bank of the river as to present an appear-
ance quite picturesque.
The log cabin Bailly had built on the bank of the river was soon found
to be in the high water area and was removed to a high knoll. It was
inadequate, however, and a larger house was built. By 1833, there were
eight cabins on the establishment. The home became a refuge of priests
on their journeys, the parlor, being used as a Sacristy and the dining
room for Mass. For a time, this was the only Catholic mission between
Detroit and Chicago.
Frances Howe described the cultural and religious influences in this
home of the only white family in the area:
In the homestead the evenings were devoted to some form of in-
struction. The family spent their evening hours as well-bred families
of that period did. The ladies were employed in needle-work, while
grandfather read aloud or taught the children. The servants, French
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 29
and Indian, gathered round the huge fireplace in their own quarters,
sang their ditties or told tales. Sometimes they were called into the
same sitting room to listen to simple lectures in geography or to
receive instruction regarding the approaching fast or feast.
Soon after the death of his son, Robert, in 1827, Bailly entered a
period of great emotional stress which affected him all his remaining days.
Although he no longer participated in formal church services, he erected
a small chapel near his son's grave and undertook the instruction of the
Indians in religious subjects.
By the advent of the third decade of the eighteenth century, fur trad-
ing held little promise for the future, and Bailly, perennial enthusiast,
was carried away with talk of highways, town sites, fabulous prices for
lands, and dreams of harbor facilities and a large trade on Lake Michigan.
Late in 1833, he platted a "Town of Bailly" and disposed of a few lots.
The town was not built, although a settlement near the site bears the
name of Baileytown. In his attempt to improve harbor facilities, he co-
operated with an eastern syndicate in obtaining concessions.
When death was near, he asked that a neighbor by the name of Beck
should read the services at his burial. On a December morning of 1835,
Beck fulfilled this bidding. The closing words of the short service were:
Thus Joseph Aubert De Gaspte Bailly de Messein left the home
which he had built to the honor and glory of God, for the welfare
of the traveler and for the salvation of souls.
Rose Bailly remodeled the old home, converting the building in which
her mother had lived into a chapel to which Bishop Luers contributed an
altar and the Sisters of Providence, the bell of old St. Mary's Academy.
When Rose died, the home went to Frances Howe, her daughter, who also
made alterations and improvements. The Sisters of Notre Dame held the
property for a time and it eventually passed into possession of Joseph La
Roche, who converted it into a tourist camp. Of the buildings Joseph
Bailly erected in the grove overlooking the Little Calumet, there remain
the homestead, now weatherboarded as a modern home, the chapel, and
a building formed by uniting dairy, tool and storage house.
1776 1917
The Calumet Region claims that "her military activities span the his-
tory of our nation." Proof of this claim starts with Obadiah Taylor, a
soldier of the Revolutionary War, who lies buried on a knoll at the nor-
thern end of Cedar Lake.
It was during the Revolutionary War, also, but not directly related
to it, that the Battle of the Dunes, an aftermath of a raid on Fort St.
Joseph, took place. Prior to this, for several years, Fort St. Joseph had
30 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
been the scene of several skirmishes between the British, and the French
and Indians. Late in the fall of 1780 a party of French irregulars, con-
sisting of sixteen men and led by a half-breed, Capt. Baptiste Hamelin,
left Cahokia, on the Mississippi River, bound for Fort St. Joseph, intent
on plunder. The official British account1 states that they came upon the
fort in the absence of its defenders, loaded their pack horses with the
goods and furs found in the fort, and started on their retreat to the
Mississippi. Major De Peyster, in command for the British at Detroit,
reported to his superiors that the British officer in charge of Fort St.
Joseph took up the pursuit of the plunderers as soon as he could gather
a sufficient force, and overtook them near Petite Fort. Here occurred the
Battle of the Dunes, in which the raiding party was defeated, only three
of them escaping.
Three veterans of the War of 1812, Horace Edgerton, James Palmer,
and George Zuvers, are buried in Lake County.
During the Mexican War, Lake County played an active part.
Joseph P. Smith, then clerk of the county and former member of the
Monroe Blues of New York, obtained a commission as captain and raised
a volunteer company from Lake and Porter counties. He drilled his men
i De Peyster to Haldimand
Detroit, January 8th, 1781.
Sir,
I have the honour to acquaint Your Excellency that since the affair at the Miames
Town, something similar happened at St. Josephs. A detachment from the Cahokias,
consisting of sixteen men only commanded by a half Indian named, John Bablest
Hammelaine, timed it so as to arrive at St. Josephs with pack Horses when the Indians
were out on their first hunt an Old Chief and his family excepted — They took the
Traders Prisoners and carried off all the Good consisting at least fifty Bales and took
the route Chicagon — Lieut. Dagneaux Du Quindre who I had stationed near St.
Josephs, upon being informed of it immediately assembled some Indians and pursued
them as far as the Petite Fort a days journey beyond the River Du Chemin where on
the 5th Dec. he summoned them to surrender, on their refusing to do it he ordered the
Indians to attack them, — Without the loss of a man on his side he killed four
wounded two and took seven prisoners, the other three escaped in the thick woods.
Three of the Prisoners were brought on here, amongst them is one Brady a Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs — The rest he suffered the Indians to take the Mechele-
makina — I look upon those Gentry as robbers and not Prisoners of War, having no
Commission that I can learn other than a verbal order from Monsr. Trottier and
Inhavitant of the Cahoes — The Rebles having long since quit all that country-— Brady
who says he had no longer a desire to remaining in the Rebel Service, therefore did not
follow them, informs me that Colonel Clarke was gone down to Williamsburgh to
Sollicit a Detachment to joint with a Spanish Colonel in an expedition against this
place — When the heavy Cannon and Ammunition arrives, which I have returned want-
ing— I shall be ready to give them a warm reception, should they be rash enough to
attempt it — Our workes are however yet in a shatter'd state — I am just informed that
the Rangers are safe arrived at the Meames Town
I have the Honour to be
Sir
Your Excellencys Most Obedient
& Most Humble Servt.
At T: De Peyster
His Excellency Genl. Haldimand
Courteously forwarded to the editors by Mr. James F. Kenney, Dominion Archivist,
Ottowa. Canada.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 31
so well that when he arrived at Indianapolis, though too late to become a
part of the regiments then being formed by the State, his company was
incorporated into the regular army and became Company I, of the 16th
Regiment of Regulars. Twelve Lake County men in this company died
from sickness and injuries suffered during hard service on the plains of
Texas and the hills of northern Mexico. Included in Smith's company
were: Lieut. Samuel Whitecomb, Sergeant Alfred Fry, and William V.
Slade.1
In 1861 Lake County had grown to be a community of 9,140. Its
citizens were strong unionists and abolitionists. Within two weeks after
the Civil War broke out, enlistments were being taken by Capt. John W.
Wheeler, who had been commissioned by Governor Morton to raise a
Lake County company. This company became Company B of the 20th
Infantry, and represented Lake County in the eastern campaigns, being
part of one of the most distinguished regiments in the Union armies.
Wheeler rose to the command of this regiment. After he was killed at
Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, Lieut. Charles A. Bell commanded the Lake
County company until nearly the end of the war, when he too was killed
during the final assaults upon Petersburg.
Lake County furnished three other volunteer companies, Company A
of the 73rd Infantry, Company A of the 99th Infantry, both raised in
the summer of 1862, and Company G of the 12th Cavalry, recruited in
the late fall of 1862. Under the registration required at that time, 1,585
Lake County men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were listed
for military service. Of this number 1,449 were actually taken into the
service, and 1,314 were volunteers. It is estimated that there were about
200 Lake County men in Illinois regiments who were not included in the
above figures.
More than 250 young men gave their lives in this conflict and more
than this number returned to the county, honorably discharged, with
injuries so severe that they were no longer able to perform active duties.
Of the 102 men of Company B, 20th Infantry, who left in 1861 to serve
with the Army of the Potomac, only 21 able-bodied soldiers returned.
Lake County again responded to the call for volunteers in the Spanish-
American War and sent Company A of the 161st Infantry Volunteers,
recruited at Hammond and mustered into service July 15, 1898. The regi-
ment remained at Camp Mount until August 11, 1898. Assigned to Corps
' Among the Mexican War veterans who were still residents of Lake County in 1885
were Joseph Stark of St. John Township, Reuben Tozier and Peleg Swan of Hobart,
Peter Root of Schererville, Alvin Green of Merrillville, William Ackerman of Lowell,
and Nathan A. Brown of Calumet Township. Brown was a sergeant of Capt. Smith's
Company.
32 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
VII under General Fitzhugh Lee, this regiment was sent December 13,
1898, to Cuba, where it was stationed at Camp Columbia, Mariana.
Although Capt. John Jordon, 1st Lieut. Frank Parker and 2nd Lieut.
Charles O. Hubbell recruited the Lake County company, they themselves
were rejected because of physical disabilities, and Capt. Lee Olds, 1st
Lieut. George Silverthorn, and 2nd Lieut. August Johnson of East
Chicago led the company to Cuba. The Lake County Company served
under Col. Winfield T. Durbin, regimental commander, who became
Governor of Indiana a few years later. In addition to this strictly Lake
County company, numerous other volunteers from Lake County served
in the Spanish-American War.
Before the United States entered the World War, the Calumet Region,
because of the large proportion of foreign-born residents, had felt directly
the effects of the two-year conflict. Many fathers, sons, and brothers were
already fighting overseas, both in the armies of the allies and in those
of the central powers. The majority were sympathetic to the allies, but
some were outspoken partisans of the countries that — after our entrance
into the war — were enemies of the United States.
A mysterious fire at the Aetna Explosives plant in Gary, manufacturing
gun-cotton, was thought to be of incendiary origin, and enemy groups
were blamed. Anti-war teachings, largely centering in Hammond and East
Chicago, were manifest for a short time before and after the United
States declared war; to counteract this propaganda, a campaign was con-
ducted through the newspapers and by public speakers, and Col. Walter
J. Riley, of East Chicago, wrote several effective pamphlets.
Virtually every industrial plant in the Calumet was producing war
supplies; whole companies of soldiers were detailed to guard industrial
equipment, warehouses, and local railroad bridges. The Carnegie-Illinois
Steel Company in Gary and the Standard Steel Car Company of Ham-
mond produced heavy artillery (in April, 1918, the Gary plant made more
steel than any other plant in the world) ; the Edward Valve Company of
East Chicago manufactured shells; and Gary Works and Inland Steel
Company made toluol, the base of TNT. Castings for ordnance require-
ments were produced by the American Steel Foundries of Hammond and
East Chicago, and the Grasselli Chemical Company, in East Chicago,
supplied chemicals for war purposes.
Patriotic demonstrations were held in the Calumet region even before
war was declared. East Chicago held a parade on April 4, two days be-
fore the declaration of war, in which civic, labor, and fraternal organiza-
tions participated, and 15,000 persons marched. Whiting and Hammond
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 33
held large parades and demonstrations on April 10 and 16, respectively,
and what has been termed the greatest patriotic demonstration in Indiana
was held in Gary on April 28. More than 30,000 persons, including
Roumanians, Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, Poles, Lithuanians, Bulgarians,
Hungarians, Serbians, Croatians, and Russians, marched in a "Paul Re-
vere" parade.
On April 30, 1916, 86 Serbians left Gary to enter the army of their
native land, two years before a group of 70 Serbs had embarked to fight
for their country. They were followed by groups of Italians, Poles, Czechs,
Greeks, and Britons — a total of 1,116 men.
Lake County, with a population of about 80,000 in 1917, contributed
more than 8,500 men to the service during the war. Enlistments from
Hammond and Gary were especially heavy; Hammond, in proportion to
population, led in recruiting throughout the nation. Honors were con-
ferred on 65 men for distinguished service; 164 men lost their lives during
the war.
The highest ranking officer from Lake County was Maj. Gen. William
G. Haan, a division commander and Army Corps commander. Later he
became director of the War Plans Commission. Other distinguished offi-
cers from the County were Maj. Elmore Salisbury, Crown Point; Maj.
Edward Shottler, Hammond; and Maj. J. A. Umpleby, Gary. Umpleby
formed Company I and recruited it to full war strength in one day, May
18, 1917. Col. A. P. Melton was the Gary engineer who planned and
constructed the American harbor at Brest, France. Col. Thomas G.
Hamilton, Gary, supervised the transportation of hundreds of thousands
of tons of supplies, valued at more than $180,000,000.
The civilian population of the Calumet was organized for various
activities in connection with carrying on the war by the Lake County
Council of Defense.
The county fuel administration was one of the most important organ-
izations set up by this council. The Government was confronted with the
problem of rationing coal and other fuels, both for domestic and industrial
use. The industries of the Calumet made this problem extremely impor-
tant to this area.
From the beginning of the war the Food Administration Committee was
active. Pledge cards were circulated, and thousands of women in the Calu-
met pledged themselves to carry out the suggestions of the Food Admin-
istration. Food clubs were formed to carry out this program, holding
meetings, demonstrations, and lectures. The nation-wide campaign to
raise gardens and to cultivate farms more intensively was promoted with
34 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
difficulty, for it required considerable experimentation to determine what
foodstuffs could be raised on swamp lands and sand dunes. An experi-
mental garden was established in Gary at Sixth Ave., and Washington
St., where the City Church now stands. In Hammond 1,000 families
cultivated home gardens.
Other organizations and committees set up by the Council of Defense
included Four-Minute Men, a corps of speakers who aroused public
sentiment at meetings, the Boys' Working Reserve, who replaced men
entering the service, especially in rural areas, Community Labor Boards,
whose function was to distribute labor and adjust differences between
employer and employees, a legal committee, and a Women's Section of
the Council of Defense.
During the war a building was erected in Hammond, under somewhat
unusual circumstances, to serve as a meeting place and center of patriotic
activities. The site was prepared, and on April 6, 1918, thousands were
present to watch the work proceed. At 7:00 a.m., 300 volunteer union
workers and helpers began construction. The frame work was up in 15
minutes; at 9:00 a.m. the floor was laid; by noon the sides and roof were
nearly completed. As fast as one building craft finished its work, another
was ready to start. Painters required just one hour and a half to paint the
building; plumbers put up a drinking fountain in 45 minutes. The build-
ing seating 5,000 and known as Liberty Temple, was ready for occupancy
that evening. A Red Cross home in Indiana Harbor, costing about $8,000,
was also erected in one day.
The Calumet responded equally well in helping to finance the war.
More than $33,000,000 was raised in the four Liberty Loan campaigns,
the Victory Loan, and by War Savings Stamps, each of the four indus-
trial cities and Lake County as a whole greatly oversubscribing their
quotas.
THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF THE CALUMET REGION
The religious history of the Calumet follows the same lines as the influx
of its nationality groups. Earliest settlers in the area (1834-1840) came
principally from New England states; they brought with them Methodist,
Baptist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic faiths. The settlers of the
next three decades were for the most part German immigrants and Luth-
erans. Later on, with the growth of industry, immigrants were mainly
from Central Europe, and the domes, spires, and towers of central Euro-
pean churches began to appear in Calumet cities.
The first religious group to organize in Lake County was the Methodist
Episcopal. In 1836, two years after the first white men settled in the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 35
county, the Reverend Stephen Jones preached in the cabin belonging to
Thomas Boyd, two miles south of Crown Point. The first Methodist
Episcopal group was organized six months later at the home of E. W.
Bryant in Pleasant Grove, two miles east of Lowell. Deep River Mission,
composed of Lake and Porter counties, was created in 1837. The next
year the Methodist Episcopal church of Crown Point was organized,
services were held in the old log courthouse until 1847, when the first
church was erected.
With the growth in population, other Methodist organizations sprang
up. By 1884, there were eight churches and seven Sabbath schools with
a membership of more than 500 in the county. In 1872, a Methodist
class was organized in Hammond in a school house on the corner of
Hohman and Wilcox streets. The first Methodist church in Hammond
was organized in 1881. After a revival campaign in Hobart, the Trinity
Swedish M. E. Church was organized in 1886. Services were conducted
in Swedish until 1917; since then the services have been held, for the
most part, in English. Methodist church organizations came into exist-
ence in East Chicago in 1888, Whiting in 1892, and Indiana Harbor
in 1902.
In October, 1906, not long after the first construction crews began
work on the Gary Steel Mills, a Methodist Episcopal Church was organ-
ized in Gary. The Reverend William Grant Seaman became pastor in
1916. Seaman believed that the traditional church organization and build-
ing was insufficient to carry out the comprehensive religious and civic
program he visioned for a constantly growing industrial city such as
Gary. Ten years later the City Church was a reality, a cathedral-like
church near the center of city life, open seven days a week.
More than half the total church membership of Lake County are of
the Roman Catholic faith. The first Catholic church, a small chapel, was
built by John Hack, German immigrant, in 1834 at St. John's. This
was used until 1856, when a brick church was erected. St. Mary's Church
of Crown Point today is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the
county. St. Joseph's, the first Catholic church in Hammond, was founded
in 1877. Around the turn of the century many foreign Catholic parishes
were organized throughout the district. In Whiting a Croatian congrega-
tion organized in 1890, the Sacred Heart Church, which in 1910, when
Whiting's first church building was erected, became the Church of Saints
Peter and Paul. A frame church, the oldest Catholic church in East
Chicago, was erected in East Chicago in 1896 and is known as St.
Stanislaus. A Catholic church for the Slovaks of Hammond and Whiting
36 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
was built the following year in Robertsdale. There are Hungarian, Ru-
manian, Slovakian, and Polish Catholic Churches today in Gary and
East Chicago.
Early German Lutheran immigrants established St. John's Lutheran
Church in Tolleston, which for several years was the center of religious
life north of the Calumet River. First services were conducted by preachers
who traveled out to the area from Chicago, but in 1868 a church was
organized and three years later the Reverend Herman Wunderlich be-
came the permanent minister. During his first year at St. John's, Wun-
derlich frequently traveled to Hammond to conduct service at the resi-
dence of Jacob Rimbach, for three families. Later, when the number of
Lutherans increased, bi-weekly meetings were held in the public school
and in Miller's Hall. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran congregation was
organized in 1882, and a church built the following year.
An Evangelical church was established in Center Township in 1883.
In 1890 Immanuel Evangelical Church was organized in Hammond by
a group of German families, and a small chapel and home for the pastor
were erected. In Crown Point, toward the close of the century, Evangeli-
cal services were held occasionally, led by the Hammond pastor. Later a
regular pastor was appointed, and a church building was acquired in
1903. The Crown Point and the Center Township churches were merged
in 1911, both congregations becoming members of the Crown Point
church.
The Church of Christ, of Lowell, was the first Christian church in Lake
County. Organized in the early forties, meetings were held in private homes
until 1869, when a brick church was constructed. The first Christian
Church in Hammond had its origin in a revival meeting held in the Hoh-
man Opera House by the Reverend Ellis G. Cross in 1888. The first
church building of this congregation, originally the First Christian Church
of Chicago, was dismantled and moved from Chicago to Hammond. A
new church was completed in 1910. The Hessville Church of Christ and
the South Side Christian Church were organized in 1920 and 1921, re-
spectively. In Whiting, the First Church of Christ was organized in 1906,
and the Central Christian Church of Gary came into existence two years
later. Services in Gary were held in a hall on Broadway and then in a
portable building donated by the school trustees. A church was erected
in this city in 1911.
Presbyterian services were held in Crown Point by the Reverend I. C.
Brown as early as 1844 and a church building was completed three years
later. The following year Presbyterian services were held in Eagle Creek
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE VJ
Township at the home of Michael Pearce. A Presbyterian church was
organized in Hammond in 1891. In 1907 Presbyterian services were first
held in Gary. They were conducted by student missionaries in a hotel
dining room and a little later in a nickelodian. In 1908 a church was
organized and work was begun on a church building, which was erected
piecemeal. Christmas services, 1908, were held in the basement. The
church was not completed until 1914. The Assyrian Presbyterian Church
was organized in Gary in 1910. The small congregation worshipped in
the rear room of the First Presbyterian Church for 16 years, and a church
was acquired in 1926.
A Baptist church was organized in Lake County when the State Board
of Missions sent a missionary to Hammond in 1887. Services were held in
a hotel room. As the congregation grew the Hohman Opera House was
used, and in 1888 a church building was erected. A Baptist church was
organized in East Chicago in 1902, and another in Gary on June 29,
1907, at a meeting held in the kitchen of the offices of the United States
Steel Corporation. This church remained a mission until 1913 when a
church was built, which in its turn became soon too small. A larger
church, completed in 1925, now has one of the largest Baptist congrega-
tions in Northern Indiana. A Polish Baptist Mission was organized in
Indiana Harbor in 1922.
There are many Negro Baptist Churches throughout the Calumet
Region. The first Negro church in Gary, organized by Samuel J. Dun-
can and Raymond Rankin, was the First Baptist Church, built in 1908.
There are some thirty-five Negro congregations in Gary, represented
mostly by Baptists and Methodists, five in East Chicago, and four in
Hammond.
Jewish services have been conducted in Hammond since 1884, at which
time services were held in private dwellings. The Knesseth Israel congre-
gation was organized in 1899 and a synagogue was acquired the same
year. The B'nai Israel congregation at Indiana Harbor was organized in
1910. In Gary, there are Temples Beth-El and Israel.
The first Congregational church in the county was organized in East
Chicago in 1889, to be followed by the Plymouth Congregational Church
in Whiting in 1890 and the Community Congregational Church in Miller
the next year. In Gary, the First Congregational Church was organized
in 1907.
Of the Greek Orthodox churches, New St. George, organized by a
Roumanian group in Indiana Harbor in 1908 was the first. St. George
Orthodox Church was organized in East Chicago in 1911; the Holy
38 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Ghost Russian Orthodox Church came into existence in East Chicago in
1914. There are three Greek Orthodox churches in Gary; Roumanian
parish whose church is known as the Descension of the Holy Ghost,
being organized in 1908, and Serbian and Greek groups becoming estab-
lished in 1915 and 1922.
St. Alban's Episcopal Church in East Chicago was organized in 1900.
Rev. L. W. Applegate of Valparaiso, organized the first Episcopalian
congregation in Gary in 1907, and that year in December the first services
were held in the first church in the city, a little frame chapel, which for
several years was a center of Gary's social life.
THE JUDICIARY OF LAKE COUNTY
At the first session of the Circuit Court, October 30, 1837, in a tem-
porary log courthouse in Crown Point, there were present Samuel G.
Sample, president, judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit; William Clark,
associate judge; L. A. Fowler, sheriff; Solon Robinson, clerk; and Jona-
than A. Liston, acting prosecutor. The term was for three days, during
which time 30 entries were made in the docket, including judgments, dis-
missals, and continuances. That year 23 cases were filed. Case No. 1 was
tried the first day of the term. It was Peyton Russel vs. George H. Phil-
lips, assumpsit on appeal. Judgment was for the plaintiff for $45, total
judgment $51.80.
The business of the court grew slowly. The first courthouse, at the
southwest corner of what is now the Crown Point Square, is affectionately
spoken of by old settlers as the "old log courthouse." About thirty-five
feet wide and twenty feet deep, it cost around $500 and served, as did
many early courthouses, as the seat of justice and as a place for other
meetings, both secular and religious.
At that time Joliet Street extended through the square, and the building
was on this street, facing north. An outside stairway on the north side gave
entrance to the courtroom proper on the second floor. The judge's bench,
a long one capable of seating three judges, was placed in the west end of
the room. In 1838 at their November session, Order No. 19 stated that
"the bill of L. A. Fowler, sheriff, for expense of fitting up the lower
room of the courthouse for a prison as per bill on file to the amount of
sixty-four dollars be allowed." In 1840, they appropriated $8.62% for a
chimney, and in 1843 the courtroom was lathed and plastered at a cost
of $15.00. Court was held here thirteen years; then the building was torn
down and the huge logs were used in the erection of two barns that have
long since served their usefulness and disappeared in firewood.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 39
In the late forties, agitation was strong for the erection of a larger
and better courthouse; George Earle was employed to draw the plans and
Jeremy Hixon was given the contract. The building was completed in the
summer of 1850. It was located on the opposite side of the square on
what is now Clark Street. This structure, costing about $10,000, was a
one-story, frame building, with four huge pillars across the front and a
large cupola on the top. Inside there were three rooms, the main court-
room, and smaller rooms for the jury and the sheriff. Other county offices
were in two brick buildings erected for that purpose, one on either side
of the courthouse. The frame courthouse served the county for 30 years
and, like the old log building, was the scene of many kinds of public
meetings, ranging from political rallies to the serious gatherings connected
with the Civil War. Again, however, the rapidly growing business of the
county demanded larger and more convenient quarters. The old frame
courthouse was moved to west Joliet Street and transformed into the
Hoffman Opera House. Later it was razed.
A campaign for the erection of the present courthouse covered several
years, and $60,000 was collected for its construction. An attempt was made
to rob the county of this sum, and although the building in which it
was kept was wrecked, the funds were saved. John C. Cochrane, architect,
drew the plans, and the contract was let to Thomas and Hugh Colwell.
With great ceremony the corner stone was laid on September 10, 1878.
The building has been remodeled twice, the north and south wings having
been added in 1907-08.
When the industrial development began in the north end of the county
and Hammond began to expand, litigation increased rapidly. Lawyers,
principally those in Hammond, Whiting, and East Chicago, started a
movement in 1894 to have the county seat relocated in Hammond. There
was a storm of protest from lawyers at Crown Point and citizens of the
southern part of the county. Finally a compromise agreement provided
that a bill should be introduced in the legislature creating a superior court
for Lake County, to be located at Hammond. In 1905 a bill was passed
creating the first Superior Court in Lake County. However, this court
was not exclusively for Lake County, as the bill provided also for a
circuit of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties, stipulating that the court
should sit five weeks at Hammond, three weeks at Michigan City and two
weeks at Valparaiso. With the continued rapid industrial growth of the
Calumet Region, the business of the courts increased to such an extent
that the State legislature in 1907 made Lake County a separate circuit
for the Superior Court.
40 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In 1903 a courthouse had been erected in Hammond at a cost, including
furnishings and equipment, of about $77,000; seven years later this court-
house was remodeled. It now has two large and commodious court rooms
and represents an investment of $195,000. It houses a law library and
offices for all county officials.
Because of increasing litigation, the legislature in 1911 created two
additional branches of the superior court of Lake County, Rooms 2 and 3.
Room 2 sits in the courthouse at Hammond, and Room 3 divides its time
between Hammond and Crown Point, sitting five weeks in the Superior
Courthouse at Hammond and then five weeks in the Circuit Courthouse
at Crown Point.
Because of Gary's rapid growth, frequent legal problems arose, and
members of the bar of Gary insisted that Gary have a superior court.
In 1917 Room 3 of the court, was moved by State legislation to Gary. The
County Commissioners leased the second and third floors of the building
at 560 Broadway until more commodious quarters could be provided.
The amazing development of Gary and the Calumet District as a
whole later made it necessary to add two additional branches of the
Superior Court of Lake County, to be known as Rooms 4 and 5, Room 4
to sit in Gary and Room 5 in Hammond. Room 2, which had been sitting
in the courthouse in Hammond, was moved to East Chicago, as the mem-
bers of the bar and citizens of East Chicago demanded one branch of
the superior court.
Today, Lake County has five branches of the superior court. Rooms 1
and 5 sitting in the Superior Courthouse in Hammond, Room 2 in that
part of East Chicago known as Indiana Harbor, and Rooms 3 and 4
sitting in Gary. Each of these courts consist of five eight-week terms and
each begins and ends at the same time.
After the creation of the second branch of the superior court in Gary,
the need for larger and more convenient quarters resulted in the erection
in 1929 of the present $1,000,000 Lake County Courthouse in that city,
a part of the Gary Gateway.
Neither the first nor second constitution of Indiana provided for the
creation of branches of the circuit court by legislative enactment, but the
legislature did have the power to lessen the work of any circuit court by
lessening the number of counties of the circuit. Upon the adoption of the
second constitution in 1851, Lake County was placed in the Ninth Judicial
Circuit, where it remained until 1873, when it was placed in the Thirty-
first Judicial Circuit with Starke, Pulaski, and Porter counties. In 1881
Pulaski and Starke counties were taken out of the Thirty-first Judicial
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 41
Circuit. However, since 1913, when the General Assembly separated
Porter from Lake, the latter county has been an exclusive circuit itself,
the Thirty-first.
After construction of the gigantic steel works in Gary, criminal cases
increased so rapidly that the legislature in 1919 passed a law creating a
criminal court for Lake County. After the criminal court was established,
the circuit and superior courts were relieved of criminal cases except when
crowded dockets of the criminal court made it necessary to transfer crimin-
al cases to the circuit court. The act also provided that the criminal court
should hold its sessions at Crown Point, where the county jail is located.
This court sits continuously. For the first three or four years after its
creation, the criminal court held session in a small courtroom in the Circuit
Court Building, Crown Point, but in 1927 a $200,000 Criminal Court
Building was erected adjacent to the county jail. The old county jail was
rebuilt and more than doubled in size, at a cost of about $175,000. The
sheriff's home is attached to the county jail, and in the construction of the
criminal courthouse and the rebuilding of the county jail, an overhead
pass for transferring prisoners from the jail to the court for trial was
added.
Another court which functions in Lake County is the United States
District Court. Prior to 1925 there was in Indiana only one Federal
judge, the State of Indiana constituting but one district. By an act of
Congress in 1925, an additional judgeship was created and the State was
divided into seven divisions. On April 21, 1928, Congress enacted a law
creating two districts in the State of Indiana, a Northern District em-
bracing Hammond, Fort Wayne, and South Bend divisions, with the seat
of the court in South Bend, and a Southern District consisting of Indian-
apolis, Evansville, Terre Haute, and New Albany divisions, with Court's
headquarters in Indianapolis. For the Northern District, two terms of this
court are held in Hammond, two terms in South Bend, and two in Fort
Wayne each year.
Until 1923 juvenile cases were handled by the circuit judge, who
devoted one day of each week to them. However, as the population of the
county increased (the 1920 census showed more than 25,000 children of
school age) , juvenile cases demanded more time than it was possible for
the circuit judge to give. In 1923, after appeal to the general assembly,
a law was enacted empowering the circuit judges in counties with a popu-
lation of from 150,000 to 200,000 to appoint a juvenile referee, who
should hear such juvenile cases as the circuit judge should refer to him.
42 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
The act became effective on March 1, 1923, and a refereeship immediately
was created for Lake County.
In the towns and cities of Lake County, also, are the justice of peace
courts and the city courts, in which are filed annually 18,000 cases. Two
other Indiana courts, the common pleas and the probate court functioned
for a time in Lake County. Probate courts have been abolished throughout
the state, their jurisdiction being transferred to the circuit and superior
courts.
As a contrast to the first year of court's history, the following figures
are taken from the records for 1936:
Total cases pending January 1, 1936, 6,597.
Total cases filed for year 1936, 6,119.
Disposed of during 1936, 6,432.
Cases in the Criminal Courts accounted for and tried, 518.
Cases in the Criminal Court now pending, 920.
Juvenile division cases of the Circuit Court disposed of, 1,072.
Cases still pending, 1,565.
The first order book used in the circuit court covers nine years, October
Term, 1837, to February Term, 1846. During 1936 there were 21 order
books, 600 pages each, containing 29,956 entries of the circuit, superior
and criminal courts.
The first order book of the circuit court discloses the fact that the Lake
Circuit Court seal was adopted on Tuesday, May 15, 1836. The devise
engraved thereon is a ship under sail, a plough and a sheaf of wheat, and
around the margin of the seal is engraved: "Indiana Lake County Circuit
Court."
On October 25, 1838, the Secretary of State forwarded to the clerk
of the circuit court for distribution in Lake County 45 copies of the
revised statutes. At the conclusion of the last (1937) session of the general
assembly, the Secretary of State forwarded to the clerk of the circuit court
780 copies of the Act of the Seventy-ninth Session of the General
Assembly for distribution.
The first estate acted upon by the circuit court was that of Jeremiah
Wiggens, and application for letters was filed August 25, 1838. During
1936, 530 new estates were filed with final reports filed in 455.
During 1837, six marriage licenses were issued, the first being to Sol-
omon Russel and Rosina Barnard, who were united in marriage March 9,
1837, by Solon Robinson, justice of peace. During 1936, 7,086 marriage
licenses were issued.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 43
Since its inception, when its work was done in one office by a staff of
one, the clerk's office, in order to handle the great mass of work dele-
gated to it, has expanded to six offices and increased its staff to twenty-
seven.
The clerk of the circuit court is also ex-officio clerk of the Lake
Superior Court, Lake Criminal Court, Lake Juvenile Court, chief regis-
tration officers of Lake County, member of the Board of Election Commis-
sioners of Lake County, and member of the School Fund Mortage Loan
Board. As member of Lake County Board of Election Commissioners,
he is responsible for the appointment of 170 precinct election boards.
The office requires 30 assistants for the board of canvassers.
JUDGES OF LAKE COUNTY
President Judges, Ninth Judicial Circuit, 1837—1852
Sample, Samuel (South Bend) —December 10, 1836— August 8, 1843.
Resigned.
Nile, John B. (LaPorte) —August 8, 1843— December 19, 1843.
Chamberlain, Ebenezer M. (Goshen) — December 19, 1843 — August
28, 1852. Resigned.
Lowry, Robert R. (Goshen) —August 28, 1852— October 12, 1852.
Associate Judges, Lake County, 1837 — 1852
First Term, 1837—1844
Clark, William— April 15, 1837— April 15, 1844.
Crooks, William B. — April 15, 1837. Removed from county.
Palmer, Henry D.— February 11, 1838— April 15, 1844.
Second Term, 1844—1851
Palmer, Henry D.— April 15, 1844— April 15, 1851.
Turner, Samuel— April 15, 1844— February, 1847. Died.
McCarty, Benjamin — August 21, 1847 — September, 1849. Resigned.
Brown, Alexander F. — November 3, 1849. Died before qualifying.
Rockwell, William— April 15, 1851— October 12, 1852. Removed with
state-wide reorganization of courts.
Pearce, Michael— April 15, 1851— October 12, 1852. Removed with
state-wide reorganization of courts.
44 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Judges of the Probate Court 1837—1852
Wilkinson, Robert— August 30, 1837— August 30, 1844.
Ball, Hervey— August 30, 1844— July, 1849. Resigned.
Turner, David— August 25, 1849— October 12, 1852.
Circuit Judges, Ninth Judicial Circuit 1852 — 7957
Starneld, Thomas S. (South Bend) —October 12, 1852— February 23,
1857. Resigned.
Deavitt, Albert G. (South Bend) —February 23, 1857— November 17,
1857.
Osborn, Andrew L. (LaPorte) —November 17, 1857— October 24, 1870.
Stanfield, Thomas S. (South Bend) —October 24, 1870— March 6, 1873.
Gillett, Hiram A. (Valparaiso) —March 14, 1873— October 22, 1879.
Field, Elisha C. (Crown Point) —October 22, 1879— March 12, 1889.
Resigned.
Johnston, William (Valparaiso) —March 12, 1889— July 2, 1892.
Resigned.
Gillett, John H. (Hammond)— July 2, 1892— January 25, 1902.
Resigned.
McMahan, Willis C. (Crown Point) — January 25, 1902 — -January 1,
1919.
Norton, E. Miles (Gary)— January 1, 1919— January 1, 1933.
Sullivan, T. Joseph (Whiting) — January 1, 1933. Elected for term
of six years.
Judges of the Superior Court — ROOM I
Cass, John E. (Valparaiso) —March 28, 1895— January 1, 1897.
Tuthill, Harry B. (Michigan City) —January 1, 1897— July 1, 1907.
Reiter, Virgil S. (Hammond) —August 6, 1907— January 1, 1935.
Cody, John (Hammond) — January 1, 1935. Elected for term of
four years.
ROOM II
Becker, Lawrence (Hammond) — February 23, 1911 — January 1, 1915.
Hardy, Walter T. (Hammond)— January 1, 1915— October 3, 1921.
Died.
Crites, Maurice E. (East Chicago) — October 11, 1921 — January 1,
1935.
Becker, Lawrence (Hammond) — January 1, 1935. Elected for term
of four years.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 45
ROOM III
Kopelke, Johannes (Crown Point) — February 23, 1911 — January 1,
1915.
Greenwald, Charles E. (Gary) —January 1, 1915— January 1, 1935.
Jenkines, Bertram (Gary) — January 1, 1935. Elected for term of
four years.
ROOM IV
Ridgley, Claude V. (Gary)— May 17, 1927— January 1, 1935.
Sackett, Homer E. (Gary) — January 1, 1935. Elected for term of
four years.
ROOM V
Cleveland, Clyde (Hammond)— May 17, 1927— August 6, 1933. Died.
Strickland, Harold S. (Hammond) —August 19, 1933. Elected for
term of four years beginning January 1, 1935.
Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, 1852—1873
Lawson, Herman (Michigan City) — October 26, 1852 — October 28,
1856.
Talcott, William C. (Valparaiso) —Oct. 28, 1856— Nov. 2, 1868.
Gillett, Hiram A. (Valparaiso) —November 2, 1868— March 6, 1873.
Judges of the Criminal Court
Smith, Martin J. (Crown Point)— April 1, 1919— January 1, 1933.
Murray, William J. (East Chicago) — January 1, 1933. Elected for
term of four years.
Supreme and Appellate Court Judges
Lake County has been honored by being represented in either the
Supreme or the Appellate Court of the State almost continuously since
1900, the following judges have served.
Gillet, John H. (Hammond) — Supreme Court, January 25, 1902 —
January 1, 1909.
Ibach, Joseph G. (Hammond) — Appellate Court, January 1, 1911 —
January 1, 1910.
McMahan, Willis C. (Crown Point) — Appellate Court, January 1,
1919— January 1, 1931.
Curtis, Harvey J. (Gary) — Appellate Court, January 1, 1931. Re-
elected in 1934 for second term of four years.
Juvenile Referees, 1923—1935
Sheehan, Frank J. (Gary)— March 1, 1923— January 1, 1933.
White, Emmet N. (Gary) — January 1, 1935. Appointed for a term
of four years.
46 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
THE FINE ARTS
For many years activities in the Calumet Region were directed solely
toward building — building of industries and building of cities. Chicago,
with its opera, concerts, theaters, art 'salons, and art schools, attracted
those who received recognition in any of the arts and those who had
talent, so that the Calumet area, instead of developing its own culture,
for a decade contributed to that of Chicago. After the World War,
however, the cities well established, a cultural movement in the Calumet
developed almost spontaneously, beginning with the organizations of clubs
by those interested in the arts and the construction of civic buildings
where musical and theatrical performances and art exhibits might be
enjoyed. Today the Memorial Auditorium in Gary, the Hammond Civic
Center, the Community House in Whiting and the Roosevelt High
School of East Chicago all subscribe to the cultural advancement of the
district; in their auditoriums many widely known musicians — Kreisler,
Rachmaninoff, Heifetz, John McCormack, the Paulist Choir — have ap-
peared, and on their walls the works of famous artists have been exhibited.
Since its organization in 1932, the Calumet Center of the Indiana Uni-
versity Extension Division, located in the Roosevelt High School of East
Chicago, has been the co-ordinating influence upon the cultural life of
Calumet cities, and plans have been made for the completion of an
administrative building where facilities will be provided for activities in
the arts. Hugh W. Norman, A.M., Executive Secretary of the Calumet
Center Indiana University Extension, is particularly interested in this
work.
Aside from the university extension, several organizations have helped
to unite the cultural life of the Calumet cities. The Federation of Women's
Clubs and the Tri Kappa Sorority chapters have co-operated with art
associations and taken part in sponsoring annual exhibits of local artists
at the Hoosier Art Salon in Chicago. The Polish Arts Club, organized
on a regional basis with sections representing each of the fine arts, has
sponsored several concerts and musicals, an art exhibit, lectures on art
and literature, and numerous performances of folk dancing.
The splendid music departments of the schools and the many music-
loving Europeans — there is scarcely a foreign group or parish which has
not formed a musical organization of some sort — have contributed to the
advancement of music in the Calumet area. Several regional musical
groups are affiliated with the Indiana University Extension: The Calumet
Symphony Orchestra, directed by Robert J. White and conducted by Sey-
mour Silverman; the Hammond Orpheus Choir, a mixed chorus con-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 47
ducted by George Calder; the Farrar Choral Club, a women's chorus
conducted by Mary Lois Clark, and the East Chicago Male Chorus,
conducted by Robert J. White.
In Gary the Choir Chopin, organized in 1916, has 50 members. It is
conducted by B. J. Zalewski. Preradovic, conducted by George Benetzsky,
is the oldest foreign choir in Gary, organizing in 1914, and has 60 mem-
bers. Besides giving annual concerts locally, it has appeared at the Cen-
tury of Progress in Chicago, at the Civic Opera House in Chicago, and
in Indianapolis. The Gary Municipal Chorus of 100 voices, directed by
A. B. Dickson, was organized in 1925 and presents two concerts a year.
The Gary Choir Karogeorge of 50 voices won the 1936 national award
of the Serbian Singing Federation of North America. One of the largest
choirs in the city, the Gary Liederkranz Society, has 125 voices and is
directed by Prof. Hans Wagner of Chicago. Other foreign musical
groups whose rich colorful music is heard in Gary are the Wanda, Halka,
Nowezycie, Sokol, Harmelo, and the Russian choir.
Among Gary musicians who have achieved more than local distinction
are Lida Browning White, composer-pianist, and Kathryn Witwer, Chi-
cago Civic Opera and radio star. Adele Bohling Lee of the music depart-
ment at Froebel school is the author of numerous school music books
and compositions.
Also contributing to Gary's musical culture are the Association of
Music and Allied Arts (an outgrowth of the old Gary Musical Club),
the Jewish Symphony Orchestra, Aeolian String Quartette, Ambridge
Glee Club, the Gary Civic Band, the Gary Chamber Music Associa-
tion, the Elks Band, and the 113th Engineers Band. The Carillco (con-
traction of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation) Band, a 100-piece organiza-
tion composed of employees of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation
plants, is an outgrowth of the former Gary Works Band.
In Hammond, Henry Waxman is reorganizing (1938) the Hammond
Symphony Orchestra. After study abroad, Waxman was connected with
the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and later conducted a string en-
semble over a national network. William Albach, Hammond composer,
during 1934 appeared in concert with George Dasch, conducting his own
compositions, "Madonna Motif" symphony, "Madonna Motif" overture,
and "Lord's Prayer" for mixed chorus.
From East Chicago has come Vivian Delia Chiesa, well-known opera
and radio star. Of the several choral groups in East Chicago, the Paderew-
ski Choral Society and Choir Laura, both under the direction of Ignatius
Turon, have done creditable work.
48 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Father Lach's Band of Whiting, has completed a successful European
tour, and George Ciega, Whiting organist-composer, has written several
well known compositions of which "Clouds" is perhaps the most popular.
Annual art exhibits are held in the -various cities of the region. The
Gary Public Schools' Art Association and other groups have sponsored
showings annually. And there are several art clubs active in the city, in-
cluding the Gary Art League, organized with J. Fred Howe as president,
and the Palette and Pencil Club. Gary artists represented at the Hoosier
Art Salon in Chicago are: Elizabeth Buchsbaum, Olive Hess Skemp,
Robert O. Skemp, Una A. Greenwood, Helen Ruth Huber, Mrs. J. H.
Euston, Fred Kempf, M. R. Nichols, Gretchen I. Warren, Louis Wilder
Collins, Jane Fowler, Constance Gill Strong, Mildred Young Pneuman,
Neola Johnson, Glen Bastian, Jessie Schley, Nets Corlin, and Dirk
Dekker.
Gary, with its huge industrial buildings, its shoreline, and its sand
dunes, has been of much interest to artists. Alexis Jean Fournier caught
the magnificent splendor of flaming, forging Gary silhouetted against a
sky of darkness and painted "Gary At Night." Adam Emory Albright,
another artist of international fame, has used Gary and its environs as
subjects.
The dunes have attracted numerous artists from outside the Calumet
Region. The duneland paintings of Frank V. Dudley, a Chicagoan, have
received several awards. In 1918 the Chicago Art Institute used one of its
largest galleries for exhibition of his work. After receiving the Logan
prize in 1921 for his "Duneland," Dudley built a studio in what is now
Dunes State Park, where he spends nine months of the year painting the
landscapes about him.
Frank Myslive of Hammond and John C. Templeton of East Chicago
have interpreted the dunes, exhibiting their work in cities of the Middle
West.
The Hammond Painters and Sculptors League, Lenore Conde Lawson,
president, annually sponsors a showing. Its membership is limited, but
works of worthy artists of the entire region are exhibited in its shows.
The Polish Arts Club, exhibiting the work of native artists, held its first
exhibit in 1938 in Hammond. Among Hammond artists are: O. O. Haag,
portrait painter; Lenore Conde Lawson; H. La Verne Thornton; Martha
Ellyson; Ruth Young Gunnell; Susan Howe; A. E. Price; Mrs. Walter
McNary; and Ann Howe Geyer. Olga Schubkegel, art director of the
Hammond schools, has done some noteworthy work in oil painting.
William Danch has contributed art work to Esquire and Michael Lab is
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 49
at present working in the Walt Disney studios, Hollywood. Among the
younger artists of Hammond are Floyd Kay, Ray Ligocki, Joseph Bu-
kowski, and Witold Wilowski.
Several East Chicago artists have done exceptional work. John C.
Templeton has exhibited his paintings, mostly landscapes, in middle
western cities, and the work of Stanley Bielecky, instructor of art at the
University Extension and painter of the modern school, is being exhibited
in New York (1938-39). Another artist doing modern work, Adeline
Cross, has exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute, as has William Poage,
instructor of art in Roosevelt High School and painter of water colors.
Martin Tolpa, of East Chicago specializes in murals and decorative art
and Ernest Kassas' mural, "The Gift of a Book," is in the public library
at East Chicago. The work of Alan Hindmarch, cartoonist, appears in
nationally popular magazines. Other artists of East Chicago are John
Brady, Charles Untules, Rose Murphy, Frances Boomer, Madeline Dupes,
Guy Pratt, and John Shellhardh.
Kenneth Deagling, of Whiting, is a commercial artist of note; while
Francis Kirn, also of Whiting, won the James Nelson Raymond scholar-
ship and became exhibiting member of the Hoosier Art Salon.
The Gary Civic Theater, organized in 1930, was the outgrowth of a
Little Theater movement which was started in 1925 by members of the
staff of the Gary Public Library. Through the co-operation of women's
clubs and individuals interested in drama, it became self-supporting in
the depression years, and now owns a theatre building which seats 450
persons. Some observers have ranked it as one of three outstanding civic
theaters in the country for choice of repertoire.
Mladen Sekulovich of Gary has had major roles in eight Goodman
Theater productions. He had a minor role in Clifford Odet's, "Golden
Boy." Robert Weisner, another Gary boy was a member of the Ballet
Russe. Victor Tanberg has been in the supporting cast with Eva La
Galliene.
Gary also had another successful theatrical group, one for children,
which was originally headed by the four Lyman children and Tom Jewett.
When the Theater Project was established in 1936, the group was taken
over and installed at headquarters as the Mickey Mouse Theater. Mrs.
F. L. Lyman was appointed director to supervise the programs, with Tom
Jewett as one of the four assistants.
Hammond has no self-supporting civic theater, although it has two
drama groups which successfully present spring and autumn plays, and
short plays at irregular intervals. The Hammond Civic Drama Guild was
50 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
organized in 1930, and the Hammond Community Theater in 1938.
Katherine Burke of Hammond, and Jack Hubbard of East Chicago,
have appeared in several motion picture productions. In East Chicago,
the Community Theater group presents plays annually; The Lake Shore
Theater Guild, with headquarters at the Whiting Community House,
gives performances occasionally.
Much has been written about the rise of Calumet cities and of the
area as an industrial center. In a literary sense, however, the life and
atmosphere of the region has still to be written. A creditable attempt at
this was made in one issue of New Wings Magazine, in which local
writers gave first-hand impressions of the life about them. New Wings
is the annual publication of the La Boheme, an outgrowth of University
Extension activities organized in 1932 by Irvin Goldman, instructor of
English. At the beginning of 1937, an experimental literary magazine,
Creative, was published for a half year in Hammond.
There are writers' groups in each of the cities. Gary writers have in-
cluded Clarence Ludlow Brownell, who wrote largely of Japan, the late
Father John B. deVille, James W. Lester, James Stevens, and Garry
August, well-known rabbi. A few Gary newspapermen have met success
in newspaper work or in the magazine field. After leaving Gary, the late
J. Roy Morriss became chief of the Paris bureau of the New York
Tribune. The late Carl O. Dennewitz became European correspondent
and later an executive of an eastern publishing company. Frederick Carr
was for many years western representative of the Christian Science
Monitor. Odgers T. Gurnee and Arthur Shumway wrote short stories.
Several members of the Gary Women's Press Club have gained recogni-
tion of their work. Margaret Springman won an Atlantic Monthly prize
for poetry. Alma Klinedorf received honorable mention from Edward J.
O'Brien in 1937 for her story "Let Out" published in American Prefaces.
Clara Edmunds Hemingway is the author of a volume of poetry, and
Frances Bowles and Mary Ballard have won awards for their verse.
Deanette Small edited and published Hands Across the Nation and con-
ducts a garden column in a Chicago newspaper. A textbook written by
Nelle Ensweiler has recently come from the press.
Donald D. Hoover, at one time city editor of the Indianapolis News,
now living in Hammond, is the author of Copy, a successful book on
advertising. He contributes to Coronet and other national magazines.
Russell Wright, also of Hammond, is author of a book of personal
observations on Soviet Russia.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 51
An attempt to introduce a creative spark into textbooks is being used
by Carl Benz, an instructor at Hammond High School who is writing a
textbook on high school physics which will be published by the University
of Chicago Press. Benz' book, as well as material contributed by him to
scientific journals, is amusingly written. Joseph Bukowski, an artist who
writes poetry under the pen name of Joseph Buck, has appeared in several
anthologies. Active in literary work in Hammond are Lila Smith, Mrs.
Robert Tinkham, Mrs. Donald D. Hoover, Kay Oberlin, Elene Meyn,
Mrs. Leo Feltzer and Gertrude Cooper.
Lola Mallatt Bell was a frequent contributor of poetry to Midland.
Thelma Jones of Hammond has published short stories in Good House-
keeping and other magazines.
A former editor of the Calumet News in East Chicago, William
Stephens is now associated with Esquire. Reverend Orville P. Mankier
writes articles on religious topics, and Edna Maguire, is the author of
several children's books published by Macmillan.
Several novels were written by the Reverend Thomas Stubbins, who
lived in Whiting for many years. Also of Whiting are Jean Ciega, who
has had much published verse to her credit, Mrs. K. S. Myers, a contribu-
tor to magazines, and Juanita E. Darrah, who writes on home economics
for magazines.
THE NEGRO IN THE CALUMET REGION
There are more than 22,000 Negroes in the Calumet area. They com-
prise approximately one-fifth of Gary's and one-tenth of East Chicago's
population. Hammond's smaller population is not solidified socially, politi-
cally, or economically. Whiting is the only city in the region which has
no Negroes.
Walter Hill was the first Negro resident of Hammond. Shortly after
his arrival, in 1906, two families made permanent residence in the city,
settling near what is now the business district. A colony still exists in that
part of Hammond, but it is much smaller than the colony on the east side
of the city known as Maywood, where the Standard Steel Car Company
is located. It was shortly after the car company was built that Negroes
began to settle in Hammond in great numbers. At present they number
nearly 1,000 in an approximate total population for the city of 75,000.
They have come chiefly from Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Negroes hold no elective offices in Hammond, although some of them
have city jobs. However, they have organized a civic club, called the
Progressive League, and some smaller party organizations. Besides a few
52 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
choral groups, the Phyllis Wheatley Chapter of the Y.W.C.A. is probably
the most prominent of their organizations.
The Mount Zion Baptist Church was the first organized Negro church
in Hammond and now has the largest 'congregation. The Bethel African
Methodist Episcopal Church is the only church located in the downtown
colony, all the others being in May wood. Children of school age attend
Hammond public schools, where many have distinguished themselves in
school sports. Attendance records in high school show a steady increase in
enrollment.
Dennis A. Bethea, a physician, is the only Negro professional man in
Hammond. L. B. Burrel is the only resident minister. David E. Ford,
musician and choral director, is well known in the Calumet Region and
teaches music in Gary.
The Negro population in East Chicago, according to the 1930 census,
numbered 5,294, or 9.3% of the total population; the percentage is higher
at present. It is centered in Indiana Harbor where, if that part of the city
were considered alone, the percentage to total population would be higher
than 20%.
No one seems to know who was the first Negro resident in East Chicago.
Twenty-five years ago, it is claimed, there were no members of the race
in the city. Those who have settled in the town since then have come
mostly from the south, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, although
some few came from Chicago. The growth of industry in the city, partic-
ularly Inland Steel, attracted them to East Chicago.
As in Gary, there has been marked cultural development among the
Negro people of East Chicago, where they take an active interest in
politics, support their own churches, and patronize professional people of
their own race. In the present city administration, there is one councilman,
James W. Dent, from the 5th district (Sunnyside) . On the police force
are four officers. There are ten churches, representing several denomina-
tions, and one lawyer, five physicians, and two dentists are listed among the
professional men of the city. There are many organizations — political,
civic and choral clubs — which are supported solely by Negroes.
Members of the race make up almost the entire enrollment of the
Columbus School, 712 E. Columbus Drive, and four of them are
instructors.
The life of the Negro in the Calumet Region centers about Gary. Here
his well-being presents a problem to settlement house and relief agency,
his education is the concern of schools erected for his welfare, and his
service as a laborer in the mills is of prime importance. Although there
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 53
was a great influx of Negroes to the steel city in 1919, some few of them
settled in Gary in its earliest days.
In 1906, when construction work on the Gary mills was being started,
a general foreman of a large construction company in Chicago brought
100 Negro workers to the city. This first group, however, were not set-
tlers but transients. The following year a number of Negroes came to
locate in the city, build homes, and engage in business. The first to arrive
on January 1, 1907, was Shepherd King, a carpenter and also a minister.
In February, Samuel J. Duncan arrived from Chicago, obtaining work
with a gas plant contractor and later with the steel company. Subse-
quently Duncan entered the employ of the Gary State Bank, where he
has been for many years. (His daughter, Catherine Lorrian Duncan, born
in July, 1909, was the first Negro child born in Gary.) Other early Negro
settlers were John Preston, Mrs. Bessie Griggs, and Mack Street. With
the exception of Mrs. Griggs, each bought property.
Raymond Rankin arrived from Chicago in 1907 and the following year,
with Samuel Duncan, organized the first Negro church in the city. In
1909 Everett J. Simpson of Chicago became the first Negro teacher in
the public schools of Gary; a short time later Mrs. Elizabeth Lytle
started teaching in the same school, located at Twelfth Avenue and
Broadway. Simpson's class numbered 18 pupils, Mrs. Ly tie's 22. (Mrs.
Lytle continued teaching in Gary until the summer of 1935.) The first
Negro lawyers in the city were Green and Alexander, who started prac-
ticing in 1909.
In Gary today many follow the professions — law, teaching, medicine,
dentistry — especially the latter two groups. Dr. R. H. Hedrick, director
of St. John's Negro Hospital of Gary, is president of the Indiana State
Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association of Negroes. There are
at least 75 instructors in Gary schools. As a rule, Gary Negroes seek the
services of their own race.
The political power of the Negro is recognized and sought after by
the various political parties. He, in turn, is conscious of the power he
represents in this respect, and takes an active part in campaigns. At one
time in Gary there were three councilmen, and there has always been at
least one alderman. One fire-fighting unit is composed entirely of Negroes.
The influence of Roosevelt school, of which A. H. Theodore Tatum
is principal, as a cultural center is undisputed. During the past few years
the school has sponsored a monthly forum to which have come such
notables as Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, educator and publicist, the late James
Weldon Johnson, author and poet, Dr. Mordecai Johnson, president of
54 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Howard University, and Dr. Kelly Miller, educator and publicist. A
newspaper, the American is published in Gary, edited by A. B. Whitlock.
(Leslie Hodgers, first Negro pupil to be graduated from a Gary high
school, became a successful cartoonist for the Chicago Defender.) There
are thirty churches of various denominations, including a Roman Catholic
Mission.
Lodges, societies, singing groups, parks, and a golf course have been
organized and built to serve social and recreational needs. The Negro
poolroom, however, traditional rendezvous of one type of Negro, is a
veritable institution of Gary's "Central District," where there are as many
as three or four such establishments to a block. There are also the Har-
lemesque night clubs, some of which are frequented by Gary's north side
residents.
On the eastern boundary of the "Central District" an attractive sub-
division built by the Gary Land Company and including modern con-
veniences in sanitation and comfort, is occupied by Gary Negroes. Adjoin-
ing the subdivision is a park and playground. In this vicinity also, is the
Stewart Settlement House, a welfare center exclusively for Negroes, whose
purpose is described as the promotion of "good standards of health, edu-
cation, recreation, Christian ideals, and racial goodwill."
Educational and recreational facilities are offered by the Neighborhood
House and the Friendship House. The Lake County Negro Children's
Home in Gary is under the supervision of the Board of Children's
Guardians.
Despite the large percentage of residents in the Calumet Region, there
has been little racial difficulty. An exception was a strike staged by the
students of Emerson, north side high school, in protest against the trans-
ferring of eighteen Negro students to Emerson from other schools, which
had been affected because of overcrowded conditions in the other schools.
Settlement of the strike followed a city council meeting at which it was
arranged to appropriate $15,000 for temporary quarters for a school at
Twenty-fifth Avenue and Georgia Street and to appropriate $600,000 for
a permanent center, to be erected as soon as possible, which was the
beginning of Roosevelt High School. The students who had been trans-
ferred to Emerson, with the exception of three seniors, together with stu-
dents from Froebel and the school which later became Roosevelt Annex,
were sent to the temporary quarters at Twenty-fifth and Georgia.
The creation of the center had an important bearing on the economic
life of Gary Negroes. It was here in 1932 that a group of consumers
organized under the leadership of Prof. Jacob L. Reddix. Later study
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 55
convinced the group that co-operation would "lift a race out of poverty
and put it on the straight road to independence and prosperity."
The project was chartered on December 17, 1932. Lack of capital was
the greatest handicap, although members of the organization discovered
that building a co-operative required much study, hard work, patience,
and time. An educational program was a prerequisite.
The program was started with weekly meetings, at which co-operative
history and philosophy and the difference between the business operated
for profit and a co-operative business were stressed. In the spring of 1934
the educational committee published a pamphlet entitled "A Five Year
Plan for Lifting the Social and Economic Status of the Negro in Gary."
The first item on this program called for the opening of a large modern
grocery store and meat market, which store was finally opened on August
17 of that year.
In November, 1934, the Consumers' Co-operative Credit Union was
organized to take care of the credit needs of the members for grocery
accounts. At the end of a year, this union had more than 100 members,
with deposits amounting to $1,000. Goods were sold on a strictly cash
basis and all credit accounts were handled through the credit union.
The turn-over for the co-operative store in the spring and summer of
1935 was about $200 a month. In 1936 the turn-over was $44,000 for
that year. During that period the first co-operative store, at 2161 Broad-
way, was remodeled and enlarged to take care of increased business. In
July, 1936, a second store and a filling station were opened at 504 W.
Twenty-fifth Avenue.
The weekly educational meetings had continued until 1935, when they
were succeeded by a regular night school class in co-operative economics
with a teacher of the high school as instructor. This class became the
largest academic class of the school, requiring two instructors, one lectur-
ing on the "History and Philosophy of Co-operation" for beginners, and
the other teaching the "Organization and Management of Co-operatives."
The classes have contributed much to the success of the co-operative, many
students becoming converts. Women members of the co-operative have
organized an active guild, which has helped greatly to arouse interest in
the affairs of the organization.
In this co-operative effort is exemplified the Negro's growing sense of
racial solidarity, his realization of the effectiveness of group effort, and
the awakening of a spirit of self -sufficiency.
56 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
LABOR
In the history of American industry, the rise of the Calumet Region is
a dramatic chapter. Until the 1890's the sandy shore of Lake Michigan,
curving from the Illinois line southeastward for twenty miles or more,
was broken only by little villages. Swamplands and shifting dunes were
the home of screaming waterfowl, and of strange arctic and desert plants
thriving in fantastic juxtaposition. The convenience of such a wasteland
for vast mills and tanks, however, was not long to go unappreciated. This
era was the bright expansive morning of huge trusts and corporations —
continually transcending in their operations State and even National
boundaries. The desert Calumet area was on Lake Michigan and next
door to Chicago; land was cheap here and inhabitants were few. It was
an ideal site for the new blast furnaces, factories and refineries that the
corporations were to erect. Within thirty years it has become one of the
world capitals of oil and steel.
The Standard Oil Company invaded the region in 1889 (compelled,
as a "nuisance industry," to refine its crude oil without offense to the
inhabitants of Chicago) ; in 1901, Inland Steel set up a plant in East
Chicago and demonstrated the economic advantages of the territory for
steel-making. In 1905, after Morgan and Carnegie had fused approxi-
mately half the steel industry of the western hemisphere into the United
States Steel Corporation, Judge Elbert H. Gary, then chairman of the
corporation, announced that a new plant was to be located "on the south
shore of Lake Michigan in Calumet Township Lake County, Indiana."
Before long construction had begun on what was to become the largest
single steel plant in the world and the nucleus of a new industrial center.
Today there is an assemblage of nearly 200 industries — dominated by
steel, oil refining, railroad equipment and chemicals. More than a thou-
sand other products ranging from clothing, soaps, books, medicines, and
foods, to "bottled gas," gypsum, roofing, and cement are manufactured
here.
A majority of the 260,000 inhabitants of the four Calumet cities belong
to the industrial working class. These workers, whether they are members
of independent unions, craft-unions, or vertical unions, represent the most
important factor in the whole industrial process — labor. Their aims are
identical: "Right treatment at the shop," "fair wages and hours," "im-
proved working conditions," and the establishment of what they consider
the democratic rights in industry: "collective bargaining, security, etc."
The first organized movement toward the realization of these aims was
that of the Railway Brotherhoods. Another very early labor organization
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 57
in the region was the Teamsters7 International Union, an American Fed-
eration of Labor affiliate, formed in Hammond shortly after the turn of
the century. With the establishment of many industries and the concen-
tration of population came the growth of numerous workers' unions
organized according to crafts. Particularly strong in this early period
were the building trades, having nearly 100 per cent of the potential
membership (exclusive of fellow craftmen in the maintenance departments
of the industries) . These building trade unions (craft-unions) are the
backbone of the present labor organizations in the Calumet industries, in
fact, the brick-mason union actually was the first to get industrial
memberships.
Today these craft-unions — there are 90 of them — remain affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor. Sixty-five of them have as their co-
ordinating council the Lake County Central Labor Union. Each of the
ninety is entitled to representation at the annual convention of the
American Federation of Labor (one vote for each 100 members) .
Vitally interested in labor legislation, the members of these various
American Federation of Labor unions have engaged for two decades in
an intensive educational program "to influence public opinion on various
state and national labor questions." Carl Mullen of Hammond is president
of the Indiana State Federation of Labor.
With the inauguration of NRA the American Federation of Labor
passed a resolution to the effect that an organizational drive should be
made in mass industries. Accordingly the Lake County Central Labor
Union organized unions in Sinclair, Shell, Wadhams, and Empire Oil
refineries. Under the leadership of the American Federation of Labor,
unions were set up in the Lever Brothers plant, the United States Gypsum
plant, and the Graver Tank Co. plant.
This organizational period saw several minor labor disturbances. At one
time, during the American Federation of Labor organization drive in the
oil refineries, a strike was imminent. A five day strike in the Shell plant
which became the only overt disturbance, resulted in the company writing
a letter accepting the terms of the contract.
In 1934 a strike was called in the Lever Brothers Company plant which
lasted several weeks. The company finally signed a contract that recognized
the union but included little change in wages, hours, or working conditions
(which were particularly good in this plant) .
In 1935, when the Carbon and Carbide building (Whiting) was being
constructed, it was done on a non-union basis for all crafts except bricklayers.
Building trade unions objecting, a strike was called. The high demands of
58 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
the unions, the non-union tradition of the company and of Whiting,
resulted in a bitter battle. The result was the temporary defeat of the
unions. The union representative later established friendly relations.
Up to this period "Big Steel" had remained virtually invulnerable
against labor organizations. "Big Steel" in Gary had grown to amazing
proportions until it towered massively above all other industries (at peak
operation its various subsidiaries in Gary employed about 35,000 persons) .
The concentrated poetry and terror of modern industry are therefore to
be found in Gary Works, the world's largest steel plant and the chief plant
of the Carnegie-Illinois subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation.
It stretches for miles along the flat gray Lake front ... its narrow coke
ovens (nearly one thousand of them) pressed together row on row like
slices of toast in a gigantic toaster, with flames bursting out now and then
between the slices ... its mighty cranes reaching into the bowels of ships
to scoop out great piles of red-brown powdered iron ... its locomotives
whistling as they switch long trains loaded with ladles of slag or molten
iron . . . each of its twelve blast furnaces consuming tons of coke and ore
in a Gargantuan maw, every six hours emitting an insane and raucous
cry of joy as the molten iron leaps heavily into the great ladle, dazzling
bright gold patched with dark scabs of impurity. From the blast furnace
this bright iron is carried, still seething in its ladle, to the interior gloom
of one of the great sheds. Here are the vastness of the open hearth and the
unbearable blaze of white flame within the furnace ... the milk-white
steel rushing into the ladle, mounting higher in soft volcanic waves, scat-
tering sparklets of white crystal over hair, clothing, eyelashes ... the 150
ton ladle swinging aloft and riding ponderously overhead, making an iron
music, to settle in turn over each of the long rows of ingot molds. Then
the clangor of the rolling mill, where the tortured hot ingots are squeezed
through smaller molds, rushing out longer and more slender only to enter
the press again, gliding like bright red serpents to their destination. And
here and there, dwarfed and lost in this inferno, this jungle of smoke and
metal, tiny men move busily among the monsters.
Without these men — the smooth co-ordination of their effort — this
mighty mill could turn out not one single steel tube, not one foot of rail, in
a year. But these workers have an even greater significance for modern life.
They are steel workers. They belong to an army of more than 500,000
men throughout the country who work in the nation's basic industry, and
their destiny is of crucial importance to American working people as a
whole. If they are ill paid, the wage level is depressed for all other work-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 59
ers; if they belong to a union it is far easier to organize the rest of Ameri-
can labor.
The workers of Gary are almost entirely steel workers, who converge
upon the mills down the town's chief arteries three times a day. Between
seven and nine in the morning, between three and five in the afternoon,
between eleven and one at night — they throng in their drab workmen's
clothes to meet the outgoing shifts. In this city the ebb and flow of traffic,
the very retardation and acceleration of business, are determined by the
mill employees. The situation is basically similar throughout the entire
region (there are about 20,000 workers in independent steel plants and
related industries), in spite of more highly diversified industries.
When the United States Steel Corporation was organized in 1901 it
inherited (and proceeded to operate by) a simple philosophy: The Cor-
poration was to have no dealing with organized labor. If the greatest of
corporations did not bargain collectively with its employees, certainly its
smaller competitors could not afford to.
In all fairness, however, something could be said in extenuation of this
anti-union policy. Thirty-five years ago neither the American public as a
whole nor even the working-class sector of the public was widely con-
vinced of the importance and economic practicability of unionization.
Then, too, the Corporation insisted that the workers could get their griev-
ances adjusted fairly by personal appeals — over the heads, if need be, of
minor officials — to plant superintendents, managers, even to the Corpora-
tion's New York office. Judge Gary used to say that his door was always
open to any employee who had a grievance. That the "high command"
were sincere in this attitude seems unquestionable; but the fact remains
that individual workers seldom dared to make such complaints, and that
nepotism, favoritism, and bribery were all too often the result of the
foreman's power to hire and fire. In fact, a gigantic corporation was try-
ing to manage its 200,000 workers in a way that had been practical in
1850 — when an employer could know and greet personally his 10 to 50
employees.
A third and more convincing argument for the corporation's labor
policy was its welfare work. There is no doubt that in providing safety
devices, sanitary conveniences, pensions, first aid, and hospitalization, and
in the construction of churches, clubhouse, and playgrounds, the corpora-
tion has been unusually progressive. But as a Fortune writer observed
as late as 1936:
The basic question is this: Does the worker prefer to let the Cor-
poration thus act the Lady Bountiful, or would he prefer, through
the strength and protection of a steelworkers' union to live with less
60 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
dependence on the decisions of the Corporation's executives, major
or minor?
This always has been a basic question. But it was not the only question
in 1919, when a concerted effort was made by organized labor to organize
the steel workers of the Nation. Regarding the Corporation, through the
pervasive influence of its labor policy, as the chief factor paralyzing the
trade-union movement, the American Federation of Labor called a con-
ference of all unions interested in organizing the steel industry. The basic
demands were to be recognition of the new union and abolition of the
twelve-hour day with no reduction in wages.
The organizing conference met in Chicago in August, 1918. William
Z. Foster, one of the leaders, urged the formation of one big steel union
including all skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers engaged in the
making of steel. Only such a union, he argued, could have sufficient
power to win from the united steel companies the workers' basic demands;
a tactic was devised whereby all the unions were to co-operate fully in a
federation. A rapid membership drive was to be made throughout the
country; skilled workers were to enter the unions which had jurisdiction a I
claims upon them; unskilled and semi-skilled were also to be organized.
It was a good plan; but the unions delayed, hesitated, failed to con-
tribute the $250,000 necessary for an effective campaign. Nevertheless
organizers did finally go out, and by June, 1919, the number of union-
ized steel workers had leaped to 100,000 — the unskilled and semi-skilled
workers in particular, having eagerly flocked into the union.
In June, President Gompers of the American Federation of Labor
wrote to Judge Gary asking for a conference between organized labor
leaders, and representatives of other companies. This letter was never
answered, but while Gompers was hopefully waiting, the steel companies,
it was alleged, were discharging workers wholesale for union membership.
Finally pressure from the rank and file forced the union leaders to take a
strike vote; the tabulation from over the country showed a 98 per cent
vote for demands — this time asking for the eight-hour day, small wage
increases for the lower-paid workers, and one day's rest in seven. A second
request for a conference, however, was refused. Judge Gary wrote: "They
(the Corporation and its subsidiaries) stand for the open shop." Deter-
mined to wait no longer, the union leaders set the strike date for Sep-
tember 22 — in spite of a vague last-minute call for arbitration from
President Wilson. At midnight September 21, 275,000 workers obeyed the
strike call; by the end of the month the number had increased to nearly
350,000.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 61
For a time the Chicago-Calumet area was almost completely paralyzed;
only a few highly skilled laborers remained at work. The mass of un-
skilled and semi-skilled walked out solidly in protest against their lot.
In 1919 the percentage of the foreign-born was greater than today; a vast
majority of these workers were recent immigrants from eastern and
southern Europe, many of whom could not even speak English. To a
panicky public (already frightened by social unrest in post-War Europe)
these inarticulate, and determined workers were "alien revolutionists," a
veritable horde of Bolsheviks. The "Red" scare was more readily invoked
because of the fact that William Z. Foster, one of the many strike leaders,
who subsequently was a candidate for president of the United States on
the Communist ticket, was avowedly a radical, although his role in the
strike itself was no different from that of more conservative unionists.
The steel officials were determined not to bargain with the men, fearing
a unionized industry. They also claimed (although in later years this was
proved a mistaken view) that the eight-hour day was uneconomic. Hence
their only course was to fight until the strike was over. To this end they
utilized the "Red" scare to discredit the workers in the public eye; there
was the alleged employment of spies, whose duty, it was charged, was to
mingle with the strikers, whisper discouragement and fear, and in par-
ticular to foment mistrust among the various foreign groups.
Meanwhile at the request of Mayor W. F. Hodges, State troops
were sent to East Chicago and Indiana Harbor, and Major General
Leonard Wood went to Gary in person with a detachment of Federal
troops. However, according to his subsequent report, General Wood
found them fairly peaceful:
The strikers themselves generally behaved particularly well, the
American especially. They adopted a resolution standing for law
and order.
At President Wilson's Industrial Conference early in October the
strike leaders proposed arbitration, but Judge Gary refused. Late in
November a Commission representing the Interchurch World Movement
agreed to act as mediator; the strike leaders agreed to order the workers
back to the mills and accept the decisions of this impartial group. Again
Gary declined. "There is absolutely no issue." The Corporation's spokes-
man was still the voice of the industry, and independent companies fol-
lowed his lead without question. By December 13, the number on strike
had dwindled to 109,300, and early in January, 1920, the struggle was
called off.
62 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Steel, the core of American industry, ostensibly had remained un-
touched by collective bargaining.
The great strike was more than an episode in the labor history of the
Calumet. After the battle smoke had cleared, the facts gleaned by the
Interchurch World Commission began to emerge and The United States
Steel Corporation soon granted a 10 per cent wage increase to all its
workers; in a few years the 12-hour day and the long shift were
abolished.
The inauguration of NRA guaranteed all workers the right to organize
and bargain collectively and, as has been shown, throughout every indus-
try in the region there was a great upsurge of organizational enthusiasm
under the American Federation of Labor. Under this same impetus, the
Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers, then a divi-
sion of American Federation of Labor, set up eight or nine locals among
steel workers in the Calumet. In Indiana Harbor (Inland) this organiza-
tion was very strong. At the Youngstown plant, the union formed among
the steel workers held together throughout the entire NRA and pre-NLRA
period.
In the Gary Steel mills there was a similar upsurge of union activity
under this division of American Federation of Labor. The coke and open
hearth departments of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Mills were organized,
the unions having a majority in those departments.
At this time two incidents occurred which halted the organizational
drive in the local steel industry. The first was a jurisdictional clash within
the Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers. Fred Schutz, president
of the Lake County Central Labor Union had permitted the eight or
nine local units of this organization seats in the county council. Charges
were brought against him by the federation that he had given the locals
this privilege after they had been suspended by the Amalgamated Associ-
ation. Although the charges against Schutz were never heard the incident
resulted in the temporary cessation of local effort to organize in steel, but
an important step had been taken: the foundation for later organizational
development had been laid.
The second incident was the fall of NRA. Coincident with the annul-
ment of this act, was the company union movement. In the steel industry
company unions became active. Carnegie-Illinois plants established elab-
orate representative plans as did the American Steel Foundries, the
duPont Co., the American Bridge Co. and the Universal Atlas Cement
Co. Many other of the workers' groups soon became company unions, the
representatives of which could present grievances and requests to the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 63
management. Late in 1935 a tendency developed among the company
unions to present real demands such as increased wages and vacations
with pay. Some of these demands were refused and again in 1936 company
union elections were being held on the basis of affiliation with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor.
While this transition was going on locally, there were several develop-
ments in the national scene that were to reverberate in the Calumet. The
first was the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in July, 1935,
granting the right of collective bargaining and forbidding domination or
interference with formation or administration of any labor organization.
The latter article put an abrupt end to virtually all company unions in
the region. The former renewed the desire for collective bargaining in the
steel industry.
Meanwhile a minority group of the American Federation of Labor,
under John L. Lewis, had become convinced of the need for a steel union
based on the vertical plan of organizing. This group also felt that much
of the weakness of the 1919 strike had resulted from lack of funds, an
insufficient number of organizers, the inability of the leaders to keep the
men hopeful and encouraged, and the failure of labor to explain its
peaceful and reasonable purposes to the general public. All these defects
would be remedied, they felt, by an army of trained organizers and a
strong central organization, financed by powerful unions.
The Committee for Industrial Organization and the Steel Workers'
Organizing Committee, were formed by Lewis and the minority group.
By the autumn of 1936 SWOC organizers were in the Calumet Region;
by the next spring a miracle had happened. The United States Steel
Corporation had peaceably, even graciously, signed an agreement with the
new union. That vast industrial leviathan, owned by 200,000 people and
guided by almost none of them, now found itself embarking upon a new
course.
According to corporation spokesmen the terms of the agreement merely
ratified conditions already existing in the mills; CIO officials and workers
claimed that they were a definite victory. The most important items of
the pact were a minimum of $5 for an eight-hour day for the lowest paid
workers; a forty-hour week with extra pay for overtime; and two week's
vacation yearly with pay.
Although the story of the split between the American Federation of
Labor and the CIO belongs to Labor history as a whole, there were re-
percussions in the Calumet that are of interest.
64 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In December of 1936 two steel workers groups asked for admission to
the Central Labor Union but were refused. The policy up to this time
had been one of compromise — a continuance of working relations but no
admission of suspended unions. In July, 1937, the State Federation of
Labor and the American Federation of Labor simultaneously directed
suspension of CIO unions. It was just at that time the oil workers, who
had been organized by the Lake County Central Union, became affiliated
with the CIO, causing open resentment on the part of the craft unions.
During the process of organization of a local in the Graver Tank Com-
pany by CIO, the American Federation of Labor secured a contract with
the company. An attempt to execute a similar coup in the Shell Refinery
failed. Here an election resulted in a victory for the CIO.
During the construction of the Sinclair Refinery a conflict developed
between the oil workers (CIO) and the building trades. Oil workers con-
tended that their contract gave them the right to do this work; the
building trades began picketing the plant. Construction was stopped by
the management until a compromise — both unions would be employed,
building trade rates would be paid — was effected.
Although there has been no outward major break, relations have been
strained. Marking time, the craft-unions have restrained their interest in
the organization of the mass-production industries. Exceptions have been
the boilermakers, engineers, and iron workers, who have secured some
contracts. The craft-unions have given their attention to the smaller
industries; they have a large membership in the Union Drawn Steel plant
and in the Standard Steel Spring plant. Their chief drive has been among
the teachers in Hammond, Gary, and East Chicago, where strong locals
have been formed. Bartenders and musicians unions have been very active.
In contrast to the American Federation of Labor, CIO's achievement in
"Big Steel" — momentous from the CIO point of view — paved the way
for CIO contracts in other mass-production industries. Oil, textile, auto
and others, including the General American Tank Car Co., East Chicago,
are now organized and many plants have signed agreements with the
CIO. The Sinclair Oil Refinery contract is the only national oil contract
in effect in the region, but there are local CIO contracts with Shell,
Wadham, and Empire. The CIO claims 85 per cent of the employees in
these refineries.
As a result of the Wagner Labor Relations Act, the SWOC
unions attempted to secure contracts with Inland Steel and Youngstown
Sheet and Tube Company. The basic question was whether the manage-
ments would sign the contracts submitted by SWOC representative.
Steel Harbor"
White Hot Steel Ingot Being Rolled into Blocks
in Inland Steel Co.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 65
According to SWOC, the managements refused "to sign" or to
bargain with the union even if a majority of total employment could be
proven union members. Some contended, that the refusal of "Little Steel"
was based largely on its open-shop pride, partly on its fear that the new
unions were not responsible; the management claimed that its labor policy
was admittedly satisfactory to SWOC. A notable break in peaceable
collective bargaining occurred in June, 1937, when a national strike was
called in the plant of Inland Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and
Republic Steel.
The Inland and Youngstown plants in East Chicago closed down
entirely, although peaceful conditions prevailed. The Gary plant of
Republic Steel was unaffected. Frequent plans for resumption of opera-
tions in spite of the strike, and requests for aid from state militia or from
the sheriff, marked the period. Upon one rumor that Youngstown would
reopen, a mass picket line of 4,000 people was established, but no back-
to-work movement materialized. During the early part of the strike the
SWOC unions gained greatly in membership, but subsequently there
was a shift toward the independent unions.
When tension and conflict approached the danger point (Inland had
announced that the plant would reopen) , Gov. Clifford Townsend at-
tracted national attention by a clever stroke of industrial statesmanship.
Operating through the Labor Division of the Indiana Department of
Commerce and Industry, Townsend induced each party to the conflict to
meet with him at different hours in Indianapolis. At its meeting with the
governor, the Inland management submitted its labor policy to him and
later wrote him that it would continue to observe this policy. SWOC
submitted a written statement to the Governor. SWOC accepted this
arrangement upon which to resume work.
However, the SWOC union relations in this plant have not been
as successful as in other plants in the region. The SWOC organizers
in June, 1937, claimed 7,500 members, well over half of the total em-
ployment. Twelve hundred of this number were challenged by the man-
agement leaving 6,300 memberships out of 12,500 employees. The case,
Steel Workers Organizing Committee versus Inland Steel, was taken to
the National Labor Relations Board. On November 12, 1938, the Board
handed down a decision upholding the charges of the SWOC that
Inland Steel had refused to bargain with its employees collectively and
therefore was conducting unfair labor practices under Section 8 (1), (2),
and (5) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
The Board ordered Inland Steel to cease and desist from refusing to
66 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
bargain collectively with the SWOC; from dominating and con-
tributing to the support of company-inspired Steel Workers Independent
Union, Inc., and from interfering with the rights of employees to join
a union and bargain collectively. It further ordered the company to with-
draw all recognition from the company union and to bargain collectively
with the SWOC.
On January 4, 1939, Inland filed in the Circuit Court of Appeals for
the seventh district petition to review and set aside the order of the Labor
Relations Board. The printed record of the case is now (June, 1939)
being prepared, and the Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case in
the fall.
Likewise, Governor Townsend soon announced a settlement between
the Youngstown, East Chicago plant, and the union through a statement
of management policy agreeable to the union. Pickets had been with-
drawn when word came from the Youngstown, Ohio plant that no
agreement had been signed. Confirmation and denials followed; picket
lines were organized and disbanded. The local plant finally reopened
July 13, 1937 with all employees returning and both sides claiming a
victory. As Inland did, the Youngstown management denied signing an
agreement. It is thought this company also set forth labor policies in a
letter to Governor Townsend which he and the union considered accept-
able. The independent unions claim a membership of close to ninety per
cent of the total employment. The final result awaits the decision of the
Circuit Court of Appeals.
How do the people of the Calumet Region feel about this great
transformation of 1936-37? "Big Steel" itself seems serenely undisturbed.
Never malevolent toward its employees (even in its bitterest open-shop
days it was paternalistically kind), it goes on improving its safety devices;
providing vocational training for its workers; conferring upon them nu-
merous benefits not demanded by the union agreement; paying higher
wages without any outward complaint.
The psychological effect of "these agreements" between labor and
management was immediate and unmistakable; it did away with the im-
mediate fear of a strike, and protected labor, public, and employers alike
from most of the risks of industrial readjustment. The existence of mass-
production unions has stimulated the growth of craft unionism in the
same area.
Perhaps the group that is most disturbed by recent events is the pro-
fessional and retail business class. Their uneasiness is not a result of
hostility toward labor; but rather from an uncertainty as to the "sticking
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 67
power" of CIO. Although the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation re-
newed its contract with CIO for the year 1939, the CIO leaders began
early in the year to conduct a campaign for a closed shop. The Carnegie-
Illinois contract provides for the CIO as the bargaining agency for its
members only. What the outcome of the struggle for this additional
demand will be, only the future can tell.
TRANSPORTATION
Waterways
In one prehistoric period, the entire Calumet Region was covered by
the glacial Lake Chicago. With the recession of this lake and the forma-
tion, centuries ago, of Lake Michigan, the region was given a crescent-
shaped coast line on the second largest of the Great Lakes. As late as
1821, however, an historian said of this southern shore line:
It is yet somewhat problematical whether a safe and permanent
harbor can be constructed by any effort of human ingenuity, upon
the bleak and naked shores . . . exposed as they are to the most
furious tempests. So problematical it seemed at that time that it
was suggested that the Calumet River be turned into the Chicago
River, and that islands be constructed offshore for warehouses, con-
nected by bridges. Other early travelers and engineers reported
that improvements were practically impossible on the southern
shores of Lake Michigan.
At how early a time Lake Michigan was used by the French voyageurs
and the Indians is not known. J. Nicole t, French explorer, is credited
with discovering Lake Michigan in 1634 and Nicholas Perrot, agent for
the intendant of Canada, with exploring the lake to its southern termina-
tion in 1671. La Salle and his companions in the same century crossed
from the west coast of the lake to the mouth of the St. Joseph River,
skirting the shore of the Calumet Region; and Marquette in 1675
journeyed around Lake Michigan's southern shore in a canoe. All of
these found the Indian traversing Lake Michigan and the streams which
flowed into it.
Both light and heavy craft were used by the explorers and Indians,
some of them constructed of birch bark and others hollowed out of
trees, large enough to carry two or three persons and baggage. Upon
the advent of the French trader and trapper the pirogue came into use.
This was a boat 40 to 50 feet long and very narrow, but capable of
accommodating a family and its household goods. In these boats, the
coureurs de bois and Indians traversed Lake Michigan, sometimes mak-
ing use of sails. They hugged the shores closely, at times "sweeping up
68 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
to a trading post in flotillas of 80 or 90." These boats offered the only
means of travel to the Calumet Region for many years.
Lake Michigan is 307 miles long and 118 miles wide. It is connected
with Lake Superior by the Soo, with Lake Huron by the Straits of
Mackinac. From Huron the course to the Atlantic is open by way of
Lakes Erie and Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. It is the only one of the Great Lakes over which the United
States has full jurisdiction.
As early as 1783, George Washington saw the possibility of a great
chain of waterways by way of the lake region, from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Mississippi River. In 1826 the first steamer rode the waters of Lake
Michigan, but it was 1834 before a steamboat, the Michigan., penetrated
as far south as Chicago. The first work of improving the Chicago harbor
by the United States Government had been started the year previous.
In 1847 the River and Harbor Convention was held in Chicago to provide
for the improvements of all ports on Lake Michigan, and in 1870 work
was begun on a harbor at the west mouth of the Calumet River, now
12J/2 miles south of the mouth of the Chicago River and slightly more
than a mile west of the Indiana-Illinois state line. (The Calumet River
formerly turned south before debouching into Lake Michigan, its outlet
being about 3,200 feet south of its present site.) The Calumet River for
five and one-half miles inland was dredged and widened. However, the
beginning of the twentieth century found the Lake Michigan coast line
in northwest Indiana without a harbor; industrialization of the region
was rapidly increasing.
For many years leading citizens of East Chicago had dreamed of
building a harbor and canal system, connecting Lake Michigan with the
Grand Calumet River. Corporate ownership of the lands involved under-
went many changes during this time, and although the harbor had been
dredged and a part of the canal had been cut, the project was not
finished until the United States Government assumed jurisdiction in 1901.
The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal played an important part in the
industrial development of this area; in. fact, it was during the construction
period of the harbor and canal that several large companies decided to
locate plants there.
Completed in 1903, the harbor at Indiana Harbor is joined to the
Grand Calumet River by a canal which, from its harbor end between
filled land occupied by the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company on
one side and the Inland Steel Company on the other, extends inland
slightly more than two miles to the Forks. From the Forks, two branches
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 69
lead off, one in a westerly course for about a mile, the other in a southerly
course for two miles. The main canal and the westerly or Lake George
branch have been improved to a depth of 22 feet for a bottom width
which is generally 160 feet. The southerly branch of the canal joins the
Grand Calumet River about one-half mile beyond Chicago Avenue. The
main channel and the westerly course are maintained by the United States
Government, and the head of navigation is on the westerly branch at
White Oak Avenue.
Coincident with the founding of Gary in 1906 a second harbor in the
Calumet Region on the Lake Michigan coast line, Gary harbor, was
erected to accommodate the Gary Works of the United States Steel
Corporation. Piers, 248 feet apart, extending 2,000 feet into the lake, and
a breakwater extending 3,200 feet north and northeast were constructed.
This channel is 22 l/2 feet deep.
A third harbor was built on the Calumet Region coast line in 1925.
Four and one-half miles northwest of Gary, but within Gary City limits,
the Portland Atlas Cement Company, United States Steel subsidiary,
erected Buffington Harbor.
In 1936, after a Congressional appropriation of $2,814,000, work was
started on extending the navigability of the Calumet River from Indiana
Harbor through East Chicago and Hammond, and connecting with a new
harbor (Lake Calumet Harbor, construction of which was started in
1938). This work includes the dredging of Lake Calumet for a barge
terminal, the construction of a connection between Lake Calumet and
Lake Michigan, and the widening of the Little Calumet River and the
Sag Canal. (The Calumet Sag Canal was constructed by the Chicago
Sanitary District in 1931 to connect the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal,
also known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, at Lemont, Illinois, with the
Little Calumet River.) In 1937 the Government authorized the dredging
and widening of the Indiana Harbor canal. Also, the Grand Calumet
River in its East Chicago and Hammond channels is to be widened,
straightened, and deepened. When the link is completed, the Calumet
Region will be connected with the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi
River System. Lake freighters and river barges will be accommodated
from Indiana Harbor through the canal, the Grand Calumet, the Little
Calumet, thence through the Calumet Sag channel to the Des Plaines
River (Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal), and Illinois River, which
empties into the Mississippi River.
The Calumet River, with its two parts, is "peculiar in the direction
of its flow, its low banks, the sluggish motion of its current, and its
70 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
possession of two mouths." Originally the river rose on the west side of
LaPorte County and ran west almost parallel with the Lake Michigan
shoreline through Porter and Lake counties and into Illinois. There a
part of it emptied into Lake Michigan 13 miles southeast of today's
Chicago harbor; the other part returned directly east, parallel with its
former course, and only three or four miles north of it, and emptied into
the lake slightly east of the extreme southern bend, now a part of Gary.
Tradition has it that the channel which passes between Calumet Lake
and Wolf Lake to connect with the river proper, four miles northwest
of the center of Hammond, was opened by Indians about 1810 by push-
ing their canoes on one line through the marshes until a permanent outlet
was formed. In the late 1830's and early 1840's, the Little Calumet and
Deep River, a stream southeast of Gary, were used as a waterway for
small craft between the region and Blue Island, Illinois, and Michigan
City, Indiana. To reach the latter city, a portage of four miles from the
Little Calumet to Trail Creek was necessary.
Today that portion of the river flowing through the Gary property of
the United States Steel Corporation has been artificially straightened.
The course of the river at the east mouth has been changed, and the
mouth has receded to a lagoon in Marquette Park, Gary.
Burns Ditch, a recently constructed canal, begins at Deep River and
runs northeast along the course of the Little Calumet. Twelve and a
half miles east of the center of Gary, Burns Ditch leaves the Little
Calumet to turn north into Lake Michigan. This canal, named for
Randall W. Burns, owner in 1906 of 1,200 acres of marshland in the
southeastern part of what was to become Gary, was built by Porter and
Lake Counties. Burns originated the idea of reclaiming the Pontine-like
marshes (20,000 acres) of the region. Long drawn-out litigation, phases
of it reaching the United States Supreme Court, delayed the actual
construction of the canal until 1924. The main channel, one and one-
eighth miles long, is 70 feet wide at the bottom and 130 to 300 feet at
the top. It has been proposed to develop a public harbor at the mouth
of Burns Ditch and to connect the Little Calumet with the Grand Calu-
met west of Gary.
The Grand Calumet and the Little Calumet rivers, through their
connections with the harbors and canals of this region, have become a
part of the Great Lakes-to-Gulf-of-Mexico Waterways Project. The four
harbors of the Calumet area, to which come boats from all parts of the
world, are among the busiest on Lake Michigan, their aggregate tonnage
comparing favorably with that of any other harbor in the Great Lakes.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 71
All the harbors and waterways of this region are under the jurisdiction
of the Interstate Port Authority of Illinois and Indiana.
Highways
High roads of commerce in the Calumet Region follow or run hard
by trails that are "nobody knows how old." Indians, although they were
not road-builders, possessed an instinct for traveling in the safest and
most direct paths, and the old traces and trails were found in some
instances to be better routes than those proposed by engineers.
The area's first road of importance, known as the Lake Shore Road,
followed a long Indian trail originating at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and
passed down the western shore of Lake Michigan and on to Detroit by
way of Michigan City. It later became known as the Fort Dearborn-
Detroit Road. Indians had filed over it for centuries; French explorers
had used it; French, English, and American troops moved over it, and
it was early a post road between Chicago and Detroit. However, it was
described, as late as 1820, as a "plain horse path."
In 1820 the Federal Government obtained, by treaty with the Indians,
the right to construct a road through the area. In 1824, $10,000 was
appropriated, and the survey started in 1826. Surveyors wanted to
straighten and shorten the route, but soon discovered the Indians had
been wise in going around the marshes and had found the shallowest
places for fording streams. The route decided upon followed the Indian
trail.
When the new road was finally completed in 1833, travelers found it
slow and hazardous; they often were forced to leave their coaches or
wagons outside Michigan City and continue on horseback. There were
great stretches of black mud in Michigan and deep beds of sand along
the lake shore. One writer said so many vehicles had been abandoned
along the road that it resembled the path of a retreating army. Fords
were dangerous. One of the most difficult of these was at the mouth of
the Calumet River, where travelers unfamiliar with the approaches to a
large sandbar frequently got into trouble. A route farther from the
lake shore, through Baileytown, became popular; this course later was
to become a part of the Dunes Highway.
The Sauk Trail was a part of the transcontinental Indian route, run-
ning through the present towns of Niles, Michigan; Westvilie, Indiana;
Merrillville, Indiana; Schererville, Indiana; Joliet, Illinois; and on to
Omaha, Nebraska, where it divided, one section running southeast and
the other northwest. Over it, from Illinois and Wisconsin to Detroit,
72 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
the western tribes passed annually to receive annuities from the English
for their services in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. This
annual march of men, women, and children, with their ponies, dogs and
all other tribal properties, beat a good' path that drew more and more
white travellers. In 1834 it took the name of the Joliet Road and after-
wards was called the Main Road.
It was this trail that Carl Fisher, of Indianapolis, later promoted as
the Lincoln Highway. Soon after passage of a Federal road aid bill in
1921, the Lincoln Highway Association appealed to the United States
Rubber Company for financial aid in constructing a model section on
this route in the Calumet. The company contributed $120,000, the State
contributed $330,000, and the county, $25,000; work was started on a
stretch from Dyer, Indiana, to Schererville, Indiana, about three miles.
On the committee in charge were some of the country's leading highway
engineers. The concrete road, 40 feet wide, 10 inches thick, and rein-
forced with 80 pounds of steel to the 100 square feet, was completed in
1923. The tree-lined roadside was beautifully landscaped, and floodlights
play over the entire course at night.
Under the Government's guidance, steps had been taken in 1919 to
improve the road which ran along the lake shore. The survey followed
the old Detroit State Road, and became known as the Dunes Highway,
25 miles long and 20 feet wide. The road extended from Gary to Michi-
gan City, through a section rich in historical interest and possessing a
variety of beautiful scenery.
The interest thus stimulated by the building of these two routes
hastened Government construction of the Lincoln Highway, US 30; the
Dunes Highway, US 12; Ridge Road, US 6; the Florida-Canadian, US
41; and later a four lane highway south of Dunes Highway, US 20. All
are part of, or important links in, the United States Highway system.
In order to meet the demands of modern highway transportation,
growth of traffic, and increased speed of automobiles, the Indiana State
Highway Commission formulated an extensive program of development,
which included widening and straightening of routes, construction of
viaducts and building of more roads. US 12 was one of the first to
receive the commission's attention. Extending along the lake shore from
Gary to Chicago, it ran through a heavily industrialized area, and received
large streams of traffic from US 20 and US 41. The route was circuitous
and had many treacherous grade crossings. It was widened from 20 to 40
feet between Gary and East Chicago, a particularly congested section,
three dangerous curves were eliminated, three-quarters of a mile of a
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 73
new section constructed, a bridge built over the Grand Calumet, and a
viaduct built over the Pennsylvania and Wabash Railroad tracks in
Gary. This work was completed in 1937 at a cost of $1,500,000.
The commission's program also included the paving of 13.65 miles
of road from Deep River to US 41; paving of three miles from US 30,
northeast of Dyer, to State 152, at Crown Point; extension of Calumet
Avenue from US 41 to Lincoln Highway to provide a direct route to
Hammond; extension of US 12 through Gary on Fourth Avenue as a
four-lane highway; elevation of US 41 over freight yards at Hammond
(Forsyth Viaduct) ; and construction of a 3,200 foot bridge over 60
railroad tracks and several other viaducts.
The 13-mile section of Lincoln Highway, now routed a mile south of
the old Lincoln Highway, from Deep River to US 41 has several experi-
mental features. Right and left lanes have been divided by a parkway,
each pavement being 22 feet wide, the route was laid out to avoid towns
and at passage over the Pennsylvania and Erie tracks, raised sidewalks,
with rail guards, have been provided for pedestrians. The road was the
first of the kind in Indiana.
On US 20, from the Michigan Central Railroad to the cutoff to the
old Dunes Highway, an experiment in lighting is being conducted. New-
type sodium vapor lights, have been installed at 24-foot intervals by the
Northern Indiana Public Service Company. Each light has an intensity
of 10,000 lumens, enables a driver to see 2,000 ft. ahead under normal
conditions and will penetrate fog, rain and snow.
The program of extension and improvement continues in this area
where trails and traces ran centuries ago. It is a flexible one, intended
to keep pace with increasing traffic and greater speed, and to establish the
best standards for safety.
Railroads
The history of railroads in the Calumet Region might be said to have
started with the granting of a charter by the territorial legislature of
Michigan for the construction of a railway from Toledo to the Kalamazoo
River. Six years later this road, known as the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad,
with its wood-burning engines distinguished by giant stacks, started oper-
ating over tracks which were flat bars of iron, laid on long timbers. Fuel
was obtained from the forests through which it ran, and water for the
tank was taken from a ditch alongside the right-of-way.
In 1838 a group of Detroit business men took over this enterprise and,
under State supervision, pushed the road to Ypsilanti. Financial diffi-
74 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
culties halted the Detroiters at this point, and the State of Michigan
continued construction, extending the road by 1843 to Hillsdale, which
town remained the western terminus until 1846. That year a group of
capitalists purchased the line, with the intention of building through to
Chicago. To this end they re-incorporated as the Michigan Central and
pushed construction westward with such vigor that Chicago was reached
in 1852. This was the first railroad to cross the Calumet Region.
The promoters of the railway gave scant attention to the country
through which they built. Population was sparce and freight of local
origin practically non-existant. Thus it is not surprising that only one
station was established by the Michigan Central in the Calumet area.
This was known as Lake and was near the town of Liverpool, lying east
of what afterwards became the city of Gary. A two-story frame building
was erected for the reception of freight and the accommodation of pas-
sengers. Around it there grew a small town, with a "hotel" and primitive
trading facilities. Also, communication was established with Crown Point,
the county seat twelve miles to the south, a stage line conveying passengers
and mail between the two points.
This period in history was marked by railway construction in all the
more settled parts of the United States. The plans of the Michigan Cen-
tral had no more than been made public than it was announced that a
new line to be known as the Michigan Southern would parallel it into
Chicago. The eastern terminus was to be Monroe, Michigan, and the
route westward lay through Petersburg, Adrian, Hillsdale, and Cold-
water. From this last named point, the road followed closely the right-
of-way of the Michigan Central into Porter County, Indiana. Striking
west and north around the southern shore of Lake Michigan, its route
lay through what afterwards became Millers Station, Gary, and Whiting,
and thence into Chicago. A few months after the completion of the
Michigan Central, the Michigan Southern reached its western terminus.
Two years after completion of the Southern saw construction of the
"Joliet Cut-off," a line which extended from Joliet, Illinois, through
Dyer, Griffith, Liverpool, and Lake Station, Indiana, to a connection
with the Michigan Central in Porter County, and exerted a marked in-
fluence on the rural development of the locality. The station set up at
Dyer became a distributing point for freight consigned to the southern
and western portion of the Calumet Region and a shipping point for
produce of all descriptions raised in that area.
The results of this traffic soon became manifest. Dressed lumber came
in over the cut-off, and the log cabins of the pioneers began to give way
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 75
to frame houses. Factory-made furniture and musical instruments were
to be found in the homes of prosperous farmers. Their families no longer
dressed in homespun but availed themselves of store goods from Chicago
or, possibly, from the shops of Dyer and other trading centers. Horses
replaced oxen in the fields and on the roads. Instead of the crude farm-
ing implements the settlers had brought from the east, reapers, improved
plows, and farm wagons now came into use.
The Michigan Central and the Michigan Southern were eventually
absorbed by the Vanderbilt interests, and became the western antennae
of the New York Central System.
In 1848 the first link of today's Pennsylvania System, the Ohio &
Pennsylvania was constructed from Mansfield, Ohio, eastward to Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania. Two years later an independent company, the Ohio
& Indiana, started building westward, from Mansfield to Fort Wayne,
Indiana. Still another company, the Fort Wayne & Chicago, began
laying rails in 1852 from Fort Wayne to Chicago.
The Fort Wayne & Chicago line had reached Columbia City, Indiana
in 1858, when financial difficulties beset it. About this time, the Ohio &
Pennsylvania absorbed the Ohio & Indiana, thus acquiring an entrance
into Fort Wayne. Then it took over the uncompleted Fort Wayne &
Chicago, with the intention of completing construction, which would
provide a direct line from Pittsburgh to Chicago. For this purpose, the
enterprise was re-incorporated, the new company being known as the
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago.
The company pushed rapidly westward to Plymouth, Indiana, but
there it encountered another road just under construction, which called
itself the Cincinnati & Chicago. The two companies discovered mutual
interests, and the Cincinnati & Chicago disappeared within the folds of
the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago. This deal enabled the latter
road to make its advent into Chicago in 1858, the same year in which
the undertaking had been started.
Through traffic was now established between Chicago and Pittsburgh.
In northern Indiana, the new system traversed what afterwards became
Whiting and East Chicago. A few miles farther east, it passed through
a place called Tolleston, now a part of Gary, and then through the town
of Hobart. This community, lying on the edge of the Calumet Region,
was the first settlement in the area to profit by the new railway con-
struction. Surrounding Hobart was considerable farming territory and
within the town were a saw mill and a grist mill to which were now
added a brick kiln, a terra cotta plant, and a lumber mill.
76 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Although the Civil War practically suspended railroad construction,
in 1863, the Great Eastern Railway Company was organized to build a
road from Logansport, Indiana, to Chicago. This line, subsequently
known as the "Panhandle," was routed from Logansport through La
Crosse, Crown Point, Hartsdale, and Maynard into Chicago. It no
longer appears as a railway entity, having been absorbed into the Pennsyl-
vania System.
Eleven years later, in 1874, the railway facilities of the region were
greatly augmented by the arrival of the Baltimore & Ohio, and the middle
west was afforded a new trunk-line connection with the Atlantic seaboard,
the termini being Baltimore and Chicago. The Baltimore & Ohio entered
the Calumet Region as a parallel line to the Michigan Southern. From
Millers Station, which it established on the south shore of Lake Michigan,
it passed westward into Chicago, keeping close to the shoreline. Millers
Station (now a part of Gary) provided some local freighting business,
the inhabitants of the region capitalizing on the dunes that surrounded
them and shipping sand into Chicago, where it was in demand for build-
ing purposes. In the winter, ice was harvested on the lake front, the
market again being Chicago.
The next major railway construction in the Calumet Region came six
years later, when the Chicago & Grand Trunk began operations. From
a terminus on the Indiana-Michigan state line, this road ran to South
Bend, Indiana, thence westward to Valparaiso, Indiana, and from Val-
paraiso into Chicago by way of Griffith, Indiana. Twenty years later,
in 1900, having defaulted on its bonds, the company was reorganized as
the Grand Trunk Western Railway. In 1928, there was a consolidation
of subsidiary lines, and the title then became the Grand Trunk Western
Railroad. The principal service of this line to the country through which
it passed was the establishment of milk stations along its route. Interest
in dairying increased in consequence.
The year 1882 witnessed the construction of three trunk lines across
the Calumet Region, all of them bound for Chicago, which today are
known as the Nickel Plate, the Erie, and the Monon. Like practically
every other railroad, the Monon today is the outgrowth of a number of
consolidations, the most important of which took place in 1881, when the
Louisville, New Albany & Chicago was organized. The construction work
necessary to link the several members of the system was completed Janu-
ary 8, 1882, and on that date the first train over that road rolled into
Chicago. The following year the Monon opened in Hammond, which
had been designated as a division point and at which classification yards
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 77
and a roundhouse had been erected, what was then the finest station in
northern Indiana. As the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago the com-
pany remained until 1897, when the present corporate name, the Chicago,
Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Company, was adopted.
In 1881 and 1882 the Nickle Plate System constructed under an
Indiana State charter a line from the Indiana-Ohio boundary, passing
through Knox, Valparaiso, Hobart, and Hammond, Indiana, into Chi-
cago, arriving at that city on October 22, 1882, a few months earlier
than did the Monon. Previous to 1882, this company had undergone a
series of physical and corporate changes, changes which continued until
1923, when a final consolidation established the company as it is today
(1938). The Nickle Plate, whose corporate name is the New York,
Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, owns and operates among other
properties, a continuous line of road from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago.
Eastern connections provide outlets to the Atlantic seaboard.
The corporate name of the Erie System as it affects the Calumet
Region is the Chicago & Erie Railroad Company, owned wholly by the
Erie Railroad Company, the chief offices of which are in Cleveland, Ohio.
The history of this company dates from 1871, when the Chicago Con-
tinental & Baltimore was incorporated in Indiana for the purpose of
constructing across the northern tier of counties a railway from the
Indiana-Illinois boundary to the Ohio-Indiana boundary. Two years later
the company changed its name to the Chicago & Atlantic. A series of
corporate maneuvers and consolidations followed. By the latter part of
1882, the Chicago & Atlantic had completed construction from Marion,
Indiana, to Hammond, Indiana. Entrance into Chicago was effected
through an arrangement with the Chicago & Western Indiana. Service
into Chicago was opened in June, 1883. In 1890, the Chicago and Erie
acquired the assets of the Chicago & Atlantic. The eastern terminus of the
system is Jersey City.
In 1895 the Wabash Railroad Company, as the successor of the Mont-
pelier & Chicago, an Indiana corporation chartered in 1890, completed
the construction of a trunk line from Montpelier, Ohio, to Clark Junc-
tion, in Lake County, Indiana. Here connection was made with the tracks
of the Baltimore & Ohio under the terms of a contract to run 99 years,
and entrance to Chicago thus gained. The Wabash Railway Company,
the present operating corporation, succeeded to the interests of the older
company through foreclosure proceedings in 1915.
The last trunk line to build across the Calumet Region, the Chicago &
Cincinnati, was chartered by Indiana in 1902 to build a line from North
78 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Judson, in Starke County, Indiana, to Hammond. Quite soon thereafter,
the Chicago & Cincinnati was absorbed by the Cincinnati, Richmond &
Muncie, which in its turn (1903) was taken over by the Chicago, Cin-
cinnati & Louisville, which road completed construction into Hammond
on April 7, 1907. From Hammond, Chicago was entered under trackage
arrangements with other carriers.
On July 5, 1910, the Chesapeake & Ohio took over the properties of
the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville, and has since operated them, subject
to minor corporate changes in title. It calls itself in its promotional
literature "the George Washington railroad," inasmuch as it follows the
route conceived by Washington for a main artery of transportation be-
tween the east and the west.
One other important system, the Pere Marquette, whose headquarters
are in Detroit, touches the Calumet Region in its eastern stretches, having
a terminus at Porter, Indiana, and crosses the region into Chicago
through trackage arrangements with other carriers. Its history goes back
to the incorporation of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore, in 1869.
The consolidation which resulted in the formation of the Pere Marquette
was the outcome of many reorganizations and was effected in 1899. There
were further corporate changes in 1907 and 1917, but since the latter
date the properties which for the most part lie in Michigan, with a ter-
minus at Detroit, have been operated by the Pere Marquette Railway
Company. The company's train service into Chicago started in December,
1903.
The phenomenal growth of Chicago as an industrial and commercial
center and its rapid increase in population were the motives back of the
extraordinary activity in railway construction to this city. In turn the
network of trunk line railways across northwest Indiana greatly influenced
the growth of the industrial cities of the Calumet Region. As the Calumet
Region developed, it became necessary to co-ordinate the services of these
systems, to provide for the interchange of carload traffic, traffic to be
routed south, west, or north, without unloading at Chicago terminals.
The result was the construction of a series of belt-line railways, almost
encircling the city.
The first of these was the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, which became the
property of the United States Steel Corporation and served its plants at
Gary, South Chicago, Joliet, and elsewhere in the Chicago area. This
road was followed by the Chicago & Terminal Railroad which belt line
lay inside the circuit of the earlier road and more nearly completed the
circling of Chicago. It had its northern terminal at Mayfair, and ran
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 79
through Blue Island to Indiana Harbor. The Indiana Harbor Belt grew
out of the special need of the Inland Steel Company at Indiana Harbor
for switching services. The line rapidly extended its facilities, and later
was purchased by the New York Central interests, who have developed
it until today it is a major factor in beltline service in the Calumet
Region. The Baltimore & Ohio followed the lead of the New York
Central in acquiring belt-line trackage, taking over the Chicago & Ter-
minal. This is now operated in conjunction with its main-line facilities
under the title, Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal.
Coincident with the establishment of the great plant of the United
States Steel Corporation at Gary, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, now a sub-
sidiary of United States Steel, acquired the trackage of the Chicago,
Lake Shore & Eastern, thus giving it an unbroken line around Chicago.
At the same time, there was established at Gary the great Kirk classifica-
tion yard, from which is routed over the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern all the
traffic originating in the Gary works.
Another phase of regional transportation is the local passenger services,
electric railways (street cars), motor coaches (buses), and interurbans.
The first franchise for local passenger transportation in the county was
granted in 1866 by the City of Hammond to the Hammond Horse and
Steam Dummy Street Railway Company. This franchise to operate cars
on tracks in the streets by means of electricity, horses, or steam dummy
provided that no car should be operated at a speed of more than eight
miles per hour. It was to expire at the end of two years if no tracks
were laid.
No construction was undertaken under this first franchise. On April
18, 1892, another franchise was granted to the Hammond Electric Rail-
way Company. First cars were run in that year. The new company was
authorized to operate an electric railway about two miles long on Hohman
avenue, the main street of Hammond. The ordinance provided that the
company could use animal power only if the electric cars broke down
and then for only thirty days. In 1893 this franchise was sold to the
Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago Railway Company. Successive
extensions included a line on Indianapolis Boulevard from Whiting to the
State Line where a connection was made with the Chicago system, on
March 12, 1894; the connection of the existing tracks in Hammond to the
route operating between the State Line and Whiting, June 18, 1895; the
construction of a second track on Hohman and Sheffield Avenues be-
tween the Hammond city tracks and the State Line-Whiting tracks, Sep-
tember 17, 1895, construction of a line on Hoffman Street and one on
80 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
150th Street (this latter line was extended to East Chicago and Indiana
Harbor), February 4, 1896; and a line on Conkey and Morton Streets to
serve the Standard Steel Car Company plant. By 1896 the original Ham-
mond city route had been extended to the Illinois line at Robey, from
there to Whiting and East Chicago, and from Hammond to East Chi-
cago; later a further extension was made from East Chicago to Indiana
Harbor. At the high point of development there were 26 route miles of
track in use.
These lines continued to be operated by the Hammond, Whiting and
East Chicago Street Railway Company until June 15, 1921, when they
were surrendered and indeterminate permits were issued by the Public
Service Commission asking permission to abandon all of the lines. An
abandonment order was approved by the Commission on May 22, 1931,
and the cities of Hammond, Whiting, and East Chicago were in im-
minent danger of losing their electric street railway service.
On September 25, 1931, the Chicago & Calumet District Transit
Company, Inc., purchased the lines and has since operated all except
the 9-mile line between Hammond and East Chicago and Indiana Har-
bor, which was abandoned January 16, 1934.
In 1932 the Chicago and Calumet District Transit Company, Inc.,
purchased the Gary Railways Company, thus bringing under a single
management all local transportation in the industrial cities of Lake
County.
In 1924, motor bus service had begun in Hammond when Harold E.
Miner obtained a franchise from the city authorizing the first operation
of a regular motor coach service in that municipality. Mr. Miner later
incorporated under the name of Calumet Motor Coach Company, to
whom this franchise was then assigned. Other bus lines started about the
same time, among them being the Farina Bus Line, Twin City Bus Line,
Red Line, and Shore Line Motor Coach Company. Gradually the Shore
Line Motor Coach Company purchased all of the existing motor coach
companies operating in the Calumet Region except the Midwest Motor
Coach Company, which operated independently for some years. On
October 1, 1931, the Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. acquired
the existing rail lines of the Calumet Railways Company together with
the motor coach rights owned by the Shore Line Motor Coach Company
and the Midwest Motor Coach Company.
The Chicago & Calumet District Transit Company now serves the
cities of Hammond, Whiting, and East Chicago with street railway and
motor coach service by extensions of its motor coach service into the cities
Tiny Men Move Busily Among the Monsters'
Gary Steel Mills
\
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 81
and towns of Gary, Munster, Highland and Griffith in Indiana and Chi-
cago, Calumet City, and Lansing in Illinois. The present motor coach
service within these cities and towns operates over approximately 116
miles of route, which are served by 100 buses daily.
The electric railway lines, under an operating agreement with the Chi-
cago Surface Lines, operate a through service from Hammond, Whiting,
and East Chicago into Chicago, crossing the State Line at Robey, which
is now a part of the City of Hammond. This line also has a junction
with the Gary Railways Company in Hammond, where passengers are
transferred from the Hammond lines to the Gary line for points in
Gary, Hobart, Valparaiso and Crown Point. Thus, the Calumet Region
has a unified urban transportation system with universal transfer privileges.
The story of transportation in the Calumet Region is finished with
the building of the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend, an electrical
enterprise. Its name is completely descriptive. It operates from the Ran-
dolph Street Station of the Illinois Central in Chicago over the tracks
of that road to Kensington station in Chicago, where it strikes eastward
through Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, and so to South
Bend, its terminus. Its swift, half-hour service is popular with commuters,
and a large amount of freight originates along its right-of-way.
The result of all this railroad construction as far as the Calumet Region
is concerned was spectacular, not only in the number and mileage of the
lines, but also as a deciding factor in the establishment within half a
century of four cities nationally important because of their industrial
scope.
INDUSTRIAL TOUR I
North from Gary Gateway on Broadway.
(1) The "GARY WORKS" (open 9-5; conducted tours by appoint-
ment only) of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp. is located on the Grand
Calumet River at the north end of Broadway. Aboard the sightseeing
bus, furnished by the Gary Street Railways, there is time to survey the
far-flung sky-line — buildings housing the open hearths, rail mills, ore
unloaders and ore bridges, smokestacks feebly exhaling nervous plumes
of gases and steam, or spouting, geyser-like. The bus starts. The guide
announces: "I'll be glad to answer any questions you may ask" — then
adds, with a smile, "If I can." Quickly the questions come and the
answers: "That red, ore-dust-covered building on the left is where the
ore-dust is burned into sinter, a porous-like deposit, for recharging into
the blast furnaces."
The coach next passes the TURNING BASIN (L) a man-made body
of water where ore boats are unloaded, turned and headed back through
82 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
the harbor on Lake Michigan to their source of supply. The guide says that
steamers holding 12,000 tons of ore have been unloaded in less than four
hours by means of seven electric ore unloaders. Needed supplies are sent
direct to the blast furnaces, the remainder is stored in storage yards of
4,500,000 tons capacity.
The first stop is the COKE PLANT and here the guide directs
attention to electric lorry cars, operating along the tops of the coke ovens,
as they discharge the pulverized soft coal into the oven chambers. Shout-
ing to make himself heard above the rumbling thunder of the mill, the
guide explains, "There are 14 batteries of ovens arranged in two parallel
lines, 8 batteries containing 70 ovens each and 6 containing 69 ovens
each. . . . The ovens are 19 inches wide, 9 to 12 feet high and 40 feet
long. . . . The pulverized coal is baked 19 hours, when the doors at both
ends of the chambers are removed by electric door extractors and an
electrically-driven pusher forces the hot coke into one of those cars which
you see in front of the ovens."
From several of the coke ovens shoot glowing wedges of fiery block
coke. Water plays on the coke — there is a sputtering, sizzling and crack-
ling, as the coke cars move toward adjacent screening stations.
"Between 2,000 and 3,000 men are employed at this department of the
plant. . . by-products are tar, ammonium sulphate, benzol, naphthalene,
solvent naphtha and toluol," — as the sightseeing bus leaves the coke plant.
The guide volunteers some general statistics. "The Carnegie-Illinois
Plant," he says, "covers 1,400 acres, with 2l/2 miles of lake frontage.
There are 250 miles of railroad tracks, 35 miles of paved road, and
3,200 men are employed in the maintenance division alone. At the peak,
18,000 men are employed in the plant."
The bus passes mountains of ore. (Along the lake front there is a vast
quantity of ore which was transported by boat and stored against the
close of the navigation season in winter.)
The BLAST FURNACES are next, and the drama of the making of
pig iron unfolds amid a roaring din. "The huge 100 ft. high cylinders
nearby," shouts the guide, "are stoves that preheat the air to be forced
by great gas-driven blowers into the bases of the furnaces to sustain com-
bustion." As he speaks, towering skiphoists fill the furnaces with ore and
coke and limestone and on a switch track beside the furnaces, slag
thimbles receive the molten slag 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit skimmed from
the flowing iron, now the color and consistency of molten gold.
The blast furnace, once started, is kept in continuous operation day
and night, the guide points out. This is necessary because many days are
required to prepare it for lighting and another week after it is lighted
before normal production is possible.
How the limestone acts as a chemical blotter or sponge, absorbing at
high temperature (3200° F.) the undesirable elements of the ore to be
passed off as furnace slag, is next explained by the guide.
Each furnace has a capacity of 1,000 tons of iron daily, resulting from
2,000 tons of iron ore, 850 tons of coke, 300 tons of limestone — and
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 83
3,500 tons of heated air. Molten iron is drawn off every six hours, slag
every three hours.
As the lower entrance of one of the furnaces is opened, the guide directs
attention to a glowing liquid, dripping like flame-colored syrup into huge
ladles mounted on railroad tracks. (These ladles, lined with refractory
brick, hold 160 tons each.) At the end of the "cast," when the aperture
is being closed, there is a terrific blast caused by the diversion of air
from the blow pipes, fitted with nozzles (tuyeres) projecting into the
bottom of the furnace; and for several moments, the guide's voice is
drowned in the hissing roar.
The bus moves on to the OPEN HEARTH FURNACES. The
metal from the ladles containing the 160 tons of molten iron has been
poured into 60-ton transfer ladles that are lifted by a huge overhead
crane, and is then poured into the open hearth furnace, where the pig
iron will be made into steel.
In this department, even the guide seems subdued. The heat and the
brilliant light streaming from the "eyes" of the furnace doors cause him
to inquire solicitously, "Does it make you a little light-headed?" He calls
attention to the men with pokers who stand watching the seething cauld-
rons. "They are melter foremen," the guide says, his voice indicating his
respect for them. "They decide when the steel is ready — when it has the
greatest degree of malleability and ductility." One of the melter foremen
motions, and the steel is tapped into a ladle from which the ingot moulds
are filled.
The bus moves on, passing furnaces that the guide describes "as soak-
ing pits" where ingots of steel are "soaked" with heat until they are at
the proper temperature for rolling.
Upon reaching the RAIL MILL, the bus stops and the guide suggests
a walk through this mill. The motor room, with its purring noise of sound
not unlike the hum of Niagara, is passed. From a long overhead balcony,
the guide points out the operations in the railmill.
A steam whistle blasts out, and the guide signals for attention. A crane
quickly lifts an ingot (a large block of white hot steel) from the soaking
pit and places it upon a small car. The car moves beneath another crane,
which picks up the five tons of metal, now red, and dumps it with a
thump on the approach table. Slowly, the ingot is crunched into the jaws
of the first of a series of rolls, to emerge on the other side, flattened and
lengthened.
The guide leads the way along the balcony as the ingot of steel is
taken from one roll stand to another (there are 18 roll stands), each
time the piece of red hot steel becoming more elongated. "We call them
snakes of steel — see how it flings over on its side, then slithers into an-
other dark cavern, to escape as quickly as possible, longer and thinner
and more agile and swift." A hissing of water constantly poured on the
rolls and steam accompanying the rolling of the rail makes realistic the
guide's metaphor. At last the rolling is ended, and the "reptile" falls
84 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
into a trough. Curved and contorted, it lies for a moment. Then suddenly
it darts to another building.
"When the ingot was taken from .the soaking pits, its temperature
was about 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit," the guide says as he leads the way
from the rail mill into the cutting room. "Now its temperature is but
little less, but the ingot has become a rail 250 feet long."
No pyrotechnic display could be more beautiful and startling than the
fountain of sparks that shoots up as the hot rails are cut in the cutting
room. It is unnecessary for the guide to speak; the sudden whine of the
hot-saws with the accompanying golden spray speaks for itself. The guide
does explain that the saws revolve at a rate of three miles per minute,
cutting the ingot into 39 ft. 8 in. rails in 7/10 of a second. The 8 in. is
allowed for shrinking.
Boarding the sightseeing bus again, the party of visitors is taken to
the WHEEL PLANT where wheels for railroad cars are made.
The guide suggests a walking tour through this mill. "Those are the
blanks," he says, pointing to a heap of circular steel blocks. "They are
cylinders of steel that will be pressed and shaped into wheels. They will be
placed into a furnace and heated until they are the same temperature as
were the ingots in the soaking pits."
By this time, the party is standing before a 10,000 ton forging press,
and the guide calls attention to the mechanical hands attached to the
charging or wheel-handling machine that places the now hot cylindrical
mold in the press. Down comes the press and a wheel is formed.
Other mechanical hands, attached to arm-like beams, take up the wheel
and thrust it upon a 1,000 ton hub-punching press, where the center hole
is punched out of the red hot wheel.
The party and guide move left a few feet, directly in front of a fur-
nace. The wheel is again placed into a furnace and removed. A man
inserts a core into the center hole with huge tongs and then clamps on a
nut, and the wheel is placed vertically into the wheel rolling mill. Here,
it spins under a spray of water and is rolled to the approximate size
desired. Out it comes after no more than a few moments and bumps down
an incline. The nut and core are deftly removed by tongs in the hands
of a worker, and immediately the wheel is snatched up by the ever ready
steel paws to be placed on the 600 ton web punching press and then on
the 2,000 ton coning press. A tiny individual car rolls up to take the
wheel away for heat treatment.
Out into the coolness again and back on the sightseeing bus, as the
guide volunteers some final information. "The skullcracker is a 7-ton
steel ball which is lifted and dropped upon unwieldly chunks of iron or
steel that are to be re-melted and reshaped." The hiss and crescendo roar
of molten iron or steel gushing into the ladles, the rumbling of the giant
cranes, and the thunder of mammoth presses still resound in our ears as
the bus is driven away.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 65
South on Broadway to E. Fifth Are.; L. on E. Fifth Ave.
(2) The UNION DRAWN STEEL CO. PLANT (open 9-5;
guides), 2700 E. Fifth Ave., Gary, is a modern brick structure housing the
local cold finishing mill of the Union Drawn Steel Division of Republic
Steel Corporation. The plant produces cold finished bar steel in unusual
shapes and sizes technically called squares, hexagons, and flats, turned and
polished rounds and ground rounds, used in the manufacture of automo-
biles and tractors, farm implements, airplane motors, and accessories,
business machines, radios, household appliances, electrical devices, etc.,
and shafting. The steel rounds from !/8 in» to 2% in., in hexagons from
Y8 in. to 3% in., the squares from 3/32 in. to 4 in., and the flats up to
6 in. wide are drawn unheated through specially designed dies on large
electrically operated draw benches capable of handling material up to 30
feet long. Special pickling vats are used to remove the rolling mill scale
from the hot rolled bars or rods before drawing, and intricate straightening
and polishing devices straighten the bars after the drawing process. The
drawing operation, which slightly reduces the cross sectional area of bars
so processed, produces material accurate to within a few thousandths of
an inch and effects increases in the strength and machinability of the steel.
The rounds over 2% in. in diameter are finished on special turning
machines capable of accurately turning and polishing bars up to 60 feet
long and up to 6 in. in diameter. Where special accuracy and finish are
required, round bars from 1-7/16 in. to 6 in. in diameter are centerless
ground to within tolerances as small as a quarter thousandth (.00025) in.
Modern annealing furnaces are also available for use where require-
ments of physical properties or grain structure indicate the necessity for
heat treatment. The equipment of the plant includes many specially
designed and built machines and devices developed by Union Drawn
engineers. All equipment is electrically operated, and the mill normally
employs 170 men.
Retrace E. Fifth Ave.; angle R. from E. Fifth Ave. on E. Fourth Ave.
West of Broadway the towering smoke stacks of Gary Works and the
American Sheet and Tin Mill are visible (R) . Particularly conspicuous
are the huge GAS RESERVOIRS which loom into the sky. The larger
of the two reservoirs has a capacity of 2,000,000 cubic feet of gas. While
these holders are on "Gary Works" property at Jefferson St. and the
Grand Calumet River, they are owned by the Gary Heat, Light and
Water Co. The smaller of the reservoirs, built in 1906, is a three lift
holder with steel tank that rests on a concrete slab 15 in. thick by 11 ft. in
diameter. The larger holder, erected in 1918, is a four lift with a tank
of riveted steel plates 36 ft. deep and 144 ft. in diameter. The tanks move
up or down according to the amount of gas released into them from the
coke ovens of the mills. Visible nearby is the original gas plant building,
erected in 1906. In this building, rarely noticed by residents of Gary, the
gas from the mills is made usable for domestic purposes. It is a fire-proof,
red brick building, 63x141 ft. and 39 ft. high.
86 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
R. from W. fourth Ave. on Buchanan St.
On either side of this poplar-lined street are more or less standardized
stucco houses, built in 1910-1916 by the 'Gary Land Company for foremen
and keymen of the American Sheet and Tin Plate Co. At the crossing
of the Grand Calumet River, Buchanan St. becomes a private road.
Beyond the bridge, the highway dips under five railroad viaducts, passing
the western limits of Gary Works (R) , and the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern
Railroad Y.M.C.A. and round house (L). After curving first right and
then left under two more railroad viaducts, the highway becomes the
entrance drive (R) to the (3) GARY SHEET AND TIN MILLS of
the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp. (conducted tours 9-5; write general super-
intendent several days in advance), north end of Buchanan Street, Gary,
the largest sheet mill and the largest tin mill in the world. While the ivy-
covered brick and stone office building in the foreground has the advantage
of position and detachment, it is the ensemble, immediately beyond, of
half-mile long red buildings, lofty smoke stacks, skyward banks of
transformers, high tension towers, the mile and a half long fences and
equally long parking aprons that at once attract attention. This plant,
covered on a walking tour, resembles a city that contains nothing but
industries. Narrow paved streets, some bisected or paralleled by railway
tracks, are flanked with a variety of buildings. For example, on one side
of the "streets" is a long red building of corrugated sheet, extending the
full length of the street; on the opposite side are a two-story brick struc-
ture (housing a restaurant) , an elevated railway line, and a long concrete-
block building. Automobiles of employees, and tractors and trucks laden
with coils or sheets of steel or tin plate, wind in and out of the streets.
Freight trains, with their screeching engines, shunt the cars to the various
loading docks within the buildings. Three or four modern red brick
buildings several stories high, low frame structures, and a long black
barrack-like structure of corrugated sheet add to the heterogeneous
exterior. Here is an isolated low building specially built to house the
oxygen tanks, its walls massive, its roof light, so that in case of explosion
of a tank the roof only will be shattered. There are the guarded walls of
the vaults holding the pig-tin blocks imported from the Straits Settle-
ments. In addition to the buildings which house the manufacturing
processes proper, there are a hospital and welfare center, five canteens and
one large restaurant, executive offices for administrative, training, employ-
ment, safety and welfare departments, laboratories, storehouses, clock-
houses, and machine shops. Normally 12,000 men work within this
industrial seat.
The tour of the interior of the buildings begins in the slab "yard," a
building 864 ft. long by 124 ft. wide, facing Lake Michigan. Slabs of
steel, varying in size from 22 in. wide, 4l/2 in. thick, 72 in. long to 61 in.
wide, 7J/2 in. thick and 216 in. long, are brought on railroad cars to the
slab "yard" from the adjoining Gary Works.
Entering the slab "yard" through wide garage-like doors, the guide
advises caution in walking over the uneven ground and in passing an
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 87
inferno-like pit, in which are piled red hot slabs — their rolling delayed,
possibly by a change in the rolling schedule. As he speaks, a warning
whistle shrieks out, and overhead a 30-ton crane traveling on a 120 ft.
span, drops its 10-ton hoist and monstrous electrically controlled magnet
above a pile of 27,000 Ib. slabs (61x7^x216 in.) and swings one
through the air to the magazine feeder which thrusts it into a huge slab-
heating furnace. There are three of these big black caldrons, each 20 by
80 ft. "If you will stand back a little farther we'll wait until the heat-
soaked slab comes out," the guide suggests. There is some delay and the
guide offers some facts about the furnaces:
The furnaces are fired with artificial gas, in a triple zone layout —
heating to 2,250 degrees Fahrenheit. The slabs do not come in direct
contact with the flame. Six burners overfire the main heating chamber
while eight burners underfire it.
Suddenly a flame-red slab is shot out of a door of one of the furnaces
onto a roller table (a stationary conveyor) . The slab then is sped along
the first 42 ft. of the roller table to a scale breaker. The guide calls
attention to the man sitting in an elevated control room (called the pulpit)
20 ft. in front of the furnaces.
As the operator moves a control opening one of the rear furnace doors,
an electrically operated "pusher" shoves another cold slab from the
magazine feeder into the furnace and at the same time a heated slab, 80
ft. from the receiving end, slides out of the discharging end, ready for
its long trip through the mill.
The operator's eyes are intent upon a pyrometer — an indicator by
which he can tell when the slab is at the correct heat to be rolled.
Occasionally, he walks across a narrow overhead footbridge to the plat-
form between the furnaces. Here, from a row of trapeze-like rings, he
pulls a ring opening one of the numerous side doors to observe the moving
lines of slabs.
Walking toward the scalebreaker, the guide explains the "future" of
the hot slab: "These two plants, the sheet and tin plate, transform the
slab of steel made in Gary Works into long thin sheets or strips of steel —
doing this in such a way that the steel retains its tensile strength and its
durability the while it is becoming malleable. Each of the individual
machines — mills we call them — performs some step toward the thinning
and elongating process. In the pickling vats and the annealing furnaces
respectively, the strips of steel are cleaned and made ductile. When the
final step has been taken the slab which you now see may be a coil .008
of an inch 'thin' and 4,700 ft. long; it may be a lustrous sheet of steel
alloy — stainless steel, 76 in. wide, % in. thick and 30 ft. long, or it may
be a sheeting coated with tin or terne (lead and tin) or a galvanized or
corrugated sheet of almost any size."
At the scalebreaker, two or three operators pull levers, turn knobs,
automatically controlling the huge piece of machinery. A gust of steam
and a spray of water make the air humid. A group of engineers and
metallurgists watch the movement of the hot slab, an alloyed slab from
88 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
which stainless steel will be made. In the scalebreaker, a huge machine,
32x80 in., driven by a 1,250 H.P., 6,600 volt motor, the slab receives its
first cleansing spray of water at high . pressure and is elongated as it is
driven between the rolls. Harmful scale is flaked off and washed away
by the water — hence the name of the machine.
The slab goes down the roller table for 26 ft. more, to a broadside mill,
where it is turned broadside to be rolled and then is restored to its original
axis. It then enters a "squeezer," a machine that flattens the slab and
parallels its edges to the overall width required for the finished product.
The tremendous power of this squeezer causes a three-inch decrease in
the width of the slab.
Forty-five feet farther along the roller table is a group of roughing
stands, 63 and 94 feet apart. The slab is passed through these machines
(once only) , and then it has assumed the dimensions of a plate. "One of
the largest electric motors in the plant drives these machines: a motor of
3,500 H.P., 6,600 volts," the guide says. The heat from the slab, now
augmented by pressure, speed and friction, pervades the air and the guide
mops his brow with his handkerchief. At an open door, a lake breeze
gives relief, and the guide suggests that his group rest momentarily.
Leaving the Lake Michigan breeze, the guide leads the group along
the 210 ft. cooling tables, over which another plate is now speedily pass-
ing. Centrifugally cast, the smooth surfaced iron-spool rollers of the
cooling table serve the dual purpose of transferring the strips or plates
to various parts of the mill and also of cooling the plates while in
transit. Large air spaces, between the spools, facilitate even cooling.
The guide, cautioning against oncoming tractors and overhead cranes,
calls attention to the huge posters placed at intervals throughout the
plant: "Always be careful"; "Do not stand opposite this mill"; "Safety
First"; "Danger"; "Visitors, do not disturb operator"; "Better be careful
a thousand times, than to be injured once."
At the end of the cooling tables, the plate enters the most impressive
group of "mills" yet passed, the six huge finishing stands for further
reducing the thickness of the steel while it is still red hot. Here, the guide,
unable to conceal his own awe of the speed and power and size of these
mechanical dinosaurs, suggests that the group "stand back farther toward
the wall."
The pressure of each of these machines is so great that the plate is
now reduced into a long thin strip of steel. The rate of rolling of each of
these machines is stepped up, the first stand rolling the strip 450 ft. per
minute, the second 694 ft.; the third, 1,000; the fourth, 1,290; the fifth,
1,562; and the last 1,735 ft. per minute.
"In the first of these machines the strip can be reduced 49 per cent,
the second 40 per cent, the third 39 per cent, the fourth 33 per cent, and
the fifth and sixth 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively," he says, and
as he speaks a long ribbon of steel is rocketed out of the last mill.
Opposite these six machines a man sits in another pulpit, watching six
huge dials attached to each machine. These controls, like double-faced
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 89
clocks, indicate to him rates of speed, amounts of pressure, and strip
temperatures.
"These control _operators are skilled workers, chosen for their experience
in handling steel," the guide states. "In the hands of these two men lies
the responsibility for the successful journey of the plate through the
stands."
When the long strip of steel leaves this group of machines, it again
passes over one of the side roller tables (there are three run-outs) for a
quarter of a mile to a hot flying shear, where the strip is cut in lengths
from 11 ft. to 35 ft. Seconds later another strip passes over the center
roller table and about 300 ft. farther along enters a giant coiler, which
automatically winds the thin sheet of steel over a drum. Pushers auto-
matically eject the coils from the drum to a conveyor, which takes them
into the raw coil storage building where they are deposited on another
conveyor. Across the top of this building are moving three 120-foot span
cranes bearing huge magnets to lift the coil and transport it to an un-
coiler, where it is prepared for the entry end of the pickling department.
Through long rubber-lined steel tanks filled with a 9-12 per cent sul-
phuric acid solution, the long uncoiled strip is passed, much as a roll of
film is run through "the developer." The purpose of this sulphuric acid
bath is to remove the oxide from the surface of the steel strip.
After the strips leave the pickling tanks, they are passed through
dryers and are then recoiled and taken to the annealing and normalizing
department, where 255 fire brick bases, 9 x 12 ft., in regular rows, stretch
the length of the building. About half of these bases are topped with box
or tube lids, 10 to 12 feet high, like an encampment of covered wagons
sans the wheels. On others of the bases, uncovered, are coils; on others,
sheets of steel. On still other bases are inner heating covers. A few bases
are being newly built by various laborers. A peculiar quiet heat fills the
air of this building; there is no burst of flame, or steam, or oppressive
rumbling. The guide noticing the wonderment among his group explains:
"These box covers are heated with stabilized refinery gas. None of the
heating elements are exposed; even the ignition device is a concealed
automatic electric lighter. The exhaust gases also are gathered in headers
and conducted to an underground flue system. The purpose of these
annealing boxes is to heat the coils or sheets very slowly to 1,280 degrees
Fahrenheit with a conditioned gas for the necessary atmosphere for deoxi-
dation. After the proper length of time, sometimes 80 hours, the outer
cover is removed, the inner cover remaining. In due time, the inner cover
is lifted, and then the coil or sheets remain on the bases to cool slowly.
The cooling process requires about twice as much time as the heating
cycle."
The "pickled and annealed" plate then goes into the finishing depart-
ment, where are scores of huge machines, squaring shears, resquaring
shears, levelers, shears for sheets, and shears for coils, flying shears, and
revolving shears. Cranes move overhead and laden trucks dart to and
from the machines. Here, a sudden roaring of power strikes the ear and
90 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
the guide suggests the group stand very close to him so that he may make
himself heard.
"The sheets are placed against a straight edge, and belt conveyors carry
them into the shear, correctly placed for good shearing." As he speaks
smooth sheets of steel skim from one powerful propeller to another.
"These are the sheets that are to be moulded into automobiles; those,
a trifle smaller, at the next machine are to be formed into a stream-lined
train," the guide says, as a ram tractor with its three-fingered hand picks
up several tons of the sheared sheets to transport them to the warehouse
to be boxed.
"Would any of you be interested in a tour of the tin mill?" the guide
asks. The majority of the group decide upon at least "the high lights"
of the tin mill.
In the tinning department are row upon row of "tin pots" resembling
huge electric washing machines. Above the pots are a series of rollers like
clothes wringers that automatically pass the black plates into and out
of the bath of melted tin. After the tin bath, the plates pass through
another roller to which are attached hemp brushes. As the hemp brushes
revolve, a spray of bran is released over the plate, which gives the plate
the familiar bright and shiny appearance of "5 and 10 cent store" tin
utensils.
In the assorting department, the guide points to a stack of tin plate
being sent to the warehouse. "In a few months from now these sheets of
tin will be tin cans resting on your pantry shelves camouflaged by a
label marked 'corn,' 'tomatoes/ or 'beans.' "
By way of contrast, the guide suggests a brief inspection of the old
manual "hot mill." In this building, where open flames dart from furnaces,
men with tongs stand near the rollers feeding and ejecting the white-hot
strips. There are more men at work in this hot mill than have been seen
in any other area of similar size, except the assorting department.
A brief trip underground concludes the tour. Here is much of the heavy
machinery — miles of electrical cables and bus bars, water and gas mains,
pumps, oil lines, storage tanks, and electrical control rooms.
.
Retrace Buchanan St.; R. on W. Fourth Ave.; R. on Bridge St. to dead
end.
(4) The AMERICAN BRIDGE CO. PLANT (conducted tours 9-5;
write manager one week in advance), north end of Bridge St., Gary, a
subsidiary of the United States Steel Corp., producing structural steel, is
constructed on an enclosed area of 49 acres of a total plant property of
143 acres, and comprises 35 buildings, ranging from two bridge shop
units 700 ft. long, a machine shop 600 ft. long, and a column shop 500
ft. long, down to a 12 x 15 ft. switch house.
Construction of this plant was started November 2, 1909, and com-
pleted the latter part of 1911. The first structure fabricated was the
stationary cantilever highway span across the Grand Calumet River, at
the entrance. This initial work was followed by a succession of bridges
(railroad and highway), office buildings, mill buildings, and many other
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 91
miscellaneous projects for which structural steel was required. Among
these are such notable fabrications, as portions of the San Francisco
Oakland Bay Bridge and also the Carquinex Straits Bridge north of San
Francisco; six bridges spanning the Mississippi and seven dams to control
the waters of this mighty river; the ore docks at Duluth, the spillway
gates for the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, oil storage tanks,
mine shafts, and tunnel framing.
Along the Chicago River, in the heart of the city of Chicago, are many
bascule lift bridges fabricated in this plant. Prominent among these are
the Outer Drive and Michigan Avenue bridges. Also contributing to
Chicago's sky-line are many products of this plant: the Stevens Hotel,
Tribune Tower, Daily News building, Chicago Post Office, and Board
of Trade building.
A conducted tour starts in the main office building, where the two upper
floors are used by the engineering department in making detail drawings
for the shop. Leaving the building and passing through the receiving yard,
where raw materials from the rolling mills are unloaded, the tour includes
the templet shop and the punching, drilling, and shearing departments,
which complete the preparatory operations on the raw material. Then,
following successively, are the assembling, riveting or welding, and finish-
ing departments, where the prepared rolled shapes take form as girders,
columns or various members, which, when put together at the site, form
the trusses for a bridge span, or some other structure. After the built-up
members leave the shop, they are cleaned and given a protective coat of
paint in the shipping yard.
Another point of great interest is the assembling yard, 528 ft. long,
over which moves a gantry crane of 100 tons capacity, and 125 ft. span.
Here are assembled, in a horizontal position for the reaming of field
connections, large structures such as bridge trusses, towers, roller, and
tainter gates for dams, etc. In this yard were assembled complete the two
towers on each side of the center anchorage, each 460 ft. high, of the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In the early part of 1938 were assembled
here the two legs of the Bronx Tower, 380 ft. high, for the Bronx- White-
stone Bridge, New York City.
With a rated capacity of 144,000 net tons a year, the plant has 1,000
employees including 22 women.
Retrace Bridge St.; L. on W. Fourth Are. to Broadway, Gary Gateway.
INDUSTRIAL TOUR II
South on Broadway; R. on W. Fourth Ave. (W. Fourth Ave. runs into
Industrial Highway); R. from Industrial Highway on Cline Ave.; R. on
Buffington Dr. (first street R. after crossing R. R).
(1) The BUFFINGTON PLANT OF THE UNIVERSAL ATLAS
CEMENT COMPANY (open 9-5; on appointment by writing or calling
the general superintendent), Cline Ave. at Lake Michigan, Gary, a sub-
sidiary of the United States Steel Corp., is the largest Portland cement
92 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
plant in the world. This huge plant and its auxiliaries, stretching for
several thousand feet along the lake front, has an annual capacity of ten
and one quarter million barrels of Portland cement.
Its processes are a far cry from those used in the twelfth century.
When the great Roman Aqueduct was being built, stones containing lime,
oxide of iron, silica, and alumina, were used to make a cement suitable
for building and engineering purposes. Today, eighty different processes
are used. The basic materials are blast furnace slag, obtained from nearby
furnaces, limestone, and gypsum.
To manufacture Portland cement, the limestone and slag are first
dried separately and then are given separate preliminary grindings. Next
the chemically correct mixture by weight of these two is ground to a very
fine powder, which is fed into long revolving cylinders, called kilns, fired
by powdered coal, where the lime, silica, and alumina of the powdered
limestone and slag are clinkered into complex chemical compounds. The
clinker is cooled and given a preliminary grinding, after which gypsum
is added so that the cement will not set too quickly. This mixture of
ground clinker and gypsum is then pulverized and the finished product,
Portland cement, is stored awaiting automatic packaging as needed.
The Buffington Plant was built in 1903 by the Illinois Steel Co., a
subsidiary of the United States Steel Corp. Cement was manufactured
and marketed by the cement department of the Illinois Steel Co. until
1906, when the Universal Portland Cement Co. was organized to take
over the operation. Later, mills were built at Duluth, Minnesota and
Universal, Pennsylvania. In 1930 the Universal Portland Cement Co.
acquired the cement manufacturing mills of the Atlas Portland Cement
Co. at Hudson, New York; Northampton, Pennsylvania; Hannibal,
Missouri; Independence, Kansas; Leeds, Alabama; and Waco, Texas, and
changed its name to Universal Atlas Cement Company.
The distribution of uses for Portland cement include industrial, public,
and residential buildings, 34 per cent; highways, streets, alleys, curbs, and
gutters, 23 per cent; river and harbor works, drainage, flood control, light
and power projects, sewers and water supply, 21 per cent; railroads and
bridges, 6 per cent; and farm and various miscellaneous uses, 16 per cent.
To manufacture ten and one quarter million barrels of Portland cement
annually at this plant would require 512,500 net tons of coal, 1,025,000
net tons of granulated furnace slag, 1,537,500 net tons of limestone, and
71,750 net tons of gypsum. Normally more than 500 people are employed.
(2) BUFFINGTON HARBOR (open 9-5 on appointment by writing
or calling general superintendent), N. of the Universal Atlas Cement
Plant, is a private industrial port. It is 2l/z miles southwest of Indiana
Harbor and 4'/2 miles northwest of Gary Harbor (about 18 miles south-
east from Chicago). Construction work on the harbor started in the
spring of 1925 and the first cargo was unloaded in May, 1927.
The harbor basin, with an area of about 56 acres, is enclosed on the
east side by a concrete dock 1,800 ft. long, and on its south, or shore
side, by a bulk head 700 ft. long. The entrance is protected on the north
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 93
by a heavy rubble-masonry breakwater extending 1,200 ft. across the
mouth of the harbor. This basin accommodates several vessels and at the
same time provides facilities both for unloading limestone and for loading
cement for shipment by water to all parts of the great lakes.
In connection with the harbor there is a 30-acre, million-ton storage
yard for limestone, created with sand dredged from the harbor. To facili-
tate unloading boats, an electrically-operated bridge, the largest in this
district, was installed. The bridge, 633 ft. long, is movable to any place
along the dock and is equipped with a ten-ton clamshell bucket capable
of unloading standard steamers at the rate of six tons per minute.
About 500,000 cubic yards of sand were dredged to make this one of
the deepest private harbors on the Great Lakes. Self-unloading boats can
automatically discharge their 15,000 ton cargoes at the rate of 40 tons a
minute. The 55 ft. concrete light-house, approved by U. S. light-house
officials, is equipped with a government standard, 4,000 candle power
electric light, visible for 14 miles, and a fog diaphone which gives a one-
second sounding blast at nine-second intervals. There is also a fixed white
light on the outer end of the easterly concrete dock which is visible 14
miles.
A range of white lights, visible for five miles during the day and for
many more miles at night, marks the course for entrance. The front mark
is a black and white circular target outlined by lights to show the circle
at night. The rear mark is located on a building in the plant and is a
black and white triangular target outlined in part by lights to show V
shape at night.
(3) STANDARD OIL COMPANY PLANT (visited by permit
only), Standard Ave. and Front St., Whiting, is the world's largest com-
plete petroleum refinery, producing about one-twentieth of all gasoline
consumed by motorists in the United States. Covering an area of a little
less than one and one quarter square miles, the plant is capable of
handling 1,000,000 barrels, or 4,200,000 gallons of crude oil daily. The
grounds are covered by an endless array of distilleries, their stacks jutting
up like organ-pipes and huge oyster-grey cylindrical oil tanks, a moat
around each tank, and up the side of each a conventional steel ladder.
In addition to the many acres of storage tanks and distilleries, there is
a new central power plant to produce about 35,000 H.P., and a water-
pumping plant supplying the refinery, as well as Whiting itself, with
125,000,000 gallons daily. The company operates nine switch -engines,
and five oil tankers (capacity each 40,000 to 50,000 barrels), a barge,
and a tug. Research laboratories employ some 125 men to experiment.
Most of the oil coming into Whiting comes from Kansas, Oklahoma,
and Texas — pumped here through pipe lines ten to twelve inches in
diameter, and with pumping stations located every 35 to 40 miles. Line-
walkers, alert for leaks, patrol routes between stations, which are
telegraphically connected with each other. The oil is thick, black and
smelly, and about three weeks are required to pipe a barrel of oil from
the mid-continent oil fields to Whiting.
94 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Two principal steps are necessary in refining crude oil: distilling, and
cracking. In distilling, the oil is boiled, the vapors captured and cooled
and thus re-liquified. In this manner, naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, and
furnace oil, stratified by the heat, are procured. The remainder is piped
to another still and cracked. Cracking is the breaking down of complex
molecules into simpler molecules, destroying the natural affinity binding
the various elements together, separating component parts, and changing
the chemical composition of the oil. This is done with heat, pressure,
and churning about. The entire mass is then removed from the cracking
still and transported to where it is re-distilled. Here again heat stratifies
the various lighter products, and separation follows.
Before the invention of the cracking process, much of the light products,
such as gasoline and kerosene, remained with the heavier. It is said if it
were not for cracking, there would "not be enough gasoline to go
around."
The list of products and by-products runs about 2,000 items. When
everything else has been removed from the stills, there remains asphalt
and coke. The asphalt comes out quite easily, but the coke has to be
chipped out by men wearing heavy clothes and shoes with heavy wooden
soles to protect them from the heat.
Probably the most astounding thing about any refinery is the network
of underground piping, carrying crude oil, finished products, water,
compressed air, steam, and electricity.
(4) CARBIDE AND CARBON CO. PLANT (visited by permit
only), Standard Ave., Whiting (opposite the Standard Oil Co.), is one
of several large plants located in the south and west, embracing 13 new
and modern factory buildings and occupying 40 acres of land. This com-
pany utilizes the waste petroleum gases of its neighbor to manufacture
anti-freeze mixtures, "bottled gas," and industrial alcohols, athylene, and
many rare chemicals.
"Bottled gas" is manufactured from hydrocarbons given off in the dis-
tillation of crude oil — too volatile for internal combustion engines — not
sufficiently volatile to substitute for gas carried in city mains. Compressed
in steel-jacketed containers with proper valves, it is marketed as "Pyro-
fax." Several million gallons of this gas are used annually.
A six-inch pipe from the Standard Oil Co. plant to the Carbide and
Carbon Chemicals plant provides for the raw material, a waste product
of the larger plant. In the Carbide and Carbon works, erected in 1935,
are more than a hundred miles of piping, for the most part welded and
in many instances made of special alloys to guard against corrosion by
chemical action. A minimum of man power, 350, mostly men who have
had special training, many of them being qualified engineers and chemists,
operate the plant.
Retrace Calumet Ave.; R. from Calumet Ave. on Indianapolis Blvd.
(5) PLANT OF LEVER BROTHERS (open 9-5, guide furnished),
1271 Indianapolis Blvd., Hammond, built in 1930, represents the highest
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 95
type of industrial architecture in the region. One of the largest soap
plants in the world, it is generally considered the most modern. Constructed
of tan pressed brick, it would have the appearance of a civic institution
were it not for the 40-foot reproduction of a box of Rinso which sur-
mounts the main building.
The plant comprises a finishing building and warehouse, soapery,
glycerine building, oil refinery and bleachery, melting-out building, power
plant, tank farms and units for the production of vegetable shortening,
all fire resistant throughout and designed to insure an abundance of light
and air in all the manufacturing processes.
Tours start in the lobby of the finishing building and proceed to the
soapery, where the chief point of interest is the kettle room, where fats,
oils and soda are "boiled down" in kettles three stories high and 20 feet
in diameter. The visitors' attention is directed particularly to the spiral
coils of steam pipes at the bottom of each kettle and the ventilator over
each. The carefully proportioned solutions of oil and caustics bubbling
within these kettles represent every stage of the four-day "boiling down"
process which is the first step in soap and glycerine making.
In other rooms, visitors are shown the rudimentary soap solution, from
which the glycerine has been extracted, being piped from the tops of the
kettles first to cold-roll chillers, then to dryers where the water is evapor-
ated and soap chips are made. From this matter-of-fact process, the tour
proceeds to the gigantic mixers into which the chips are cascaded to be
perfumed. Lux toilet soap, the guide explains, is permeated with the
fragrance of 34 flowers.
In quick succession visitors are shown three more processes in which the
soap is kneaded, chopped and pressed to a smooth, even texture. There
are pauses to watch the mixture shot through the "plodder," from which
it emerges a long bar, and to inspect the cutting, automatic stamp-
ing, wrapping and packaging into individual cakes. Throughout the entire
process, the guide explains, more than 600 separate tests are made to
insure regularity and exactness.
Other units on the tour are interesting principally for one or two
dramatic features. In the glycerine building, the dark residue of the
soap kettles is run through dozens of retorts and stills to emerge a pure, wa-
ter-white liquid used in a variety of modern products ranging from muni-
tions to candy. The power plant is equipped with gas and oil-burning boilers
of the latest design and maximum efficiency. A private pipe line almost
half a mile long brings water from Lake Michigan. In the Spry building,
where vegetable shortenings are manufactured, tile walls reflect glistening,
stainless steel vessels and processing machines. All conveying pipes are stain-
less steel, built without joints or elbows to insure continuous flow. The air is
thoroughly washed and every worker wears a white uniform, which he
changes frequently to avoid any possible transmission of dust. In other
units of the plant, feminine employes wear "industrial pajamas" of egg-
shell trimmed with blue.
96 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
On the fringes of the plant stand tank cars of natural fats and oils,
basic raw materials of Lever products waiting to be unloaded into huge
storage tanks, preparatory to going to the refinery and bleachery, where,
after chemical and physical improvement, they are piped to the soap
kettles.
Products of the Lever plant include Lux flakes, Lux and Pears toilet
soap, Rinso, Lifebuoy health soap and Spry and Covo vegetable shorten-
ing. The factory is one of the far-flung branches of the Lever manufac-
turing plant founded at Cambridge, Mass., in 1898.
On the west bank of Wolf River, but fronting Indianapolis Boulevard
is the (6) AMERICAN MAIZE PRODUCTS PLANT (open 9-5,
guides), 113th St. and Indianapolis Blvd., known locally for its principal
product, a salad oil, as the Amaizo plant. The plant, a light tan brick
structure, overlooks Wolf River and at night the innumerable lights of
the building playing on the waters of the river give color to the scene.
Plant grounds, effectively landscaped, and the hygienic and practical con-
struction of the 16 buildings is noteworthy. Some of these structures rise
six stories; the usable floor space is 700,000 square feet.
In 1906, the first building was erected by the American Maize Products
Co., a New York Corporation, on a tract of approximately 100 acres
lying along the west bank of Wolf River, the outlet of Wolf Lake, and
at this point crossing Indianapolis Boulevard. The Raymond E. Daly
Memorial Hall, named for the son of the president, a modern clubhouse,
providing lunchroom service, gymnasium and recreational facilities for
the employees, faces Indianapolis Boulevard.
Six hundred thousand bushels of corn, the basic material for the
products of this plant, are used each month. First step is separation of
the grain of corn into three constituent parts: pericarp, embryo, and
endosperm — the largest part of the grain consisting mainly of starch. To
accomplish this, corn is soaked in warm water, to which is added a small
portion of a chemical to prevent fermentation. This softens the grain
and also dissolves mineral salts and loosens the hulls. The water contain-
ing these solubles is evaporated, producing the first by-product, a gluten
feed for stock.
The kernel is then put through the crushing mills, which tear the grain
apart without crushing the parts, and passes to slightly oblong tanks of
water. The embryos, being mostly oil, float to the top, the heavy hulls
sink to the bottom, and the endosperms, containing the starch, hang
suspended between.
The embryos, continuing to float as the tanks overflow, are washed
and dried, and then ground and put under heavy pressure to extract the
corn oil. That portion left is another by-product, corn germ meal, used
as farm feed, or combined with the solubles and hulls, as gluten feed.
Crude oil is used in the manufacture of soap, glycerines, dyes, paints,
and varnishes. The greater portion is refined, making purified oil and
gum.
Blast Furnaces, Gary Works
'22,000 Tons of Ore Have Been Unloaded in Less Than Four
Hours by Seven Electric Ore Unloaders" — Gary Harbor
White Hot Slabs Being Conveyed Through the
Inland Steel Plant
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 97
The starchy part of the kernel is carried in the liquid through mills
which grind the product very fine. It is then passed through bolting cloth,
separating the hulls from the starch and protein or gluten. The gluten
falls into inclined troughs filled with water. The starch, being heavier,
separates and drops to the bottom, allowing the gluten to overflow into
tanks. The gluten is then reclaimed through filter presses and dried. A
final process is the combination of the by-products, the solubles from the
first process, the hulls, the germ meal and the gluten forming together a
dairy feed.
Corn oil is a principal product of the corn, but the processes may be
considered incidental to the production of corn starch. From the starch,
a new series of products start, known as corn derivatives. The first step
in this process is to heat the pure corn starch sprayed with a slightly
acidulated water in a steam- jacketed converter. When this process,
called hydrolizing, has reached a certain point, the product is dextrin.
Dextrin is a powder, white to yellowish brown, used in manufacturing
paper, ink pastes, glues for finishing fabrics, a sizing for carpets and rugs,
for printing textiles, in fireworks, and as core binders in foundries.
Another product is corn syrup made by hydrolizing pure starch sus-
pended in water. The crude syrup is drawn off and treated, then filtered
and purified and boiled down in vacuum pans to a thick, heavy syrup.
A further step in hydrolysis produces corn sugar. At this stage, the
resulting syrup is purified and evaporated to the point where it will
crystalize. When crystalized, it is cut into slabs and aged. This crude
sugar is used in tanning, in manufacturing artificial silk, in making vine-
gar, and in many other ways. By using hydraulic presses, a heavy syrup
is forced from the crude sugar, leaving pressed corn sugar. This is further
refined and purified, resulting in commercial corn sugar for table use.
The various processes call for a supply of eleven million gallons of
water daily — enough to satisfy the wants of a city of 60,000 for a like
period.
INDUSTRIAL TOUR III
South from Gary Gateway on Broadway; R. on W. Fifth Ave.; R. on
Cline Ave.
(1) The CUDAHY PACKING CO. PLANT (open 9-5), Cline
Ave. near the South Shore Electric Line, East Chicago, is the home of
Old Dutch Cleanser. On the tall water tower adjacent to the plant
proper, is a reproduction of the Dutch girl, advertising symbol of the
company. The plant covers 22 acres, with floor space of more than
350,000 sq. ft., and employs 500 persons, many of them women. The
equipment comprises fifteen buildings, some of fairly modern factory
construction. First units were erected in 1909 and have been added to as
the increase in business demanded.
The plant embraces a wool pullery and refrigerator car repair shop,
a soap factory, and the factory which produces Old Dutch Cleanser soap
98 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
and scouring powder. In the Old Dutch Cleanser department not only
the product but also the shipping cases and cans are manufactured
entirely with automatic machinery. One process feeds a continuous paper
tube, the diameter of the cans, into a 'machine, which cuts to size and
crimps them to metal bottoms. These are fed to machines that fill each
can and crimp it to a metal top. The cans then roll down a chute, picking
up the labels as they go, and are cased by hand.
The refrigerator car shops include a blacksmith shop, tin shop, wood
shop, and paint shop. The car shops have an annual capacity of four
hundred cars and are equipped to repair thousands of others. The Cudahy
Refrigerator Line supplies and repairs cars for handling the output of
plants controlled by Cudahy interests.
The wool pullery treats wools and hides. After painting the flesh sides
of the hides with a solution that softens the skins, the fleece is removed
by hand, a highly specialized activity, giving wool of full length fibre.
The wool is classified into as many as seventy or eighty grades; fre-
quently as many as ten grades are obtained from a single pelt. The
fleece, after it is washed, dried, and pressed into bales, is shipped as raw
material for woolen textiles. After removal of the wool, the hides are
treated and sold to manufacturers of shoe linings, pocket books, and
novelties.
The soap factory produces domestic and industrial soaps and powders,
including laundry and toilet soaps, soap polish, neutral oil soap, washing
powders, lye, and a natural by-product of soap making, crude glycerine.
Retrace Cline Are.; R. on Michigan St. (continuation of W. Fifth Ave.
and US 20); angle R. at approach to overhead bridge; R. on Kennedy
Ave. into East Chicago.
(2) The GRASSELLI CHEMICAL CO. PLANT (open 9-5; on
appointment by writing or calling general superintendent, conducted tour,
3 to 4 hours), 5215 Kennedy Ave., East Chicago, subsidiary of E. I.
Du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc. manufactures 75 different chemicals,
whose users range from vegetable and fruit growers to manufacturers of
steel, oil, and glass.
The plant proper, occupying 250 of the 444 acres on which it stands,
is incongruous in appearance. Buildings of brick, concrete, steel, and
wood, their dimensions and heights suiting the processes and equipment
housed within, have been erected on the grounds. Huge hills of lemon-
yellow sulphur piled up beside brick red buildings, provide startling color.
A modern office building is buttressed against a wooden fence of the
nineties vintage, and a row of homes of six, seven, and eight rooms, of
the same era, face directly on a maze of railroad tracks. Provided for
company officials, these houses have comfortable interiors. A second
group of houses, Jerry-built, once grey but now needing paint, were
erected many years ago for Negro laborers.
In 1892, when the Grasselli plant was built in the Calumet Region
waste lands, it required but 25 employees. Its capacity was 15,000 tons
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 99
annually. Today, one of the largest of the 21 chemical plants operated by
du Pont, its annual capacity is 400,000 tons and it employs 800 persons.
Processes of this plant are as varied as its products. Basic materials
used include sulphur from Texas and Louisiana, salt and soda ash from
Michigan, phosphate rock from Tennessee and Florida, sand from Illinois,
and zinc ores from Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wisconsin. Fourteen
analytical chemists pursue research work in the laboratory on the second
floor of a combined office and laboratory building.
Chief product of the plant is sulphuric acid, manufactured by both the
chamber and contact methods from sulphur, air and water. The chemical
is brought principally from Louisiana and Texas. Grasselli sulphuric acid
finds its chief use in the petroleum refining, steel and chemical industries.
Phosphoric and muriatic acids also rank high among the products of
Grasselli. The first is made by treating Florida or Tennessee phosphate
rock with sulphuric acid. Most of the resulting product is combined with
alkali to make various phosphate salts. The mono-sodium phosphate finds
its main use in water purifications, the di-sodium in silk finishing and the
food industries and the tri-sodium in water softeners and detergents.
Muriatic acid of commerce and salt cake are produced as by-products
of sulphuric acid, made principally by treating ordinary salt with sul-
phuric acid in a furnace. Muriatic acid results when the hydrochloric
acid fume is absorbed in water. Sodium sulphate, the solid product, is
dissolved in water and crystallized as Glauber's salt.
From muriatic acid, Grasselli manufactures in turn two other important
products — zinc chloride and ammonium chloride, popularly known as
"sal ammoniac." The former is celebrated in modern industry as a wood
preservative, particularly valuable in treating railway ties. Granular white
zinc chloride, another wood preservative and also a vital material in
soldering fluxes and in the dry battery industry, is likewise manufactured
by Grasselli.
Ammonium chloride, invaluable to the steel industry as a galvanizing
and soldering flux, is made at the plant by combining muriatic acid and
ammonia and crystallizing the resulting salt.
Sulphur and sodium sulphite are combined to make another ranking
product of Grasselli — sodium hyposulphite, the "hypo" of photography.
The sodium sulphite is prepared by completely neutralizing sulphur
dioxide with soda ash. A crystal product, sodium hyposulphite is used
in the tanning industry as well as in photography.
Sand and soda are fused by Grasselli chemists to make sodium silicate.
Dissolved in water, this product forms a syrupy liquid, the "water glass"
of commerce. Shipped in tank cars and drums to all parts of the world,
it is used in making soaps, adhesives and refractory cements, in curing
concrete and in textile finishing.
Among Grasselli's many insecticides, lead arsenate is perhaps the most
typical. Pure lead is oxidized to the yellow oxide, litharge, which in turn
is powdered and combined with arsenic acid to produce lead arsenate.
Other insecticides and fungicides produced at the plant include calcium
100 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
arsenate, now dusted over southern cotton fields by airplane to destroy
boll weevils, lime sulphur, Bordeaux mixture and barium silicofluoride.
One of the most colorful of the plant's products is "golf course mix-
ture," a fertilizer for bent grass.
With an injury frequency in all its 78 plants of approximately one-
seventh of that of all manufacturing industry, the Du Pont corporation
ranks high in employee safety and the Grasselli plant is one of the most
advanced of all its units in the technique of safeguarding workers.
(3) E. B. LANMAN CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 151st St. and McCook
Ave., East Chicago, in which are produced wrought washers and hot-pressed
nuts, consists of long steel and brick buildings dominated by the small-pane
glass in exterior walls. Within are batteries of huge bolt threaders,
with their belts, cranes, and scuttles almost human in their manipulation.
Bars from which the cut-thread bolts are made are of special manufactured
steel from the mills of the Calumet district. As the bolts are threaded,
they are gauged by hardened steel "go" and "no-go" gauges. The hot-
pressed nuts are made in one operation. The heated bars of steel are fed
into a machine that blanks the nut. The blanks are then burred in a bur-
ring machine and threaded in a tapping machine. The finished nut, due
to the heat, appears black. The E. B. Lanman Co. was established in
Columbus, Ohio, in March, 1878, as a manufactory of carriage hard-
ware. With the advent of the automobile, only the production of washers
was maintained. In the early nineties the company added a department
for making cold-pressed nuts. In 1911 the plant was moved to its present
location in East Chicago in order to have it near the source of its raw
material, steel. The company added its bolt department in 1924.
(4) The METAL AND THERMIT CO. PLANT (open by per-
mit only), 455 E. 151st St., East Chicago, covers 14 acres with buildings
of the shed type of steel, brick and wood and a substantial red brick
office building. High mounds of bronze, silver, and iridescent blue shav-
ings, like Christmas tree decorations, the raw material of this plant are
trimmings from tin plate from which cans, dish pans, and toys have been
cut. Such trimmings are called tin plate scrap.
The scrap is first subjected to an akali process to de-tin it. The steel
scrap, freed from the tin, is pressed into hydraulic bundles and sold to
adjacent steel mills. The tin is placed in containers, where it goes into
solution. The solution is purified and part of it is precipitated into tin
oxide. Another part is smelted to metal to form metallic tin, which is
pressed into one hundred pound blocks called pig tin. Still another por-
tion of the solution is purified further to become a special tin oxide for
enameling in the ceramic industries. A small amount of the original solu-
tion is transformed into sodium stannate (salt of tin) used in electro-
plating tin or metal to become solder, type metals, and other white metal
mixtures.
(5) The INTERNATIONAL SMELTING AND REFINING CO.
PLANT (open 9-5), 420 E. 151st St., East Chicago, subsidiary of the Ana-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 101
conda Copper Mining Co., embraces a group of brick and steel mill
buildings covering 61 acres of land. Principal operations are refining of
lead and manufacture of lead and zinc pigments. The width of the lead
refinery is divided into three bays, extending the entire length of the
building. Two of the bays are spanned by four 15-ton electric cranes,
two of 28 ft. span and two of 77 ft. span, traveling the length of the
building and serving all departments. Three standard gauge railway
tracks enter the building on different levels.
Lead-bullion, the material refined by this company, comes from Utah
and Montana. Before reaching the East Chicago plant, the lead concen-
trate is smelted at a plant at Tooele, Utah, and the zinc concentrate is
treated in Montana plants.
Cranes unload 4-ton blocks of lead bullion from gondola cars and drop
them into the 135-ton kettles for melting. Into these kettles, heated until
the molten lead reaches 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, is shoveled mechanically,
200 to 300 Ibs. of hydrated lime. The kettle is then covered with a lid
(hood) to prevent dusting. Blow pipes are inserted and the mixture is
blown with air from 12 to 24 hours. At intervals, the lime dross is
skimmed off and with it the oxidized antimony, arsenic, and some lead.
In the de-silverizing department, spherical, steel 135-ton kettles set in
brick with a coal-fired furnace below have their rims 18 inches above the
floor to facilitate working the surface of the molten metal. In these, are
charged the lead from the softening kettle and the dross blocks from the
previous run. Metallic zinc is added, melted, and stirred into the molten
lead and a zinc-silver dross is formed. This skim of mushy consistency is
placed in a press which squeezes out most of the molten lead, leaving a
dry crystaline dross which is broken up. The remaining lead is free from
silver, but still contains 0.55 per cent zinc.
A vertical centrifugal pump is lowered into the kettle and pumps the
de-silverized lead into the refining furnaces which receive 320 tons of the
lead and "cook" it for 12 hours. Air or steam is blown at intervals into
the metal. The zinc, lead, and remaining antimony form a layer of
mixed oxides on the surface, which is skimmed off. When testing shows
that all zinc and other impurities have been removed, refining of the
lead is complete and the molten metal is drawn into a molding kettle.
From this kettle, it is pumped to a molding machine, where the lead is
molded into pigs of about 90 Ibs. each.
When recovering silver, the skim, charged into six bottle-shaped re-
torts, 40 inches high and 19 inches in diameter, is heated in a tilting gas-
fired furnace — a separate furnace for each retort. A graphite condenser
fitted over the mouth of each retort permits the heating of the skim to
2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. As the zinc distills, it collects in the condenser
to be tapped out through a hole. Upon the removal of the zinc, the retort
is tilted and the remaining bullion containing gold, silver, and some lead,
is poured out. By a cupelling process, the lead is removed as litharge,
leaving the gold and silver remaining in the furnace. This is cast into
bars weighing 1,000 ounces each.
102 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
An interesting building is the "bag house," a brick and steel structure
divided into four chambers, each containing 144 cylindrical woolen bags
18 in. by 32 ft. in which the gases are filtered. An 8-foot sirocco fan with a
capacity of 50,000 cu. ft. per minute draws the gases from the residue
and blast furnaces through a brick and steel flue 680 ft. long into the
bag house. The bags are shaken at frequent intervals by an electrical
shaking device. Here a temperature is maintained at 200 degrees Fahren-
heit. The fume (the solid matter remaining in the gas fumes) collects
in concrete pits; it is then removed by hand and either treated to concen-
trate its arsenic content or shipped elsewhere for final treatment for the
recovery of lead and arsenic. Gases from the kettles and all other fur-
naces are conducted through ordinary flues to a rectangular brick stack 100
ft. high.
(6) WEBER INSULATION CO. PLANT, INC. (open 9-5; visited by
permit), 4821 Railroad Ave., East Chicago, is a "believe it or not" indus-
try. Within this plant heavy misshapen chunks of metal, known as lead
slag, are transformed into soft, hair-like fibre to be used as insulation.
On the lower floor are furnace-like kilns (called cupolas) reaching to
the next floor, into which, from above, are fed alternate layers of coke
and slag. The coke is ignited and the slag is melted at a temperature
between 2,600 and 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. By steam pressure, air is
forced into the mass. At intervals a small circular door in the cupola is
opened and like a giant Roman candle myriads of sparks, the heated
slag, are blown from the opening, and caught in a long revolving tube, in
which they are cooled, screened, and conveyed to a settling chamber.
When the substance is removed from the tube and settling chamber it
has become a soft fibre similar to mineral wool. To increase its strength
and resiliency, this fibre is placed in another swinging filtering device,
through which it falls into burlap bags and is sealed for shipping as in-
sulation. Some of the fibre undergoes a further treatment, being blended
with a plastic to form cement. The fibre manufactured in this plant is
used mainly by industries to cover boilers, open hearth, checker chambers,
towers, tanks, and piping of oil refineries, as well as in general insulation
in the walls and ceilings of buildings.
(7) S. G. TAYLOR CHAIN PLANT (open 9-5), at the Illinois State
Line and 141st St., is a group of three buildings, embracing 60,000 sq. ft.
The iron or steel strips out of which the chains are made are mainly
products of the Calumet's steel industries. The long strips, 16 to 18 ft.
in length, are pressed into coils, about 3 ft. in length, by a huge pressing
machine. Each coil is cut by a cutting machine into links known as
"scarf links," which are then heated in ovens fired by oil. On becoming
white hot, they are pounded into shape by hand and then by an arm
hammer. Larger links are formed from a foot long straight pin which,
because coke causes a hotter fire than oil, has been heated in a coke
oven. Every chain, made as the links are formed, is tested for durability
by placing each end in an iron arm and pulling. After this test, it is in-
spected for defective links.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 103
Coils out of which smaller link chains are made are first placed in a
pickling bath of sulphuric acid to remove scale or rust which might be
on the raw material. As the raw material is fed into a machine in straight
strips from a large coil, the links are bent into shape by two iron arms
and a chain is fashioned. The smaller the link, the faster the machine
operates. The ends of the links are then welded together, the links being
cooled by a quenching oil, after which excess metal from welding is cut
off. Smaller link chains are tested and inspected in the same way as
the larger.
(8) COMMERCIAL WALLPAPER MILL, INC. PLANT (open
9-5), 724 Hoffman Ave., Hammond, occupies a three-story brick structure,
40 by 300 ft. Designs for wallpaper are made in New York studios. Rollers
bearing the design raised in metal or in felt bound by brass are made in
a Joliet, Illinois, factory. A separate roller is used for each color of the
pattern, and samples are run after the different colors are selected. A set
of rolls costs from $150 to $250 and frequently $1,000 is spent in the
preparation of one design of wallpaper. Paper is obtained from paper
and pulp mills in Wisconsin.
Before the paper is printed, it is given a sizing of clay in the desired
background color. It is dried on a system of drying racks, one placed
above the other, which greatly speeds the process. The sized paper is then
fed into a machine which presses it onto a large canvas wheel, which in
turn, as it rotates, presses the paper on each colored roller, bringing it
out on top, from where it is taken by a canvas belt back to the drying
racks. Some presses can handle as many as eight or nine rollers. Water
colors are used in the printing of non-washable papers; this company gives
special attention to the washable type papers.
(9) W. B. CONKEY CO. (Printers) PLANT (open 9-5), 601
Conkey St., Hammond, houses one of the largest bookmaking industries
in the world. The plant embraces 14 acres. A modern ground floor fac-
tory building of brick, steel, and concrete with sawtooth skylight roof,
erected in 1897, was, as far as is known, the first printing plant of its kind.
The specially designed skylight roof permits only the north light and is
constructed so that at no time do the sun's rays shine through the glass
part of the roof into the working rooms. The ceramic plaque in the arch
of the entrance, embracing a winged horse and tools of the engraver's art,
was modeled by Lorado Taft. A landscaped park of several acres sur-
rounds the main building.
Interior of the plant was designed for continuous-flow production
through all departments. The press room is in the center of the plant.
On one side are the composing, electrotype, and make-up rooms. At one
end is the paper stock room and supply department. At the other end
and side are the folding department and bindery. Thence the finished
product moves on to the storeroom and shipping department. The cen-
tralization of the pressroom, permitting the maintenance of a uniform
temperature, obviates the detrimental static electricity, which formerly
caused sheets to stick together and to smut while being printed.
104 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In the press room are 50 presses, large and small, nearly all flat bed
Miehle cylinders or high-speed verticals. Color work is done in addition
to the regular black and white printing.
The. bindery has a capacity of 80,000 hardbound books a day, and
approximately 200,000 paper-bound books, catalogs, and booklets. Wire
stitching machines have a capacity of 200,000 separate pieces daily. Hand
binding is done on special orders, usually for gift books or Bibles.
Catalogs ordinarily are shipped out at once, but books frequently are
stored in the warehouse of more than a million book capacity for later
distribution, the customer withdrawing them as needed. Storage is also
provided for electrotype plates, standing type, paper, unbound printed
sheets, and similar materials.
Many of America's foremost publishers are among the clientele built
up during the past 60 years. For the edition publishers they make well
known encyclopedias of from ten to thirty volumes, histories, cultural
courses, and classics. For the educational publishers, they make school
books of many types; for various publishers, books of fiction, directories,
Bibles, law books, and juvenile books, are produced annually. The cata-
log field is equally varied, much of this output being distributed direct
from Hammond.
The plant employs more than 700 men and women, many of whom
have been with the company from ten to forty years. Especially is this
true of heads of departments.
(10) The PLANT OF THE INDIANA BOTANIC GARDENS
(open 9-5), 626 — 177th St., is the largest establishment of its kind in
existence. The formidable, two-story building, crowned with sharp angled,
red-tiled gables in the Elizabethan style, embraces a space of 36,000
sq. ft. Here are the office, laboratories, shipping, and stock rooms, where
a well trained personnel takes care of a remarkable amount of mail orders
from all parts of the world. Thousands of herbs and botanicals, domestic
and imported, are cured, cut, sifted, and prepared for the market. This
plant is surrounded by a landscaped park of 14 acres; there is also a 160
acre farm at Dyer, and 80 acres in the Kankakee Valley. The firm was
founded in 1912 by Joseph E. Meyer.
INDUSTRIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
To the left, at Virginia St., and E. Fourth Ave., Gary, above a series of
low sand dunes, railroad viaducts, and electric towers, are visible long roofs
and smokeless stacks of the (1) NATIONAL TUBE CO. PLANT,
last of the subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation to be built
in Gary, sprawling over many acres. Completed in 1926 at a cost of
$20,000,000, this manufactory of steel pipes is a perfect example of the
demolition of a gigantic industry by the introduction of new and more
economical processes. Instead of the thousands who a few years ago
worked here, today scarcely more than a hundred employed in a machine
shop within the plant pass in and out.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 105
(2) GARY SCREW AND BOLT CO. PLANT (open 9-5, guides),
SE. cor. of E. Seventh Ave. and Akbama St., Gary, subsidiary of the
Pittsburgh Screw and Bolt Corporation, is one of the largest manufac-
turers of bolt, nut, and rivet products in the United States. It occupies
approximately 20 acres; the main building, devoted to production, covers
more than four acres. Other buildings are designed for keg and box
manufacture, warehousing, pattern shops, etc. A complete line of bolts,
nuts, and rivets, in diameters ranging from one-quarter inch to three and
one-half inches, for railroads, equipment manufacturers, and steel con-
struction fabricators, as well as many special products for automotive
and other industries, is manufactured. Under normal conditions, the plant
has a capacity for producing 4,000 tons of finished product per month.
(3) PACIFIC ELECTRIC MFG. CORP. PLANT, 2100 E. Fifth
Ave., Gary, is an assembly plant for high voltage switch gear, assembly
and service, occupying three acres east of the Indiana Harbor Belt Line
viaduct.
(4) STANDARD STEEL SPRING CO. PLANT (open 9-5,
guides), 2600 E. Fifth Ave., Gary, fronting on E. Fifth Ave., is a
branch plant of the company of the same name with home office in
Corapolis, Pa., which manufactures leaf springs for automobiles, trailers,
and trucks, open steel floor grating, stair treads, and bridge decking.
(5) GENERAL AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORPORA-
TION PLANT (open 9-5, appointment by writing or calling general
superintendent), 4405 Euclid Ave., East Chicago, is identifiable by the
long horizontal lines of its glass-walled buildings. The two-story admin-
istration building, facing Euclid Ave., is an example of modern industrial
architecture made popular by the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition.
Established in 1901 as a repair shop for refrigerator cars for meat pack-
ers, the company's business includes the manufacture of tank cars and
all classes of railway freight cars and the leasing of tank cars to milk
and oil shippers (the company operates the largest leased car service in
the United States). It still maintains its repair department. An arrange-
ment with the Graver Tank Co. provided for the building of tanks while
the car company supplied other equipment. In 1904, tank car service, with
100 cars for lease, was instituted. Another plant is at Railroad Ave. and
141st St. in East Chicago. After the World War the company designed
special cars for the Bureau of Aeronautics, U. S. Navy, for transporting
helium gas.
(6) LINDE AIR PRODUCT CO. PLANT (open 9-5, appointment
by writing or calling general superintendent), 4500 Kennedy Ave., East
Chicago, one of 69 similar plants in the United States, produces oxygen
used in the treatment of pneumonia, heart trouble, and other diseases,
which is produced from air by the Linde liquefaction process, which first
made oxygen a commercial possibility in the United States. Compressed
to a pressure of 2,000 pounds per square inch, it is delivered to users in
returnable steel cylinders. The oxygen is 99.5 per cent pure, the remaining
106 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
one-half of one per cent consisting of neutral gases, normally present in
the atmosphere, mainly argon and nitrogen, a proportion that conforms
to the standards of the U. S. Pharmacopeia. The East Chicago plant is
a unit of the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation.
(7) HARBISON-WALKER REFRACTORIES PLANT (open 9-5,
appointment by writing or calling general superintendent), 4343 Kennedy
Ave., East Chicago, a long industrial-type building with exterior walls
and roof of skylight glass, supplies the steel mills with silica fire brick
used in building open hearth furnaces and by-product coke ovens. The
original plant consisted of six circular periodic kilns 32 ft. in diameter
with dome construction, which gave a capacity of 35,000 nine inch silica
brick per day. Warehouses were built to furnish storage capacity of
1,200,000 bricks. In 1927, the company made an investigation of a Ger-
man process of firing silica brick, in which a tunnel kiln is used, and pro-
cured sole rights in this country to construct tunnel kiln of the Heinrich
Koppers design. The plant was remodeled; new grinding and moulding
equipment was installed, and driers using waste gas from the new kilns
and a plant producing fuel for kilns were constructed.
(8) In the O. F. JORDAN PLANT (open 9-5, write or call general
superintendent for appointment), SE. cor. Kennedy Ave. and Michigan
Ave., East Chicago, a patent was developed for the Jordan Spreader, the
largest moving mechanical device built in Indiana. The idea was con-
ceived by the late O. F. Jordan, an official of the Michigan Central Rail-
road Co., and as originally built the Jordan Spreader spread materials
and plowed snow from railroads. Subsequent improvements have resulted
in two general types of machines: a spreader and snow plow, and a
spreader-snow plow with railroad ditching attachments. A world-wide
market is supplied with these machines.
(9) EAST CHICAGO PLANT AMERICAN STEEL FOUN-
DRIES (open 9-5, appointment by writing or calling general superintend-
ent; guide furnished), 3761 Canal St., occupies approximately 160 acres
of land, abutting for 2,382 ft. the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal. Its build-
ings have approximately 331,132 sq. ft. of floor space. The main manu-
facturing buildings are of structural steel, monitor type, with corrugated
ironclad sides and roof. Two 25-ton open hearth melting furnaces and
one electric melting furnace are capable of melting three tons of steel
per hour. Steel is cast for railway equipment, tractor and wagon equip-
ment, ships, crushing machinery, and various other industrial purposes.
The annual capacity of the plant is 30,600 tons of steel castings.
(10) INLAND STEEL CO. PLANT (open 9-5, regulated tours by
calling or writing general superintendent), 3210 Watling St., East Chi-
cago, occupies 628 acres on Lake Michigan and extends inland for many
blocks. During normal conditions, 12,700 persons are employed on the cus-
tomary three shifts. Inland is the largest independent steel company in the
Chicago district. Incorporated in 1893, its first plant was a rail re-rolling
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 107
mill at Chicago Heights, Illinois. In 1901 the company bought 50 acres of
land in what was then Indiana Harbor, now East Chicago. Construction
work began on four open hearth steel furnaces, a blooming mill, a bar mill,
eight sheet mills, and a jobbing mill. During the first year's operations,
when only 800 men were employed, 20,000 tons of steel ingots were pro-
duced; today the plant produces that amount in four days, its annual
capacity being 2,350,000 gross tons. Equipment includes five blast fur-
naces, 273 by-product coke ovens, 36 open hearth furnaces, finishing mills
for producing rails, sheets, bars, plates, structural, and track accessories.
A 44-inch hot strip and plate mill was added in 1938. In addition to steel
products used by automobile, railroad, building, and general industries,
the plant manufactures from coal carbonization, gas, tar, ammonium
sulphate, naphthalene, light oil, benzol, toluol, and xylol. On the premises
is maintained a well-equipped emergency hospital. Several blocks distant,
the company has a housing project known as Sunnyside, including 200
low-rental houses for employees. Inland has been progressive in providing
safety devices, sanitary conveniences, pensions, "incentive" and bonus
rates for employees.
(11) INDIANA HARBOR, W. of Inland Steel Co. plant on Lake
Michigan, one of the largest harbors on the Great Lakes, is called "the
water vestibule" to the "work shop of the world." Approach to the harbor
is complicated by an area known as Indiana Shoals, which extends north-
eastward a distance of five miles, having several ridges 13 to 18 ft. deep,
and whose northeast end is marked by a gas and bell buoy. Vessels pro-
ceed by way of South Chicago, thence head southeasterly for the gas and
bell buoy at the entrance. This harbor has been open as late as January
12 and has opened as early as March 10.
(12) STANDARD FORCINGS CO. PLANT (open 9-5, on ap-
pointment by writing or calling general superintendent), 3444 Dickey
Road, East Chicago, occupies 30 acres of land along the northwest side
of Michigan Ave. Organized June 3, 1903, the company started hammering
iron axles for railroad cars in June, 1904. Today, the majority of these
are hammered from open hearth billets. Drop forgings of this plant,
developed within the last ten years, are used principally by the automotive
trade, builders of agricultural machinery, and railroads.
(13) INDIANA HARBOR SHIP CANAL, Dickey Road Bridge,
East Chicago, extends from Indiana Harbor through the industrial section
of East Chicago to Lake George and to the Grand Calumet River (also
may be viewed from Indianapolis Boulevard and Hemstock Road bridges) .
Fringing the canal are several large industries, including the world's larg-
est complete petroleum refinery and several steel plants. The canal en-
trance is 350 feet wide while the total length is 4.7 miles, with more than
5 miles of wharves. From the entrance, the canal extends 3,200 ft. inland
to a group of railroad bridges, from where it runs for a distance of a
mile and a half to the forks. Here, one branch leads off in a westerly
108 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
course for a mile to Lake George, the other follows a southerly course for
two miles to join Grand Calumet River.
(14) The PLANT OF THE YOUNGSTOWN SHEET & TUBE
CO. (open 9-5, on appointment by writing or calling general super-
intendent), NE. cor. of Dickey and Riley Rds., East Chicago, known as
the Indiana Harbor Works because of its location in the Indiana Harbor
section of East Chicago, occupies 378 acres, with a private terminal on
the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal, a large steel plant, a coke plant, and a
tin mill.
In the steel plant is one 600-ton and one 750-ton blast furnace,
three 100-ton and four 160- ton open hearth furnaces, two 15 -ton Bessemer
converters, 600-ton hot metal mixer, 35-inch blooming mill, 21 -inch billet
mill, 21 -inch continuous sheet bar mill, 30-inch universal plate mill, a
4-high hot coil mill, 10-inch merchant mill, and a combination 14- and
18-inch merchant mill. In the coke plant are 120 ovens and a by-product
department. The tin mill consists of 22 hot mills and two 4-high cold
reduction mills. The generating capacity of the powerhouse is 30,000
K. W.; the boiler house has twelve 600 H. P. coal fired boilers, six 600
H. P. and three 800 H. P. blast furnace gas fired boilers.
The company owns and operates its own ore, zinc, and coal mines,
steamship lines, and railways, and has subsidiaries in seven other states.
(15) The GLOBE ROOFING PRODUCTS CO. PLANT (open
9-5, on appointment by writing or calling general superintendent), 2211
Schrage Ave., Whiting, consists of a main machine building, a felt storage
building, four 21,000-gallon asphalt stills, a 20,000-gallon fuel oil tank,
boiler house, machine shop, and three large warehouses. The plant has a
600 ft. railroad siding and two shipping platforms. It manufactures
asphalt roofing, prepared asphalt roll roofing, and saturated felts for
built-up roofs.
(16) STATE LINE GENERATING PLANT (open 9-5, appoint-
ment by writing or calling general superintendent), on Lake Michigan at
the Illinois-Indiana State Line, is one of the largest electrical generating
plants in the world. The first generating unit of 208,000 K. W. of
capacity was built during the years 1927-29. The second unit of 150,000
K. W. of generating capacity is now (1938) being completed. Power is
generated by steam turbo-generators, using coal and gas as fuel.
The State Line Generating Station, property of the Chicago District
Electric Generating Corporation, sells power at wholesale to other electric
distributing companies. The power is generated at 22,000 volts. This
voltage is increased through the use of transformers to 33,000, 66,000 or
132,000 volts, in accordance with the requirements of the distributing
companies.
(17) AMERICAN SMELTING AND REFINING CO. PLANT
(open 9-5, appointment by writing or calling general superintendent),
2230 Indianapolis Blvd., Whiting, the new (1938) $2,000,000 Federal
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 109
Metals Division Works, is an example of ultra-modern industrial archi-
tecture. Not only the office building but all of the factory buildings are
constructed of pastel brick, accented by use of plate and sky glass. The
plant smelts and refines non-ferrous metals, including gold, silver, copper,
lead, and zinc.
(18) SINCLAIR REFINING CO. PLANT, (open 9-5, visited by per-
mit only, call or write general superintendent), 3301 Indianapolis Blvd.,
East Chicago, is the second largest complete refinery of the Calumet
Region, having a daily capacity of 50,000 barrels. The plant was established
in 1917, following consolidation of several oil companies operating in Okla-
homa and Kansas. A pipe line was completed from Oklahoma to East
Chicago and the first unit of the refinery was placed in operation March,
1918. The original capacity, 5,000 barrels, was increased to 20,000 in
July, 1924.
Expansion since that time has included addition to the laboratory,
increased tankage facilities, and construction of a polymerization unit,
where waste gases are converted into high grade gasoline, with a capacity
of 4,000,000 cu. ft. of gas, which produces from 500 to 1,000 gallons
of gasoline daily. Sinclair's lubricating plant combines production of light
oils, paraffins, and other by-products with refining of gasoline and heavy
oils.
(19) ASSOCIATED BOX CO. PLANT (open 9-5, write or call
general superintendent for appointment), Riley Rd., between Canal St.
and Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, is an example of the interrelation
of industry in the Calumet Industrial Region. Chief product of the com-
pany is a wooden box or crate used for shipping tin plate made in the
numerous steel mills in the region. These containers are of hard wood
(from Wisconsin), and I1/? inches in depth. The plant also manufactures
box shocks and crates for the regional industries.
(20) U. S. GYPSUM CO. PLANT (open 9-5, on appointment by
writing or calling general superintendent), 3501 Canal St., East Chicago,
a water front plant, is owned by the United States Gypsum Co. Of steel,
concrete, and fireproof brick, the buildings are similar to the gypsum
mills of Philadelphia and Boston. The most modern gypsum converting
equipment has been installed. Rock used by the local plant is stored in
a huge bin flanking the water's edge. Products manufactured in the
East Chicago plant are asbestos shingles, sheet-rock wall boards, red-top
plaster, rock lath, gypsum tile, and gyp lap. The gypsum, a hydrous
calcium sulphate found in a compact state as alabaster, is procured from
the Alabaster, Michigan, rock quarries and shipped by water from the
Lake Huron site.
(21) EAST CHICAGO DOCK TERMINAL CO. PLANT (open
9-5), Canal St. Bridge to Forks of Indiana Harbor Ship Canal, subsidiary
of the National Terminal Corporation, is a heavy bulk terminal, along-
side the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal. Established in 1928, it is the largest
110 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
break-bulk terminal on Lake Michigan, providing ample public wharves.
Its unusually heavy construction permits direct handling of any type
of commodity. In addition to six dockside tracks, the terminal provides
electric gantry cranes and other mechanical shore devices and storage
facilities for bulk and liquid commodities.
(22) HOOSIER TERMINAL CO. PLANT (open 9-5), on the
Ship Canal across from the Shell and Wadham docks, is the new
(May, 1939) bulk gasoline station for the Illiana Pipe Line. On its 65
acres, the company is building its storage and dock facilities. With the
five regional refineries and two other bulk stations (the Texas Company
and the Hughes Oil), the Hoosier makes eight bulk gasoline shipping
stations on the canal.
(23) WADHAMS OIL PLANT (open 9-5, write or call general
superintendent for appointment), Indianapolis Blvd. across from the Sin-
clair Oil Co., East Chicago, is a mid western refinery of the Socony-
Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., producing gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and other
by-products in large quantities. Socony is an outgrowth of the Bartless-
McGuire Refinery established in the late 1920's.
(24) CONTINENTAL ROLL & STEEL FOUNDRY CO. PLANT
(open 9-5), 4407 Railroad Ave., East Chicago, formerly the Hubbard
Steel Foundry Co., is the only plant producing iron rolls west of Ohio
and the largest in the country. In this plant was manufactured machinery
of the new strip mill for the Gary tin plate plant of the Carnegie-Illinois
Steel Corp. Original capacity of the plant, 3,600 tons annually, has been
increased to more than 40,000. The firm contracts for complete jobs of
rolling mill equipment, including pattern work, castings, machining, and
assembling and in many cases engineering, also.
(25) GEORGE B. LIMBERT CO. PLANT (open 9-5; write or call
general superintendent for appointment), 504 W. 145th St., East Chicago,
is a red brick building, 300 by 500 ft., in which are fabricated power
plant piping, forged steel flanges, and fittings used by power plants and
oil refineries both in the States and abroad. One of the oldest plants in
the region, the factory was established in 1903.
(26) PLANT OF THE EDWARD VALVE & MANUFACTUR-
ING CO., INC. (open 9-5), 1200 W. 145th St., East Chicago, covers
19 acres. Included in the buildings are chemical, physical, and metallurgi-
cal laboratories, three machine shops, a foundry, and forge shop, pattern
shop, and a tool and die shop, affording self-sustained production. High
pressure and high temperature valves are specialties of this plant. Their
products include steam non-return valves, blow-off valves, feed line
stop-check valves, stop valves, atmospheric relief valves, and globe and
angle stop valves in cast and forged steel for all pressures from 250
pounds up to 2,500 pounds, working steam pressure at temperatures up
to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
(27) The UNION METALS PRODUCTS CO. PLANT (open
9-5, write or call general superintendent for appointment), 4527 Columbia
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 111
Ave., Hammond, contains several long industrial brick and metal build-
ings, where steel ends and other parts for freight cars are manufactured.
(28) U. S. REDUCTION CO. PLANT (open by permit 9-5, write
or call general superintendent for appointment), NW. cor. of Chicago
Ave. and Melville Ave., maintains a battery of seven furnaces. Alloys of
many kinds are produced, as well as unalloyed aluminum ranging up to
98.99 per cent and 99 per cent pure. Largest consumers are steel manufac-
turers who use aluminum for deoxidizing purposes, and foundries produc-
ing castings.
(29) CITIES SERVICE OIL CO. PLANT (open by permit only),
SW. cor. of Cline Ave. and Chicago Ave., East Chicago, subsidiary of
United Service Co., occupies 372 acres known as the Baldwin site.
Enclosing the grounds are 3J/2 miles of a 6 ft. high cyclone fence. Within
the grounds are to be seen row after row of huge oil tanks some of them
with 134,000 barrel capacity, the main office building, change house, oil
stills, garage, laboratories, machine shop, and warehouse. There are also a
"cracking" plant, a topping plant, and a boiler house. This refinery was
established in 1929 with a 25,000 barrel daily capacity rMant. It was con-
structed almost in its entirety by regional products and firms.
(30) The SHELL PETROLEUM CORP. PLANT (visited by ap-
pointment only), between Indianapolis Blvd. and Kennedy Ave., Ham-
mond and East Chicago, occupying a 461 acre tract, is one of the major
refineries of the country. A portion of the company's holdings, the "tank
farm" and office, lies in East Chicago (Michigan St. is the dividing line) .
The refinery proper is in Hammond. The plant (daily capacity, 30,000
barrels), one of the latest petroleum refineries to enter the Calumet
Region, employs the most advanced scientific and technological processes.
Crude petroleum, raw material of the refinery, is brought by pipe line
from the oil fields of the southwest, and the output, which is transported
by ship, is conveyed by pipe line to the corporation's loading wharf at
Indiana Harbor. Sulphuric acid required in the operations of refining
crude petroleum is brought into the works by a specially constructed pipe
line leading from the nearby Grasselli chemical plant.
(31) The U. S. S. LEAD REFINERY INC. PLANT (open 9-5;
guide furnished), 5300 Kennedy Ave., East Chicago, is housed in indus-
trial buildings of brick and structural steel on an 80-acre site. A subsidiary
of the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Co., this plant pro-
duces refined lead for manufacturers of paint, cable, storage batteries
and plumbing supplies. The basic raw material, lead, is refined by the
Bett's electrolytic process.
(32) The SUPERHEATER CO. PLANT (visited by permit only),
521 W. 151st St., East Chicago, is housed in a group of brick and steel
buildings with tile roofs which cover 3J/2 acres, while the total acreage
of the entire plant is 12 acres. Steel tubings and castings are transformed
into Elesco steam superheaters for locomotives, marine, and stationary
112 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
boilers, feed water heaters, and pipe coils. Largest consumers of the
products of this plant are railroads and utilities in the United States,
although some foreign firms are supplied.
(33) The GRAVER TANK AND MFG. CORP. PLANT (open
9-5; guide furnished), 4809 Tod Ave. (extends to Railroad Ave.), East
Chicago, is the pioneer industry of the Calumet Region. While oil tanks
and other tanks are the chief product of the plant, general steel plate,
oil refinery equipment, water softeners and filters are also manufactured.
Early tanks produced were heavy and clumsy; today's products are of light
weight steel with metal joints sealed under caulking hammers. Some tanks
have a capacity of 500 barrels; others hold 80,000 barrels. Smaller ones
are manufactured in the plant; larger ones are fabricated at East Chicago
and erected on the job.
(34) The CALUMET FOUNDRY AND MACHINE CO.
PLANT (open 9-5), 4801 Railroad Ave., East Chicago, comprises two
large brick and steel buildings, where on seven acres of ground, grey iron
castings are shaped for oil companies, packers, and car and automobile
manufacturers.
(35) The FAMOUS MANUFACTURING CO. PLANT (open
9-5), 4722 Railroad Ave., East Chicago, balers and general machinists,
was one of the first industries. The company machines steel and casting
to suit the needs of the consumers, obtaining raw materials from nearby
steel mills.
(36) ALBERT GIVEN MFG. CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 1301 W.
Chicago Ave., East Chicago, is an example of the diversification of indus-
try in the region. The plant manufactures men's trousers, its equipment
consisting of more than 300 machines. Albert Given, founder, was a
pioneer resident of East Chicago.
(37) The SUBSTATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIANA
PUBLIC SERVICE CO. (not open), Chicago Ave., at Columbia Ave.,
Hammond, is one of several sub-stations of this company which provide
electricity, gas, and water for 270 communities in the northern 12,000
square miles of Indiana. It is a stockholder in the huge State Line Gen-
erating Corporation plant, one of the largest of its kind in the world, and
owns a steam generating station at Michigan City which has a capacity
of 64,000 kilowatts, as well as several minor hydro-electric plants. It has
more than 20 commercial gas storage holders, a transmission system
of more than 300 miles of main, and a distribution system of more than
1,400 miles of main.
(38) LA VENDOR CIGAR CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 4605 Hoh-
man Ave., Hammond, daily manufactures by hand thousands of La
Vendor cigars. The plant, which is 37% by 80 ft., was erected in 1914.
It is a union hand factory. Cuttings, a by-product of the plant, are
shipped to companies that specialize in cigar clippings.
SfeeJ, Dripping Like Flame-colored Syrup in Gary Steel Mills
Ingot of Hot Steel Being Lifted from Seating Pits
in Gary Steel Mills
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 113
(39) W. J. HOLLIDAY CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 137th St., and
Wabash Ave., Hammond, is an expansive steel warehouse serving an
Indianapolis firm of the same name.
(40) PLANT of the FEDERAL AMERICAN CEMENT TILE
CO. (open 9-5, appointment by writing or calling general superintendent),
24 Marble St., Hammond, is a steel and brick fireproof building, in which
are manufactured reinforced concrete roof slabs, a combination of steel,
woven wire, sand, and cement.
(41) PREST-O-LITE CO. PLANT (open 9-5, appointment by call-
ing or writing general superintendent), 19 Marble St., Hammond, a
warehouse-type brick building, manufactures acetylene.
(42) The CHAMPION CORP. PLANT (open 9-5), 4714 Sheffield
Ave., Hammond, housed in a group of one-, two- and three-story concrete
and steel, and red brick buildings, manufactures machines for the planting
and digging of potatoes and for the spraying of plants. Mechanical devices
for drainage and irrigating systems also are produced. Ninety per cent of
its raw material, steel, is of local production.
(43) The PLANT OF THE AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES
(open 9-5, appointment by calling or writing general superintendent; guide
furnished), 4831 Hohman Ave., Hammond, a fabricating and machining
plant, consists of 29 buildings, five main manufacturing buildings and
24 auxiliary buildings, each of structural steel, monitor type, with cor-
rugated iron sheathed sides and roofs. The foundry has an annual capacity
of approximately 35,280 tons of common brakes, clasp brakes, draft gears,
and roller bearings for railway equipment and other purposes, and of rail
joint bars for railroad tracks.
About where the office building now stands, was once the home of
Ernst Hohman, the first settler in the immediate locality and the man
from whom the avenue on which the plant is located takes its name. The
works was established in 1897 as the Simplex Railway Appliance Co., and
as "the Simplex" the plant is still popularly known.
(44) UNITED BOILER HEATING AND FOUNDRY CO.
PLANT (open 9-5), 4908 Hohman Ave., Hammond, a jobbing-manu-
facturing business, sprawls over 5.2 acres on the bank of the Grand Calu-
met River where the latter passes under the Hohman Ave. bridge. Build-
ings, with 80,000 sq. ft. of floor space, are separated to reduce fire hazards
but are connected with overhead traveling or other cranes. Activities range
from building of stacks and fashioning of gutters to fabrication of struc-
tural iron, plates, and ornamental iron and general sheet metal work, its
main outlet being the mills of the Calumet Region. Some products are
shipped to Europe.
(45) NOWAK MILLING CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 5009 Calumet
Ave., Hammond, in 1918 took over the closed-down plant of Hammond
Distillery. Business consists of conversion of grains into foods for horses,
cattle, and poultry, and much of its trade is in adjoining States.
114 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(46) HIRSCH SHIRT CORP. PLANT (L) (open 9-5), 730 Hoff-
man Ave., Hammond, utilizing 100,000 sq. ft. of factory space and the
services of 250 women and 50 men, disposes of its products (a line of
men's shirts) directly through canvassing salesmen, eliminating jobber
and wholesaler.
(47) The PLANT OF THE SCREW CONVEYOR CORP. (visited
by permit only), 700-706 Hoffman Ave., Hammond, occupying a ware-
house-type structure, specializes in the manufacture of screw conveyors
and accessories, and elevator buckets. Products are used by grain elevators,
flour mills, agricultural machinery manufacturers, cement plants, chemical
plants, mines and smelters, cotton gins, and other industries that handle
bulk granular material. Products have practically world wide distribution
and are shipped as far as South America, China, Africa, Europe and
Alaska.
(48) PLANT OF THE WELLER METAL PRODUCTS CO.
(open 9-5), 639 Hoffman Ave., a red brick factory-type building, is the
home of a belt and link conveyor manufactory with national distribution.
(49) QUEEN ANNE CANDY CO. PLANT (open 9-5; guide
furnished), 632 Hoffman Ave., Hammond, a long one-story brick build-
ing, affords approximately 100,000 sq. ft. of working space to 700 girls,
who mix, make, and package 100,000 pounds of assorted candies daily.
Mountains of nuts, Brazils, pecans, cashews, walnuts, and almonds, are
picked by fingers so amazingly swift that no machine yet devised can
replace them.
(50) RIVERDALE PRODUCTS CO. PLANT (visited by appoint-
ment only), State Line Ave., and Plummer St., Hammond, covering 9l/2
acres of land, manufactures (from packing house by-products) an assort-
ment of animal foods. Greases used by soap manufacturers, bone-meal,
meat scrap, are its chief products. The grease is extracted from the pack-
ing house by-products by the naphtha process.
(51) METZ FURNITURE CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 252 Wildwood
Rd., Hammond, in a large building formerly occupied by the Straube
Piano Co., is the only furniture factory in the Calumet Region. Using
chiefly walnut, mahogany, and blonde maple, this firm makes only dining
room and dinette furniture.
(52) SOUTHERN WHEEL DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN
BRAKE SHOE AND FOUNDRY CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 6615 Co-
lumbia Ave., Hammond, a massive brick building in modern industrial
design, is one of the largest foundries in the region.
(53) The CAMEL PLANT OF THE YOUNGSTOWN STEEL
DOOR CO. (open 9-5; guide furnished), 5032 Columbia Ave., Ham-
mond, locally known as the Camel Works, manufactures car-door fixtures
used in the fabrication of freight cars. The plant is built of steel and
glass, 320 ft. by 190 ft. and is operated on the assembly-line principle,
the raw material (steel sheets and bars) entering at the eastern end and
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 115
emerging as the finished product at the western. One of several plants
owned by the parent company, it ships a maximum of 20,000 tons of
finished products per year. Patents on essential devices give the parent
company what is tantamount to a monopoly on its line.
(54) BEATTY MACHINE AND MFG. CO. PLANT (open 9-5;
guide furnished), 940 — 150th St., Hammond, is a brick and steel build-
ing in which metal-working machinery is manufactured. The plant gets
its raw materials, iron, steel, bronze, and forging, from plants in the im-
mediate territory, and sells in all States of the United States and foreign
countries.
(55) LA SALLE STEEL CO. PLANT (open 9-5), 1412— 150th St.,
Hammond, is a modern mill specializing in steel of particular sizes and
shapes. Here, 350 men are engaged in cold-drawing steel bars, a process
similar to that of wire drawing. The annual output of the plant is ap-
proximately 100,000 tons.
(56) PLANT OF CHAMPION RIVET CO. (visited by permit
only), 5135 Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, occupies spacious brick
buildings of the sawtooth type giving 150,000 sq. ft. of floor space. Using
steel manufactured in the Calumet District, the plant specializes in rivets
and railroad car forgings. Eighty-five men are employed, producing
10,000 tons of rivets and forgings annually.
(57) The AIR REDUCTION SALES CO. PLANT (not open to
public), 152nd St., and Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, manufactures
compressed dissolved acetylene. Its basic material is calcium carbide. The
East Chicago plant is one of a large number of similar plants owned and
operated by the Air Reduction Sales Co.
(58) The BATES EXPANDED STEEL CORP. PLANT (open 9-5;
guide furnished), 5222 Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, is the conven-
tional factory type building, steel frames, brick and steel sheeting. Steel
poles, steel transmission and flood light towers and steel joints, used
chiefly by public utilities and building trades, are manufactured. Most of
the expansion of steel shapes is done by electrically driven machinery.
(59) PULLMAN STANDARD CAR MFG. CO. PLANT (open
9-5,, on appointment by writing or calling general superintendent), 1414
Field St., Hammond, a huge plant occupying 360 acres, was built by
Eastern capitalists as the Standard Steel Car Co. in 1906, to build rail-
way passenger and freight cars. In 1930, the Pullman Co., long engaged
in similar activities, purchased control of the Standard and was forced,
because of lack of orders, to close the plant. It now maintains only a
sufficient force to police the works and to keep them in operating
condition.
(60) The PLANT OF THE CITIES CONSTRUCTION CO.
(open 9-5 ), 1834 Summer St., Hammond, specializes in underground
construction work with operation extending into six states. The laying
of underground waterworks, telephone conduits, pipe lines, sewers, and
electrical transmission lines constitutes its principal activities.
1 16 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(61) PLANT OF THE HOESS MANUFACTURING CO. (open
9-5; guide furnished)., 1818 Summer St., Hammond, embraces three build-
ings of industrial design, where steel, iron, and brass castings are ma-
chined to micrometric accuracy. Both raw materials and use of products
are almost exclusively local.
(62) The METALS REFINERY CO. PLANT (visited by permit
only), 1717 Summer St., Hammond, a division of the Glidden Co., em-
braces ten factory buildings and an office building on 20 acres of land.
The plant manufactures lead alloys for type metals, babbitts, and grid
metals, lead oxides (litharge and red lead) , cupric and cuprous (copper)
oxides used in anti-fouling and ship bottom coatings, pure copper powder
used in manufacture of generator brushes, oil-less bearings, and brushings.
Powdered tin and lead are subsidiary products. The basic raw materials
are corroding lead and lead by-products from mines in the western part
of the United States. A smelting process is used in the production of lead
and lead alloys; for the lead oxide the raw material is oxidized and then
milled.
(63) CALUMET STEEL CASTINGS CORP. PLANT ( open 9-5 ),
1636 Summer St., Hammond, occupies three steel and concrete buildings
and brick office. Producing by modern, electrical methods 150 tons of
steel castings, this plant employs 60 foundry workers.
(64) CENTRAL RAILWAY SIGNAL CO. PLANT (open 9-5,
guide furnished), 1301 Summer St., Hammond, comprises forty-three
buildings, and produces flares, track torpedoes, and railway safety signals.
The flares are designed to burn a predetermined time with an intense
light, visible through heavy fog. Recent additions to the line are a high-
way flare to mark stalled autos and trucks, and a flare for use on flying
fields.
ENVIRONS OF THE CALUMET DISTRICT I
Unlike the Calumet Region proper, the environs of the district have a
history very nearly as old as that of Chicago and, from the standpoint of
the hopes and ambitions of its early settlers, just as rich.
Left from Ridge Road in Gary (US 6), is the Liverpool Road, a
macadam stretch that, following an old Indian trail, winds through a
wild, deeply wooded area to the ghost town of Liverpool. Here is the
SITE OF THE FERRY ON DEEP RIVER, a point where an abrupt
bend in the river slowed down its rapid current to such an extent that
sand bars were formed. The place became widely known as The Ferry and
was used first by the Indians and later by the pioneers. In 1835 a tavern
was built here by Abner Stillson, Jr. The following year a town was
platted by Henry Fredrickson, Nathaniel Davis, and John B. Chapman,
who had purchased "floats" (land laid in the name of an Indian) from
the Indians. George Earle of Falmouth, England, later bought the town
site, naming it Liverpool. For a time boats carrying produce between the
Chicago area and this district navigated the river.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE il7
In 1839 Earle obtained the location of the county seat for Liverpool
and construction was started on the first courthouse, a log structure. In
1840, however, rival interests succeeded in having the county seat moved
to Crown Point. In the years that followed, Liverpool became a ghost
city. The SITE OF THE FIRST COURTHOUSE IN LAKE
COUNTY has a marker, erected in 1937 by the Lake County Historical
Markers Commission and the Indiana State Highway Commission.
CAMP 133, a waterside village resembling a summer resort, today
occupies the site of the old town. It is so named because 133 was the
number of the local theatrical employee's union whose members estab-
lished the camp in 1913. Nearby is Earlewood, the estate of the descend-
ants of George Earle.
East Gary is a village made up of old homes occupied by early resi-
dents and of modern bungalows occupied by persons employed in the
industrial cities to the west. Established in 1851 as Lake Station, the
western terminus of the Michigan Central Railroad, this was the first
railroad station in Lake County. The Michigan Central erected railroad
shops and a two-story depot, and built a park. In the spring of the fol-
lowing year, George Earle had the townsite platted and recorded, and
Lake Station soon became a shipping center for the entire county. Prior
to this period, it had been a terminal from which two Indian trails
led to Fort Dearborn; later, during the wet seasons, the Fort Dearborn-
Detroit Stage Coach route had passed through here.
In East Gary is the ARTHUR PATTERSON MUSEUM, housed in
a modest dark green frame dwelling occupied by the Patterson family.
Indian artifacts found in the vicinity, maps of early Indian trails, pages
of old stories relating to the district, and botanical specimens are in the
Patterson collection. A short distance from the museum is AUDUBON
INN, a long rambling frame building standing flush with the sidewalk.
Its great age is indicated by an outside rear stairway and multi-paned
windows. A spacious lawn is back of the dilapidated old 16-room
building.
RIVERVIEW PARK, an historic spot on Deep River, was a favorite
"dancing ground" for several Indian tribes who followed the Santa Fe
Trail. During Civil War days it became the summer residence of a
wealthy Chicagoan, Col. Edmond Jessen, well-known lawyer. After the
colonel's death, his brothers-in-law, Carl Schurz, publicist, and Daniel W.
Voorhees, legislator, became owners of the property. It was later pur-
chased by East Gary for a park. On the grounds are recreational facilities
and playground equipment.
Hobart, said to have been first settled in 1837, is one of the oldest
communities in Lake County. It was platted in 1849 by George Earle,
who named it in honor of his brother in England. Construction of the
Michigan Central Railroad and establishment of Lake Station (East Gary)
in 1851 greatly affected Hobart; it became a trading center for the
northern part of the county.
118 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Here, in 1846, George Earle built a home, a rambling cottage, pat-
terned after an English country lodge. He imported vines, shrubs, and
flowers from his native England to plant a garden which completely sur-
rounded the dwelling. The SITE OF THE GEORGE EARLE HOME
is on Front Street, between Main and Center. Nearby is the SITE OF
THE GEORGE EARLE ART GALLERY, which was a small frame
building erected to hold a collection of 300 oil paintings, some of which
were copies of masterpieces but most of which were original paintings
made by himself and other eastern artists. The collection became scat-
tered after Earle left Hobart, but the Unitarian Church of the town
contains some of the best.
In 1858 the Pennsylvania Railroad was built through the village, and
two years later a brick yard was constructed north of the tracks, which
for a number of years had the largest kilns in the State. In 1889 Hobart
took on the status of a town, and in 1923 it adopted a city form of
government. Today it is an attractive suburb whose population is largely
a commuting one. Its one industry is the National Fireproofing Company,
makers of terra cotta and tile.
Hobart's LAKE GEORGE was formed by the construction of a dam
across Deep River to furnish water power for a mill that has been in con-
tinuous operation since 1846. Lake George has a municipal bathing beach,
slides and playground equipment for children. The lake, stocked by the
Department of Conservation, provides good fishing.
OLD HOBART MILL, North Main and Front St., on the shore of
Lake George, is a three-story frame structure, rising high above the large
willow trees surrounding it. Built by George Earle, the mill began opera-
tion in December, 1847. It was first started as a saw mill and in 1870
was remodeled into a grist mill. The original timbers are still in good
condition, many of them hand hewn logs, two feet square, pinned together
with wooden pegs. The gabled roof, with its cupola, and the small-paned
windows of the structure date it architecturally.
Between Hobart and Valparaiso (15.8 m. out of Hobart) on US 6, a
gravel road goes past the JOSEPHUS WOLF HOME. Built in 1876,
this 18-room brick house has as its predominate exterior feature, an
elaborate cupola. Josephus Wolf was an Indiana pioneer, arriving in the
State in 1832 from Athens Co., Ohio. In 1849, during the Gold Rush, he
went to California, returning to Porter County in 1851. He purchased
4,500 acres of land. The house is in the center of his former holdings.
Several miles farther on is BUTTERNUT SPRING (open—adm.
25c), which was an old Indian watering place, according to tradition,
regularly visited for its medicinal value by several tribes of Indians. The
waters of the spring originally emerged from the earth near a huge butter-
nut tree, of which only the stump remains. Today the spring is the center
of a privately-owned recreational area, including an artificial lake, game
preserve, formal gardens, and tennis courts. On the lake, formed by con-
structing a dam across Salt Creek and privately stocked with game fish,
are wild mallard ducks and Chinese swans. Over the waters, rustic arched
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 119
bridges accent the lake's beauty. The heavy timber of the game preserve
shelter rare fowl and animals. The formal gardens, called the Delphinium
Dells in season (June) are lovely. To the rear of the gardens are Indian
burial grounds, the mounds, their location marked by a strangely shaped
tree, bent like a camel's hump by the Potawatomi Indians. A room in
the home is filled with an exhibit of arrow heads and Indian relics. On
the grounds is the South Chicago Y.M.C.A. summer camp.
Valparaiso is a charming and friendly university town, the county
seat of Porter County. Built near the crest of the Valparaiso Moraine, the
town, on undulating land, is given an individuality by its sloping tree-
arched avenues and terraced lawns. Distinction also is given the city by
the buildings and campus of Valparaiso University, by a handsome court-
house, and by the many fine old Victorian residences. While the main
street is typical of any older midwestern town, the general atmosphere
of Valparaiso is that of an old college town.
In the center of the square, upon an elevation, is the remodeled Indiana
limestone COURTHOUSE, the old one having been ruined by fire
Dec. 27, 1934. Extending three stories above an English basement, the
present structure exhibits a Gothic tower with four ultra-modern clock
faces. On the north and south sides of the building are balconies with
balustrades, supported by six monolithic columns.
Valparaiso, originally called Portersville, was organized in 1836 by the
Portersville Land Company to secure the location of the Porter County
seat. In 1837, a party of sailors stopped overnight at Hill's Tavern and
after entertaining the natives with stories, one suggested that since the
county was named for Commodore David Porter, who was in command
of the Essex during a battle near Valparaiso, Chile, it would be appro-
priate to name the county seat after that town. The suggestion was
accepted.
Valparaiso is celebrated in the mid-west for its chain of seven lakes,
surrounded by summer resorts and visited annually by thousands of
Chicagoans and midwesterns. It possesses a world famous telegraph and
radio institute, and produces 80 per cent of the permanent magnets used
in the United States. It has one of the six mica-insulation plants, a bake-
lite plant, and a die-casting works.
VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY (once nationally known as the Poor
Man's Harvard), dates from 1859, when the Valparaiso Male and
Female College was established. As a result of the Civil War, classes at
the college were suspended in 1869. On Sept. 16, 1873, Henry Baker
Brown reopened the college as the Northern Indiana Normal School and
Business Institute. He was joined in 1881 by Oliver Perry Kinsey and in
1900 the name was changed to Valparaiso College. In 1907, the present
name was adopted. By 1915-16, the University had an annual enrollment
of 6,000. The Lutheran University Association bought the institution in
1925. The grounds comprise 43 acres; there are seven buildings in* Vic-
torian architectural design.
120 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
An architecturally interesting residence is The LOGAN HOME, 505
Campbell St., built during the Civil War. The large brick residence of
Georgian architecture was built by Benjamin Logan, minister of a Val-
paraiso church. Immediately south of 'the Logan Home are two other
large brick homes of the same period.
At 452 Campbell St. is the T. E. A. CAMPBELL HOME, a stately
brick house surmounted by a square observatory. With the grounds, this
house follows the southern plantation style.
The ADAM S. CAMPBELL HOME, on State 2, one and three-
quarters miles east of the courthouse, was built in 1833. Constructed on
Georgian-Colonial lines, four large square rooms below and four above,
the house formerly faced the Old Sauk Trail, but the new highway, run-
ning between the house and the stables, flanks the rear of the house.
Under a pine tree on the grounds of this home in 1841, the first Blue
Lodge of Free Masons was organized. The house is occupied by a great-
granddaughter of the builder. The old Campbell private cemetery, about
twenty rods north of the highway, is surrounded by a brick and concrete
wall.
The PORTER HOME, NW. cor. Erie and Locust Sts., of solid oak
timbers, was built in 1838 on the highest elevation in the city, known as
"The Hill." The well-preserved house of two stories, containing six rooms,
was built by Dr. George Porter.
The FARRINGTON HOUSE, SE. cor. of Union and Linwood Sts.,
built more than three-quarters of a century ago, is of Georgian-Colonial
design. The frame house of 12 rooms, once beautiful, has deteriorated.
Today, it is occupied by a chemical company.
Architecturally eccentric is the EIGHT-SIDED HOUSE, 156 Gar-
field St. containing eight rooms, eight gables, and eight sides. At 355
Garfield St., is said to be one of four ROUGH BARK MAGNOLIA
TREES, north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
SITE OF CIVIL WAR RECRUITS CAMP, Sugar Loaf Mound,
SW. part of town, is marked by a boulder and tablet.
The ERASMUS BALL HOME, Campbell Road at Hass St., built
more than 70 years ago, is of Georgian-Colonial design. The house as
originally constructed contained 12 rooms, in addition to halls, attic, and
front and rear stairways.
The OLDEST HOUSE IN VALPARAISO, the Dr. Seneca Ball
Home, 206 Institute St., erected in 1834, also follows the Georgian-
Colonial design. This house formerly stood at Lincolnway and Franklin
Sts. Other homes following Colonial lines are the G. Z. SAYLER HOME,
Willow St., off Washington, built in 1835, and the LORENZO FREE-
MAN HOUSE, NE. cor. of Chicago and Washington Sts., built in 1849.
HALF HOUSES, located at 504 and 705 LaFayette St., were once a
21 -room plantation type residence, built by Myron Powell, a wealthy Vir-
ginian. After his death, the house was divided in half.
B&OWN HOUSE, NE cor. Jefferson and Morgan Sts., occupied by
W. B. Brown, founder of Valparaiso University, is a 22-room frame strtic-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 121
ture with many dormer windows. A spacious landscaped lawn forms a
perfect setting for this old home.
About five miles east of the intersection of State Roads 6 and 49 the
GRAVE OF CHARLES OSBORNE is in a pioneer cemetery. Osborne,
who died in 1850, for years the minister of the Friends Church, Economy,
Wayne County, Indiana, was one of eight men who organized the first
abolition society west of the Alleghenies. The society was formed in an
obscure Tennessee settlement in 1815. All of the founders moved to
Wayne County, where they again took up agitation against slavery. As
president of the Society of Friends, Osborne was author of numerous
anti-slavery articles printed by Buxton and Walling, 1826, Richmond,
Indiana; S. Smith, printer, Centerville, Indiana; and the Free Labor
Advocate and Anti-Slavery Chronicle, Newport (now Fountain City) .
One of his last articles opposing slavery was printed by B. Vaile, Center-
ville, Indiana, 1849 (in Library of Congress) . A highway marker directs
attention to the grave.
Deep River, is a small settlement on US 30 along the river of the
same name, founded by John Wood in 1836, who, believing it an ideal
location on the stream, entered his claim. After erecting a log cabin, he
returned East to bring his family. In 1837, Wood erected a saw mill and
the following year a grist mill, the first in Lake County, which did large
business and in time became a flour mill. The red brick mill still stands.
Homes were built for a family village. The settlement thus started was
first called Woodvale but later was known as Deep River, this being the
name of the post office. The one part of the village that remains as
designed by the founder, John Wood, carefully laid out by him in 1836,
is the Woodvale Cemetery. The Old Settlers and Historical Association
in August, 1924, erected and dedicated a marker to John Wood.
Also, in Deep River is a great mound, supposed to have been built by
Indians. Many arrow-heads and other relics have been found in this
/icinity.
WOOD'S MILL in Deep River, a two-story red brick building built
in 1837, is still standing, seemingly in good condition. Its two runs of
stone and eight sets of rolls once ground twelve bushels an hour. Nearby
are several ancient trees, fitting background for the historic mill. In 1939
the mill and surrounding acreage was purchased by the State highway
department for an historical parkway.
About three miles east of Deep River, off US 30, an unpaved road
leads to the HOOSIER'S NEST, site of an inn built in 1834, by
Thomas Snow. This inn was listed in the Ohio Gazetteer (1835) as "The
Hoosier's Nest." It was from this inn and its activities that John Finley
received inspiration for his poem "The Hoosier's Nest," which was
printed in 1833. The poem is in part:
"The stranger made a hearty meal
And glances 'round the room would steal.
One side was lined with divers garments,
And other spread with skins of varmints;
122 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Dried pumpkins overhead were strung,
While venison hams in plenty hung.
"Two rifles placed above the door
Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor —
In short the domicile was rife
With specimens of Hoosier life."
Almost five miles out of Deep River, also off US 30, another unpaved
road leads to the SITE OF WILSON MILL, which was erected in
1837. It was purchased and improved in 1840 by Amos Wilson. A
marker near the highway directs attention to the site.
Merrillville is a one street village, its old houses, its brick schoolhouse,
and its few business buildings built on either side of the old Main Road
(later Lincoln Highway and now State 330) . One of the oldest and best
known fish houses in the region is in this village. The town was formerly
the site of a populous Indian village. In 1835, Jeremiah Wiggins located
his claim on a wooded point of land near the center of Merrillville, and
it was known as Wiggins Point until the time of his death, 1838. Later
the name of Centerville came into favor for the small community that had
grown around Wiggins' claim. This name was eventually changed to
Merrillville in honor of Dudley Merrill who opened a cheese factory in
the town.
Merrillville is the SITE OF McGWINN'S VILLAGE, an Indian vil-
lage occupied by Potawatomi as late as 1834. There was a burial place
nearby and ceremonial dancing floor whence sixteen trails diverged.
The SOLOMON ZUVER HOME is the second oldest house still
standing in Lake County. The building is about 18x24 feet with old
fashioned square windows. It was built before the Gold Rush of '49. The
original walnut log construction is now covered with modern siding.
The SITE OF THE CALIFORNIA EXCHANGE HOTEL. The
hotel was once a favorite stopping place for forty-niners — hence its name.
The hotel was built to provide food and lodging for travel-stained trap-
pers, hunters and business men on their way to Chicago to dispose of
their furs or to transact necessary business. The hamlet, at that time, was
described as an "Indiana Garden of Eden" because of the rich flora
throughout the community.
Turkey Creek is a hamlet that looks as if it had been transplanted
bodily from some German province. The brick church and rectory, well
shaded, the well-kept homes, and the surrounding pastoral beauty con-
tribute to the charm of the town. In 1834, a man remembered only by
his surname of Winchell began construction of a saw mill on Turkey
Creek, at what is now the intersection of 63rd Ave. and Harrison St. The
mill was not completed but a German settlement grew up around the
site. In 1852, a stone Roman Catholic church, SS. Peter and Paul, was
established. The Turkey Creek Country Club (open — fees 75c), con-
taining an 18-hole golf course and a clubhouse, is on the banks of a
creek, also called Turkey Creek, that winds through the village.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 123
ENVIRONS OF THE CALUMET II
HIGHLAND, so named because of its location on a high ridge of
dunes, is a Dutch community. Neat, scrubbed-looking homes, orderly
gardens, greenhouses, and nurseries are retentions of Dutch characteristics.
Formerly US 6 was on the same level as the village, but today it ascends
a rather long and high viaduct, leaving the center of Highland on the
old low road. Visible are the roofs of the quaint stucco Town Hall, the
Christian Reformed (Dutch) Church, and "A School for Christian In-
struction." The village, spread over nine square miles of territory on either
side of the highway, consists mainly of modest brick and frame bungalows.
In summer, the highway is lined with roadside stands of fresh vegetables,
fruits, and flowers. The town is served by the Erie, Chesapeake and Ohio,
and the New York Central railroads and by the South Shore Bus System.
Three well-equipped trailer parks are on the highway within the High-
land city limits.
WICKER MEMORIAL PARK (clubhouse, open; 18-hole golf course,
tennis courts, athletic fields, riding stables, picnicking grounds with
outdoor furnaces), about three miles from Highland, is one of the few
township owned parks in the State. Here 232 acres of half -wooded, half
prairie land has been made into a recreational center for the several cities
of North Township, Whiting, East Chicago, Hammond, Munster, and
Highland. A yellow brick clubhouse of Spanish-type architecture on the
grounds is one of the most impressive clubhouses in the county. In 1925
a group of Hammond, Whiting, and East Chicago men bought in their
own names this land lying south of the Little Calumet River. They assessed
themselves $8,000 each, or a total of $128,000, the remainder of the
purchase price and cost of improvement being financed by borrowings
and in other ways. After the acreage was made into a park, North Town-
ship bought it, no profit being taken by the group of men. On June 14,
1927, President Coolidge formally officiated at the dedication of the park
as a World War Memorial. Since the grounds had long been known as
Wicker Grove, for the owner, Carrie M. Wicker, the park was called
Wicker Memorial Park.
Munster is a Dutch settlement; the houses of the town, extending four
miles along the highway, are built on the ridge of dunes (L) and on
the gently sloping fringe of the Calumet marshlands (R) . In summer, the
low, fertile, and at times partly submerged marshlands of the Little
Calumet River are colorful with flower and vegetable gardens; open air
markets on the highway display produce. Flanking the highway also are
the public buildings, a modern brick public school building, a town hall
(brick with stone trimming), a Christian Reformed (Dutch) church
(1876), a parochial school, and Mount Mercy Sanitorium. Munster was
named for a pioneer settler, Jacob Munster, who, with Cornelius Klootwyk,
Dingemen Jabraay, Antonie Bonevman, came to the site in 1855 from
Rotterdam, Holland.
At Columbia Ave. and US 6 is the SITE OF THE BRASS TAVERN,
built in 1847 by Allen H. Brass and his wife, Julia Watkins Brass, to
124 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
cater to the travel that passed to and from Fort Dearborn. The only
telegraph office in the region was housed in this tavern, and it was here
that news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln first came to Lake
County. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1909. A marker erected
by the Daughters of the American Revolution calls attention to the site.
Dyer, a pleasant hamlet through which Plum Creek meanders, is
distinguished for its uniformity of architecture, most of its buildings
having been erected in the middle of the last century. Decorative cornices,
some straight and simple, some arched and ornate, surmount all windows
and doorways. Dyer was on the Old Sauk Trail; in 1838 a tavern, the
State Line House, was erected on the site now occupied by the Dyer
Hotel. In the early nineties, A. M. Hart, Philadelphia publisher, after
buying 17,000 acres of land in the vicinity, instituted a system of drain-
age, known locally as the Hart Ditch, and Dyer became the center of
trade for the reclaimed agricultural territory. Elevators and creameries
were built.
One of the old Dyer Flour Mills is still standing at the north edge of
the town. Originally, in the late fifties, the mill was used as a distillery
by Tuthill and Swartz. Later the Dubrieul brothers, August and John L.,
were proprietors of the distillery, making molasses out of sugar cane.
Closed after the Civil War by the Government, because of the brothers'
refusal to pay a tax, the building was then fitted up as a grist mill and
as such is still in use. Nearby is an interesting example of mid-west archi-
tecture of the eighties, a white frame residence flush with the sidewalk.
Formerly owned by John Boos, an early resident, the east section of the
north facade of the house exhibits ornate cornices over the windows and
doors, while the west section of the same facade has simple arched
cornices over the windows.
(Two blocks right on the Lincoln Highway, US 30, in Dyer is the
Indiana-Illinois boundary line, where a highway historical tablet, erected
in 1937, marks the line and gives historical items concerning the State
of Indiana.)
The Lincoln Highway coincides with the Great Sauk Indian Trail
followed by Indians from Illinois to Detroit and Maiden (Amherstburg)
for the annual gift of presents from the English. The view down US 30
in Dyer is dominated by the spires of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
(R) ; tall maple and elm trees line the highway through the town. Adjoin-
ing the church is St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery and a new parochial
school, dedicated May 1, 1939, by Bishop Noll of Fort Wayne.
East of Dyer the highway follows a ridge (R) known geologically as
GLENWOOD BEACH, one of the three prominent ridges that were
the various shore lines of the glacial lake geologically known as Lake
Chicago. The lake was completely drained by the eroded channel in the
Valparaiso Moraine.
A short distance out of Dyer begins the Old Ideal Section of Lincoln
Highway. This section was selected for an experiment in ideal highway
construction because it was "the most beautiful part of the Lincoln High-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 125
way" in the United States. A bronze tablet bench is dedicated to Henry
C. Ostermann, who was active in the Lincoln Highway Association.
St. John was the home of the first (1843) Catholic church in Lake
County, now within the Lake County Fairgrounds at Crown Point. The
first German immigrant to Lake County, John Hack, settled on the site
of St. John in the 1830's and established the church. With a Catholic
church, a parochial school, and a cemetery along the highway, St. John
today is still a village.
About a mile out of St. John on US 41, is encountered the CONTI-
NENTAL WATERSHED, the divide separating the Mississippi Valley
Basin from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin. Waters south of this
line flow into the Kankakee River, thence to the Gulf of Mexico, those
north flow into Lake Michigan. A state highway marker indicates the
point at which US 41 crosses this divide.
Cook, called Hanover Center by its early (1855) German settlers, is
a quiet village. Upon building of the New York Central R.R. through
the hamlet, its name was changed to Cook, honoring a railroad official
of that name.
A gravel road off US 41, two miles out of Cook, runs past the FRAN-
CISCAN (Polish) SEMINARY, formerly the George Einsele Hotel, a
large brick building with a Colonial portico. The seminary was dedicated
April 21, 1938, by Bishop Noll of Fort Wayne. Opposite the seminary is
Cedar Lake 18-hole GOLF COURSE (open; fees We on week days, 75c
on Saturday, $1.00 on Sundays). A new yellow frame clubhouse offers
restaurant services.
About a quarter of a mile farther on is the SITE OF THE OLD
BALL ESTATE and SITE OF THE FIRST SCHOOL IN
SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY, now the LeGrand T. Meyer Manor
(open). The Ball estate, homesteaded in 1833 by Jacob L. Brown, was
bought in 1837 by Hervey Ball, who was the cultural leader of the region
for many decades. It was the center of church and school work; literary
societies met here; books in the Ball library were available to all. A two-
story log school was erected in the rear of the Ball homestead. Rev. T. H.
Ball, son of Hervey, became the historian of Northwest Indiana. Two
bronze tablets are on the Meyer lawn, one describing the influence of the
Ball family, the other, the history of the passing of the estate from the
Government to its present owners. At the end of a tree lined walk is
Meyer Manor, of Georgian-Colonial design. Cedars on the grounds,
according to tradition, are those for which Cedar Lake was named.
Across the highway is the OLDEST LOG HOUSE IN LAKE
COUNTY. This two-story structure, recently restored after having been
covered with clapboards, was erected by Aaron Cox, who settled on the
site in 1835. It later became the property of the John Schubert family and
with the adjoining land became known as the Schubert farm. To the
rear of the house are the old Schubert cemetery and Schubert Lake.
CEDAR LAKE the best known inland resort in the region, is popular
with visitors from many parts of the midwest, particularly Chicagoans.
126 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
A resort encircles the lake, a kidney-shaped, shallow body of water, 2.5
miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide, formed by a glacial recession.
Before the white man came, Mus-qua-ack-bis (Cedar Lake) was a favorite
camping place of the Indians. Natural beauty of the surrounding terri-
tory and abundance of game and fish attracted many of the first settlers
in the county. Here David Horner, Doctor Calvin Lilly, Horace Edger-
ton, Adonijah and Horace Taylor, later leading citizens of the county,
settled in 1835-37. Following the German revolution in 1848 many Ger-
man immigrants settled around the lake. As early as the seventies, it
became a summer resort; John and Nancy Binyon erected a hostelry that
became famous in the Chicago region. In the early eighties Chicagoans
began flocking to the lake during the summer, and numerous other hotels
were built. Today, in addition to hotels, there are 3,000 cottages. Estates
of settlers are occupied by their descendants. The Cedar Lake Conference
Grounds, on which the Moody Bible Institute holds its annual summer
conference, are on the west side of the lake. The Monon and New York
Central R.R. and the Greyhound Bus serve the resort.
About two miles farther on around the lake the road runs past the
hill (R) on the crown of which was buried Obadiah Taylor, veteran of
the Revolutionary War. The spot is called WEST POINT CEMETERY,
although there is no sign of any other burials having been made. The
site is now occupied by a hotel and other buildings. A highway marker
(L) calls attention to the site and relates that Taylor (d. 1837) came
to Cedar Lake from Massachusetts in 1836.
About three miles from Cedar Lake is the HENRY E. CUTLER
MODEL FARM. Three hundred acres, once almost worthless, have been
scientifically drained and developed to a high degree of productivity. Four
large barns and a crib arranged in a paved barnyard, a four-room house
of enameled brick where the milk, previously milked by machinery, is
processed, and scientific chicken brooders are among the farm's equip-
ment. The farm is noted in Indiana for its prize-winning cattle, mostly
Holsteins. The farm, handed down from one generation to another, is
the site of the log cabin home of the pioneer Cutler family. The first
home built to replace the log cabin is still standing in the rear of the
modern country residence, while a giant cottonwood tree, preserved since
the log cabin days, shades the spacious lawn.
Lake Dale Carlia Rd. about a mile from the model farm, leads to
DALE CARLIA LAKE. Where the road crosses Cedar Creek, a dam
causes the creek to spill in little falls (L) into the lake. The south end of
the lake is on the site of a mill pond where, in 1837, Judge Benjamin
McCarty and Israel Taylor owned a saw mill. The northern end is held
by the State as a fish hatchery. A summer resort comprises 200 acres
and has about eight miles of lake front.
Three miles from the farm is CASTLEBROOK GOLF CLUB (public
9-hole golf course; fees, Sundays and Holidays., 75c, Saturdays, 50c and
weekdays, 35c) with a modest summer cottage type clubhouse, rolling
fairways, and large, well-trapped greens.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 127
Lowell, a jobbing and shipping center for a rich agricultural district,
is a pleasant rural town, at one time the largest in Lake County, first
settled in 1835 by Samuel Halstead, who here entered, according to Lake
County's Claim Register (still extant), a "Timber and Mill Seat." This
claim was forfeited, to be purchased in 1848 by M. A. Halstead (1821-
1915) of Rennselaer County, New York. Halstead built a saw mill and
in 1852 erected a flour mill and platted the town. On Lowell's main
business thoroughfare, Commercial street, is THREE CREEKS MONU-
MENT. Twenty-five feet high, with a 9-foot base, this granite shaft is
surmounted by the figure of a Union soldier. On its four sides are
engraved the names of 503 men and women from Eagle Creek, West
Creek, and Cedar Creek townships, who served in the War of 1812,
Civil, Mexican, and Spanish-American wars. The monument was dedi-
cated June 9, 1905, by Governor Frank Hanley and Department Com-
mander Lucas of G.A.R. Near the monument is the Lowell Carnegie
Library, a yellow brick building with a red tile roof. The FIRST BRICK
HOUSE in Lake County, the former Melvin A. Halstead home, is at
201 Main Street. The house, a two-story New England type structure,
was the third house in Lowell.
Four miles out of the town of Thayer, following State 55, then the
Jasper-Newton county road, is the CAMERON GAME PRESERVE
(open by request; see caretaker), a private experiment in restoring sub-
marginal lands to their former flooded condition to induce wild water-
fowl and game to return to their natural feeding grounds. The late
William Cameron, a Scotch immigrant, president of the Cameron Car
Machine Company, Chicago, about two decades ago purchased 135
acres along the Kankakee River and began his scientific experiment of
restoration of the Kankakee swamplands. Artificial ditches, diverting the
waters of the Kankakee River, are made to flood large areas. Botanical
specimens, including wild rice, duck weed, and many others, are available.
Wild game and waterfowl have returned. The preserve includes a beau-
tiful plantation-type home. The site of the preserve was formerly known
as Indian Island, for an Indian camp. In 1866 the Indian Island Sawmill
Company built its mill on the island. During the first decade of this
century the "island" was sold to Chicago sportsmen, who organized the
Kankakee Valley Hunting club. After various drainage projects were
completed, the area became worthless for hunting and trapping; the island
lay idle until purchased by Mr. Cameron.
Hebron is a pleasant old village laid out by John Alyea as The Cor-
ners in 1844, near the site of Old Indian Town, two miles south along
the Kankakee River. In 1845 it was renamed Hebron for a neighboring
church. It was the center of the fur and game market in the days when
the Kankakee region drew sportsmen from all parts of the United States.
Le Roy, a quiet rural village, is on the site of the land issued in 1855
by the government to Thomas McClarn. The village was once called
Cassville, and, previously, according to tradition, "Ireland." It is known
that a neighborhood school was called, the "Dublin School." This village,
128 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
on the Pennsylvania Railroad, is a minor shipping center for grain and
hay. There is a grain elevator, a lumber yard, a Methodist church, and a
public school.
Crown Point is the one city in Lake County where there are mansion-
like homes built in the preceding century, and age-old trees arching them-
selves gracefully over wide, winding streets. Named by Solon Robinson,
a Connecticut Yankee, for Crown Point, New York, the city has been
the county seat of Lake County since 1840. It was the first town in the
county to be surveyed and platted (1840).
Private schools and institutes flourished in Crown Point, during its
early history. Among these were the private school for young women
established in 1856 by Mary E. Parsons, the private school established
during the same period by Mrs. Solon Robinson, and the Knight Select
School for Young Ladies, established in 1856 by two English women, the
Misses Martha and Kate Knight. The first educational institute in North-
west Indiana was organized in 1865 by Timothy H. Ball in Crown Point
at the intersection of East and North Streets. The site of the institute is
now occupied by a public grade school.
The business section of Crown Point centers about a public square.
LAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE shaded by huge maple trees, is a
dignified structure of red brick with stone trim. Its transitional plan is
evident in the two wings added to the original (1878) center block. A high
tower on the red tile roof contains the traditional court house clock, visible
for miles in any direction. The business buildings facing the four sides of
the square are chiefly one- and two-story structures representing several
eras, some dating from the early seventies. In striking contrast are a few
ultra-modern buildings.
Just off the square on S. Main Street is (L) the LAKE COUNTY
CRIMINAL COURT BUILDING, a modern brick edifice whose
arched and carved stone portal gives it distinction. Adjoining the court
building is the official residence of the sheriff of the county, a two-story
brick building with a deep columned porch, and back of it, extending
to South East Street, is (R) the LAKE COUNTY JAIL. This is a
three-story brick structure, connected with the court building by a covered
bridge spanning the alley. The jail achieved nation-wide publicity when
John Dillinger escaped by holding up his jailer with a wooden gun. In
the same block (R) the MASONIC TEMPLE, a three-story brick
building with a colonaded portico, the CROWN POINT PUBLIC
LIBRARY, a red brick building, and two churches give a solid appear-
ance to the street.
The red brick COMMUNITY HOUSE, 109 N. Court, a reproduc-
tion of early Virginian architecture, is used by local organizations for
meetings and conventions, banquets, basketball tournaments, and roller
skating. On the lawn are two markers erected by the Lake County His-
torical Society and the local chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, directing attention to the site of the FIRST CROWN
POINT COUNTY COURTHOUSE and the HOME OF SOLON
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 129
ROBINSON. It was on this site that Robinson and his family pitched
their tent, Oct. 31, 1834. The next day Robinson commenced cutting
down trees to erect his cabin. In the rear of Robinson's cabin were the
remains of an Indian garden and nearby a spring of water.
The LAKE COUNTY DETENTION HOME, 314 W. Joliet, an
institution which serves as a temporary home for delinquent or homeless
juveniles, is a new, rectangular, brick building surrounded by spacious
grounds. Green grilled iron work embellishes the structure.
The LAKE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, SW. cor. South Court and
West Greenwood Ave., cover 80 acres of wooded and pleasantly rolling
land. Within the grounds is FANCHER LAKE, around which a race
track has been laid. There are numerous substantial brick buildings for
the housing of exhibits at the annual fair held on the grounds, and a
small "zoo" is an attraction the year around. Headquarters of the local
Boy Scouts is a log cabin which was the first Catholic church in Lake
County. A covered wagon bridge spans the tiny creek that flows into
Fancher Lake. This bridge, constructed in 1878 over a stream in Rush
County and transplanted to the fairgrounds, through the interest of the
State Highway Commission, is retained as a memento of an earlier
generation.
Three miles from Crown Point, on State 53 is the LAKE COUNTY
TUBERCULOSIS SANITARIUM, a large red brick hospital built on
Georgian-Colonial lines. A semi-circular drive leads to the main entrance.
Also on the landscaped 35-acre tract are a red brick Georgian Colonial
house (the superintendent's home) and the nurse's home, a modern red
brick building.
The GARY COUNTRY CLUB (private) , about nine miles from the
center of Gary on State 55, has a rambling white frame building surrounded
by 135 acres of pleasantly wooded land and an 18-hole golf course. A
small stream, Turkey Creek, flows through the grounds.
About a mile from the country club on State 55 a winding gravel road
runs past historic BARTLETT WOODS FARM, at which the first
meetings of local Abolitionists were held. Here a marker was unveiled
August 26, 1922, to the memory of Barlett Woods, "an outstanding
citizen and to his wife, Ann Eliza Sigler Woods, a typical pioneer woman."
THE DUNE COUNTRY I
Stretching along the entire southern shore of Lake Michigan, and into
Michigan, is a range of sand hills and dunes, one of the most interesting
natural phenomena in North America. This dune country covers almost
all of Lake and Porter Counties, and reveals a variety of topography,
flora, and fauna, that has made it a mecca for scientists and tourists.
A part of the dune country has been turned into a State park, to
preserve its scenic beauty and historical significance and to restrain the
industrial expansion which in a short time undoubtedly would mar its
beauty.
130 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Although the section along the lake is the most noteworthy, embracing
some of the highest and most unusual dunes in the world, the sand
deposits farther inland also are significant, because they represent older
and more developed topography, antedating the recession of one section
(the Michigan lobe) of the Second Great Glacier, 20,000 or more years
ago.
The characteristics of the physiography of the dunelands are divided
into stages of deposits of rock and debris (a moraine) of the Michigan
lobe of the last glacier which covered Indiana, and of the later sand
deposits of a post-glacial Lake Chicago, which changed its shoreline with
the advance and retreat of the glacier.
In its progress southward the Michigan lobe of the Second Great
Glacier, hundreds of feet thick, scraped the earth clean to solid rock,
and upon receding northward left a great mass of drift about halfway
between the present lake shoreline and the Kankakee River. This drift —
sand, boulders, and clay — is known as the Valparaiso Moraine. An aerial
view of the dune country shows that the crest of this moraine has the
highest inland elevation in Lake and Porter Counties, varying from 750
feet above sea level in Lake County to 900 feet in Porter County, cutting
across the center of the two counties concentric with the Lake Michigan
shoreline. It constitutes, in Indiana, the water-shed or divide between the
Great Lakes and the Mississippi River drainage system.
Southward of this moraine, the land gradually slopes southward to the
Kankakee valley, where sand deposits are also in evidence, being the
result of the outwash of the Michigan lobe and other influences, such as
the deposits of the post-glacial shore of Lake Kankakee, a shallow body
of glacial water said to have been in existence during the same time as
the post-glacial Lake Chicago.
This southern region of the two counties is mostly a broad valley of
marshland and swamp, a treeless plain approximately 90 feet above the
level of Lake Michigan. In Porter County it covers a greater area than
in Lake, but the land is higher, more developed, some sections being
grown over with trees and others under cultivation. More of this marsh-
land is being drained and eventually it will be valuable for agricultural
purposes. The soil is from three to five feet thick. Formerly, during rainy
seasons, these swamplands were so inundated that it was difficult to trace
the course of the sluggish Kankakee River.
The inner border of the Valparaiso Moraine is in evidence at Dyer,
Indiana, about 15 miles from the shore of Lake Michigan. On the
eastern side of Porter County it is about three miles south of the shore
line. It extends about 17 miles across the two counties, covering nearly
485 square miles, the main crest being almost in a straight line from
Crown Point to Valparaiso.
Most of the lakes in the two counties are of glacial origin and are near
the main crests of the moraine. The most conspicuous of these is Cedar
Lake (Lake of the Red Cedars) , about 5 miles southeast of Crown Point.
The northward retreat of the Michigan lobe left a basin which accumu-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 131
lated water between the moraine and the receding glacier and formed a
lake known to geologists as Lake Chicago. The waters of this lake at one
period were about 60 feet above the present level of Lake Michigan.
Retreat of the waters of Lake Chicago left a series of beaches which are
definitely marked by high dunes. These beaches are conspicuous features
of the topography. Because the most southerly of the three is best defined
at Glenwood, Illinois, it is known as Glenwood Beach.
East of Dyer, Indiana, State 330 runs along the upper part of this
beach at the foot of sand dunes which are from 10 to 30 feet high. A
half mile west of Schererville, Indiana, the dunes of this shoreline are
30 to 40 feet above the beach. Farther east, where the beach line passes
near Merrillville and Ainsworth, it becomes less distinct, and in Porter
County it is difficult to trace.
The territory between the Valparaiso Moraine and the Glenwood
Beach is now chiefly agricultural. Whatever sections remain uncultivated
are grown over with small black oak and crab apple trees and shrubs.
After the Glenwood stage of Lake Chicago, the water drained almost
completely through an unknown outlet, believed by some to have been
at Green Bay. As the lake filled again, because of the melting of more
glacial ice or the advance of the glacier past the outlet, the water of the
lake rose to a point about 40 feet above the present level of Lake Michi-
gan, and left a beach line about 20 feet below the Glenwood stage. As
the beach has its foot about a mile from the Calumet River, it is called
the Calumet Beach.
This beach is characterized by larger sand deposits than those of the
previous Glenwood stage, many of its dunes being more than 40 feet
high. In Lake County it is easily traced along Ridge Road from Munster
to Highland, along the ridge south of Gary through Liverpool. In Porter
County, Calumet Beach almost touches the place of the previous Glen-
wood Beach east of Wilson Station.
After the Calumet stage, the waters of Lake Chicago fell about 20
feet, 16 to 20 feet above the present level of the lake, leaving what is now
called Tolleston Beach. The latter is in evidence in a line between the
Little Calumet .and Grand Calumet Rivers, passing through Hammond,
Hessville, Tolleston, Gary, Aetna, Miller, and Wilson Station. More
sand was deposited at this stage than during any of the previous beach
stages.
The Dune Country is still a land of change. With the disappearance
of Lake Chicago and withdrawal of glacial influence upon the Lake
Michigan basin, drainage was free to take its present course, the low bed
for which had been in existence before the visitation of the glacial ice
sheets. Whatever sand deposits were in evidence on the eastern and
western shore of Lake Michigan in its earlier stages were dislodged by
the prevailing north, northwest, and west waves and currents, and the
sand was deposited on the southern shore. This development is still going
on, making the area one of great interest to scientists and students.
132 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Much territory of the Tolleston and Calumet Beach stages in Lake
County has undergone development. The growth of cities in the North
and Calumet Townships has resulted in obliteration of part of the beach
lines. Large dunes have been leveled off and there has been a filling in
to make room for factories. Tracts between cities, grown over with scrub
oaks or marked by marshes, have been leveled, subdivided, and populated.
The shoreland dunes range from 50 to 200 feet in height and some of
them cover a thousand or more acres. When sand is deposited from the
lake upon the shore, the action of the wind and sun dries it. The wind
carries the dry sand particles farther from the shore until a piece of
driftwood, grass, or embryonic dune, impedes its further advance. There
the sand is deposited for further dune development. These embryonic
dunes often are joined to create larger hills, and eventually a stable dune
is established.
As these sand deposits retain moisture, it is possible for grass to grow
scantily upon them. This grass and sand cherry or willows, which come
later, help the growth of the dune. Other vegetation replaces the sand
cherry and willows, until in its fixed stage the dune assumes the appear-
ance of a well-developed forest. The growth of these dunes is not always
governed by the same influence, for the air currents and other conditions
are not equal over the entire dune territory. Some form embryonic dunes;
others are blown away; and still others, by reverse air currents, create
what are called "blowouts." "Blowouts" range in size from small depres-
sions to large hollows which cover many acres and when fully developed
look like amphitheatres, usually facing the lake. The Big Blowout and
the Furnessville Blowout are among the most interesting ones.
The highest and wildest part of the dune country is in Indiana Dunes
State Park, where are Mt. Tom, Mt. Holden, and Mt. Jackson.
In his article on the Indiana Dunes for the National Geographic
Magazine, Orpheus Moyer Schantz gives this description of the wonders
of the dunes along Lake Michigan:
"The topography of the dunes lends itself to the formation of
marvelous plant societies; great shallow ponds, with their typical bor-
ders of marsh-loving plants; deep, sheltered hollows, perfectly dry at the
bottom; active stream beds, thickly fringed with willows, alders, and
button bush, with thickets of the giant mallows on the mucky shores;
north slopes, with trailing arbutus, wintergreen, partridge berry, hepati-
cas, and violets, and rare ferns and orchids spread in artistic profusion;
moving dunes, whose leeward sides extend slowly and surely south, in
time covering even tall trees, with their smothering blanket of sand; old
dunes, clothed to their crests with vegetation, and at intervals "blow-
outs," where reverse winds have uncovered ghostly tree trunks, gray and
weather-beaten and entirely denuded of bark, but the wood still sound
and perfectly preserved by the sand shroud with which it was
surrounded."
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 133
THE DUNE COUNTRY II
In 1919, after twelve years of effort to obtain a lake front park for the
city of Gary, effort blocked throughout that period by litigation over
property rights, the United States Steel Corporation presented 115 acres
to the city. Here was built one of Gary's most popular out-of-doors
recreational spots, Marquette Park, including a municipal bathhouse on
the lake shore, a pavilion, a gun club, and artificially landscaped dunes
surrounding a lagoon which is the outlet of the Grand Calumet. In the
park are picnicking grounds with fire places, tables, and benches. Bridle
paths and dunes trails wind through the hills. In the winter tobogganing,
skiing, skating, and duneland hiking are favorite sports.
Between Gary and Marquette Park, but today just off the main high-
way (US 12) is the little town of Millers Station. Until the coming of
Gary, this community was an isolated lake village, built up around a
tavern stop on the Fort Dearborn-Detroit Stage Line, when Swedish immi-
grants came to work on the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. in the early seven-
ties. The tavern was operated by John Miller, and it was across a portion
of the considerable acreage which he owned that the railroad was laid.
After its completion, village residents supported themselves by ice and fish
shipping, and later, when the Aetna Powder Works was built, went to
work at that plant.
Considerable duneland lore has grown up around Miller, as it is known
locally, one of the best known stories being that of "Colonel" Crockett.
The "Colonel," a runaway slave, managed to slip through army lines
during the Civil War and made his way to northern Indiana. Reaching
Miller in midwinter, with a frozen foot, he was taken in and nursed for
some time by one of the early settlers. His foot, however, failed to heal,
and the "Colonel" finally went out to the chopping block and amputated
it with an axe.
Today, incorporated into the city of Gary, Miller is largely a lakeside
summer resort made up of a fringe of sand dunes, Miller Beach, and the
object of one of the most widely discussed land suits in the State, Carr's
Beach. Litigation involving Carr's Beach has been before the courts for
more than twenty years. Heirs of William Carr, who first settled on the
lake shore in 1875, claim squatters' title to this now valuable property,
while the Gary Land Company, representing the United States Steel
Corporation, claims the land on the basis of tax liens amounting to $59,053.
On US 12 east from Gary, dunes rising in the distance on both
right and left, several dunes suburbs and subdivisions are encountered.
In Inland Manor, a small residential district within the Gary city limits,
small homes, many suggesting Spanish influence, are built on what was
once a marsh. The land that separates this suburb from the highway
during heavy rains still becomes spongy and marshy.
Ogden Dunes, incorporated in 1925, might be called a suburb of both
Gary and Chicago, for many homes here are owned by Chicago residents.
The dunes in this area are sculptured heroically. Arranged in three levels,
each series of dunes commands a view of Lake Michigan. Winding drives
134 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
up certain dunes are mountain-like in their ascents; abrupt curves bring
unexpected vistas. On the crests of some of the dunes are summer homes,
on others permanent residences. Harmoniously confused are northern jack
pines and white pines, juniper, southern, tulip trees, tropical grasses, hare-
bell, desert cactus, mocassin flower, and trailing arbutus.
Ogden Dunes is the scene of another duneland folk story, that of Diana
of the Dunes, a woman hermit, possessed, it is said, of considerable cul-
ture and education. She was dubbed Diana of the Dunes by newspapers,
to whom she refused to give interviews. It was claimed that Diana knew
every mood and color of the dunes. Eventually she married Paul Wilson,
a giant of a man. They lived in the dunes until her death in 1922.
In Dune Acres, also, Gary and Chicago citizens have built homes. This
suburb was begun when William A. Wirt and other Garyites obtained a
99-year lease on 600 acres of natural duneland. Today the townspeople
of Dune Acres guard the area to preserve its natural state. High peaks in
this section are Mount Tom, Oak Hill, and Mount Leman, the latter
named for W. H. Leman, who built the first summer home here in 1893.
In a commanding location on the crest of Mount Leman is the three-story
log club house of the Dune Acres Country Club. Located on the same
dune is the Dune Acres Inn, also a log structure, of Colonial design. The
clubhouse and inn are reached by tortuous, mountain-like roads. In June,
1938, the School in the Dunes, for nature study, the first of its kind, met
at Dune Acres Clubhouse for a one week's course of lectures and field
trips under the direction of several well-known scientists and naturalists.
This group, sponsored by the Friends of Our Native Landscape (Jens
Jensen, president) plans to make the School in the Dunes an annual
affair. Northwest of the South Shore station at Dune Acres is the Cowles
Tamarack Swamp, named for Dr. Henry W. Cowles, University of
Chicago botanist and authority on plants of the dunes.
A paved highway leads from US 12 to Johnson's Beach, a summer
resort, whose station stop on the South Shore Line is Port Chester. An
attempt was made to build a harbor here in the 1830's, and later an attempt
was made to build a stockyard and slaughterhouse, but with the
growth of Michigan City and Chicago these plans were abandoned. Dur-
ing the 1850's a log railroad, whose cars were drawn by horses or mules,
ran from the Old Chicago Road in a northwesterly direction to a sawmill
known as Morgan's. From here it ran on across the shore and out to the
end of a 600 foot long pier2 from where logs were shipped to Chicago.
About the end of the sixties, the boiler of Morgan's sawmill blew up.
The mill was not rebuilt, as the most valuable timber had already been
cut. As a result, the log road was abandoned, and the pier gradually
decayed and slipped into the water. It is claimed that when the lake is
calm, one can still see the remains of the pier on the sandy bottom of the
lake.
Via a cloverleaf crossing, travelers to the Indiana Dunes State Park
leave US 12 for US 49. First purchase of land for this 2,210 acre park
by the State was made August 29, 1935, although the movement for the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 135
establishment of the park began in 1912. As a result of interest stimulated
by the Prairie Club of Chicago and the Pottawatomi Chapter, Daughters
of the American Revolution, Gary, the National Dunes Park Association
was formed with A. F. Knotts of Hammond as president and Mrs. Frank
Sheehan1 of Gary as secretary. Thomas Taggart, then United States Sen-
ator from Indiana, submitted to the United States Senate a resolution
recommending the purchase of a Lake Michigan tract for a national
park. Franklin H. Lane and Stephen H. Mather, Secretary and Assistant
Secretary of the Interior, respectively, actively supported the recommenda-
tion, but the World War intervened and the national park plan failed.
The sponsors then sought to conserve the tract as a State Park. During
the regimes of three Indiana governors, James P. Goodrich, Warren T.
McCray, and Edward Jackson, the purchase of the dunes was advocated.
A law was passed in 1923 providing for the purchase of lands to be
known as "Indiana Dunes State Park." Contributions from industrialists
made the purchase possible.
This is the only State park in Indiana with bathing facilities on Lake
Michigan. Its natural beauty is jealously guarded, and constant effort is
made to preserve the atmosphere of a hundred years ago, or a thousand,
when this part of the world was the unmolested home of wild things. There
are no breakwaters to retard the action of the water, and the waves,
tumbling over sand bars, take on the crisp look of fresh crinoline.
TREMONT is a summer resort on the site of New City West, a
deserted city. Following the collapse of City West, 20 or more houses
were built on the new site. This hamlet, centering about a saw mill,
cooper shop, and brick yard, flourished until 1875, when a boiler explosion
completely demolished the saw mill. During the fifties and sixties the
Alanson Green tavern was a popular stopping place for tourists. Passen-
gers had dinner at the hotel while the drivers of the stage coaches ex-
changed horses. New City West also was a leading station of the under-
ground railroad. Tremont (French contraction for three mountains) re-
ceived its name from the three huge sand mountains to the north, Tom,
Holden and Green.
DUNESIDE INN, a small hotel, is the terminus of the Tremont
entrance highway to the Indiana Dunes State Park. Here is Wilson's
' Mrs. Frank J. Sheehan, born in 1882 near Jackson, Michigan, received her A.B.
and Master's degree from the University of Michigan. Coming to Gary in 1908, she
became one of Gary's first high school teachers.
Because of her interest and persistent efforts in the preservation of the dunes, the
Indiana Dunes State Park became established in 1923. She is frequently referred to as
the "Dunes Lady." In recognition of her work in the establishment of the Indiana
Dunes State Park, she was the first and only woman elected to an honorary life mem-
bership in the Chicago Geographic Society. She was appointed treasurer of the national
conference on state parks, and chairman of the committee on natural scenery in the
General Federation of Women's Clubs.
Mrs. Sheehan was president of the Indiana Federation of clubs in 1925-27; and
Indiana director of the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1928-30. By appoint-
ment of Governor Leslie, she was a member of the Library Building Commission for
the erection of a new state library building. In 1925 Governor Jackson appointed Mrs.
Sheehan a member of the board of the Indiana and historical departments, to serve in
1925-30 as secretary and later as president.
136 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
camp, a convenient picnic ground and parking space. This camp was
established by Wilson and Company, meat packers of Chicago, who
equipped it with a club house, outdoor tables, furnaces and a flowing
well. Nearby is the Gary Boy Scout .Camp. Eastward trails cross the
"big swamp," the "Pinery," Furnessville Creek and the "Big Blowout."
MOUNT VERNON, a stop on the South Shore, formerly known as
Keiser, received its new name upon acquisition of the Century of Progress
(Chicago) Mount Vernon reproduction by the town of Beverly Shores.
BEVERLY SHORES has acquired many buildings from the Chicago
Century of Progress, including all of the Colonial Village and many of
the model houses.
Also at Beverly Shores, a lake shore village whose population ranges
from 300 to 1,000, depending on the season, is the Beverly Shores Country
Club and the Little Theatre. The club house of the Country Club, built
in 1933, is of Spanish design. The Little Theatre is housed in a one-
story frame building with a seating capacity of several hundred, which
was converted from an office building in 1935. Groups of students from
the Goodman Theatre in Chicago spend their summers at Beverly Shores
giving plays under the direction of David Hutton Lewis. One of the most
attractive sites along Lake Michigan is occupied by the Casino (private
beach, dining room, and dance floor), a sand tan and sea green terra
cotta building trimmed in black.
The Indiana Dunes, traversed by wide highways, built up in some sec-
tions with homes ranging from summer cottages through luxurious year
'round residences, possessing great tracts of the dunelands in their orig-
inal state, draw visitors from all over the middle west. Land values here
have risen year after year as more and more people have been attracted
to this area as a desirable location for homes.
POINTS OF INTEREST, INDIANA DUNES
A winding drive leads to a sweeping view of Lake Michigan and to
MARQUETTE PARK, duneland playground of 165 acres on the shores
of Lake Michigan, dedicated to the memory of Pere Jacques Marquette,
who is supposed to have camped on this site in 1675. A large part of
the park remains in its virgin state.
The GARY MUNICIPAL BATHHOUSE, on the waterfront, is a
modernized version of Corinthian architecture, constructed of cast stone
in 1921. Corinthian columns, wide balconies, and a green tile roof dis-
tinguish the central section of the building. Low roofed wings extend
on both sides. An entrance at the south end opens on winding stairs to
the second floor open air pavilion. The north extensions of the pavilion
afford a view of Lake Michigan. When the day is clear the Chicago sky-
line, 30 miles away, is visible. Dressing rooms and showers, the men's
W. and the women's E., are on either side of the first floor. An excellent
beach, patrolled by life guards, is entered through the building (fee for
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 137
swim suits, towels, and lockers, 25c). To the west of the bathhouse was
the mouth of the Grand Calumet before the river receded. On the west
lawn is a marker commemorating Marquette's visit in 1675.
The GARY MUNICIPAL GUN CLUB HOUSE (open 9-5 daily),
at the extreme east end of the park and a few hundred feet from the
lake, is a recently completed (1937) rustic lodge constructed of Western
Red Cedar logs and knotty white pine trim. A wide outside chimney,
which buttresses the south exterior wall, is of Illinois limestone, laid at
random. Reproduction of an early American log cabin, the lodge has a
block house tower 28 feet high. The rustic interior of the lodge has three
elevations. In the central room is a huge fireplace; gun and equipment
racks line the walls. Steps lead from the central room to the depressed
lower room of the tower, from where winding stairs of logs, skillfully
mitred, lead to the lookout post. Offices and comfort stations are in the
west extension, first floor. Between the clubhouse and the lake is a bat-
tery of four traps, 100 feet apart, and 16 shooters' positions (clay pigeons
and munition $1.20).
The Lagoon is a natural body of water formed when the Grand Calu-
met retreated from Lake Michigan. Covering about 18 acres, the lagoon
is now the outlet of the diminished Grand Calumet. Rockeries, a rustic
bridge, and artificially landscaped dunes enhance the beauty of this body of
water (casting platform available).
OLD NORTH BOUNDARY, the east-west line of Indiana Territory
from 1805 to 1816 ran along the south border of the lagoon. This was
also the south boundary line of the Ten Mile Purchase of the Indian
Treaty of 1826.
MARQUETTE PARK PAVILION is considered by architects as
an example of fitness of design to setting and function. Of sand-colored
brick, the edifice seems to have been molded into the dune area upon
which it was built. This effect is enhanced by a long, wide stone stairway,
which leads from the Grand Calumet River up the dunes to the building.
Landings, connecting the different flights of the stairway, and marking
terraces, accentuate the fashioning of the building to the contour of the
dune. A porte-cochere arches from the building proper to a stone-floored
circular portico on an adjoining dune. In the building proper twin turrets
extending one story above the roof of the main section form an entrance
marked by Corinthian columns. Parapets, similar to those in the building
proper, distinguish the portico. The main floor is on two levels, the lower,
at the west side of the building, occupied by a soda fountain and refec-
tory, the upper level occupied by offices and lockers. A ballroom is on
the second floor, and the spacious circular portico may also be used for
dancing when weather permits. The portico affords a good general view of
the west end of the park (pier for boats west of pavilion).
Octave Chanute's Glider Experiments are commemorated by a huge
glacial boulder and bronze tablet 25 feet SW. of the pavilion, although
138 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
it was a little to the west of this series of dunes from which Chanute1
made his tests. Since the dunes which he used have been leveled, the Lake
County Historical Markers Commission selected the nearest available
site in Marquette Park. Chanute chose the dunes for his glider flights for
four reasons: First, rising air currents caused by the wind striking the ridge
of sandhills provided motive power for his gliders; second, the dunes
provided an easy means of launching the glider; third, the dunes assured
him complete isolation; and fourth, the abundance of sea gulls permitted
study of their methods in flights. Late in the summer of 1896, several
successful flights of Chanute's glider took place from these dunes, and
it is claimed that in a double deck airplane and with the aid of a new
device for steering a flight of 489 feet was made, landing the operator
waist deep in Lake Michigan. This flight was said at that time to have
been more than twice the greatest length ever made by Lilienthal, a
German glider experimenter, and a hundred feet higher than the world's
record. These, the first successful flights in heavier-than-air craft, gave
Chanute the title, "Father of Aviation." Some of the gliders with which
Chanute experimented are still preserved in the Museum of Science and
Industry, Jackson Park, Chicago.
MARQUETTE STATUE, 100 yards W. of pavilion, stands on
a terrace against a background of hemlocks. Heroic in proportions, cast
in bronze, the monument depicts the priest advancing and holding aloft
a cross. It was designed by Henry Hering of New York.
WILSON STATION was formerly known as Dune Park. During
1874, when the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. attempted to lay its tracks across
the Michigan Central rails at this point, the latter company resisted and
a riot resulted. This undeveloped section along the lake is very wild and
beautiful. Much of the sand from the sand-dunes to the west has been
removed, for commercial use, thus showing plainly different ridges and
valleys.
Twenty rods (L) from present bridge over Burns Ditch are log piers
marking the site of the OLD LOG BRIDGE. Colloquially called "ever-
to-be-remembered-by-those-who-crossed-it," the bridge, built in 1836 of
logs and covered with poles, was 80 rods long. Formerly, the Little Calu-
met River (now Burns Ditch at this point) valley was very wide and was
flooded throughout the year.
The HOME OF JAMES WILSON, author of Three Wheeling
Through Africa, is a modest, three room, dark green cottage, amid a
setting of trees. Wilson sold the story of his motorcycle trip through
Africa on the strength of only nine pages of copy.
1 Chanute was born Feb. 18, 1832 in Paris, France, and came to America when six
years of age. He became an eminent engineer, designing and supervising the construc-
tion of the Union Stock Yards, Chicago and the first bridge built across the Missouri
River, and preparing a report on preservative for timber that was regarded as authorita-
tive for many years.
He became interested in aviation in 1874. After investigating records and experi-
ments of the past 200 or 300 years and the gathering and systematizing of all informa-
tion he began his series of tests in the dunes.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 139
The SMALLEST CHURCH AND SCHOOL IN THE MIDWEST,
Augsburg Swensk Scola (Bethlehem Swedish Church) a one-room struc-
ture for a combination school and church was erected in 1880. For
financial reasons, the building was made as small as possible (exterior
dimensions 12x15 ft.) . Upon completion of the diminutive structure, it was
discovered that there was sufficient material remaining for a church
steeple. The structure was not equal to the stress of a steeple so an addi-
tion was erected to the rear of the building. From the road, the steeple
appears to be on the roof of the church; in reality it is the pinnacle of the
addition.
The JOSEPH BAILLY HOMESTEAD (open; adm. 25c), built in
1822, is the oldest structure in the Calumet Region. Joseph Bailly, first
settler in the Calumet Region, was a French trader. The original French
type homestead of logs is now covered with weather-boarding. Still stand-
ing are a log chapel, the servants quarters, a log building constructed in
1822, and a unit of the old log trading post. The buildings were laid
out in plantation style. The floors of the house are of oak, walnut, and
maple and the original hardware throughout the house is hand-wrought.
In the living room there are oak panels, and a beautiful mantel hand-
carved in grape design. An upstairs bedroom is partially panelled in wild
cherry, with a beamed ceiling. The portion of the walls between the wood
panels is covered with a wall paper said to have been imported from
England in 1830. Beyond the wide verandas and porches are spacious
lawns, towering old trees, and the winding Calumet River. In front of the
house passes a road that at one time was a Dakota- Wisconsin branch of
the great Sauk Trail, over which many a colorful parade has passed. At
the rear of the estate can be seen the marks of the old race track upon
which Bailly trained his blooded horses. On the bank of the Little Calu-
met River (about 35 feet west of the bridge) is the Elm-Oak marriage
tree planted on the day that Rose Bailly and Francis Howe were married
(Nov. 13, 1841) . An elm sapling and an oak sapling bound together and
planted at the river's edge formed a single trunk and may be seen today,
gracefully entwined.
JOSEPH BAILLY CEMETERY, situated on a high dune known as
Oak Hill and surrounded by a high wall, is a picturesque spot. Beneath
a huge earthen mound, surmounted by a great wooden cross, are buried
Bailly, his wife, a daughter, and a son, the latter buried in 1827. Still
in its primeval state, the wide scenic sweep of land to the south breathes
of the period when Bailly was owner of this large estate. A marker on
the highway calls attention to the site.
INDIANA DUNES STATE PARK 1.0 m. (adm. We; hotel, bath-
ing, restaurant, picnicking, and cottages) consists of 2,210.47 acres of
natural dune country and a three-mile Lake Michigan beach. The main
gateway, on US 49, with a small stone guard house on either side, is
marked by a large natural boulder eight ft. high. Here, members of the
State Park Rangers, collect the entrance fee. From this point, the waters
of Lake Michigan to the north are visible.
HO THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Inside the entrance to the park is the SITE OF PETITE FORT,
built in the 1750's and later used by the British and Americans. According
to some historians, the fort was the scene of a Revolutionary War
skirmish. A marker points out the site.
The entrance highway widens into a large parking apron accommodat-
ing 1,850 automobiles. At the terminus of the parking area is a BATH-
ING PAVILION, an imposing three-story, brick trimmed, limestone
structure. Facing Lake Michigan and a far-stretching BATHING
BEACH (locally called Waverly Beach), this building, in Moorish design,
houses a dining room and coffee shop. Wide stone outer stairways, at
either end, lead to the second floor, where there are bathhouse facilities.
The concrete promenade on the roof is an excellent vantage point from
which to view the lake and the surrounding landscape. With the excep-
tion of Park Trails 2, 9, 10, all trails originate at the east boundary of
the parking apron.
From the bathing pavilion (R) the beach path crosses FORT CREEK,
variously known as Dunes Creek or Silver Creek, the latter because of its
silvery bottom. On its banks is the site of a former Potawatomi Indian
village. Although a stretch of the stream has been put under cover to
afford a parking space for the automobiles of visitors, its southern chan-
nel is for a half mile a tortuous valley through the high sand-ridges.
Banks are generally from 10 to 20 or 30 ft. high with several springs
gushing from the ridges at the south end of the valley. This valley is filled
with beautiful trees, shrubs of all kinds, and many wild flowers. In spring
and early summer it is a paradise for birds. The creek empties into Lake
Michigan. In 1835 Hobart's mill was built on the bank of this creek.
A half mile down the beach (L) is the STATE COTTAGE, the
official summer home of the governors of Indiana. The spacious cottage,
built of dropsiding in semi-rustic style, is on the summit of a dune,
reached by a long series of wooden steps. An American flag atop a high
flagpole marks the cottage as the gubernatorial summer mansion. Directly
back of the State cottage rises MOUNT TOM, the dominating dune of
the region. Nearby is the site of the former Indian village. MOUNT
HOLDEN and MOUNT GREEN, two other high dunes, are in the
same series with Mount Tom. At the foot of Mount Tom, near the
beach, is the attractive studio cottage of Frank V. Dudley, artist, whose
oil paintings of the Dunes are internationally famous.
From the summit of Mount Holden an expansive view of Lake Michi-
gan, the beach, Michigan City, the rolling panorama of dune country on
the south, and the steel mills to the west may be had. From Mount Tom's
crest ridge formations on either side are visible.
In the area between Mount Tom and Fort Creek is the "Beach House,"
the original home of the Prairie Club of Chicago. The BEACH HOUSE
"BLOWOUT," a half mile farther along the beach, is one of the numer-
ous noteworthy sand bowls in the park. These "blowouts" or "slides,"
formed of pure sand blown back by the wind, are in the shape of natural
amphitheatres. At one mile is the FURNESSVILLE "BLOWOUT" and
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 141
immediately beyond the "GRAVE YARD" and the "BIG BLOWOUT,"
the largest and most unusual of these great slides. The "Grave Yard" is
a grim area of a half-hundred dead snags of trees, killed and covered by the
blowing sand and now partially uncovered again. The entire expanse of
this "blowout" is desolate and lifeless. In the rear, and a little to the west,
of "Big Blowout" is the PINERY, a grove of enormous pines. A trail
through this Pinery uses a portion of an old Indian trail. South of the
Pinery begins the GREAT MARSH, including the Tamarack Swamps
and the peat bogs, where the diversity of plant life is remarkable.
Numbered Trails into the interior of the park pass the Tepee group
camp. Here log cabins built in the shape of Indian tepees form a semi-
circle in front of a log recreation hut. The group, at the foot of several
dunes, the site of an Indian camp, is marked by an Indian totem pole
(camp may be rented by groups). In the interior also are rustic cottages
(may be rented from the State).
To the rear of the Beverly Shores Inn is the BOTANICAL GARDEN
(open), said to be the only one in the world devoted exclusively to experi-
menting with the ornamental plants adapted to dune and bog conditions.
It was originated by Mrs. Louis Van Hees Young, art collector and
designer, of Chicago.
TAMARACK STATION, established in 1908, received its name from
the White Tamarack swamp nearby. Stanford White, former president
of the Chicago Board of Trade, had a summer home on the beach at
Tamarack, many years ago. He was trustee and part owner of the land
and made an effort to make a regular English country estate of it. This
estate is now included in the Beverly Shores subdivision. The old White
home has been converted into an inn.
SITE OF "OLD LOG TAVERN IN THE PINES," one of the
taverns known as "four mile houses" established along the route of the
early Fort Dearborn-Detroit stage coach line. There were ten rooms in
this old frame house, and in the rear was a large, low building which
served as a separate cellar. The house was torn down in 1911, but two
maple trees and a number of willows that had shaded the house, still
stand (1938). The site is now known as the Pines Addition.
The OLD FURNESS HOME (private— open by permission) is a red
brick building, 2l/2 stories high, built upon a hill. Glass-enclosed porches
recently have been added to the original structure, built in 1856 by Edwin
L. Furness, the founder of the community. Furness, acquired considerable
acreage in the vicinity, engaged in lumbering, farming, and storekeeping,
and was later appointed first postmaster of the village that grew around
his estate. The house is now occupied by the third and fourth generations
of the family. In the home is a notable library of about a thousand
volumes.
The SITE OF FORMER INDIAN MINERAL SPRINGS to which
Indians once came from far and near to partake of the medicinal waters is
now occupied by THE SPA, whose architecture follows the American
country club style. The rear of the structure rises directly above the west
142 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
bank of the Little Calumet River, a large glassed-in portico overlooking the
waters of this historic stream. The grounds are landscaped and there is
a circular drive and parking space to the south. The surrounding land is
the site of many battles between the Potawatomi and the Iroquois Indians
and scattered in the surrounding woods and fields are numerous Indian
mounds.
The CARLSON PLANETARIUM, a sixteen-sided structure, 60 ft.
in diameter and 32 ft. high, is erected in the shade of gigantic,
wide-spreading, century-old oaks, 200 ft. from the highway. There are
five observation and lecture platforms, with standing room for more than
100 people, on the pyramidal roof. The upper story of this two-story
structure is one large circular chamber, 60 ft. in diameter. Here will be
installed a mechanical reproduction of the solar system that will show
the motions of all the major members of the system. The first floor
contains lecture hall, reception parlor, shop, and a number of exhibition
rooms. Here is exhibited a large collection of astronomical and archeologi-
cal newspaper and magazine clippings. Regular astronomical lectures, open
to the public, have been held in the planetarium every Thursday evening
for the last four years.
SALT CREEK (originally, "Wum-tah-gi-uck-deer lick"), so called for
the numerous salt springs along its course, and shown on the earliest maps
of the area, is the only stream in the region that pierces the watershed of
the continent. Rising in Morgan Township, Porter County, it flows in a
northwesterly direction, pierces the Divide near Emmettsburg, and
empties into the Calumet River.
WILD FLOWERS IN THE DUNE COUNTRY
The following list includes plants characteristic of the well-marked
succession of plant associations upon the Sand Dunes. These associations
are roughly parallel to the shore of Lake Michigan. However, any given
area is frequently in a transitional stage and must be interpreted in the
light of the complex forces operative upon it.
Asterisk* indicates a plant or tree with conspicuous flowers.
1 BEACH ASSOCIATION (vegetation scant and not permanent)
Sea Rocket — Cakile edentula
Bugseed — Corispermum hyssopifolium
Wormwood — Artimisia caudata
Sand thistle — Cirsium Pitcheri
2 FOREDUNE ASSOCIATION (embryonic dunes; includes in
addition to the foregoing)
Sand Reed Grass — Calamovilfa longifolia (sand binder)
Marram grass — Ammophila arenaria (sand binder)
Seaside spurge — Euphorbia polygonifolia
*Sand Cherry — Prunus pumila
Furry willow — Salix syrticola
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 143
3 COTTONWOOD ASSOCIATION (sparse vegetation, actively
moving dunes)
Cottonwood — Populus deltoides (only tree able to survive burial
by sand)
Red Osier dogwood — Cornus stolonifera
Wild Grape
Bittersweet — Celastrus scandens
Linden tree
4 PINE ASSOCIATION (dunes after fixation, evergreens dominant)
Jack Pine — Pinus Banksiana
Red Cedar — Juniperus virginiana
Common Juniper — Juniperus communis
Prostrate Juniper — Juniperus depressa
Arbor Vitae — Thuja occidentalis
Bearberry — Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Checkerberry — Gaulthiera procumbens
*False lily of the valley — Maianthemum canadense
Shinleaf — Pyrola elliptica
*HarebeIls — Campanula rotundifolia
*Puccoon — Lithospermum
*Hairy phlox — Phlox pilosa
*Horse mint — Monarda punctata
*St. John's-wort — Hypericum Kalmiamum
Solomon's Seal — Polygonatum
False Solomon's Seal — Smilacina stellata, & racemosa
*Wild Roses
*Spiderwort — Tradescantia Virginica
Dense thickets of:
Staghorn suman — Rhus typhina
Dwarf sumac — Rhus copallina
Aromatic sumac — Rhus aromatica
Red Osier dogwood — Cornus stolonifera
Bittersweet
Woodbine
Wild Grape
Poison Ivy
*Chokecherry — Prunus Virginica
5 BLACK OAK ASSOCIATION (open woodlands devoid of
evergreens)
Black Oak — Quercus velutina
Chestnut Oak — Quercus Muhlenbergi
Sassafras
*Chokecherry
Hop tree — Ptelea trifoliata
Dwarf blackberry
Huckleberry
Blueberry
144 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
*Shadbush — Amelanchier canadensis
*Spiderwort — Tradescantia Virginica
^Columbine — Aquilegia canadensis
*Lupine — Lupinus perennis
*GoatVrue — Tephrosia virginiana
*Wild Geranium — Geranium carolinanum & maculatum
*Milkweed — Asclepias cornuta dC Syriaca
^Flowering spurge — Euphorbia corollata
*Bird's-foot violet — Viola pedata
*Arrow-leaved violet — Viola sagittata
*Prickly pear Cactus — Opuntia Rafinesquii
^Butterfly Weed — Asclepias tuberosa
*Blazing Star — Liatris
^Woodland sunflower — Helianthus divaricatus
Indian Pipe — Monotropa Uniflora
*New Jersey Tea — Ceanothus Americanus
*Wild Bergamot — Monarda fistulosa
6 MIXED OAK ASSOCIATION
Black, white, chestnut & red oaks
Slippery Elm
Basswood — Tilia Americana
Water Beech — Carpinus caroliniana
Hop Hornbeam — Ostrya virginiana
*Flowering Dogwood — Cornus florida
Sassafras
*Witch-hazel — Hamamelis virginiana
Virginia Creeper — Psedera quinquefolia
* Aster — Aster linariifolius
*Columbine — Aquilegia canadensis
*May apple — Podophyllum peltatum
*Blue phlox — Phlox divaricata
Rattlesnake root — Prenanthes alba
Solomon's Seal
*Spiderwort
*Blue, Canada & Longspurred Violet
*Yellow LadyVslipper — Cypripedium parviflorum
*Hepatica — Hepatica triloba
7 MAPLE-BEECH ASSOCIATION (shade and moisture loving
plants including ferns and mosses)
Maple trees
Beech trees
Tulip tree — Lirodendron Tulipifera
Black and White walnuts
Black cherry — Prunus serotina
Elms
Sycamores
Witch-hazel
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
145
Strawberry bush — Evonymus Americana
^Spring beauty — Claytonia virginica
*Toothwort — Dentaria Laciniata
*Hepatica
Trillium — 5 varieties
Dogtooth violet — Viola
Jack-in-the-Pulpit — Arisaema triphyllum
Wild Ginger — Asarum canadense Spring plants
Skunk cabbage — Symplocarpus foetidus blooming before
Marsh marigold — Caltha palustris | trees are in full
Indian cucumber — Medeola virginiana leaf.
Bunchberry — Cornus canadensis
Rue anemone— Anemone thalictroides
Baneberry — Acteae alba
Wood anemone — Anemone quinquifolia
Starflower — Trientalis borealis
Goldthread — Coptis trifolia
Buttercup — Ranunculis
8 QUAKING TAMARACK BOGS (majority of plants peculiar to
it; soil temperature 35° F. even in midsummer)
Sphagnum moss and Sedges (depth of them makes ground
elastic)
Swamp fern — Aspidium Thelypteris
*Arethusa bulbosa
Cottony Grass — Eriophorum gracile
*Grass pink — Calapogon pulchellis
Sun Dew — Drosera rotundifolia
Leatherleaf — Chamaedaphne calyculata
Buckbean — Menyanthes trifoliata
Cranberry
*Ragged Orchis — Habeneria lacera
*Ladies tresses — Spiranthes Romanzoffiana
*Pitcher Plant — Sarracenia purpurea
Tamarack tree — Larix laracina
Swamp holly — Ilex verticillata
9 INTERDUNAL PONDS WITH SANDY BOTTOMS, NEAR
THE LAKE
Bordered by:
*Fringed blue gentian — Gentiana crinata
*Rose Pink — Sabatia angularis
*St. John's-wort
*Horned bladderwort — Utricularia cornuta
Cat-tails, sedges
Jack Pines
146 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
10 THE HINTERLAND, CONSPICUOUS AND COLORFUL
FLOWERS COMMON TO WET AND DRY PRAIRIES
Asters Bouncing Bet
Bergamot Butterfly Weed
Black-eyed Susans Bladder Campion
Blazing Star Cardinal Flower
Boneset Chicory
Cinquefoil
Coreopsis
Culver's Physic — Veronica virginica
Daisy Fleabane
False Indigo — Baptisia leucantha
Flowering Spurge — Euphorbia corollata
Golden Rod
Horse mint — Monarda punctata
Ironweed
Iris, Wild
Joe-Pye Weed
Lupine
Mullein
Moth Mullein
Mustard
Meadow Sweet — Spiraea alba & latifolia
Steeplebush — Spiraea tomentosa
Ox-eye daisy
Painted cup
Phlox
Evening Primrose
Puccoon
Queen Anne's Lace
Starry Campion
Sow Thistle
St. John's-wort
Thistles
Tick trefoils
Turtlehead
Vervain, Verbena stricta & hastata
Vetch
Wild lettuce
Sunflowers
Yarrow
Wild teasel — Dipsacus sylvestris
Rosinweeds — Sylphium
Turk's-cap, Wood & Canada lily
Mints
Milkweeds
Wild cucumber vine
Gary
GENERAL INFORMATION
Railroad Stations: 3rd Ave. and Broadway (Union Depot) for New York
Central and Baltimore & Ohio R.R/s (Suburban Stations: Miller and
Pine) ; W. 5th Ave. and Chase St. for the Pennsylvania R.R.; 7th Ave.
and Broadway for the Wabash R.R.; Broadway at 40th Ave. for the New
York, Chicago and St. Louis R.R. (Nickel Plate) ; 330 Broadway for
South Shore Electric R.R.; (Suburban Stations: Broadway and 21st Ave.) ;
1045 Broadway for Michigan Central R.R.
Bus Stations: 460 Broadway for DeLuxe Lines and A. A. A. System; 470
Broadway for Indian Trails, Oriole Lines, Greyhound Lines (E. and W.) ,
Interstate Travelways, Midwest Motor Coach Co., Bluebird Lines, Rein-
deer Lines, Southern Lines; 477 Broadway (Broadway Bus Terminal for
Lincoln Trail System, Great Eastern System, Safeway Trails, Martz Lines,
Santa Fe Trails.
Street Cars: Gary Railways Co. maintains city and interurban service.
City service, cars every 15 minutes on Broadway, transfers E. and W. at
5th Ave. and llth Ave.; fare 5c within certain zones, lOc to city limits,
tokens, three for 25c. Gary to Hammond, 30-min. service, fare 20c. Gary
to Garyton, 60-min. service, fare 15c. Bus lines connect with street cars by
transfer for Miller, East Chicago, Hobart, and Crown Point and Ameri-
can Sheet and Tin Plate Plant at Broadway and 5th Ave., at 15th Ave.,
and 25th Ave. for W. part of city.
Airports: 470 Broadway for Gary Travel Bureau (Books passage over
all air lines using Chicago Airport) .
Taxi: 760 Washington St. for Gary Cab Co.; 470 Broadway for Safe-
way State Taxi Co.; 790 Broadway for United Cab Co. No zoning system.
Rates: 25c for first mile, 5c per quarter mile thereafter.
Traffic Regulations: Usual traffic regulations; curb parking permitted.
Time restrictions indicated by signs. Public parking lots, 5th Ave. and
Massachusetts St.; 7th Ave. and Massachusetts St.; 8th Ave. and Wash-
ington St.; 5th Ave. and Madison St. No one-way streets. Left-hand turns
permitted except on or off Broadway between 5th Ave. and 9th Ave., and
in temporary traffic congestion. (Traffic signals on from 5:30 to 1:00 a.m.
One blast of policeman's whistle indicates E. and W. traffic must stop;
N. and S. traffic proceed. Two blasts indicate N. and S. traffic must stop
and W. and E. shall proceed. All vehicles must be parked parallel with
curb. Hourly parking limits on Broadway, Washington, Massachusetts
and all east and west streets. Two hour parking on Madison, Adams,
Jefferson, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania Sts. (Except at prohibited
places.)
Double parking prohibited. No "U" turns on any streets.
Principal Shopping Districts: Downtown: Broadway, 5th Ave.; Central:
llth Ave. and Broadway; South Side: Broadway and 25th Ave.
Accommodations: Five modern hotels and more than thirty smaller
hotels. Numerous private homes display cards offering "rooms for
148 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Restaurants: A number of restaurants may be found in the business
sections of the city. Foreign dishes are offered by many.
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: A "little theater" and two com*
munity auditoriums; six motion picture 'houses.
Information Service: Gary Commercial Club and Chamber of Com-
merce (Hotel Gary) ; International Institute, 1501 Madison St.; Y.M.C.A.,
225 W. 5th Ave.; Y.W.C.A., 30 E. 6th Ave.; Chicago Motor Club, 916
W. 5th Ave.
Newspaper and Radio Station: One daily newspaper, The Gary Post-
Tribune, and one radio broadcasting station, WIND, owned and oper-
ated by the Columbia Broadcasting System. Visitors welcome to both.
Swimming: Marquette Park, Oak Ave. at Lake Michigan; Indiana
Dunes State Park, Lake Michigan at State 49; Indoor pools at K. of G,
331 W. 5th Ave.; and Y.M.C.A., 225 W. 5th Ave.
Golf: Riverside Park, Broadway at 35th Ave., 18-hole, fee 25c; Cress-
moor Country Club, U.S. 6 (5.6 m. east of Broadway), 18-hole, fee 75c;
Indian Ridge Country Club (near Hobart), 18-hole, fee, 75c; Turkey
Creek Country Club, Harrison St. at Turkey Creek, 18-hole, fee, 75c.
Tennis: Marquette Park, Lake Michigan at Oak Ave.; Jackson Park,
Jackson St. at 4th Ave.; Riverside Park, Broadway at 35th Ave.; Y.W.
C.A., 30 E. 6th Ave.
Riding: Aetna Riding Club, Aetna; Indian Ridge Riding Stables, Indian
Ridge Country Club; Crown Point Stables, Crown Point; and Bailly
Homestead, Baillytown.
CHRONOLOGY
1906 March 12 — Survey for United States Steel Corp. started.
March 28 — Construction begun on Gary plant.
June 9 — Population of 334.
July 11 — First post office established.
July 17 — Gary incorporated as town.
July 28 — First election held.
July 30 — First meeting of town board of trustees held.
September 14 — School board holds first meeting.
1907 June 17 — Official seal for city presented to board of trustees by
Judge Gary.
June 18 — Work started on Jefferson School.
June 23 — Pennsylvania Railroad recognizes Gary on time cards.
July 1 — William A. Wirt becomes superintendent of schools.
July 6 — Street railway system given franchise.
July 20 — Sixteen lots fronting 7th Ave. between Polk and Tyler
St. purchased by Rev. Jansen for church and school building.
July 24 — First carload of black dirt for lawns reaches Gary.
August 11 — Construction begun on first Gary Hotel.
September 3 — Construction started on Gary Trust and Savings
Bank building.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 149
December 3 — Population of 10,000 (estimated) reached.
December — Clark Station annexed to Gary.
December 15 — Services held in first church building in Gary.
December 22 — First National Bank opened.
1908 July 23 — First ore boat arrives at Gary Works harbor.
December 14 — Gary Fire Department organized.
1909 February 3 — First steel made in Gary Works.
August — Petition presented for incorporation of Gary as city.
Work started on first city hall.
November — Glen Park, annexed.
November 2 — Gary made city of fifth class.
November 3 — City hall completed and occupied.
1910 Work begun on first unit of American Sheet & Tin Plate Co.
August 31 — Tolleston annexed.
November 7 — Gary becomes city of fourth class. Population (U.
S. Census) 16,802.
1911 The American Bridge Co. turns out first structural steel. The
American Sheet & Tin Plate Co. starts operations.
1912 Y.M.C.A. building dedicated.
Library building constructed.
1915 Tin Mills placed in operation.
January A — Gary becomes city of second class.
1916 May — First postoffice completed.
1918 December 22— Miller annexed.
1919 September 3 — United States Steel Corporation gives city 116
acres on Lake Michigan.
1921 April 4 — Ordinance passed to establish city plan commission.
1922 Construction on National Tube begun.
1924 Gary Gateway begun.
1925 January 8 — National Tube Co. produces first pipe.
1928 City Hall Unit of Gateway completed.
1938 February 21 — New postoffice opened.
IN RETROSPECT
In the seventeenth century, Father Marquette camped on the site of
Gary. In the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first part of
the nineteenth century, Chief Ashkum and his band of Potawatomi built
their camp fires on land now occupied by Gary steel mills. In 1817 and
1834, the Government surveyed the area. In the latter part of the nine-
teenth century several railroads, in building their lines to Chicago, laid
tracks across the location, a hunting lodge was constructed on the banks
of the Little Calumet River, and at the beginning of the twentieth cen-
tury, only the railroad tracks and the hunting lodge kept the site of
Gary from looking like an unexplored wilderness. Within 30 miles of
Chicago, it had remained in its primeval state.
150 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
An early government surveyor described these swamp lands as impass-
able morass and said "the face of the country here appears as if nature
by some powerful convulsion had torn the earth asunder and thrown it
up into sand peaks, leaving the cavities to be filled up with the lakes and
marshes," "dry land — mostly white sand — among the hills, wet and good-
for-nothing."
This description was still applicable when, on March 12, 1906, sur-
veyors for the United States Steel Corporation set their instruments on
the snow-covered sand dunes and swamplands that fringed the southern
tip of Lake Michigan. The soil of the higher portions of the site was
fine sand covered by a growth of scrub oak and pines, while in the sloughs
and marshes the soil was muck from which sprang an impenetrable growth
of vegetation.
Bordering the site on the north was Lake Michigan; a mile or two
south of the lake meandered the Grand Calumet River. The site was
traversed three miles farther south by the Little Calumet River, a slug-
gish stream with wider swamplands. The area, wholly unpeopled, was
completely cut off from the rest of the world. To the south, east, and
west of the site, respectively, were three small settlements.
The largest and oldest of these settlements, founded in 1858 as a com-
munity of trappers, fishermen, railroaders, woodcutters, and shippers of
ice and sand, was Tolleston, now closest to the heart of the city. In 1900
Tolleston had about 100 resident families and the Tolleston Gun Club,
whose membership was composed of wealthy Chicagoans. (The activities
of this club came into great prominence in 1897 when its restrictions on
hunting in the region aroused the indignation of the citizens of Calumet
Township. The club kept game wardens to guard its property from
poachers. The feud, which was carried on for several years, culminated
in a shooting affray on Jan. 19, 1897, widely reported in the press of the
country.) East and south of Tolleston, a large tract had been acquired
by Louis A. Bryan,1 who established his home in the vicinity in 1894. He
induced a piano stool factory to locate at what is now west Twenty-second
Avenue and Jefferson Street. Other settlements in existence before the
appearance of the town are now also grown into the city, Miller being on
the east side, and Clark on the west.
' In 1896 Bryan (1855-1926) established the Calumet Advance, first newspaper to be
published on the site of Gary. William F. Howat says in his History of Lake County that
Bryan is justly entitled to the distinction of being called the first citizen of Gary. He
was the first postmaster of the village of Calumet, 1898-1906, and was justice of peace
in the same year. When Gary proper was being settled, he was the first to petition for
incorporation of the town, directed its first election, and became the town's first treasurer.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 151
Gary was not the first municipality actually projected on the site occu-
pied by the present city. During the years of 1892 and 1893, the stock-
yards of Chicago because of labor troubles and trackage disputes, bought
several thousand acres with the intention of moving here. Real estate
promoters bought up all other land available and sold it out in town lots,
but settlement of the disputes resulted in abandonment of the project, and
the site remained unpeopled.
The history of Gary and of the Gary steel mills, an American drama
for which there has never been a parallel, began a year before these men
arrived. A. F. Knotts, local historian, and an old friend of Judge Gary,
writes of the first steps taken by the corporation:
Early in 1904, and for some time theretofore I was attorney for
the United States Steel Corporation and its many subsidiaries. I
received a request from Judge Elbert Gary, then president of the
Managing Board of Directors of said corporation, to come to New
York for a conference with him.
On arriving there he said: "As you know, we have many plants,
some of them quite large. All of them have been built up by us
in additions. None of them is very ideally located, and they are not
very efficient. We are thinking of building a new plant from the
ground up. An ideal plant, modern and up-to-date, and in keeping
with our accumulated surpluses and experience. I would like to
have you help us select a location."
I asked him, "where?" and he said, "In the west. In the Lake
Michigan country." I asked him how much money they expected
to spend upon the plant and he said, "Many millions." I asked him
if he had any particular place in view and he said, "No, except I
am somewhat acquainted around Waukegan and I know a site there
that I thought might be available. I wish you would go and look it
over quite carefully and report to me your conclusions and reasons
for same."
After making my examination and thinking about the matter of
a proper location for such an immense plant as he proposed, I went
back to New York and reported. I said . . . , "The location is too
congested. You would at once become a part of an old, settled,
and well established community and your environments would be
much the same as they are at your other plants, which I consider
bad. Besides, Waukegan is too far up around the lake. Even
Chicago is twenty miles too far north. Waukegan is still farther
north and would in my opinion be a worse mistake for you to make
and would^ eventually cost you millions in transportation. Why not
take advantage of the still unoccupied lands of the southern extremity
of Lake Michigan, where is the greatest tide of transportation in
the world?"
152 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Judge Gary then said, "I understand the lands there are held by
wealthy men and large corporations, in large tracts. Do you think
we could purchase sufficient lands there at reasonable prices?"
I said, "It is said that every man has his price, which I doubt,
but there is no question but what the holders of large tracts of un-
occupied lands would sell them, at a good price, and when one
purchases lands for business or industrial purpose, he does not pur-
chase the lands, but the location."
He directed me to find what the said lands could be purchased
for. We agreed that the best mode of procedure was for me to
secure from the owners the right to sell their lands as a broker, and
that Judge Gary would be my prospective purchaser, and that no
one should know to whom the lands were to be sold. So that no
check or drafts could be traced, the lands were to be paid for in
cash. I believe that at the time of securing the 12,000 acres of land,
no one knew of the efforts being made except Judge Gary and per-
haps in a general way his board of directors, E. J. Buffington, presi-
dent of the Illinois Steel Company, G. G. Thorp, the chief
mechanical engineer, Messrs. K. K. Knapp, and Judge Haynie,
Chicago attorneys and myself.
Decision to take charge of the building of a city which inevitably would
rise near the plant followed a thorough study of the advantages and
disadvantages by Judge Gary, and the appearance, at Judge Gary's re-
quest, of Knotts before J. Pierpont Morgan and members of the manag-
ing board of directors of the steel corporation in advocacy of the
proposal.
There were other conferences. The corporation wanted to make certain
that it would have federal authority to establish a city; it wanted to know
the Government's attitude regarding the use of rivers to the lake front.
E. D. Crumpacker, congressman from this district, and William Forbis
were called to Judge Gary's office, where Judge Crumpacker was asked
to draft a bill that would clarify these points and introduce it in Congress.
Crumpacker advised against the action, contending that it would arouse
anti-trust sentiment, and suggested instead that the proposition be taken
up with the War Department. This advice was followed; the War De-
partment approved the project after its engineers had investigated coast
conditions.
In 1907 the Indiana Legislature enacted the so-called Made Land Law
enabling the corporation to "fill in" the lake line. Congress passed the
Riparian Rights Bill, and permission was granted to change the bed of
the "Navigable Grand Calumet."
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 153
The Post Office Department at first refused to permit the use of the
name Gary, suggested as an honor to Judge Gary by E. J. Buffington,
under whose direction the proposed mills and town were to be built, A. F.
Knotts, and William Duff Haynie of the corporation legal staff, on the
grounds that there already was a Gary in Maryland and that the similarity
of "Ind." and "Md.," in script, would lead to confusion. Haynie, aided by
Senator A. J. Hopkins, finally obtained sanction for the name.
Ralph Rowley, a young engineer in the corporation's South Chicago
plant who had been preparing plans for a large railroad yards1 without
knowing when or where they would be constructed, was named chief
construction engineer for both yards and plant. On March 8, 1906, he
arrived for a "preview." Accompanying him were G. G. Thorp, vice-
president of the Illinois Steel Company; A. B. Pneuman, mechanical
engineer in the South Chicago plant; Knotts, first property agent for the
Gary Land Company, and Tom Knotts. Of this trip Rowley says:
After waiting for some time, we saw an old lumber wagon, drawn
by two horses, wending its way over the sand-hills. When the driver
finally arrived, he told us he had been sent to convey us to our new
"home and office." We loaded our equipment and then climbed
into the wagon, and after jolting and bumping through the sand for
nearly two hours, finally reached our objective, the Calumet Gun
Club.
The gun club had erected 15 frame lodges and dormitories for mem-
bers of their organization, and during the time spent in staking out the
new plant and for a year thereafter these engineers lived in the club
dormitory, a short distance east of the present harbor of the Gary Works.
By March 25, the preliminary surveys had been virtually completed.
Almost over-night the task of building the steel plant was begun. On
March 26, 1906, Arnold Wyatt, a teaming and grading contractor, joined
the engineers. With his men and equipment, he established camp near the
Calumet Heights "station."
Two days later, March 28, Wyatt started excavating for the harbor and
the blast furnace foundations. On June 1, William P. Gleason, superin-
tendent in charge of construction of the entire plant, arrived to take
active charge.
' These yards were named Kirk and are still so called in honor of John Kirk who,
as superintendent of the South Chicago plant, ordered Rowley to draw the Gary yards
plans. Kirk became superintendent of yards at the Gary plant, and was appointed to the
Gary school board, June 2, 1913. Kirk Hotel, at west Fourth Avenue and Tyler Street,
was named for him. He died in
154 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Gleason,1 in relating the story of his visit to the site of the new plant,
recalled that he was instructed to "just follow the path" to get to the
Calumet Gun Club. He went on to say:
I have never known a couple of miles that were any longer than
the two miles of that sandy wagon path which I trudged over that
first afternoon. The path began about where the Michigan Central
overhead crosses Tolleston. It cut diagonally from there to what
is now West Side Park. It traversed sand knoll and swamp. As I
reached a point which is now the park, I came to a little swinging
bridge over a "run" (Gibson Run). On the four corners of this
bridge there were ropes fastened to sticks driven in the ground.
When the water was high the rope fastenings prevented the bridge
from floating away. When the water was low, the bridge settled
into place. From the bridge the path turned slightly northeast
until it reached the site of the present Steel Mill Hospital, thence
to the Calumet Gun Club, which was located about where the
National Tube Company is now.
I found several of the engineers and with them looked over the
staking out that had been done. I followed the path back to Tol-
leston and returned to Chicago about eight o'clock that night, with
a firm determination to see that some train would stop near the new
location in the early morning hours and at the close of the day.
I went to the New York Central offices in Chicago to have my
first talk with Frank Wilson, manager of the New York Central
Railway in this district. I told him of the plans for the new plant
and attempted to make him see how indispensible it would be to have
a station stop on the New York Central. My argument, was, of
course, that I would not be the only passenger, but that there at once
would be hundreds of workmen and later, perhaps thousands.
"Well, how do I know who you are." Mr. Wilson asked me.
"I shall have a written request for this new stop sent you from
the corporation at once," I replied meekly, still thinking of that
sandy path.
And three days after that a New York Central freight train
stopped at Broadway to unload a small box-car upon which was
1 W. P. Gleason, who subsequently was made general superintendent of the Gary
Works of the Illinois Steel Company, served in this capacity for twenty-nine years. Never
before had one man directed laying the foundations of a huge steel mill on a barren
waste of land, of subsequently managing and superintending its operation, and of assist-
ing in the building of its superstructure — a city of 100,000 persons. During his incum-
bency, the Gary plant produced 56,987,365 gross tons of steel, broke many records in
steel production, and extended its operations annually until it became the largest single
steel mill in the world. He was president of the Gary park board for twenty years and
was in a large measure responsible for the development of the city park system. Glea-
son's retirement came February 12, 1935, according to the action of the United States
Steel Corporation in fixing the age of 70 as the date for mandatory retirement under
the pension system. He died in 1936.
Gleason was succeeded as general superintendent by Walter E. Hadley, who had been
assistant superintendent. In 1938 Hadley became Gary-Chicago district operating man-
ager of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation and E. E. Moore was appointed Gary
Works superintendent.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 155
painted "Gary." It was the first New York Central Railway sta-
tion in Gary, a depot, I believe we called it in 1906.
By July 1, several hundred men and teams were engaged in grading,
excavating and filling in, laying, tearing up, and relaying rails and pouring
concrete.
The mill site had to be elevated to an average of 15 feet by pumping
sand from the bed of Lake Michigan through suction pipes and spreading
it over the wide terrain; towering hills of sand had to be pulled down
into sloughs and valleys (shifting of these hills compared in cubic yardage
to the peak movements at the Panama Canal, then under construction),
and a river bed had to be moved a hundred yards.
A water tunnel had to be dug through hard clay 80 feet underground
and three miles in length, extending a mile into the lake; and five centri-
fugal pumps, each with a capacity of 5,000,000 gallons a day, had to be
installed. Trackage of three trunk line railroads had to be moved, involv-
ing the laying of fifty-one miles of tracks and elevation through the city.
It was necessary to straighten the Grand Calumet River for nearly two
miles. A harbor had to be built, and a 5,500 foot canal, 23 feet deep, 250
feet wide, and a turning basin 750 feet in diameter, were required. To
protect the inner harbor, an outer breakwater was to be built almost one
mile in length, part of which was to be constructed in fifty feet of water
and to have a crib width of thirty feet at the top and as much as 125
feet at the bottom. By midsummer 1906, all these projects were under
way.
Pouring hundreds of tons of cement daily, a total of 2,265,000 cubic
yards was used in the mills proper. One hundred and fifty thousand tons
of structural steel, twelve thousand tons of corrugated sheets, four thou-
sand five hundred square yards of tile roofing, and twenty-two million
bricks were used in the building of the original foundations and furnaces.
For immediate construction work, at least a thousand workmen were
required. Upon completion of the mills, perhaps 10,000 would be em-
ployed. Laborers from the mills at Youngstown, foremen and electricians
from Milwaukee, puddlers and heaters from Pittsburgh began to read
about the new plant. Steel workers from the Ruhr Valley and from Bir-
mingham, England, began making plans to set out for the southern shore
of Lake Michigan.
Real estate promoters, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and architects decided
to look over the site. And, of course, there swarmed to the spot hordes
of adventurers, wanderers, and tramps.
156 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
A new subsidiary of the steel corporation, the Gary Land Company,
was organized to build a town. On May 4, 1906, Thomas E. Knotts,
brother of A. F. Knotts, arrived in a wagon with his family and pitched
his tent, to become the first settler on the land company's holdings. The
first temporary building, a small, frame structure housing the Gary Land
Company offices, was completed in June, 1906.
On June 9, when the first local census was taken, the camp village had
a population of 334, and each week brought scores of newcomers. For
the most part they were young and aggressive. There were former officers
of American and foreign armies; English builders who had heard of Gary
while in South Africa; Y.M.C.A. directors from the Panama Canal Zone
and China; veterans of the Philippine insurrection; members of the Danish
Cavalry; graduates of European Universities.
The corporation had bought 6,000 additional acres of land adjacent to
the mill site and commissioned the land company to lay out an "ideal
individual town." The land company was given a free hand in city plan-
ning, both as to finances and as to methods. The following ten-point
program was outlined:
1. Streets of the new city were to be broad, longer in their north-and-
south direction than in their east-and-west, and bisected by spacious
alleys. Sewers, water, and gas mains, telephone and electric power cables
were to be laid under alleys.
2. Zoned residential lots were to be 30 ft. to 50 ft. wide and 125 to
150 feet long with fixed building lines.
3. Streets running north and south on the west side of, and parallel to,
Broadway were to be named after the presidents of the United States
in the order of their election. The streets east of, and parallel to, Broad-
way were to be named for the States. The thoroughfares running east and
west, to be known as "avenues," were to be numbered consecutively.
4. Areas in the center of town were to be reserved for public parks.
5. The sewer system was to be laid out so adequately that enlargements
or changes would be unnecessary.
6. A water system that would not only take care of any subsequent
enlargements of the steel plant but also would supply a city of 250,000 was
to be constructed.
7. Ample provision for model schools was to be made.
8. All avenues and streets were to be constructed in all the Gary Land
Company subdivisions, the cost of these improvements included in the
selling prices of the lots.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 157
9. Homes and buildings by the hundreds were to be built; the selling
prices of the lots were to be determined by adding the price of land, the
cost of improvements, and a three year carrying charge.
10. Black soil was to be brought from Illinois to spread over the resi-
dential sections of the first subdivisions.
With a rapidity that amazed the country, these points were carried out,
the city was platted after the most approved principle of designing and zon-
ing. Broadway and Fifth Avenue, each a hundred feet wide, were graded
and paved. Conduits were placed in alleys; Jefferson and BufEngton parks
were laid out; rich black loam was brought from the Illinois prairies to
form the basis for lawns; a model school was built by the land company;
and shade trees and shrubs were planted.
During the winter of 1906-07, 356 residences were placed under con-
struction. Lots were offered for sale by the company with the stipulation
that a house be erected within 18 months. Contracts provided for the class
of building to be erected. Architects were required by the land company
to show diversity in design, in order that the residence streets would
resemble those where individual owners, rather than a corporation, had
built, a requirement effectively enforced by Capt. H. S. Norton,1 at
that time, the new property agent of the land company. First of the
land company homes to be completed, at 626 Van Buren Street, was
occupied on June 24, 1907, by Mr. and Mrs. Rueben Campbell.
The 500 houses under construction in 1907 (one company had a
$5,000,000 building contract), were for sale only to employees of the
steel corporation. A 10 per cent down payment was required, and if an
employee were unable to buy a house, he was permitted to rent, although
inducements were offered for purchase. The company in the first few
years built 1,500 residences and lent $6,000,000 to employees to build for
themselves.
Although Gary's population at the end of the first year was nearly a
thousand and hundreds of houses were nearing completion, it still pos-
' Captain H. S. Norton, (1868- ) came to Gary in 1907 as property agent of
the Gary Land Company, subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation. He directed
the zoning of the city's site from a sand and swamp area to its present status. President
of the Gary Commercial Club since its founding in 1907, and vice-president of the Gary
Land Company, Captain Norton has been active in every civic project. Today, (1938)
he is president of the City Plan Commission, head of the American Red Cross, and of
the Gary Pioneer Society. He is a director of the Salvation Army, the Community
Chest, the Goodwill Industries, the Stewart Settlement House, the Y.M.C.A., and
Y.W.C.A.
He is a National Councillor of the Boy Scouts of America, a vice-president of the
National Park Service Association and the United States and Indiana councils on un-
employment, and a vice-president of the Chicago Regional Planning Association. Norton's
retirement from the vice-presidency of the Gary Land Company came in 1938. He was
succeeded by Sam H. Cohen.
158 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
sessed the aspect of a frontier town. There was the constant sound of
hammers and saws. First settlers lived in structures of undressed lumber
or of other hastily collected material. The townspeople used oil lamps
and pumped water. There was no gas or electricity. Sand was knee-deep;
mosquitoes and sand fleas were a constant menace, and the sun, reflected
from the sand, was almost unbearable. The new city's inhabitants traveled
on horseback, usually well-armed. There were few women. During the
first winter, stoves and salamanders were used to heat the tents, and
shacks, and wind-breaks were hastily built to lessen the tornadic gusts
from Lake Michigan.
With the pioneer's proclivity for nomenclature, Gary settlers gave the
buildings scattered haphazardly among the scrub oaks such descriptive
titles as "McFadden's Flats" (a one-story rooming house), "The Red
Onion" (The Gary Works Inn), and the "Fitz House" (a hotel em-
bracing the Howard Bell Drug Store).
Typical early Gary buildings were the box-car that served as a railway
station, a small two-story yellow frame building occupied by the land
company, and two small, white, portable school buildings. Crude struc-
tures housed the Hubinger restaurant, the Colosimo fruit stand, the
Howard Bell drug store, the A. C. Huber stationery and news store, the
Orosz Hungarian restaurant, and the F. K. Warner grocery store.
South of the Wabash Railroad numerous other shacks sprang up. In this
section the sign "Open For Business" meant that the establishment was
ready to serve liquor. The district itself was known as "The Patch," and
the most notorious establishment was "The Bucket of Blood."
Completing the picture of Gary in 1906-07 were the two residential
sections, Euclid "Avenue," a sand patch which extended a few blocks
west of Broadway along what is now Third Avenue, and the Calumet
Gun Club settlement. In tents and dugouts along Euclid "Avenue" lived
many who were to become leading citizens — Thomas Knotts, Gary's first
postmaster and mayor, Glenn Harris, lawyer and later State Representa-
tive, Attorney Clarence Bretsch, State Senator C. O. Holmes, Frank
Chambers, and Frank J. Huff, whose daughter, Gary Huff, was the first
child born in the city. Among residents who lived in the settlement near
the gun club were A. M. Roberts, now chief auditor of the Gary plants
of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, Ralph Rowley, M. A. Cald-
well, William Lacy, and H. S. Norton of the land company.
On July 14, 1906, an election was held to determine whether the vil-
lage should be incorporated. The vote was 38 for, and 1 against, and
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 159
the county commissioners declared the municipality incorporated on
July 17.
On July 28, Miliard A. Caidwell, Thomas E. Knotts, and John E.
Sears were elected trustees, C. O. Holmes, clerk, and Louis A. Bryan,
treasurer. During the first meeting of the Board on July 30, Knotts was
made president. The first ordinance passed by the Board provided for
annexation of the land immediately west of the original town.
On August 18, A. P. Melton was appointed engineer and Louden L.
Bomberger, of Hammond, became town attorney. Gary began doing
business without a dollar of its own, arrangements having been made
with the First National Bank of Hammond to cash all warrants of the
town without necessity of a bond issue. Outstanding warrants were re-
deemed with interest as soon as tax collections were received, the town
at the end of 1906 having an assessed value of nearly three million dollars.
A school board consisting of Edward Jewel, Thomas H. Cutler, and
C. O. Holmes was chosen September 8, 1906, and the first meeting
was held September 14. Ora L. Wildermuth,1 a lawyer, was selected as
the teacher at a salary of $60 a month. The school building, on Broad-
way just north of Fourth Avenue, was ready October 1. The Lake County
Times of October 1 reported: "Superintendent William A. Wirt of the
schools at Bluffton, Ind., visited Gary yesterday." A second teacher, R. R.
Quillen, had been hired September 26, and a month later the Board voted
unanimously to employ Wirt as superintendent, starting July 1, 1907, at
a salary of $2,500 a year. Wirt immediately began development of the
work-study-play system, attracting nation-wide attention to Gary's schools
because of advanced pedagogical methods and elaborate physical
equipment.
Two churches had been organized, Holy Angel's as a mission in May,
1906, and the First Methodist church, Oct. 5, 1906. Thus, the birth of
the village, its incorporation as a town, first elections, its first buildings,
schools, and churches had been accomplished within a period of about
two years.
Meanwhile, the land company was laying out and improving the first
subdivision, embracing a tract of land approximately a mile wide from
i Judge Wildermuth, (1882- ) president of the board of trustees of Indiana
University, was born in Pulaski County. He is a graduate of the Law School of Indiana
University.
Judge Wildermuth was the first city Judge in Gary, serving from 1910 to 1914. He
also taught the first school in Gary in 1906 and 1909, and built the first house on the
west side of Broadway. He assisted in the organization of the Congregational Church.
A member of the Gary public library board, Judge Wildermuth may be called the
father of Gary's libraries. In 1909-10 he provided a small public library in his law office
to which the citizens had free access and later with Father Jansen and William Wirt
assisted in the organization of the present library system.
160 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
north to south and a mile and a half long from east to west. Improve-
ments included paved streets, sewers, sidewalks, water, and gas mains.
Several hundred dwelling houses for steel mill employees were being
constructed.
By the end of 1909 the rough frontier town had taken on the appearance
of a boom city. Highways had been constructed to connect it with Chicago,
Michigan City, Hammond, and Crown Point, the county seat. Trunk
line railways that had crossed the region at high speed, now stopped at
Gary. One hundred and fifty-one miles of streets had been constructed,
fifty-three miles of which were paved with asphalt or macadam. Thirty-
five miles of sidewalks had been built and twenty-one miles of street
car tracks laid. The land company had erected 1,200 houses at a cost of
$4,000,000, exclusive of the cost of public improvements. Improvements
and building by the city and private enterprise totaled $80,000,000. The
census of 1910 showed that 16,802 persons had come to Gary in less than
four years. Broadway and Fifth Avenue were dotted here and there with
two- and three-story brick buildings, the Alschuler Department store, the
Phillips building, and the First Gary State Bank Building. At Fourth
and Broadway, the Binzenhoff, a substantial brick building, had been
erected. The city was taking form.
The United States Steel Corporation had pushed its plant construction
program ahead with great success. The Great Lakes Dredge and Dock
Company had cut the slip for the harbor, the Illinois Ballast and Slag
Company had "made" new land, and the principal building contractors,
Linquist and Illsley, had completed the first major task, the Gary Works.
Machinery was installed, blast and open hearth were built, and the
rail-mill and other auxiliaries were completed. Electric generators were
assembled and installed, the harbor completed and opened, a vast water
supply provided, and an intricate system of railroad tracks was laid.
Virtually every resident citizen of Gary was working toward one goal —
to make steel by January 1, 1909.
On July 23, 1908, the first boat bearing ore from Minnesota ranges
entered the harbor, and there was a big celebration. John W. Kern, Demo-
cratic nominee for vice-president, was among the guests. As Mary Louise
Gleason, daughter of the superintendent, hoisted the stars and stripes to
the top of the staff on the east pier, the steamer, Elbert H. Gary, nosed
into the harbor and the U. S. Gunboat Michigan, lying alongside the new
docks, fired a salute.
The Captain of the Elbert H. Gary, was somewhat fearful of our
new harbor, and as late as the night of July 22, we did a little
additional dredging, related Gleason. And the captain of the U.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 161
S. S. Michigan talked with me the afternoon of July 22 and told
me that he would not be able to salute a private harbor. "What
can you salute?" I asked. "We can salute the American flag," he
told me. So we hurriedly erected a flagpole on the east end of the
pier and had our largest American flag in readiness.
With ore in the pits, the period from August, 1908, to January, 1909,
was devoted to getting everything in readiness to start a furnace, a fur-
nace that would emit such perfect heat that a layer of ore, and a layer
of limestone within its oven would fuse into a molten mass of steel.
The dream was realized on February 3, 1909,1 and the Gary Works'
Open Hearth No. 4 made steel. In February, blast furnaces, rail mills,
and the vast number of auxiliaries got into operation. The original plan
contemplated construction of 8 blast furnaces, 56 open hearth furnaces,
rail mill, billet mill, slab mill, plate, sheet bar mill, merchant bar mills,
car axle plant, and the by-product coke oven plant, with the necessary
auxiliary shops, trackage, and dockage facilities, and this goal was soon
reached.
Soon after Gary Works began producing steel, the American Bridge
Company, subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, erected a
plant at Gary, and in 1911 turned out its first structural steel. Work was
begun on the first unit of the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company's
sheet mill in 1910 and by 1911 this unit went into operation. The tin mills
were placed in operation in the spring of 1915. Construction on the plant
of another subsidiary, the Buffington plant of the Universal Atlas
Cement Company, now the largest cement plant in the world, had been
started by the cement department of the Illinois Steel Company of the
United States Steel Corporation in 1903. To handle the large amount of
freight traffic into and out of Gary mills, the steel corporation organized
and built the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern Railroad, whose Gary yards, the
largest private yards in the world, have a daily capacity of 7,500 cars and
a moving capacity of 6,200.
The building of Gary kept pace with industrial development, the 1910-
20 period being one of transition from a town to an industrial center of
55,379 persons. In 1912, Gary celebrated the completion and dedication
of the two largest public buildings that had been erected, the Y.M.C.A.
and the public library. The Y.M.C.A. building, on the south side of
Fifth Avenue between Adams and Jefferson Streets, cost about $400,000
and was financed with funds donated by Judge Gary. The public library
building just across the street cost about $65,000 and since its erection
five branch library buildings have been built.
' U. S. Steel News— Hoboken, N. J., Oct. 1936, p. 6, c. 3.
162 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In 1912, 1914, and 1915 new districts were opened and new stores,
churches, and homes appeared. In 1915, the first unit of Mercy Hospital
was completed. The following year saw construction of the first post
office building.
In 1917 and 1918, like all other American cities, Gary halted its building
program. Expansion resumed, however, when the World War ended, and
in 1919 more than $5,000,000 was spent on construction, including the
Methodist hospital, the National Spring Company building, and the Fifth
Avenue Garage building.
Completion of the Masonic Temple and the beginning of the Elks
Temple, the $1,000,000 Palace Theater building, and several large
churches marked 1922 as a building year. Beginning at that time, and
lasting for eight years, a period of apartment house construction saw
erection of 1,800 apartment houses in Gary.
In 1923 work was started on the $1,000,000 City Church building.
Construction of the new Hotel Gary and the Knights of Columbus Club
Hotel, was begun in 1926. The $1,000,000 City Hall at the southeast
corner of Fourth Avenue and Broadway opened in 1928.
There is scarcely a church, hospital, fraternal or civic organization in
Gary that has not received a contribution from the United States Steel
Corporation. To the City Church, the downtown cathedral of Gary, was
given a half million dollars. To the Negro churches of the south side
have been given more than $50,000 and to the Catholic parishes of the
Central District, $200,000. The Gary Land Company gave the city land
upon which five of its parks, including Marquette Park on the lake front
and Gateway Plaza are built, and all of the settlement houses have re-
ceived aid from the corporation.
Gary Works of the National Tube Company was begun in 1922 with
an initial appropriation of $20,000,000, under the direction of F. W.
Waterman. The first pipe was made January 8, 1925, in No. 4 lap-weld
mill. By the end of the second decade of Gary's existence, numerous in-
dependent industries had been established. In January, 1923, the Anderson
Company, manufacturers of automotive products, such as windshield
wipers, sleet-removing devices, and rear view mirrors, had established its
home office and plant in Gary. Other independent industries included the
Bear Brand Hosiery Company, the Gary Screw and Bolt Company, the
Standard Steel Spring Company, the Pacific Electric Manufacturing Cor-
poration, the Union Drawn Steel Company, and several smaller companies.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 163
Annexations had brought Gary's area to more than 40 square miles.
Glen Park had been acquired in 1909, Tolleston in 1910, Aetna in 1924,
and Miller in 1927.
Still adolescent, fresh, and vigorous, Gary with an estimated population
of 115,000 (1938), has assumed her place among the cities of the midwest
as one of the leaders in industry, education, city planning, recreation, and
architecture.
STEEL ENGRAVING
Gary, steel center of the middle west, and the home of the internation-
ally famous work-study-play (platoon) school system, is a made-to-order
metropolis, looked upon by thousands of foreign-born workers as a
"promised land."
Established in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation when it
chose the site for its midwest steel plants, and named for the late Elbert
H. Gary,1 chairman of the finance committee of the United States Steel
Corporation, Gary is this country's youngest city of more than 100,000
population. Primarily it is a steel mill town, containing plants and offices
i Elbert Henry Gary, for whom the city of Gary was named, was born October 8,
1846, on a farm near Wheaton, Illinois. While in school at Naperville, Illinois, he
worked in the office of the county clerk.
After attending Wheaton College and studying law at Naperville in the office of his
uncle, Col. Henry Vallette, Gary entered the Union College of Law, which later became
the law department of the University of Chicago.
Gary was graduated as one of the highest ranking students in June, 1868, and, on
the recommendation of Dean Booth of the law school, was appointed Deputy Clerk of
the Cook County Superior Court. After seven months he was made Chief Clerk.
Soon after he received this appointment he married Julia Graves of Aurora, Illinois.
The Garys made their home in Wheaton and for 30 years Gary commuted between
Chicago and Wheaton.
In 1869 Gary resigned as clerk and entered the law firm of Van Armon and Vallette.
The Chicago fire in October, 1871, caused a great change in young Gary's life. The
courthouse, in which the law firm of Van Armon and Vallette had their offices, was
burned; Gary decided to open his own office.
The Gary- Wheaton Bank was organized in 1874, with Gary as president. In 1882,
he was elected Judge of Du Page County and was re-elected in 1886. He was elected
president of the town of Wheaton three times, and, upon its incorporation as a city in
1890, was elected mayor in which office he served two terms.
Gary's practice in Chicago brought him in contact with "big business." His part in
the organization of the new combination of industries, the wire fence industry, and the
investment of his entire savings in this combination really made him the man with whom
the world became familiar. The $4,000,000 Consolidated Steel and Wire Company was
organized by Gary, and he was appointed to the company's board of directors. As his
reputation grew, he became associated with steel industries throughout the country. Soon
his interests branched out into railroads, mines, and steamship companies, all of which
had some connection with the great steel industry. It has been said that Judge Gary
placed a greater aggregation of industrial interests under one management than any
other man.
Upon the organization of the Federal Steel Company, with the financial backing of
J. P. Morgan and Company, he became its first president. In 1901 this company was
merged with the United States Steel Corporation, organized at that time with capital
stock exceeding a billion dollars. This was then the largest industrial corporation in the
world. Gary was elected chairman of the executive committee and later headed the board
of directors and the financial committee. He continued as chief executive for 26 years.
164 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
of seven subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation: Gary
Works, the steel manufacturing plant; the American Sheet and Tin Plate
Company; the American Bridge Company; the National Tube Company;
the Universal Atlas Cement Company; the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern
Railroad Yards, and the Gary Land Company.
The manufacturing plants of the United States Steel Corporation and
the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Yards occupy a long and narrow detached
strip of land at the northern-most end of the city proper. This strip lies
between Lake Michigan and the Grand Calumet River, the latter serving
as a line of demarcation between the mills and the city. Accenting this
are the embankments of several elevated railroad lines. Detachment of
the mills is further emphasized by a monumental civic center, Gary Gate-
way, at the northern terminus of Broadway and embracing sections of the
four northernmost avenues — First, Second, Third, and Fourth — the
natural entrance to the city by highways and railways. Between First and
Third Avenues are two railway stations, considered a part of the Gate-
way. The one to the east is the Union Station of the New York Central
and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads, the other, to the west, the station of
the South Shore Electric lines. Giving space and setting to the Gateway be-
tween Third and Fourth Avenues is Gateway Park, a landscaped plaza,
facing which, on either side of Broadway, are twin structures of stone.
The building to the east is the city hall, the one to the west, a Lake
County courthouse. Originating on Gary Land Company property, Broad-
way, the principal business thoroughfare, bisects the Gateway and then
stretches eight miles southward through the city.
Directly south of the Gateway is Gary's commercial district, the busi-
ness buildings extending south on Broadway for forty-five blocks and
east and west for only three blocks, with the exception of Fifth Avenue
zoned throughout its length for business and apartment buildings. An
imposing ten-story granite and brick building, at the intersection of
Broadway and Fifth Avenue — the hub of the city — is the home of the
Gary State Bank. Along Fifth Avenue, both east and west of Broadway,
are hotels, apartment hotels, and other large apartment and business
buildings.
This district contains numerous shops typical of a large city. There are
candy shops, cigar stores, chain drug stores, linen shops, gift and book
shops. Large mail order houses have retail stores in Gary, and several
Chicago mercantile establishments have branch stores in the city.
Although Gary has twice as much territory as the older and equally
populous Indiana cities of South Bend, Evansville and Fort Wayne, its
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 165
downtown residential district is limited to a six-block wide strip, from
Ninth Avenue on the south to Third Avenue on the north. This strip is
circumscribed by railroads — the Wabash tracks on the south, the South
Shore Electric Line on the north, the Pennsylvania Railroad on the west,
and the Indiana Harbor Belt Line on the east. Eighth Avenue, running
diagonally northwest to the Pennsylvania Railroad at its Fifth Avenue
crossing, gives a triangular form to the attractive west side residential
area, distinguished by modern, artistic homes, curved boulevards, two
parks, Horace Mann School, and numerous churches. In this section also
are two hospitals, St. Mary's Mercy Hospital ensemble, the institution
proper, a school for nursing, and a chapel, is a block long. Methodist
Hospital, an attractive brick institutional type building, embraces a school
for nursing and a nurse's home.
In the east side residential section are comfortable and modern though
less pretentious homes, the famous Emerson school, and Buffington Park.
East and west, beyond these two residential sections and the downtown
commercial district, Gary sprawls over acre after acre of open space to
become a many-sectioned city. Swamps and sand dunes, the Grand Calu-
met and the Little Calumet rivers, Lake Michigan, and trunk line railroads
determine the boundaries of these dissimilar sections.
To the east of the seven-mile strip occupied by the mills is a lake front
residential subdivision, Miller, including the 160-acre Marquette Park
and sometimes called Marquette Park subdivision. This section has be-
come a permanent residential district, although parts of it retain the sum-
mer resort aspect that once predominated. South of Miller are two other
small residential suburbs, Inland Manor and Aetna. Each of these sections
is within the city limits. East of Miller, bordering the lake and lying
outside the city limits, are two of Gary's most distinctive residential sub-
urbs, Dune Acres and Ogden Dunes.
Five miles south of Fifth Avenue is Gary's largest residential district,
Glen Park, including Morningside. It is within the city boundaries, but is
separated by blocks of vacant areas and by the Little Calumet River and
its adjoining swamplands. Glen Park is bounded on the north by River-
side Park, on the east by Mississippi Street, on the west by Grant (north
of 47th Avenue) and Harrison (south of 47th Avenue) streets, and ex-
tends on the south to 53rd Avenue, Gary's southern city limits. Planned
in 1894 by Charles G. Williams, in 1899 this community was named
Kelly, in honor of an official of the Nickle Plate Railroad, when a post
office was established. The name remained until the establishment of Gary,
166 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
when Glen Park was substituted. In this district are more than 5,000
homes, ranging from comfortable to luxurious.
"On the other side of the tracks," in this case the Wabash Railroad
tracks, since early days in Gary has meant an abrupt transition from resi-
dential and business areas commonplace to the middlewest, to a district
which might have been lifted from some Central European city. Here, in
congested streets lined with shops, taverns, and dwelling places, live Gary's
foreign-born population and a great part of its 17,000 Negroes. Originally
called "The Patch," because of the number of ugly little shacks, this
area is now known as the Central District, extends from Ninth Avenue,
which parallels the Wabash tracks, to Riverside Park (Thirtieth Avenue) ,
and includes much of the swamplands of the Little Calumet River, which
are utilized for gardens. One author describes this section thus:
This is the old world. . . . Houses are of every type of shack,
bungalow and tenement; cafes have distinct national airs . . . club
houses display strange and interesting flags and posters . . . coffee
houses, those rendezvous of the Balkans, shelter gossiping, card play-
ing men who read papers with the L's and P's crazily inverted.
Even churches bear Byzantine domes, hawkers wander along leading
sad-faced horses and shouting their wares in all versions of the be-
wildering jumble of tongues; children skip and run, half -naked, in
the streets, mothers sing to dark babies strange, alien lullabies, re-
membered from European hearthsides. . . "l
Marked principally by its religious centers, a church, parochial school,
convent, rectory, frequently a social hall or settlement house, each show-
ing a general adherence to foreign architectural styles, the Central District
has a skyline punctuated with domes, spires, and turrets. Some of the
streets in this district are pleasant, dotted with modern brick bungalows,
surrounded by lawns and a few well-built apartment houses, but many of
them, particularly those paralleling Broadway, are unattractive and
shabby, the tenements ugly, and the general atmosphere bizarre.
The public schools in the Central District include the internationally
famous Froebel School, attended by approximately fifty nationalities, and
the splendid Roosevelt High School (Negro) . Here also are five libraries,
including the Alcott with its shelves of foreign books, and four parks with
recreational facilities equal to those in any other part of the city.
Spacious settlement houses, some Gothic, others Spanish, still others
ultra-modern in design, offset some of the drabness of the Central District.
Particularly well-composed are the Gary-Alerding Settlement House on
' Arthur Shumway "Gary the Shrine of the Steel God." Magazine The American
Parade, January, February, and March, 1929.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 167
W. Fifteenth Avenue, and the Gleason Welfare Clinic on E. Fifteenth
Avenue.
Gary's 600 acres of public parks and playgrounds and 200 miles of
paved boulevards give character to every section of the city. Artfully
landscaped, frequently with the national contour of the low dune coun-
try retained, parks have club houses, winding boulevards, walks, and
sometimes athletic fields, tennis courts, and golf courses. In the downtown
section are Gateway, Jefferson, Buffington, and Jackson Parks. In outly-
ing areas are Marquette, at the lake front, the most attractive and most
popular of all; Riverside, on the south, the largest, containing 300 acres;
Tolleston and Norton Parks.
Virtually all streets, with the exception of Broadway and Fifth Avenue,
are of the same width and of the same material (asphalt) . Sidewalks, like
streets, are all of the same width and are constructed of concrete.
The public school buildings of the famous work-study-play system —
there are twenty units — as a rule are of English Gothic design, and most
of them are imposing structures. Some of the units include three or four
large brick buildings, landscaped grounds, and athletic fields.
Gary's 118 churches range from the cathedral-like edifice downtown
that houses the City Church (Methodist) to the little Roman Catholic
Mission for Negroes (St. Monica's on W. Twenty-fifth Ave.) . The large
number of Roman Catholic churches in the Central District, each reflect-
ing the architectural influences of the dominant racial group in the parish,
enhance the old world atmosphere to be found in this part of the city.
Everything in the city is new — the blades of grass, the black soil, the
trees. There are no old homes nor buildings, no lanes nor by-paths lined
with old trees. Even the people are newcomers; no one in Gary (1938)
who is more than 32 years of age can call Gary his home town. The
general topography has been artificially altered from a series of dunes
and marshes to a level, well-drained terrain. The original soil, wholly
sand and muck, has been covered with clay and black dirt, and the few
native scrub oaks have been replaced with quick-growing poplars, all the
same size and height.
To give access to the plants on the detached strip of land between the
Grand Calumet River and Lake Michigan, four bridges, for as many
main highways, span the river; over these, for one or another of the three
mill shifts, pass 30,000 workers. Special street cars, buses, automobiles
are filled with workers and sidewalks resound to the march of feet. Dur-
ing the shift changes, Gary is better seen than at any other time as a
168 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
steel mill town, and it is easier to realize that its 100,000 residents subsist
entirely, whether directly or indirectly, from steel and its fabrication.
Today, (not quite 30 years since the first steel was made) Gary ranks
with the greatest steel producing centers of the world. Most of its mills
are the largest of their kind, and the Calumet Region, in which Gary is
the most important city, produces one-fourth of the nation's steel. With
the South Chicago plant of the steel corporation, and the Joliet plant,
the midwest unit has an ingot capacity of 9,754,000 gross tons annually.
Open hearth furnaces number 95, while there are 7 electric furnaces and
6 Bessemer converters. A total of 25 blast furnaces and 18 batteries of
coke ovens are noted at 7,038,000 gross tons of pig iron and 6,453,000
net tons of coke per year respectively.
In the Gary Works alone, there are 976 coke ovens, a by-product re-
covery plant, a Wilputte benzol plant, with an annual capacity of 5,739,-
000 tons of coke, 39,080,000 gallons of tar, and 21,440,000 gallons of
light oil. There are 12 blast furnaces with a total annual pig iron capacity
of three and one-half million gross tons. There are 49 stationary basic
open hearth furnaces. The annual ingot capacity is 5,228,000 gross tons
and for semi-finished steel including billets, blooms, slabs, sheets, and
bars, 3,396,000 gross tons. The rail mill has an annual capacity of 960,000
gross tons. Other annual capacities are: plates, 480,000 gross tons; strip
steel, 606,000 gross tons; tie plates, 162,500 gross tons; axles, 120,000
gross tons; wheels, 60,000 gross tons, and merchant bars and light struc-
tural steel, 1,123,000 gross tons.
Rolling mill equipment includes 40 4-hole soaking pits, 14 regenerative
hearth type heating furnaces, fuel, producer and coke oven gas and
fuel oil.
Continued expansion and modernization made necessary the expenditure
in 1935 and 1936 of more than $70,000,000. Early in 1935, as the result
of a survey of possible markets and plant facilities, the company modern-
ized its facilities for the manufacture of flat strip steel by changing the
28-inch two-high strip mill at the Gary steel mill to a 38-inch mill of the
new four-high type, which meant virtual reconstruction of this mill. It
now has capacity to produce 400,000 tons of strip per year.
The new Brunorizing furnace of the Gary Works, completed in 1936
at a cost of approximately $1,500,000, is the result of more than 25 years
of research. In it, rails, as delivered from the mill, are given a controlled
thermal treatment, resulting in greater ductility and high resistance to
impact. The furnace has a capacity of 70 gross tons of steel rails per
hour. The first of its kind ever installed in the United States in a rail
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 169
mill, the furnace is 250 feet long and 9l/2 feet wide. A charge of from
five to eight rails enters and another leaves at uniform intervals of from
three to five minutes. Each rail in its journey through the eight auto-
matically controlled heating zones remains in the furnace from eighteen
to thirty minutes, depending upon the section of rail and the number of
rails in the charge. The rails move automatically over specially constructed
alloy rollers from zone to zone. This new furnace, together with the
method of end-hardening rails by means of jets of compressed air, pro-
duces a rail designed to meet the constantly increasing stresses imposed
by modern rail traffic.
The tin mill is equipped with a 42-inch hot strip mill having an annual
capacity of 500,000 gross tons, a cold reduction department having a five-
stand tandem with an annual capacity of 350,000 gross tons, and hot
mills having an annual capacity of 183,400 gross tons; it manufactures
flat steel products in the lighter gauges, including hot rolled strip, black
plate, and tin plate, produced by either the cold reduction process or the
hot rolled process.
The five-stand tandem, cold reduction mill which was completed in
1937 at a cost of $5,000,000 is similar to the one which was placed in
service in July, 1936. Combined with two earlier cold reduction units and
with the producing old style hot mills still in service, the new mills give
the company a total annual production capacity of 500,000 gross tons of
tin plate or an average of a million and a half sheets of tin plate daily.
Although gigantic in size and output, these mills are capable of producing
tin plate down to five-thousandths of an inch in thickness, or one quarter
of the thickness of an ordinary bond paper letterhead.
In March, 1936, the company placed a new 80-inch continuous hot
strip mill in production at the Gary Sheet and Tin Mills. Housed in
buildings approximately 300 feet wide by 2,200 feet long, the mill was
built on made land on the shore of Lake Michigan. Although its rated
capacity is 60,000 tons per month, it has exceeded this production rate and
has turned out as much as 66,000 tons per month.
The sheet mill has a cold reduction department with an annual capacity
of 177,800 gross tons. The sheet mill manufactures flat steel products in
sheet mill sizes and gauges including hot rolled strip, cold reduced strip,
hot rolled and cold reduced black sheets.
Two new reversing cold reduction mills were completed in 1935 and a
new three-stand tandem cold reduction mill was put into operation in
July, 1936, turning out sheet steel used in the manufacture of automobile
170 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
bodies, mechanical refrigerators, steel furniture, washing and ironing
machines, sheet steel kitchen stoves, and similar products.
Due to a radical change in processes, the Gary Works of the tube
company for several years has not been producing pipes. At its peak
production period it manufactured 570,000 tons of pipe yearly.
In the city there are many marks of the mill town. The one daily news-
paper, the Gary Post-Tribune, devotes front page space to the expected
weekly tonnage of steel in the plants or to the firing of an additional blast
furnace. Quotations of United States Steel Stocks are displayed daily —
nearly every employee had a few shares in pre-depression days — while
two daily columns of this paper, containing poetry and facetious items,
are entitled Flue Dust and The Open Hearth.
Steel mill jargon has its place in daily conversation. Few there are in
Gary who do not know that "rollers" and "heaters" are the highest paid
men in steel making. "Straw boss," "juice man," "grease donkey,"
"rougher," "hooker," "cinder snapper," "bull gang," "thumb stool,"
"helper," "foreman," "tricks," "turns," "raises," "shutdown" are signi-
ficant terms in small talk.
Earmark of the mill town is the type of shop predominating. Gary has
"army stores," large department and chain stores, displaying piles of
laborers' canvas gloves, corduroy trousers, heavy shoes, caps, flannel shirts.
There are more than 400 retail grocery stores, a hundred restaurants, and
several score wholesale meat and grocery plants. Foodstuffs line the streets
of business sections; where zoning permits, sidewalk stands display fruits
and vegetables.
A great number of steel mill employees still pursue the custom of
charging everything they purchase, paying their bills on pay-day. Pay-day
is a red letter day; it means payment of rent and food bills, new clothes,
new shoes, and perhaps whiskey and a good time. Someone has said
Christmas comes 24 times a year in Gary.
An identifying mark that steel has left on Gary is the large ratio of
male inhabitants, 119.0 to each 100 women. This percentage is the highest
proportion of males of any city of more than 100,000 population in the
country.
Typical, too, of a steel city, as has been mentioned, are the facts that
the number of foreign-born exceeds the number of native-born residents
of the age of 35 or over, and that the majority of foreign-born are
southern European. These people, it is contended, tend to be attracted to
an industrial city such as Gary, where there is demand for unskilled labor.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 171
There are 20,000 foreign-born residents in Gary and of these only 2,688
are of English origin.
Foreign-born women of the peasant class — and, in fact, many of the
men — adhere to the customs of their native lands in their homes and in
their social and religious life. Having less contact with native Americans
than do their husbands, the women encounter linguistic difficulties, and
after a brief attendance at night English classes, return to the use of their
native language, relying thereafter, on their children and husbands to
serve as interlocutors. Frequently their attempts to adopt the dress and
customs of the new world are equally unsuccessful.
In striking contrast are the children of foreign parents, who attend the
public schools and participate in the programs of the settlement houses,
the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A., and in the Boy and Girl Scouts. Quick to
adopt the speech, especially slang phrases, dress, and mannerisms of their
schoolmates, these children, by the time they are ready to enter high
school, are Americanized.
A striking characteristic of many foreigners is their penchant for or-
ganization. They organize their own lodges, social clubs, patriotic groups,
political organizations, churches, and singing societies. In Gary, in the
Hungarian colony alone, there are the Verhovay Aid Association, Hun-
garian Reformed Federation of America, Hungarian Educational and
Entertainment Club, Hungarian Ladies Social Club, Hungarian Women's
Club, Gary I. W. O., Hungarian Worker's Organization, Chi Sigma
Gamma, Saint Emeric Lodge, Reformed Ladies' Aid Society, and Re-
formed Women's Friendship Circle. And this list does not include politi-
cal organizations.
A caravan of gaily decorated automobiles, filled with bedecked bride,
bridesmaids, groom, and wedding guests, is a common sight; parades
almost invariably follow foreign weddings. Frequently bursts of song
invade the downtown section as a truck filled with Hungarian singers
in national dress speeds by, enroute to the annual Hungarian picnic. Each
foreign group has such an annual picnic, where there is folk dancing and
singing and homeland dishes are served.
Foreign grocery stores, meat markets, and bakeries, specialize in native
foods. There are Italian shops, specializing in spaghetti, ravioli, and
Italian breads; Polish markets displaying Polish cured hams; and Greek
bakeries dealing in pastries and aptos.
Numerically, the Poles with 2,594 residents are the greatest, followed
by Slovaks, Greeks, Germans, Croatians, Italians, Serbians, Hungarians,
and Russians.
172 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Annually an average of 400 of Gary's foreign-born become naturalized
citizens, and it is these who discard, more quickly than the others, old
world ways. Scarcely conscious of their own transformation, they fre-
quently become active in city and county affairs, are elected to office, and
influence a large group of voters who speak their own tongue. In the
professions, medicine, law, architecture, and dentistry, names ending in
off, iski, rez, and vich, frequently are found. Many of Gary's restaurants,
grocery stores, fruit stands, meat markets, and some of the finest specialty
shops are owned by foreign-born residents.
Most of the peasant class who labor in the steel mills came to Gary
"to rest a while, then set to sea," in other words, to work in the mills,
save their money, and return to their own countries. These men, out of
an old world, without suitable training, ill-equipped, frequently bewil-
dered, have presented a problem of rehabilitation to Gary citizens. The
churches have met the problem with settlement houses, schools with
special curricula, libraries with special shelves, and one of the most com-
prehensive programs of social welfare in the country.
Philanthropy is the dominant theme of many clubs in the city, both
men's and women's, and city-wide campaigns or drives for funds for
settlement houses, hospitals, clinics, a home for Negro children are fre-
quently undertaken by the Gary Community Chest. Sororities and fra-
ternities, whose purpose of organization is charity, abound, while Gary's
most fashionable social groups are the service clubs where milk funds,
free cafeterias, iron lungs for hospitals, and layettes for nurseries, are
subjects of discussion.
UTILITIES
THE TELEPHONE — Although the first telephone in Gary was almost
an anachronism — the telephone came before the city itself — the telephone
has had a significant role in Gary's development from the city's very
beginning. In 1906, when the United States Steel Corporation decided
to build a great steel plant on what was then a sandy waste, a crew of
civil engineers was sent to survey the region and lay out plans for the
mills. One of the first things they did was to order a telephone line so
that they might report their findings and progress.
W. Rufus Abbott, suburban superintendent of the Chicago Telephone
Company and later president of that company and its successor, the
Illinois Bell Telephone Company, realizing the importance of the steel
corporation's enterprise, called up Oscar A. Krinbill, Hammond manager,
and gave him instructions for the installation of the necessary lines and
equipment.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 173
Mr. KrinbilPs first task was to find "Calumet Heights," the location
given on the telephone contract. He set out with a horse and buggy and
by following sand roads finally reached Tolleston. There he found a
hunter who "knew a place sometimes called Calumet Heights" and also
knew where the steel company engineers had put up their temporary
shack. "Will you drive me over there?" said Mr. Krinbill.
"Drive! It can't be done," the hunter replied. "If you want to go there,
it's wade, part of the way. Get a pair of hip boots and I'll pilot you over;
it's only a couple of miles or so of sand and swamp." The boots were
borrowed, and Mr. Krinbill made his first trip to the lonely spot that was
to be called Gary. He made an estimate of the material necessary and
the next day a telephone line gang was on the job.
Telephone service was established in the temporary building used by
the steel company as an office, by a connection from the company's South
Chicago private branch exchange.
On October 22, 1907, the Chicago Telephone Company was granted a
franchise for operation of a telephone system in Gary. On November 7,
1907, two toll stations were installed, one connected with Chicago, and
the other with the Hammond exchange in an office in the Feuer Building,
560 Broadway, until an exchange could be established. The exchange was
installed on December 8, 1907, at which time 'phones for 150 subscribers
were placed in service. The equipment had been built for Monroe Office
in Chicago, but owing to the emergency of the situation the telephone
company assigned it to Gary, where intensive activity occasioned by the
building of an important industrial center created a need for greatly
increased communication facilities.
To keep pace with Gary's development, the telephone plant was en-
larged many times; by 1913 there were 2,700 telephones in service. On
May 24 of that year an 18-position switchboard was placed in service in
a new two-story brick and reinforced concrete building at 725 Madison
Street. In 1928, when the existing telephone plant was approaching its
capacity, a large addition to the central office building was constructed.
This project had called for the solution of several unusual engineering
problems. The sandy nature of the soil in the vicinity necessitated driving
piles down to solid earth to support the footings of the addition and to
reinforce the footings of the existing structure, work made difficult be-
cause of the danger of disturbing outside cables, storage batteries, and
other equipment throughout the building, and so interfering with the
operation of existing telephone equipment. The new foundation was de-
signed to carry an additional two stories when needed.
174 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
On June 29, 1929, an entirely new dial office, the first to be established
in the Chicago suburban territory, was placed in service in the enlarged
building, replacing the existing system. The project involved the replace-
ment of 13,000 manually operated telephones with dial telephones, and
sufficient equipment was installed to handle nearly 4,000 additional tele-
phones. For the Miller area, a small dial office with sufficient equipment
to serve about 600 telephones, operated in conjunction with the main
Gary office, was established in a modern one-story brick building erected
on the east side of Lake Street north of Miller Avenue. The building was
designed to carry a second story when additional space required.
In 1910, when the population of Gary proper and suburban areas was
23,300, the number of telephones in service was 1,500. In 1920 the city
had 56,000 inhabitants and 5,300 telephones. In 1930 the population had
reached 100,400 and the number of telephones, 13,600.
With reserve facilities to care for growth for some years to come,
Gary's modern telephone exchange (including Miller office) was serving
10,545 telephones on April 30, 1937. There were 8.8 telephones per 100
population in Gary at the beginning of 1937. Gary exchange contained
58,615 conductor miles of exchange wire, including wire in cable, on
May 1, 1937. The central office was handling, during busy hours, as many
as 6,400 calls per hour.
PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION— When in 1906 the United
States Steel Corporation decided to assist in building a model city as a
super-structure to its midwest steel plant, it organized what has since
been called the Gary Heat, Light, and Water Company. This Company
was incorporated August 21, 1906, the United States Steel Corporation
owning all of its stock. Original officers were Eugene J. Buffington, presi-
dent, George G. Thorpe, vice-president, and Thomas J. Hyman, secre-
tary and treasurer.
In March, 1913, the Gary Heat, Light and Water Company acquired
the site of the pumping station and water tower from the Gary Land
Company. The United States Steel Corporation continued in control until
May 8, 1931, when the Midland Utilities Company purchased the com-
pany's stock. In July, 1931, the stock was again purchased by the Gary
Electric and Gas Company, a subsidiary of Midland Utilities Company.
Original offices were located in a room in the northwest corner of the
old Gary State Bank Building, 500 Broadway. In April, 1912, offices
and sales rooms were moved to the Phillips Building, 48.7 Broadway.
Upon completion of the new ten-story Gary State Bank Building in
September, 1928, they were moved to this building. Sales rooms occupy
In Gary's Residential Sections
Gary's Spanish Cenfer
A Trinity of Foreign Churches
Wafer Tower — Jefferson Park, Gary
By Francir Thorne-Tkomson
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 175
space on the first floor at the northeast corner and in the basement. The
front half of the entire second floor is used for public offices, meter appli-
cations, bookkeeping, and cashiers' offices. Additional offices occupy the
third floor.
The company has grown and extended its facilities to meet the many,
rapidly changing needs of the city. In July, 1926, it purchased from the
city of Gary the water and electric system serving the old town of Miller,
now a part of Gary.
ELECTRICITY— During the 31 years of the Gary Heat, Light and
Water Company's existence, it has supplied electricity to Gary residents
in alternating current 25 cycle. Complaints have been made that the 25
cycle is flickering and that independent industries have refused to locate
in Gary because of this unique current. As a result the, company recently
announced that the 60 cycle current is now available to industries and that
a program is under way to change its entire equipment and customers'
use to 60 cycle. This program will require approximately four and one-
half years to complete.
The Gary Heat, Light and Water Company in the past has purchased
its electrical energy from Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. Upon con-
struction of the new equipment, the energy will be procured from the
Northern Indiana Public Service Company. Electricity furnished to in-
dustries is already purchased from the latter company and carried as high
voltage electrical energy by the tall transmission towers which stalk
across the Calumet Region. The high voltage towers and cables owned
by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company are used for transmis-
sion between the State Line Generating Station and various points in
Indiana.
The annual sale of electrical energy amounts to 36,523,000 kilowatt
hours, which is distributed over 240 pole miles of distribution lines. The
average consumption for each residential customer for the year 1936
was 633 kilowatt hours. There were 1,480 transformers and 27,500 electric
meters in service.
GAS — The gas which Gary residents use is manufactured in the Car-
negie-Illinois Steel Corporation plants in Gary, as a by-product of the
coke ovens. Purchased by the Gary Heat, Light and Water Company,
the gas is transmitted through mains from the coke ovens of the steel
corporation to the company gas plant on the Grand Calumet River at
Jefferson Street.
After the gas is received at the gas plant, it is passed through iron
oxide for elimination of sulphur, through calcium chloride for elimination
176 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
of excess moisture, and through absorbent oil for elimination of naphtha-
lene.
The purified gas then passes to three giant storage holders. From these
it is pumped to the distribution mains throughout the city. These holders
have a total capacity of 2,514,000 cubic feet. The annual sales of gas in
Gary amount to 1,025,025,000 cubic feet, which is carried through 148
miles of mains of 2 inches to 12 inches in size. There are 22,660 gas
meters in service in the city.
WATER — Gary's source of water supply is Lake Michigan. Water is
pumped by electrically driven pumps from a deep water crib one and
one-half miles from shore through a six-foot intake and tunnel, to the
pumping station located in Jefferson Park. Then the water is pumped to
elevated storage tanks. The combined capacity of these elevated tanks is
340,000 gallons.
Gary water is purified by chlorination. The efficacy of this method was
questioned in September, 1937, when Mayor L. B. Clayton of Gary in an
open letter to A. C. Colby, president of the Gary Heat, Light and Water
Company, demanded rehabilitation and extension of the water system and
installation of a filtration plant. A survey, which included a scientific
check of the .water crib in Lake Michigan, of the tunnel, and of the entire
distribution system was made in September and October, 1937, by Alvord,
Burdick, and Honson, a Chicago engineering firm, upon order of the
Gary Heat, Light and Water Company. The company maintains that the
water when delivered to the consumer is chemically and bacteriologically
pure. Frequently, it is murky and ill smelling.
Distribution is through 142 miles of mains 2 inches to 30 inches in size.
There are 14,600 water meters in service. Annual sales amount to
2,801,538,000 gallons.
TRANSPORTATION— With the development of the steel mills in
Gary, need arose for a transportation system to serve the community and
to link it with the existing towns of Hammond and East Chicago on the
west and Hobart, East Gary, and Valparaiso on the east. On July 6,
1907, the town of Gary granted a franchise to Frank N. Gavit and others
for the construction and operation of an electric railway system on
designated streets in Gary. Construction work started in September of
that year and on May 20, 1908, cars were placed in operation on Broad-
way between 4th Avenue and the Pennsylvania Railroad.
In subsequent years additional franchises were secured from the town
of Tolleston and the city of Hammond for the Hammond division. The
East Chicago Street Railway connected Indiana Harbor with Gary by
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 177
way of Cline Avenue and West Fifth Avenue and also through East
Chicago on Kennedy Avenue to the Hammond Line, the latter extension
later being abandoned. During the earlier years, lines were constructed
between Valparaiso and Chesterton, LaPorte and Goodrum, Woodville
Junction and Gary, Hobart and Crown Point and Gary.
In 1913 the Gary and Interurban Railroad Company was incorporated;
several of the earlier companies were consolidated with it to place under
one management the operation of a street and railway system comprising
about 85 miles of track in Gary and connecting Gary to Hammond, East
Gary, LaPorte, and Valparaiso.
Two years later the company was placed in receivership. The merger
dissolved and in 1917 the Gary Street Railway was incorporated to take
over from the receiver the properties of the Gary & Interurban Railway
Company and the East Chicago Street Railway Company, thereby secur-
ing city service in Gary and connections to Hammond and Indiana Har-
bor. Other properties merged by the Gary & Interurban Railroad Com-
pany were sold by the receiver as separate units. At the same time the
old Goshen, South Bend and Chicago Railroad Company, which built
the line to LaPorte, passed out of existence; the line was dismantled.
Lines between Gary and Hobart, and Gary and Crown Point remained
in operation, entering Gary over the tracks of the Gary Street Railway.
In 1925 the Gary Street Railway Company changed its corporate structure
and its name, becoming the Gary Railways Company, and acquired the
Gary & Valparaiso Railway Company, The Gary Connecting Railroad,
and the Gary & Hobart Traction Company, thereby unifying the opera-
tion of the system throughout the region. In 1928 the Gary & Southern
Traction Company line to Crown Point was added to the system by lease.
In this manner Gary Railways as they exist and function today have
been built up and developed to keep pace with the growth of the Calumet
Region. Changing conditions have resulted in changes in operation, and
street car lines have given way to gasoline motor coaches on the Crown
Point, Hobart, Valparaiso, and Indiana Harbor service and in the city
service to Miller. The company now operates 52 street cars over 76 miles
of track, with 30 motor coaches giving supplemental and feeder service.
Six substations furnish electric power for street car operation, and a car
repair and inspection shop is employed for upkeep of car equipment. The
company employes 215 persons for the complete operation of the property
including car operators, shopmen, trackmen, substation men, line men,
and supervisory and office employees. The electric power consumption ex-
ceeds a million kilowatt hours per month, and more than 10,000 gallons
178 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
of gasoline per month is used in bus operation. Combined car and coach
operation serves more than a million riders monthly, covering approxi-
mately a quarter of a million miles per month in the operation.
Most difficult responsibility of the system is to give adequate transpor-
tation to men and women employed in the great industries at the north
end of Gary. For this task cars and buses are scheduled to move large
loads to and from the several entrances at the time of shift changes.
At such times the facilities of the company are taxed to capacity to
provide for the peak load service. About one-half of the available car
and coach equipment is out of service except at such times.
In the development, construction, and operation of the Gary Railways
system there has been much pioneering in the territory and in the indus-
try. The original construction of many miles of track preceded road
developments; notably in the Hammond and Indiana Harbor extensions
track work was pushed ahead through marsh land and sand dunes in
advance of road builders. Gary Railways kept pace with the transportation
industry in the early use of one-man operated safety cars and trailer trains,
as well as in construction of thermit-welded rail track construction on steel
ties of concrete pavement.
If the statement is true that a city may be judged by its utilities, the
city of Gary ranks high among municipalities. The value of the plant and
properties of the Gary Heat, Light and Water Company is approximately
$8,000,000. The Gary Telephone plant and its equipment is as modern
as may be found anywhere, and Gary's transportation system, including
street car and motor coach, has kept pace with the growth of the city.
WORK-STUDY-PLAY SYSTEM
When William A. Wirt1 arrived in Gary with the germ of his work-
study-play system, the city was still on paper, but within four years there
had grown up an ideal laboratory for his work. No other American city
offered a better field for intelligent experimentation in education, and it
' William A. Wirt was born on January 21, 1874, on a farm near Markel, Ind.
When his high school studies were finished he attended De Pauw University, where he
obtained Ph. B. and Ph. D. degrees, and later that of Doctor of Pedagogy. He did
postgraduate work there and at Chicago University, and made special studies of edu-
cational methods in England, Belgium, France, and Germany. He was superintendent of
schools in Redkey, Ind., from 1895 to 1897; instructor in mathematics in the high school
in Greencastle, Ind., from 1897 to 1899 and superintendent of the BlufFton schools from
1899 to 1907. It was his conviction that the average student at that time was poorly
prepared and badly trained for adjusting himself to the world into which he was thrust
at graduation. He had put some of his theories into practice at BlufFton, but the made-
to-order town of Gary provided opportunity for full development of them. When New
York City educators heard of the new system they called him to New York to explain
it and by 1918 had adopted many features of the Gary system. Some features also have
been adopted by 500 other American cities. Dr. Wirt died in 1938. He was succeeded
by Herbert S. Jones.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 170
was possible to make a school system to order with the rest of the city.
The work-study-play system has three salient features. First, there are
the many hours spent by the student in school — a long day (8:15 to
4:15), Saturday school, and summer school. Saturday school and a sum-
mer school which leaves only two week's vacation are optional, but at-
tendance is usually large. The purpose, of course, is to keep the child off
the streets as much as possible; he receives supervision fifty weeks out of
the year.
A second characteristic is the curricula, which includes cultural subjects,
academic training, vocational courses, church school, and an intensive
physical education program.
Third, there is the part played by students in school government. In
every way possible initiative, self-reliance, and personality are developed.
A prerequisite of Gary schools is a specially designed school building
whose equipment provides for operation of a system requiring virtually
full-time attendance, and offers widely diversified training. Emerson school,
first unit built, served as a model for the twenty succeeding plants, and
includes three buildings, containing 29 classrooms, 12 studies, 4 labora-
tories, 6 gymnasia, 2 libraries, 6 shops, 2 kindergarten rooms, and a sight-
saving room. Surrounding the buildings are ample playgrounds, baseball
diamonds, tennis courts, a "zoo," and gardens which the children tend as
part of their school work. The "zoo," or animal husbandry plant, also, is
attended by students and contains sixty pens of fowls and animals. The
gardens and "zoo" are self-supporting and in some years have netted as
much as $300.
The auditorium is the heart of the Gary system. "One aim of the audi-
torium," according to Mrs. James A. Patterson, former president of the
school board, "is to develop the child as an individual by inculcating per-
sonality traits such as self-possession and poise, command of English,
practice of courtesy, wise use of leisure time, and dependability. Next, to
develop the child as a social being by imparting a knowledge of group
action and learning to follow, as well as to lead, together with a broad
attitude toward life through participation in all school activities. Then
to develop the child as a citizen by bringing into being a consciousness of
school, city and world movements, respect for the rights of others and
the Flag and the courtesies due it, a willingness for cooperation and an
increased desire to help with the common activities of life which each
day brings."
In the auditorium classes children prepare and execute their own pro-
grams. The child is taught to "think on his feet," preside at meetings,
180 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
introduce speakers. There are plays, recital and lectures, demonstration
classes in correct speech, and motion pictures. Dramatic work is emphasized
as providing training in diction and voice.
The auditorium of each school, equipped with stage, theatrical para-
phernalia, and large seating capacity, is the meeting place for the Parent
Teachers' Association and other organizations. At community night
gatherings in these buildings there are concerts, plays, motion pictures,
and thrift and safety talks.
The Gary system functions on the premise that training in work which
will enable a student to earn his livelihood must be emphasized. Since
Gary is a steel center, a vocational program based on the opportunities of
the steel industry is offered, but there is also other vocational training.
Industrial arts activities, starting in 1908 with a wood shop at Jefferson
school, now (1938) are carried on in 37 shops, as follows:
Woodworking 10 Foundry 2
Drafting 8 Auto Shop 1
General Metal 4 Forge Shop 1
Electricity 5 Pattern Shop 1
Machine Shop 2 Printing 2
Related Technical Training 1
In the all-day school classification, shop practice requires three contin-
uous hours daily, with one hour for related work and three hours for
other work, either related or conventional high school. This trade course
is selected by parent and pupil, who is excused from a study period and
other special work. There are seven classes in the all-day trade instruction.
The apprentice training course lasts four years and provides instruction
in various skilled trades. Apprentices are employed full time and receive
one day of instruction pertaining to their particular trade, which is admin-
istered by the school but given by instructors selected by employers and
school officials jointly. Instruction sheets are prepared by skilled craftsmen.
Trade extension work is for industrial workers known as "helpers" or
"learners" and is designed for the purpose of increasing their efficiency.
Two night classes a week, taken on the workers own time, provide shop
work in the particular trade which they have chosen.
Training in domestic science is provided for girls. Students in culinary
classes prepare all the food for the self-supporting school cafeterias under
supervision of instructors who must not only be able to teach, but must
also have a knowledge of dietetics, buying, accounting, and managing
help. Work in these classes is so rotated that students gain experience in
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 181
every phase of domestic science. There is always enough practical help to
safeguard pupils from overwork.
In smaller schools, after the morning preparation for lunch and then
lunch itself are over, the cooking and lunch room, with its long tables, is
converted into a sewing room. In the unit school, separate rooms are pro-
vided for this work. Pupils make the things they need — dresses, suits,
aprons, and little children's clothing. There is also instruction in weaving
on looms, both large and small, and in block printing.
Work in the art department is planned to complement the programs in
literature and history, and includes drawing and coloring classes. Placed
in this category, too, are classes in pottery and pottery design. Art depart-
ments of the various schools provide instruction in appreciation, and many
of the schools, through the efforts of students in connection with annual
art exhibits, or through gifts, have acquired valuable collections. Begun
twenty years ago with a copy of Rembrandt's "Mother," Emerson school
now has a collection which includes Frank V. Dudley's "The Trail of the
Wind," "Night," and Alexis Jean Fournier's "Gary at Night."
Every unit school has a band of a hundred or more pieces, an orchestra
of both boys and girls and one composed entirely of girls. These bands
and orchestras, have daily practice periods, and there are a cdpella choirs
and younger children's choruses.
Organization of school work beginning with the fourth grade is depart-
mentalized as in high school. English classes are sectioned on the basis
of reading ability, and individuals are adjusted to groups in all classes.
To the conventional program of the kindergarten-primary department are
added courses in appreciation of art and nature. Social adjustment is
emphasized.
Mathematics is treated as a fundamental. For those who expect to enter
college or university, there are preparatory courses. Those who intend to
work immediately after high school are offered courses in business arith-
metic and general applied mathematics; there is also instruction in sales-
manship, bookkeeping, and the use of business office machines.
Correlation of geography, history, civics, and economics is essential to
the Gary program. Each subject is made to depend upon the other for
its fullest meaning. Geography is taught in relation to historical events,
and history is explained frequently by geography. Teachers encourage im-
migrant children and those of foreign-born parents to give reports on
other countries of the world.
Direct training for intelligent participation in citizenship is provided in
current events classes, a part or all of one class period being set aside for
182 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
this work each week. Children above the third grade are furnished weekly
papers containing summaries of important current events.
Nature study rooms have plants, aquariums, fish bowls, drawings, pic-
tures, and collections showing the trends of natural advancement. This
work, begun in the first year and carried on through the eighth grade,
requires an hour a day from ten to forty weeks. Trips made to the Dunes,
Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, zoos, and conservatories in Chicago parks
under the supervision of a teacher are most valuable to nature study
classes. This work lays the foundation for high school science classes.
Other features, unique or more highly developed than in other school
systems, are the medical, welfare, physical education and vocation rehabili-
tation departments, and provisions for religious training.
The medical department has for its objectives prevention of disease
through inoculation and vaccination, discovery of physical and mental
handicaps, and elevation of the physical well-being of all pupils. On the
staff are two physicians, eight teachers of health and hygiene, who are
also nurses, four clerks, two dentists, three hygienists, a sight-saving
teacher, and a teacher of lip-reading. Co-operating with the Gary Health
Department, the school medical department has charge of the immuniza-
tion program. School physicians decide whether students are physically
fit for athletic activities or R.O.T.C., or whether they should be excused
from any or all forms of physical education. Comfortable and well
equipped rest rooms are provided for those who need a period of rest
each day.
The physical education staff includes twenty-six women instructors,
twenty-two men teachers, and the director. Activities embrace football,
basketball, soccer, tennis, track, baseball, handball, and swimming, during
their respective seasons. There is a swimming pool in each of the larger
centers. The Gary schools have a welfare department, aimed towards
checking delinquency, mental breakdown, and final failure, which has
three divisions; the census division, which conducts annual house-to-house
canvasses to check all minors, advise on preparing children for school at-
tendance, and make suggestions concerning treatment for handicapped
children of pre-school age; the attendance division, which sees to it that
the responsibilities of parents, who are held responsible for the attendance
of all children between the ages of seven and sixteen, are properly carried
out; and the handicapped children division, which conducts special classes
designed to meet the needs of such students.
Comparable to the vocational rehabilitation program started in Lake
County in 1929, the welfare department of the Gary Schools, at the request
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 183
of parents and with the aid and co-operation of parents, teachers, physi-
cians, school psychologists, and psychiatrists, will attempt to straighten
out maladjusted children. Since 1930 an eminent psychiatrist has headed
the Gary Child Guidance Clinic.
Gary schools make it possible for a child to receive religious training by
providing quarters where children of any faith may be instructed. Rules
governing such training provide that parents state in writing that they
wish their children to avail themselves of this privilege, that instructors
be provided by churches without cost to the community, and that discre-
tion be used in determining the character of the instruction to be imparted
so as to avoid highly controversial topics that might be detrimental to the
discipline of the school in general. Instruction periods are so arranged as
not to interfere with the academic or vocational training.
GARY POINTS OF INTEREST
"East Side"
(1) GARY GATEWAY formed by an arrangement of massive twin
municipal buildings and an Esplanade, is the natural entrance to Gary, the
intersection of Fourth Ave. the city's most northerly E-W arterial high-
way, and Broadway, the main N-S thoroughfare. The building on the
east of Broadway is the (2) GARY CITY HALL; the one west is a
(3) LAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE. Each faces the landscaped
Esplanade of 10 acres.
Of similar design, the buildings are 43 feet in height and 180 feet long
by 80 feet wide. Domes with octagonal bases rise 26 feet above the attic
story of each. The north facades are dominated by majestic colonnaded
porticos of modified Grecian-Doric design. Exterior lighting fixtures on
both sides of the porticoes are adorned with rams' heads. The four-story
buildings, constructed of cast stone (cement and granite chips), have
entrances on all four sides. Wide corridors lead from central foyers the
full length of the buildings. Floors and walls on the main floors are
marble. Exterior differences between the buildings are variations in the
figures in the bas-relief, in window structure, and in other ornamentation
— the City Hall correctly following the pure Greek in its embellishment,
the Courthouse introducing electic ornamentation. The columns of the
courthouse portico are fluted; those of the city hall, plain. The interiors
reveal functional differences.
The ten-acre Esplanade lies between the buildings and Gary's railroad
terminals. This "front yard," is landscaped with fountains, reflection
pools, and terraces.
The idea of Gary Gateway was the outgrowth in 1924 of city planning
agitation begun fourteen years earlier by the Gary Commercial Club.
A gift of all land in the area owned by the Gary Land Company was
made by the United States Steel Corporation, and several antiquated
184 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
buildings on the site were condemned and razed. Fourth Ave. was widened
and Fourth Place was opened and paved. The City Hall was opened
December, 1928; the Courthouse in September, 1929.
(4) THE GARY POST-TRIBUNE BUILDING (open 9-5;
guide)) 541 Broadway, is considered part of the Gateway, harmonizing with
the other units. The exterior of mottled cream and tan terra cotta rises
above a four-foot-wide granite base. Moulding, cornices, and architrave ex-
hibit a Grecian-Doric influence, as do the ornamental panels above the two
Broadway entrances. The window treatment of the second story, a group-
ing 35 ft. wide, is highly ornamental. On either side of a large group, is a
single window with cast-iron ornamentation including a balcony. Lobby of
the business office, of English Gothic design, is paneled in walnut from
a single Mexican walnut log. The interior has four elevations, including
mezzanine and a deep basement. The building is the plant of the Gary
Post-Tribune, daily newspaper established through a merger July 9, 1921.
(5) The Y.W.C.A. BUILDING, 30 E. Sixth Ave., is constructed of
reddish brown brick, along conservative lines; the gabled west extension
and the Sixth Ave. facade suggest English Tudor. The severe exterior
construction belies the interior, where are spacious and charming lounges,
clubrooms, a gymnasium, offices, and cafeteria.
(6) FEDERAL BUILDING, 115 E. Sixth Ave., is an object of
architectural beauty because of its fine proportions and size and placement
of windows. From an eight foot Oriental granite base rise the walls
(architectural concrete) of this modern Renaissance structure. On a lot
125 by 420 feet, it covers the width of the plot and extends to a depth
of 177 feet, leaving a small entrance plaza in front and a large parking
area in the rear for postal trucks. The wall surfaces on the Massachusetts
St. and Sixth Ave. extensions are partitioned by projected casement win-
dows extending from the first floor to the upper floors. The combination
of aluminum and jet black window frames and the light concrete walls
constitute an interesting contrast to the variegated colors in the Oriental
granite base.
An innovation in indirect "daylight," as well as indirect artificial
lighting achieved by use of saw-toothed skylights in the roof and by a
sub-skylight of acetanic glass as a ceiling of the first floor, is a feature of
construction. In the public portion of the building aluminum and stainless
steel are employed for door frames and grill work. A delicate use of color
in the terrazzo of the floors and in the terra cotta of the walls is effective
with the alumilited fixtures and hardware.
This is Gary's sixth post office. Furnishings of the office of the first
postmaster, Thomas Knotts, also the first mayor, consisted of a dry goods
box for a counter, a soap box for a chair, and a shoe box as a mail
container.
(7) CENTRAL POLICE AND FIRE STATION; NW. cor. of
Massachusetts St. and Seventh Ave., a dark brown brick building trimmed
in stone, has been remodeled, although the structure retains its original
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 185
character. The fire station flanks Massachusetts St., while the entrance to
the police station is on Sixth Ave.
Built in 1909 as Gary's first city hall, it is the oldest of the civic build-
ings, and was transformed into police and fire stations alone upon com-
pletion of the new City Hall.
Gary's first fire station originally stood just across the street on a por-
tion of the area now occupied by the Memorial Auditorium; it has been
moved to 909 Madison St. and houses the Gary Dog and Cat Hospital.
(8) MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, standing flush with Massachu-
setts St. and Seventh Ave. sidewalks, is of Venetian style. Of brownish
red brick and artificial brown stone, the building, 125 feet wide by 275
feet long, has its most decorative face to Seventh Ave. Approached by
double-terraced stone steps, five arched entrances with large grilled tran-
soms, above which are insets of patterned bricks reaching almost to the
cornice of the middle roof, are of particular interest. On both sides of the
entrance block are elaborately designed wings, surmounted by five pylons
with onion shaped finials, which are separated by mansard-shaped tile
roofs. The building — with its mouldings, balconies, swirl of brackets,
rope design, arches of the cornices, all Venetian — possesses architectural
unity.
Accommodating 5,000 persons, it is used for concerts, theatrical perform-
ances, and athletic competitions. A stage, 50 feet by 125 feet by 65 feet
high, is one of the largest in the vicinity. The asbestos curtain, measuring
90 feet by 30 feet, at the time of installation was the largest ever manu-
factured. The parquet floor seats are removable, making the floor avail-
able for basketball tourneys, etc. The interior of the auditorium is fin-
ished with faced brick with celotex panels and ceilings, exceptionally fine
for so large a building.
It was William A. Wirt's suggestion, because of the great cost involved
in erecting the enterprise and also because work in the auditorium depart-
ment is important to the Gary schools curricula, that a stage, as well as
the athletic floor, should become a central motive in construction of the
projected building. Donations for erection were started by the allied
athletic associations of the public schools; other funds were provided by
citizens purchasing three years' athletic season tickets at $50.00 each.
Seven of the nine lots upon which the building stands were donated by
the United States Steel Corporation. The school board lent about $150,-
000, taking a deed to the property as security. A nominal charge is
made for use of the auditorium in payment of the expenses, and any
balance is held in escrow by the Board of Education to be used in repay-
ment of the loan, the intention being to deed the property to the city as
soon as the indebtedness is repaid. The building is a memorial to the
World War veterans of Gary.
(9) TEMPLE BETH-EL, 801 Connecticut St., is one of two Jewish
temples in Gary. Buff colored bricks are used decoratively with the dark
red bricks of the building's construction. Three gables, one over the en-
trance facade, and a large dome of maze glass are features of the structure.
186 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
In the interior are six imported Hebrew scrolls, containing the original
text of the Torah ("The Five Books of Moses") . Adjoining is the Beth-El
Hebrew school building, a modern brick structure. Distinctly Orthodox,
this organization is composed of 175 early Hebrew residents of the city
who established a schul in 1907.
(10) BUFFINGTON PARK, between Connecticut and Delaware Sts.,
is the site of the municipal bandstand and speakers stand, and the final
destination of most of Gary's civic parades. Playground equipment and
a wading pool attract neighborhood children. The park is landscaped and
walks wind over its slightly rolling terrain.
(11) ST. LUKE'S CHURCH AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOL,
NE. cor. of E. Seventh Ave. and Rhode Island St., a dark red-brick
rectangular structure follows institutional design rather than conventional
Roman Catholic ecclesiastical architecture. The school and church are
housed in the same structure, the auditorium and chapel constructed on
the first floor, the eight school rooms on the second and third floors. Like
other Roman Catholic parishes in Gary, St. Luke's church, parochial
school, rectory and sisters' home occupy more than half a block (twenty
lots) , forming a community of associated edifices.
(12) OLD BOUNDARY POINT, directly north of the Union Drawn
Steel Company plant, is the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan. It was
used in the Ordinance of 1787 and subsequent treaties as a focal point
for surveys. When Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana became territories, and
later States, this southern tip figured in the boundary disputes known as
the Toledo War.
Originally a company-built community, Aetna is now a small and at-
tractive residential suburb. In the early eighties the Aetna Powder Com-
pany built mills on this site because it was "the most lonely and isolated
spot in the Central West." By 1906 a group of "company houses" and
"company dormitories," the nucleus of the present community, was built.
At the beginning of the World War, 50 men were employed in the Aetna
plant. Overnight it was transformed into a great gun cotton factory.
Twelve hundred men were employed to turn out 40,000 pounds of gun
cotton daily; thirty former United States Army men guarded the plant.
Today no mark of the munition plant remains. Modern, if not pre-
tentious, homes surrounded by natural duneland trees, lawns and gardens,
have replaced the factories.
GARY POINTS OF INTEREST
"West Side"
(1) TEMPLE ISRAEL, 445 Adams St., a spacious dark brown brick
structure of modern design, was dedicated in 1917; the congregation was
organized in 1910. Among outstanding cultural influences in Gary have
been forums conducted here, attended by citizens of all creeds. Authors,
philosophers, and lecturers have participated in these forums.
(2) PUBLIC LIBRARY, 220 W. Fifth Ave., of Bedford limestone,
set in spacious grounds, was made possible by Andrew Carnegie's donation
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 187
of $65,000. The U. S. Steel Corp. donated ten lots on which the building
stands. Of neo-classic design, the facade is adorned with Roman Doric
columns. The first floor contains a juvenile library, work room, and book
storage rooms, the second floor the main public room, and the third two
large rooms used as club rooms and additional shelves for filing. An
additional wing was built in 1939.
(3) The Y.M.C.A., 225 W. Fifth Ave., is a four-story structure of
Bedford stone, with a dark gabled roof of Spanish tile. A wide approach
of steps leads to an open stone terrace. Above the entrance doors is a
stair balcony supported by carved brackets.
This building, the first of a series on W. Fifth Ave. which gave credence
to the announcement that the new Steel City was to have high architec-
tural standards, was a gift of Judge Elbert H. Gary and the U. S.
Steel Corporation.
(4) FORMER POST OFFICE BUILDING, 125 W. Fifth Ave., a
stone building of classic lines, harmonizes with the adjacent Y.M.C.A.
and the central library. The two-story north half of the building, from
1915, when it was built, to 1938, housed the post office. It now houses the
Croatian Catholic Union headquarters.
(5) CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 565 Adams St., a rough ash-
lar, Bedford stone structure of English Gothic design in cruciform plan,
is set on a terraced lawn behind a brick wall and iron grille. The weather-
ing of the stones and ivy clinging to the walls give it an appearance of
age. The heavily buttressed Gothic tower, stained glass window in the
west end of the nave, jointed arches of smaller Gothic windows with
mullions, wood reredoes, all reflect the Anglican tradition.
(6) CITY CHURCH, 575 Washington St., a Bedford limestone
structure designed in the manner of a Gothic cathedral, is one of the most
impressive of Gary's buildings. Its pointed arches, high, narrow, traceried
windows, step roofs, and Gothic tower are designed in medieval tradition.
The church's motto, "That Christ may dwell a living presence at the
city's heart," refers to the downtown location. The church's official name
is First Methodist Episcopal Church.
Interior of the vaulted nave has massive piers supporting galleries along
three sides. Above the communion table is a rose window by Connick of
Boston.
Attached to the church on the north is a four-story social-educational
building housing church offices, pastor's study, assembly rooms and many
recreational facilities, including a well-equipped gymnasium. To the north
of the social unit is a three-story commercial unit including offices, stores,
and studios, from which the church derives a portion of its income. At
the rear is a community hall, with a fully equipped stage and a motion
picture projection unit, above which is a roof-garden with stage for open
air services on summer evenings.
(7) GARY COMMERCIAL CLUB AND CHAMBER OF COM-
MERCE occupies office and reception rooms on the first floor, and club
rooms and executive offices on the mezzanine floor of Hotel Gary, Broad-
188 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
way at Sixth Ave. The club rooms, considered among the most palatial in
Indiana, occupy practically two-thirds of the entire second or mezzanine
floor of the hotel. The west frontage is occupied by an English Grill
room, private dining rooms, rest rooms, and private offices. The lounge
occupies the corner overlooking Sixth Avenue and Broadway with a spa-
cious library on the Broadway front, while the office and directors' room
are in the center of the Sixth Ave. front, with a large recreation room to
the west overlooking Sixth Ave. The English grille, president's office,
and an office, occupied by the Conventions Bureau Secretary, are on
the west side.
An exact attention to details marks the furnishings of the Italian
Renaissance period. Drapes of heavy linen frieze hang at Gothic windows.
Specially designed torchiers grace the walnut columns. Sicilian lamp
bases and imported Aubusson tapestries complement the rich appointments.
The English grille room, with its beamed oak ceiling and quaint carved
figures of medieval monks, is particularly attractive. The flooring of this
room, which seats 150, is French tile.
The Commercial Club has been a conspicuous factor in Gary's com-
munal development. Every major community, welfare, and war activity
launched since the beginning of Gary has had the club for its headquar-
ters. Recently the club has opened its offices and rooms as headquarters for
several Federal Projects and the Gary Community Chest. In addition to
the usual Chamber of Commerce activities, the club sponsors bureaus
including the North Broadway Merchant's Bureau, Convention Bureau,
Civic Bureau, Credit Bureau. It has been the meeting place of hundreds
of national, state, and local conventions.
The Gary Commercial Club was organized Sept. 26, 1906, in the old
Binzenhoff Hall with 163 members, many of whom still belong. On Nov.
23, 1907, the club formally opened the old Hotel Gary with a banquet.
Occupying rooms in the old Hotel Gary until 1911, the club then moved
to a three-story building at 647 Broadway which it had erected. At the
formal opening of the present headquarters in 1927, industrial leaders
from many sections of the United States attended.
Captain H. S. Norton has been president of the organization
continuously.
(8) CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH, 529 Jefferson St., has one of
the largest congregations in the city. The dark red brick building is of the
square institutional type. As with other Gary churches, the Central Baptist
Church's early days was chaotic. First services were held in the old
Majestic Theatre building on E. Fifth Ave. and Connecticut St. Occas-
ionally a troupe of actors, practicing on Sunday morning, would use one
side of the curtain and the minister the other.
(9) HISTORIC HOUSE, 537 Jefferson St., a modest frame residence
constructed from the building which housed Gary's first post office, city
hall, and quarters of the Gary Land Co. was moved from the site of
South Shore Station to its present site in 1910, when it was remodeled
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 189
into a residence. The house is notable also as the Birthplace of Kathryn
Witwer, Chicago Civic Opera and radio star.
(10) The MASONIC TEMPLE, 250 W. Sixth Ave., NE. cor., is a
five-story structure of cream colored brick with terra cotta trim. Voluted
columns, architrave, cornice, and balustrade distinguish the modified Ionic
portal.
The interior of the temple provides lounges, club rooms, a ballroom,
and offices. The present Masonic order with a membership of 1,500, is an
outgrowth of the Masonic club founded in 1908 by a group of Masons
who had come to Gary. Other Masonic orders, embracing 4,000 members
also use the temple facilities.
(11) JEFFERSON PRIMARY SCHOOL, 604 Jefferson St., a simple
square, red brick school building in Gary, was erected in 1908 by con-
struction crews of the U. S. Steel Corp. from plans by the corporation's
architects. At one time the building housed Gary's only high school, but
today (1938) the weather-beaten old building is an elementary school.
A portable building, used as a gymnasium adjoins it.
(12) JEFFERSON PARK, between W. Sixth Ave. and W. Eighth
Ave., and Madison and Jackson Sts., was Gary's first park, a gift from
the U. S. Steel Corp. This area of 15 acres retains the natural contour
of the low dune country. Loam was brought from the Des Plaines River
valley and strewn over the sand hills, grass was sown, and the entire area
landscaped. The park was planned in 1905, when a group of steel com-
pany officials sat eating a picnic luncheon upon one of the sand-knolls and
discussing the "mid-west plant" and the city that was expected to develop.
The site was selected as a future park because of its natural beauty.
The Recreation Building, in the center of Jefferson Park is a wood and
stucco building of modified Georgian-colonial design housing comfort
stations and offices of the park department.
Above the line of trees, rises the Water Tower, Jefferson Park, Madison
St. This 133 ft. octagonal tower of concrete and block stone, encloses a
steel tank 30 ft. in diameter, carried on eight steel columns 90 ft. high,
for the city water supply. Intake is 40 ft. below water level of Lake
Michigan, source of supply.
A few rods N. of the tower, the vine-covered Gary Pumping Station,
set in a ravine-like landscaped area, is equipped with four electrically
operated centrifugal pumps with a capacity of 34,500 gallons per minute,
supplying the entire water system of Gary.
(13) Opposite the park is FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 591
Monroe St., a brown brick building of modified English Gothic architec-
ture with a low vestibule tower, a stained glass Gothic window and wooden
tracery on the west facade.
(14) KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BUILDING, 331 W. Fifth Ave.
when erected in 1926, was the first example of set-back architecture in
the mid-west. The ground floor of Indiana limestone is occupied by stores
and restaurant, and the upper nine floors, of rough textured brown brick,
house a 119-room hotel, clubrooms, bowling alley, gymnasium, and a
190 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
natatorium. It is the home of the St. Thomas Council, Knights of
Columbus.
(15) JACKSON PARK, between Jackson and Van Buren Sts., is one
of Gary's municipal playgrounds, with playground equipment, wading
pools, shelter house, tennis courts, and baseball diamonds. Thousands of
masked adults and children attend the annual Hallowe'en celebration in
Jackson Park. "Uncle Tom Peel," a member of the park police force
who took the most active part in arranging the festival, became a much-
loved character.
(16) HOLY ANGELS CHURCH AND SCHOOL, 932 W. Seventh
Ave., dignified red brick group, is the seat of the oldest and largest
Roman Catholic parish in Gary. It was founded by Monsignor Thomas
Jansen, Gary's first clergyman and head of the Gary deanery. Holy Angels
was organized by Father Jansen Sept. 22, 1907, in a dance hall above the
Binzenhojff saloon. Sometimes, after a dance that had lasted until morn-
ing, services were read from the orchestra dais to a small congregation that
knelt among the litter of the dance floor.
The cornerstone of the church and school was laid Thanksgiving Day,
1908, in wilderness. The following year the parochial school was estab-
lished with the Sisters of Notre Dame in charge. There are also on the
32 acres the Sisters' convent, the rectory, and caretaker's home.
(17) ST. MARY'S MERCY HOSPITAL, W. Sixth Ave, between
Tyler and Polk Sts., five-story rectangular brick building with horizontal
rows of windows forming the predominating note in the design, has a
maximum bed capacity of 300, surgery, obstetrical department, X-ray
laboratory, and physio-therapy department. It specializes in obstetrical
and pediatric cases, and has been rated Class A by the American Hospital
Association. The building also houses the "Gary Works" hospital, for-
merly located at the plant.
The hospital was established (1908) in four crudely equipped private
dwellings in the 600 block of Carolina St., with the Sisters of St. Francis
in charge. Construction work was begun in 1910, but, because of lack of
funds, the first unit was not completed until 1914. In 1913, the order
Ancilli Domini (Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ) , the present adminis-
trators, took charge.
Gifts from both individuals and corporations have more than doubled
the plant in recent years. On the SW. corner of the hospital lot stands the
Training School and Home for Nurses.
(18) The DOLL HOUSE, SW. cor. of W. Fifth Ave. and Pierce St.,
was the first Gary fire station to be erected along residential lines. Built
of brick, the structure has a white colonnaded portico on the Pierce St.
side. Above the colonnade garage entrance are a white balustrade and
four dormer windows. Such architecture for a fire station was unusual
at the time, and as a result the station was called "The Doll House."
(19) The FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, NE. cor. of
W. Sixth Ave., and Grant St., an architectural anachronism among the
new and modern buildings of Gary, is an exact reproduction of a New
Firsf Congregational Church, Gary
By Francis Thorne-Thomson
I H
Gofhic Tower on City Church, Gary
By Francis Thome-Thomson
SMtHlHlTWUlnl
MEXICO •).'
A Foreign Rialto
"Siesfa" in
Gary's Black Belt
By Francis Thome-Thomson
Roosevelt High School Entrance
By Francis Thorne-Thomson
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 191
England meeting house. Its colonnaded portico extends the full height of
the building, with columns capped by pine leaves. On the four sides are
gabled pediments high above arched windows, and, towering above the
roofs, is an octagonal spire.
A meeting of 53 pioneers led to the organization of the First Congre-
gational Church of Gary in 1907, in what was then known as the Broad-
way theater. Increasing business for the theater necessitated a new meet-
ing place, a room over the Binzenhoff saloon, until a site at 609 Madison
St. was chosen and a church erected in 1908. This was used until 1926
when the present church was built.
(20) METHODIST HOSPITAL, 1600 W. Sixth Ave., a five-story
reddish brown brick building with limestone trim of modified classic design,
has a landscaped circular forecourt and Corinthian portico on the W.
Sixth Ave. facade. It is also given Class A rating by the American Hos-
pital Association. The institution, specializing in pediatric cases, has
recently (1938) acquired two "iron lungs," one for children and one for
adults.
North of the hospital is the Training School and Nurses' Home.
(21) HORACE MANN SCHOOL, 524 Garfield St., is an ensemble
of three buildings of red and brown brick, in Tudor design. The main
building faces south toward an extensive natural dune area extending to
W. Seventh Ave. From the north bank of a natural lagoon a series of
terraced steps lead to the stone portal extending the height of the central
building. The detail of the segmental-arched windows of this portal are
Tudor Gothic. Stone quoins at the corners of the building accent its
English lines.
The main building contains 48 class rooms, offices of the principal and
assistant principal, library, cafeteria and a refectory. In the west building
are a gymnasium, auditorium, kindergarten, music room, ROTC head-
quarters and general shop and six classrooms.
Pursuing the Gary mode of combining the intermediate grades of the
common school and the high school in a single school, Horace Mann
school is designed for all grades, and high school. There are also two years
of college. The enrollment for 1937 was 2,386, requiring a teaching staff
of 80.
The ivy-covered brick building flush with Garfield St. is the Adminis-
trative Building, the basement of which is used by the printing department
of the school.
Ambridge, a small suburb, was established in 1911 as a housing protect
of the Gary Land Co. for employees of the American Bridge Co. The
name is a contraction of the first two words of the company's title.
Occupying six streets, the longest only three blocks, extending from W.
Fifth Ave. to W. Second Ave., the project lies immediately south of the
American Bridge Company plant. Trim houses of stucco and of brick
and stucco, many of them similar in design, are surrounded by attractive
lawns and gardens. Low rentals together with their nearness "to the plant"
have made the venture a success.
192 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
GARY POINTS OF INTEREST
"All About the Town"
(1) The 113th ENGINEERS ARMORY, Madison St. and W.
Eleventh Ave., a rectangular brick building of conventional design is used
in addition to military purposes for various civic, political, social, and
athletic meetings. On the first floor is a drill hall and offices, on the
second, instructors' offices and officers' clubrooms. In the basement are
supply rooms, indoor shooting range, recreation rooms, bowling alley, and
kitchen.
(2) CENTRO ESPANOL, 1095 Jackson St. NE. cor. of Jackson
St. and W. Eleventh Ave., a social center for one of Gary's Spanish
colonies, is constructed of rough textured tan brick with stone trim. Built
as a church by the Greek Orthodox congregation, the structure was re-
modeled to suit the needs of the society, the church auditorium becoming
a ballroom, and the basement being made into clubrooms, offices, and
refectory.
(3) UNION ESPANOL, 700 W. Eleventh Ave., a Spanish center,
of cream colored stucco with red tile for trimming and roof. The dec-
orative entrance is supported by showy columns with Moorish capitals.
Above the arched and balconied windows are ornate inlays. Square tur-
ret-like extensions form the corners of the building. The main floor,
reaching two stories, is fitted and decorated as a ballroom. At one end are
a stage and dressing rooms. In the basement are club and lounging rooms.
(4) SOKOL HOME, NE. cor. of Harrison St. and W. Eleventh
Ave., a dark red brick building, sitting back some distance from W.
Eleventh Ave., is the social center of a Slovak group. The building for-
merly was known as the Magyar Haz, or Hungarian Home.
The district west of Grant Street and south of 9th Avenue is known
as (5) TOLLESTON, named for George Tolle, who established a
village here in 1857. First settlers were of English, Irish, and French
extraction; by 1860 a large group of German families supplanted the
original settlers (up to 1906 the village was a German Lutheran town) .
Until 1868, Tolleston was in North Township; with the founding of
Hammond in that year a new township, Calumet, carved out of North
Township, embraced Tolleston. By 1872, there were 80 families in the
village, the majority in the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad.
Other means of livelihood were the shipping of ice, sand, berries, fish and
game. The village had a schoolhouse, a church (German Lutheran),
Gibson Inn, postoffice, a wood yard, a general store, and a railroad sta-
tion. The abundance of game in the Tolleston district resulted in the
building of numerous hunting lodges.
In 1911 Tolleston was incorporated in the city of Gary. Today, al-
though the name is still employed, the old village lines have disappeared.
The school census shows that 27 nationalities live in the former "German
Lutheran" village.
(6) ST. JOHN'S GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH PARO-
CHIAL SCHOOL, W. Tenth Place and Taft St., is a dark red brick
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 193
structure suggestive of German Gothic architecture. A school is adjacent
to the church.
When George Tolle laid out Tolleston, he set aside lots 7, 8, 9, and 10
in block 25 as church property; and on lot 10 in 1868 the early German
settlers erected a church, the first church building in the Calumet Region.
In 1869, the congregation erected a parsonage. Rev. August Rump who
came to Tolleston in 1896 has been pastor continuously.
(7) WALDHEIM CEMETERY, W. Fifteenth Ave. and Grant St.,
is an old German cemetery in which, tradition says, Jean Baptiste Cloutier,
French guide and body-guard of the Joseph Bailly family, is buried. The
first minister of the Calumet Region, the Rev. H. Wunderlich is buried in
this cemetery, as are many of the early German settlers of Tolleston.
(8) ST. MARY'S ORTHODOX CHURCH, 1681 Fillmore St.,
erected in 1912, is Byzantine design. Four domes, each of a different size,
surmounted by the Russian Orthodox papal cross, are the predominate
features of the exterior of the burnt orange brick building. The ornate
interior is a suitable setting for the colorful ceremonies of the church,
which adheres to the Julian calendar and to many of the ancient ecclesias-
tical liturgies.
St. Mary's Passion Week observance is particularly dramatic. At the
opening service on Thursday, words of the twelve Apostles are read by
the priest, followed by the ringing of a bell for each apostle. On Friday
afternoon a large picture of Christ is carried three times around the out-
side of the church, while the "burial of Christ" service is conducted
within. Shortly before midnight, the congregation carries banners, the
American flag, the Bible, and Easter bread, three times around the out-
side of the church. Each worshiper carries a lighted candle and each kisses
another three times. A bell rings three times. As the clock chimes mid-
night, the priest announces: "Christ is Risen." The congregation chants;
bells peal; and a high mass, continuing until three A.M., begins, after
which the congregation assembles outside, carrying candles and huge bas-
kets of food which the priest blesses before they return to their homes
for banqueting.
(9) NORTON PARK, between Fillmore St. and Harrison Blvd.,
from W. Thirteenth Ave. to W. Fifteenth Ave., is a twelve-acre wedge-
shaped recreational center, including a fully equipped playground lighted
by a modern floodlight system, and pavilion housed in a permanent struc-
ture of stucco with a green tile roof, of Spanish design, which has a stage,
dancing floor, rest rooms, and check rooms.
(10) ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH and JUDGE GARY-BISHOP
ALERDING SETTLEMENT HOUSE, 620 W. Fifteenth Ave., is a
pleasing light buff brick structure of modified Spanish design. Sandstone
trim in balustrades and balconies, a green tile roof, and a brick and stone
fence enhance its attractiveness.
On the northwest extension of the building which encloses St. Anthony's
Roman Catholic chapel, a turret surmounted by a cross encloses a life-like
194 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
statue of St. Anthony. The W. Fifteenth Ave. extension houses the settle-
ment house, which was founded by the Rev. John B. deVille1, interna-
tionally known priest and author. The building was a gift of Judge
Elbert H. Gary.
In hard times as many as 2,000 cases are passed upon weekly by workers
in the settlement house. Foreign-born women are assigned to classes in
cooking, sewing, or other domestic arts, and attempts are made to improve
home conditions. Recently the program has stressed the physical, cultural,
and spiritual betterment of Gary's youth. In addition to its own gym-
nasium, the athletic facilities of the Knights of Columbus at W. Fifth
Ave. and Madison St. are used. An order of nuns, Poor Handmaids of
Jesus Christ teach educational and religious classes.
Mass in St. Anthony's chapel is said in Spanish, Italian, Mexican, and
English.
(11) HELLENIC ORTHODOX (GREEK) CHURCH, 510 W.
Thirteenth Ave., of classical Greek design, has three circular domes sur-
mounting Hellenic turrets. The two smaller domes are supported by
long slender columns above the turrets. Each dome has an Hellenic cross
for its finial. Round arched windows with circular traceries complement
the domes.
(12) ST. MICHAEL'S GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH, 412 W.
Thirteenth Ave., an adaptation of Byzantine architecture, is surmounted
by three hemispherical domes, each with an Hellenic cross at its apex. Of
light brown brick, the church has round arched windows and entrances,
circular inlays of stone, while the cupolas supporting the domes are turret-
shaped. This Greek Catholic parish founded Feb. 6, 1910 with 35 fam-
ilies, now serves 350 Slavic families. It is the only Greek Catholic church
in Gary under the jurisdiction of the Pope and functions as other Roman
Catholic churches with the exception that it is under the Eastern rite and
follows the reformed Julian Calendar.
(13) In the ROUMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, (Descension
of the Holy Ghost), 1133 Madison St., NE. cor., a neat brick-veneered
edifice, are paintings and icons of inestimable value, an altar embellished
with paintings of various disciples, and sacred vessels of great antiquity,
presented to the church by native Roumanians. The icons have been pro-
claimed masterpieces by Nicolae Lorga, Roumanian historian. The sacred
t Father John B. deVille (1873-1932) was born in Moena, Italia Irredenta. He at-
tended the Imperial Gymnasium in the school of Propaganda in Rome. Coming to
America in 1893, he attended St. Bonaventure's seminary, Allegheny, N. Y. Arriving
in Gary in 1911 as assistant pastor at Holy Angels, he began the work of adjusting
the many immigrants in Gary to their new land. Father deVille's conscientiousness,
enthusiasm, and earnestness gained the attention of his superior, the Rt. Rev. Herman
J. Alerding, of the diocese of Ft. Wayne, and of Elbert H. Gary. Through Father
deVille's influence, Judge Gary donated the funds with which to build a settlement
house and the institution was named the Gary-Alerding Settlement House. Father
deVille was made director; during his incumbency the house served large numbers of
Spanish, Mexicans, and Italians. At the outbreak of the World War, Father deVille
represented America in the Belgium-American Alliance in an effort to penetrate Belgium
and bring relief to refugees. He received the Order of Leopold and was decorated by
King Albert. Father deVille also served as personal envoy for Cardinal Mercier to
President Woodrow Wilson. He was the author of Back From Belgium and numerous
magazine articles. He was a collector of objects d'art.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 195
rites, ancient liturgy and ritual of the Dacia Romana Christian religion
are adhered to, the church being under the jurisdiction of the Roumanian
Orthodox church of Roumania.
This parish was founded in 1908, when a small group of Roumanians
met at 1517 Washington St. The first church building, erected at the
southwest corner of W. Twelfth Ave. and Hayes St., was moved to the
present site in 1916, and remodeled in 1926 into the present structure.
The Rt. Rev. Policarp P. Morusca, Cleveland, O., Bishop of North
America, South America, and the Dominion of Canada, participated in
the dedication, which included a traditional ceremony, the offering of
bread and salt to the visitor, met at the city limits, and then the procession
around the church led by ecclesiastics in elaborate robes.
(14) The LOUIS J. BAILEY BRANCH LIBRARY and GARY
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE, 1501 Madison St., is a tapestry
brick building, with a quarry slate roof, of modified colonial architecture.
A large arched window consumes most of the north wall. The building,
named for Gary's first librarian, was a gift of the Carnegie Corporation
of New York. A bronze tablet erected by Pottawatomi Chapter,
D.A.R., states that the library occupies the site of the early Gibson Inn,
a two-story log house built in 1837.
In the basement of the library is Gary International Institute headquar-
ters. Formerly a branch of the Y.W.C.A., the institute is an independent
organization affiliated with the National Institute of Immigrant Welfare
in New York City. Immigration problems comprise a great part of the
organization's work; classes in English, citizenship, and handicraft, with
the aid of WPA teachers, are conducted. An international fall festival
and a series of social affairs for foreign-born groups are sponsored.
(15) NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE, 1700 Adams St., three-story red
brick building containing 40 rooms, is the oldest of Gary's settlement
houses. In 1909 Dr. George Knox, superintendent of the Indiana Presby-
terian synod, F. E. Walton, pastor of the newly organized Presbyterian
church, and William A. Wirt, after an investigation of living conditions
"across the tracks," established the nucleus of a settlement house (a
kindergarten, sewing class, and a Sunday school) on W. Fourteenth Ave.
In 1910 a new frame building, 1525 Washington St., was opened as the
Gary Neighborhood House; English classes and a singing school were
added to the program and lodges with foreign-born membership began
using the building for meetings.
Through the donation of land at W. Seventeenth Ave. and Adams
St., by the Misses Jane and {Catherine Williams of Howe, Ind., and with
the Women's Synodical inaugurating a building fund, the first unit of
the present building was completed Nov. 16, 1912. The nursery, living
quarters for staff members, and officers were added in 1916.
The Neighborhood House program includes maintenance of nurseries,
kindergarten, English, vocational, and educational classes, relief activities,
196 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
and an employment bureau. Ten churches of six denominations were or-
ganized in the house and used it for a meeting place until the congrega-
tions were strong enough to build churches.
(16) ST. ANTONIO'S HOSPITAL, 1837 Jefferson St., an ordinary
brick building, was founded in 1914 by one of Gary's oldest physicians,
Dr. Antonio Giorgi, and serves hospitalization need in this district.
(17) In the HOME FOR COLORED CHILDREN, 2300 Jefferson
St., the former L. A. Bryan residence, approximately 40 Negro children
are cared for under the supervision of Lake County Board of Children's
Guardian. The Bryan estate, originally called "Island Park," was once a
show place of the county. L. A. Bryan, Gary's first treasurer, in 1884 pur-
chased large tracts of land in this area which he sold, at a great profit,
during the "stock yards" boom. About the home today are f ew^ traces of
former splendor.
(18) ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL and LONGFELLOW
SCHOOL, W. Twenty-fifth Ave., between Jackson and Harrison Sts.,
one of the largest high schools for Negroes in the midwest, has nearly
three thousand students and a faculty of 72 teachers. The central block,
of Georgian-Colonial design, is constructed of different shades of red
brick trimmed in limestone. The interior is modern, with walls of yellow
tile and floor covering of modernistic linoleum. There are 40 classrooms,
an auditorium, a swimming pool, a shower room with seventy-two showers,
a cafeteria, a general shop, a woodshop, library, corridor, kitchens, and
sewing rooms.
The east building of this block is a plain two-story red brick with eight
classrooms, a gymnasium, and an auditorium; the west building duplicates
the east. i
(19) NEGRO GOLF COURSE, W. Thirtieth Ave. to the Little
Calumet River, between Harrison St. and Broadway, in Riverside Park,
was the first municipal Negro golf course in the United States. Located
on low lands, the area during the rainy seasons was inundated by the over-
flowing waters of the river; automatic drainage system was installed.
(20) W. P. GLEASON WELFARE CENTER, 201 E. Fifteenth
Ave., a health and medical clinic, named for the first superintendent of
Gary Works, is allied with the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation Wel-
fare Association, but no assistance is denied those not having connection
with the industry. Public clinics are held for both children and adults.
The work of the center also includes all phases of relief, recreational,
and educational welfare.
(21) ST. SAVA'S SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, SW. cor.
E. Thirteenth Ave. and Connecticut St., a yellow brick edifice, has an
old world picturesqueness, bronze domes and the Byzantine design com-
bine to make the edifice outstanding among Gary's churches.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 197
(22) STEWART HOUSE and TRINITY METHODIST EPIS-
COPAL CHURCH, 1507 Massachusetts St., SE. cor., Negro Settlement
House and church, is a three-story brick building, designed in the English
Gothic style. On the first floor are a pastor's study, nursery school room,
clubrooms, dining rooms, kitchen, and barracks. The second floor is given
over to the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, while the third floor is
used for a dormitory. In the basement are a community laundry, repair
shop, shower, baths, and recreation rooms. Members of the Methodist
church and the Board of Home Missions interested the Gary Steel Cor-
poration in the idea of a settlement house for Negroes. An old 18-room
building on Broadway was used in the initial work. In this structure 2,000
night's lodgings were given and many hundreds of poor people were fed.
In 1925 the present $100,000 structure was dedicated.
(23) FRIENDSHIP HOUSE, 2244 Washington St., established as
the Campbell Settlement House in 1914 by the National Women's Mis-
sionary Society to the Methodist church, stresses inter-racial harmony,
and employment service, Americanization, spiritual and educational train-
ing. When the newspapers were publishing accounts of the great influx
of foreign-born into the new city, Mrs, Abbie Fifield Campbell1 of Val-
paraiso and South Bend interested the women of the Northwest Indiana
Methodist Conference and finally the national society in the project.
The land at 2244 Washington was owned by the Methodist church;
the present building was dedicated Sept. 29, 1914, and a day nursery
which the conference had been conducting in Froebel School was trans-
ferred to the new building. At first the work at Friendship House was
limited to religious activities and served only white persons. Today its
program includes all phases of welfare, and 60 per cent of the enrollment
is colored.
(24) RIVERSIDE PARK, extending from Broadway on the east to
Pierce St. on the west, from Thirtieth Ave. on the north to Thirty-fifth
Ave. on the south, consists of 300 acres of former swamplands. During
the fishing season the Little Calumet River, which bisects the park, at-
tracts many anglers. Winding boulevards divide the park into three sec-
tions. An 18-hole golf course (fee 25 c) covers a large section of the park.
An English style Field House of brick and stucco is on the western side
of the park between the golf course and the playgrounds.
On the southern side of the park, overlooking a residential district, are
10 clay tennis courts, three baseball diamonds and football fields, two
completely equipped playgrounds, and a 27-acre field for athletic activi-
ties. Other features include a playground building, wading pool, and flood-
light towers.
' Mrs. Campbell was the daughter of Thomas Fifield, pioneer of Porter County who
settled on "Horse Prairie" in 1833. In 1871 she married Myron Campbell, whose father
bought his farm in Porter County from the government in 1833. It was at Mrs.
Campbell's request that the name of the settlement house was changed from the Camp-
bell house to Friendship House.
198 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(25) OAK HILL CEMETERY, bounded by Harrison and Pierce
Sts., and Forty-third and Forty-fifth Aves., Gary's first cemetery, has
been landscaped to retain the natural features of the terrain. A brick
post and iron paling fence surrounds the cemetery.
A cracked and broken concrete drive, gives way to gravel as it winds
throughout the grounds, uneven and undulating. Aged oak, hickory, and
poplar trees grow throughout the grounds. Many names prominent in the
history of Gary are on the headstones.
Hammond
GENERAL INFORMATION
Railroad Stations: 4531 Hohman Ave. for Chicago, South Shore &
South Bend Railway (South Shore Electric) ; 423 Sibley St. for Chicago,
Indianapolis & Louisville Railway (Monon) ; 439 Sibley St. for Chicago
& Erie Railway (Erie System) ; 727 Gostlin St. for Wabash R.R. Co.; 475
Plummer Ave. for Michigan Central Railway (New York Central Sys-
tem); 5310 Oakley Ave. for New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway
(Nickelplate) ; 441 Sibley St. for Chesapeake & Ohio R.R. Co.; 727
Gostlin St. for Pennsylvania Railway.
Bus Stations: 5036 Hohman Ave. (Union Bus Station and Gallagher
Bus Station) for National Trailways, Lincoln Trailways, Safeway Trail-
ways, Santa Fe Trailways, Martz Trailways, Bluebird System, and Great
Eastern. 4949 Hohman Ave. (Greyhound Bus Depot) for Chicago Outer
Belt Route, Gold Star Line Inc., Indian Trails, Southern Limited, Rein-
deer Lines. Also airplane ticket office.
5035 Hohman Ave. for Deluxe Motor Stages; 4923 Columbia Ave.
Shore Line for Chicago & Calumet District Transit Company, intercity
transit for any point in Hammond, East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Whit-
ing, Gary, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Calumet City, Lansing, Oak
Glen, and 63rd St. in Chicago. A Shore Line bus leaves Hammond every
30 minutes for Chicago. Fare 25c. Connections with bus lines, street cars
and elevated lines in Chicago from 63rd St. to any part of the city.
Shore Line ticket office, 5115 Hohman Ave.
5104 Hohman Ave., Schappi Bus Line Inc. for Calumet City every 40
minutes. Fare lOc.
Street Cars: State St. and Hohman Ave. for interurban service between
Hammond and Chicago every 30 minutes. Sheffield Ave. car line. Fare
8c to State Line. Seven cents to 63rd St. in Chicago. Transfers to surface
lines, elevated or bus in Chicago from 63rd St. to any point in Chicago.
Transfers in Hammond to any bus with additional 2c fare.
Sibley St. and the Monon tracks for Hammond to Gary, every 30 min-
utes. Fare 20c to Gary, lOc to city limits. Transfers to any point in Gary,
and to any bus in Hammond.
Taxis: 5036 Hohman Ave. for Yellow Taxi Co., 25c for first mile, 15c
per mile thereafter; 5036 Hohman Ave. for Checker Taxi Co., 25c for
first mile, 15c per mile thereafer; 5035 Hohman Ave. for Safeway Cab
Co., 25c for first mile, 15c per mile thereafter; 7 State St. for Brill Service,
25c to any point in Hammond.
Airports: Ford Airport at Lansing, Illinois, for Northwest-Eastern,
United, American, and Transcontinental.
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Six motion picture houses.
Information Service: Hammond Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Hotel,
State & Hohman.
Accommodation: Three hotels.
Swimming: Hammond Lake Front Beach, Calumet Ave. at Lake Mich-
igan, public. Wolf Lake in Robertsdale, 120th St. and Caroline Ave.,
public. Harrison Park on Hohman Ave., between Webb and Waltham
202 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Hammond and his associates, understanding requirements of such an
undertaking — ready access to livestock markets and an abundant supply
of natural ice — at first had selected Chicago. Chicago residents, however,
objected to a slaughter-house, and difficulties arose with the ice-supply
people. The site for the new slaughter-house across the river from Hoh-
man's, on the Illinois-Indiana boundary, had, therefore, been selected.
It was thought that the Michigan Central Railroad, whose tracks were
nearby, would establish a station when shipments warranted it. Ice was
free for the taking in the river and nearby lakes. There were few settlers
and little chance of organized objection to the enterprise. A few rods
away ran the Grand Calumet to carry off the refuse and sewage from the
plant.
In October, 1868, the first carload of refrigerated beef was shipped
through the Gibson Station. Soon loading platforms were in operation at
the packing plant and the station of State Line opened. Hohmanville, the
original name, was lost.
Housing of the workers in the plant entailed construction, and their
feeding and entertainment necessitated the erection of small business
establishments. A settlement sprang up at State Line.
Marcus M. Towle, as soon as he became assured of the success of the
beef-shipping business, began buying up land around the slaughter-house,
some of it from the widow of Ernest Hohman. On April 11, 1873, Towle
obtained a postoffice for the new town, selecting the name of Hammond
in honor of his associates. The old name, State Line, was abandoned.
In 1875, Towle filed a plat of the original town of Hammond with the
county clerk at Crown Point, but it was not until eight years later that
the town was incorporated. In 1884, it advanced to the rank of city, its
area about six square miles and its population numbering 5,000. Towle
was elected mayor, with George H. Boynton as clerk, Charles H. Smith,
treasurer, and Donald McDonald, city attorney.
George H. Hammond's home remained in Detroit, but he made fre-
quent trips to the plant, staying with his brother, Thomas, whom he had
brought on from Detroit shortly after the opening of the abattoir. Thomas
Hammond was to serve the city three times as mayor and to represent the
district in Congress.
Meantime the importance of Hammond as a railway center was be-
coming apparent. The Erie line had been constructed through to Chicago
in 1880, the Nickel Plate followed two years later, and the Monon System
came in 1883. Industry was slow to take advantage of these facilities, and
seven years later the population was only 5,428. The slaughter-house was
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 203
the mainstay of the community and remained so even after the period of
diversified industries began in 1897. In that year the huge Conkey print-
ing and bookbinding plant moved into Hammond from Chicago and the
Simplex Works was erected on the site of the old Hohman tavern. Numer-
ous small concerns opened plants, and by 1900 the population was to
increase by nearly 150% to 12,376.
In 1901 fire damaged the slaughter-house to the extent of $500,000.
George H. Hammond had died in 1886 and his widow and the surviving
partners had sold their interests. The English syndicate which had bought
it decided not to rebuild on the Hammond site, instead building a plant
in the Chicago stockyards district. As a result, hundreds of workers and
their families moved away and scores of shop-keepers closed their doors.
Hammond's annual factory output (all industries) decreased from $25,-
070,551 to $7,671,203. In a short time, however, the city's manufacturing
interests experienced new growth. Among the earlier arrivals, were the
Frank S. Betz Company engaged in the manufacture of surgical and dental
apparatus and medical supplies, and the Straube Piano Company.
In 1893 it had been decided to build a water system, with Lake Michi-
gan as the source of supply, which necessitated annexation of territory
bordering the lake, a long narrow strip of land, for a pipeline. Land-
owners in this area fought the annexation and started litigation which
lasted four years, ending only by a ruling of the United States Supreme
Court.
Most conspicuous of these landowners, Caroline M. Forsyth, niece of
George W. Clark, had inherited practically all of the Clark holdings,
10,000 acres. Jacob Forsyth, her husband, possessed of the vision of an
empire builder, was a shrewd business man, and although the litigation
was carried on in the name of his wife, it was generally understood that
he planned the moves. Moreover, though it did not appear on record,
Forsyth was understood to have the backing of other large landholders
of the area in question, Edward H. Roby, and E. A. and C. B. Shedd.
After the Lake County commissioners had denied the petition to annex
the lake front strip, Hammond appealed to the Porter County courts. At
this trial, the county commissioners were ordered to certify the annexation.
The Forsyths appealed, and the scope of the interests involved became
apparent when it was announced that the law firm of Benjamin H. Harri-
son, former president of the United States, had been retained and that
his partner, W. H. H. Miller, attorney-general in Harrison's cabinet, would
argue the case before the State Supreme Court. The city countered by
retaining Charles H. Aldrich of Chicago, former solicitor-general of the
204 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
United States. On April 11, 1895, the State Supreme Court upheld
Hammond's claim.
On appeal of the Forsyths to the United States Circuit Court of Ap-
peals, judgment went against Hammond. The city immediately took the
case to the Supreme Court of the United States, which reversed the
Circuit Court of Appeals and ordered all actions nullified that had been
taken subsequent to the decision by the Indiana Supreme Court in favor
of Hammond. Its position was that the policy of the Federal courts was
not to strike down judgments of State courts in matters where such courts
had obvious jurisdiction.
The mile and one-half wide strip of Hammond which borders on Lake
Michigan was finally determined to be within the corporate limits of
Hammond. The local name for the northeastern portion of this area is
Robertsdale, from the name of an earlier landowner, George M. Roberts.
It lies immediately outside the city of Whiting, about five miles from the
city hall of Hammond. Nearly all of Robertsdale's commercial and social
relations are with Whiting, and even its mail is routed through the Whit-
ing postoffice.
Several months before the Columbian Exposition had opened at Chi-
cago (1893), a group of Chicago gamblers maneuvered through the
Indiana State Legislature a bill legalizing exhibitions of what was termed
"the manly art of self defense," although the law which made prizefighting
a felony remained in effect. Land was leased from Jacob Forsyth and an
arena was erected; arrangements were made with the railways for service
to and from Chicago and a full-fledged sporting resort was established
at Roby.
The sporting activities of the gambling ring coming to the attention of
State authorities at Indianapolis, Gov. Claude Matthew sent two com-
panies of militia to Roby. The military authorities found the gamblers
had suspended operations, but a few days after the troops went home
activities were resumed. Soon three half-mile race tracks were opened.
The Indiana law forbade more than 15 days' racing in a period of 45
at any one track, but three tracks enabled the gamblers to carry on
continuously.
This evasion of the law caused Governor Matthew to seek the aid of
the courts, the case dragging on for some time but eventually being de-
cided in favor of the gambling interests on a technicality. The tracks
ceased operating, however, shortly thereafter when a fire, said to have
been started by a rival gambling faction, destroyed the grandstands and
"Wafer Tanks Loom Everywhere"
By Keneson
Hammond Filtration Plant in Lake Front Park
By Bodie
George Hogers Clark School Hammond
By Bodie
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 205
stables. Of late years, one of the tracks was brought back into use for
automobile races.
In 1911 Hammond annexed all the remaining territory in North Town-
ship as far east as Calumet Township, and as far south as the Little
Calumet River, thus fixing the boundaries of the city of Hammond as
they are today (1938). As in the case of the annexation in 1893, this
led to litigation. A remonstrance was filed in the Circuit Court by the
owners of property within the area. In 1913 the court ruled in favor of
Hammond, although it held that the annexation ordinance should not
be effective until five years after its passage and in the meantime no other
community might lay claim to it.
This annexation included Gibson Transfer, named for David Gibson,
an early settler. In early days, Gibson Transfer was the railhead of the
Michigan Central, then building to Chicago, and had originally been
known as West Point. Here passengers bound for Chicago detrained and
boarded stage coaches that carried them to their journey's end. A small
community grew up, and even after the Michigan Central had completed
construction into Chicago, Gibson Transfer remained a shipping center
for the adjacent country. It was from here that the Hammond interests
sent their first shipments of refrigerated beef. Today (1938), this section
is locally referred to as Gibson. It is undistinguished save for the railway
yards of the Indiana Harbor Belt Line, a subsidiary of the New York
Central R.R., large car-repair shops, an office building, and a Y.M.C.A.
for the railway employees.
A more important annexation was that of Hessville, lying south and
east of Gibson and marking the eastern limit of Hammond's growth. This
area, also, was named for an early settler, Joseph Hess, a Frenchman, who
bought and sold livestock, groceries, and general supplies, and traded his
goods to white and Indian trappers for furs. In the early days of his
trading, Hess brought his supplies from Chicago by ox team. His son,
Frank Hess, was said to have been the first white child born in North
Township. The older Hess was the first postmaster of the settlement
named for him, retaining the office for nearly forty years. He was trustee
of North Township for twenty-two years.
South of Roby and Robertsdale, Lake George swamplands are being
reclaimed. Several corporations are interested, the largest holder of title
being the Jones-Laughlin Steel Corporation of Pennsylvania. In the early
'20's, this corporation purchased nearly 800 acres in the bed of the so-
called lake, west of the East Chicago city line. Filling in of the sub-
merged area was begun, but the land is still unoccupied.
206 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Unlike its neighbors, Hammond's growth as an industrial city has been
slow and unattended by the more spectacular developments which have
marked that of the others. But if the rate of advancement has been slow,
it has been substantial and in character more diversified than that of some
cities with which it is inevitably compared. It is the home of more than
ninety industries and has been less subject to "hard times" than com-
munities that depend on the prosperity of one or a few industries.
Like a house to which has been added one unit after another, according
to the needs of a growing family, Hammond's northern border is a series
of ascending roofs. Never more than four miles south of Lake Michigan,
the northern border skirts East Chicago for four miles and then ascends
to within a mile of Lake Michigan, only to be barred from shore priv-
ileges for another mile by Whiting. At last, for a mile and a half, Ham-
mond's northern boundary runs along the shoreline. This strip which
touches the lake is a heterogeneous section. At the lake's edge is the State
Line Electrical Generating plant and a park with a lake front of 1,300
feet, including a public bathing beach and the polished yellow brick
building of the Hammond Filtration Works.
Indianapolis Boulevard (US 12 and 20), a third of a mile south of the
lake, cuts across the strip into Whiting. Flanking it are the Roby Race
Track, a series of widely known fish houses, barbecue stands, filling sta-
tions, the American Maize Products Company plant and the Lever
Brothers plant. Two small suburbs, Roby and Robertsdale, border this
district. At Five Points, Indianapolis Boulevard (US 12 and 20), Calu-
met Avenue (US 41), and 114th Street converge.
For nearly three miles southward from Roby and Robertsdale, to Gost-
lin Street, Hammond's original northern boundary, development remains
with little exception as it was in 1893, when the area was annexed. This
is due to the low, marshy land — the few streets, Calumet, Sheffield, and
Hohman, having been laid on made ground. Westward from this point
to Wolf Lake, the area is a morass.
Industry penetrates the central district of Hammond, marked by the
meandering line of the Grand Calumet, and almost surrounds the main
business section. Situated just east of the Illinois-Indiana line, Hammond
lies across the routes of all the trunk-line railways entering Chicago from
the east and southeast. A scant block north of the center of its commer-
cial and business activity, the junction of State Street and Hohman Ave-
nue, nine railway tracks cross Hohman Avenue at grade, with a continu-
ous thunder of passing freight and passenger trains, halting traffic, taking
heavy toll of lives despite all safety measures, limiting the growth of the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 207
city in that direction. Railway rights-of-way angle through Hammond and
railway classification yards forbid orderly street development. Adjoining
this grimy network are public buildings, large mercantile buildings, thea-
tres, lodges, schools, churches, some scattered residential sections, and
several small parks.
Despite its industrial aspects, Hammond is a city of homes. In the
southern end of the city, particularly in the part bounded by the Little
Calumet, between Calumet Avenue and the Indiana-Illinois state line,
there are scores of fine homes, bordered by leisurely sweeps of lawn. Many
of the streets are winding, and the unfenced lawns and well-preserved,
native trees lend a park-like effect.
Since the days of the Hammond Packing Company, Hammond has
been an industrial community. Today there are 74 manufacturing estab-
lishments with an annual output valued at about $50,000,000. These in-
dustries employ about 4,560 persons with an annual payroll of about
$5,000,000. Chief of the products are corn syrup and allied products,
railway supplies and equipment, hospital and surgical supplies, books and
other printed matter, tile roofing, dairy products, cold-drawn steel, car
wheels, forgings, chains, steel fabrics, castings, and tanks.
Hammond has an usually large percentage of skilled and white collar
workers. This is due to the need in large plants for skilled workers and
to the presence of district institutions. The establishing of a Superior
Court and a United States District Court attracted many lawyers, re-
porters, and clerks; district offices of the Northern Indiana Public Service
Company employ 300 persons; the district office of the Illinois Bell Tele-
phone Company has 222 employees. The first and for many years the
only hospital in the Calumet Region drew to Hammond surgeons, physi-
cians, internes, and nurses. Also, Hammond's many distributing and job-
bing establishments and its retail trade and financial houses have been
factors in giving the city several hundred executives along with a large
group of professional men and laboratory workers.
Racially Hammond more nearly approaches homogeneity than any
other of the Calumet cities. The 1930 census showed that native whites
comprised 83.9 per cent of the population, foreign-born 15.1 per cent, and
Negroes 1 per cent. (The types of employment, despite diversification of
industry, do not offer many opportunities to Negroes, which accounts for
the city's small percentage of this race when compared with the high
percentage in the neighboring cities.) More than 50% of the foreign
born group are German, Polish, or Czechoslovakian. The Teutonic strain
predominates.
208 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Hammond's public school system has been developed intelligently with
emphasis on the special needs of the community. The building that in
1863 housed Hammond's first school was a log structure which served
nine pupils. Miss Amanda Koontz, the first teacher, received $20 a month
for a sixty day term. During Marcus Towle's mayorality, W. C. Belman
of Lowell organized Hammond's public school system and became the first
superintendent of schools. A two-story frame structure was erected at the
corner of Hohman Avenue and Fayette Street, and the first teaching
staff was composed of five members. From this beginning, the school
system has grown to its present (1938) enrollment of 14,544. There are
16 grade schools and three high schools. Technical Vocational High
School, started in 1919 with one teacher and one pupil, now has more
than a thousand pupils and a teaching staff of 46. The building at 231
Russell Street has been outgrown, and plans are under way for a larger
one near Central High School. In 1937, with the aid of the Public Works
Administration, several "portables" on the grounds of Morton, Irving,
and Edison schools, were replaced with permanent brick buildings, and
a $350,000 addition was made to George Rogers Clark school. In all
schools emphasis is placed upon individual attention to pupils, the classes
averaging about 35. Music, art, and drama are given special attention.
A Catholic high school, Christhurst College, is located in Hammond,
and in addition there are 10 parochial schools with an enrollment of ap-
proximately 1,500 pupils.
The founding of Hammond's library was contemporaneous with Andrew
Carnegie's gifts toward the erection of public library buildings, Hammond
receiving $27,000 from the foundation.
Against great odds, the maze of railway tracks and sprawling industries,
Hammond has developed a 220-acre park system. In the first decade of
the century, a growing demand for parks resulted in the reclamation of
50 acres on Lake Michigan, and 38 acres on Wolf Lake and Wolf River
in the northwestern part of the city. Between these three larger parks,
nine smaller parks have been established, two of which have beaches for
swimming, one an artificial pool, and others athletic fields and equipment.
Hammond will lay claim also to Wolf Lake State Park, whose 230
acres border the city on the south, upon its completion. The 1937 State
Legislature authorized Gov. Clifford Townsend and a commission of eight
to arrange for the development of this state park within Hammond city
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 269
limits, empowering the group to buy the necessary land and to impose a
two-mill levy for seven years.
Plans concerning Wolf Lake, whose area of two miles in length and one
mile in width lies partly within Indiana and partly within Illinois, call for
development of Indiana's section for outing and recreational purposes.
Sponsors of the idea hope to connect the landscaped shores of the lake
with the forest preserves on the Illinois side, which, if Illinois follows
Indiana's lead, would create an exceptional out-of-doors recreational area.
Forsyth Park, on the northern end of the lake, may be turned over to the
State and in that event the entire Wolf Lake district would be under the
jurisdiction of the two states.
A. Murray Turner, member of the Hammond Park Board from 1922
until 1932 and vice president and a director of the Chicago Regional
Planning Commission from 1931 until the time of his death in 1938, was
known as the "Father of Hammond's Park System." He gave Hammond
the recreational grounds known as Turner Field, and it was largely through
his efforts while a member of the park board that many valuable additions
were made to the park system.
The Community Chest, whose membership includes Brooks House, a
Baptist welfare center, the Calumet Goodwill Industries, the Carmelite
Home for Boys, the Catholic Charities, the Fresh Air Fund, Bethany
Home, Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Salvation Army, conducts a fund
campaign each fall. An offspring of the Chamber of Commerce, the
Community Chest continues to receive the support of the chamber.
Because the majority of Hammond's townspeople are native, many of
them descendants of early settlers, there is an identity of interest typical
of older communities. A Chamber of Commerce, with the largest mem-
bership in the region, Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lion Clubs, an American
Business Men's Club, a country club, and many women's organizations
reflect the civic spirit.
HAMMOND POINTS OF INTEREST
(1) COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SW. cor. of Hohman Ave., and
Rimbach St., is a gray, rough-hewn granite building with a belfry tower.
Erected in 1903, the building was remodeled and enlarged seven years later.
210 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(2) ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, SW. cor. of Hohman
Ave., and Russell St., a structure of tan pressed brick with stone trimming,
its twin towers rising above the facade, seats about 1,000 persons. The
high altar is of Carrara marble, made in the atelier of Rigali, at Pietra
Santa, Italy. The mosaics are the work of Venetian artists, and the
stained-glass windows come from Munich, Germany. On the same small
plot of ground is a parochial school, a convent, and rectory. Mrs. Caroline
Hohman, though herself a Protestant, donated the one-acre plot.
(3) TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, 231 Russell St., is a three-story
buff brick structure, severely rectangular, which contains 36 classrooms
and workshops. Its curricula ranges through a score of occupations, from
sewing classes for girls to classes in the metal trades for boys. The school
has an arrangement with the plants of Hammond and immediate vicinity
whereby its students are accorded apprentice privileges in workshops.
(4) ST. MARGARET'S HOSPITAL, 25 Douglas St., Hammond's
only hospital, is a four-story-and-basement edifice of brick, with stone
trim. Since its organization in 1898, the hospital has outgrown two
buildings, and in 1926 moved into the present structure.
(5) HARRISON PARK, on the east side of Hohman Ave. between
Webb St. and Waltham St., a neighborhood park, contains an artificial
swimming pool and other recreational facilities. In this park a granite
block, with a bronze plaque depicting a soldier on the march, is dedicated
to soldiers who died in the World War.
(6) RIVERSIDE PARK, 43.5 acres, bounded by Calumet Ave., Little
Calumet River, Columbia Ave. and River Drive, Hammond's largest park,
is thickly wooded, much of it in its primeval state, traversed by pleasant
trails and roadways, although portions have been landscaped. There are
softball diamonds and tennis courts.
(7) WOODMAR GOLF CLUB, 1818 -177th St., covering 112
acres, some of it wooded, lying on both banks of the Little Calumet River,
contains an 18-hole golf course, and a large English type clubhouse of
stone, brick, and timber.
(8) BROOKS HOUSE, 1047 Conkey Ave., a substantial red brick
and stone building, is a settlement house fostered by the Baptists for
remedial work among racial groups of the locality. The institution was
named for Dr. Charles A. Brooks, one time secretary of the Baptist Home
Mission Society, who aided in establishment of the house.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 211
(9) CITY HALL, NE. cor. of Calumet Ave. and Highland St., is a
Bedford limestone building, with severely simple lines. A broad flight of
stairs leads up over a terrace to impressive bronze portals. The three-
storied central section is flanked by two-story wings. A basement at street
level adds to usable floor space. At the rear (east) is a sunken rock
garden of random-tooled ashler.
(10) CIVIC AUDITORIUM, Sohl Ave., between Carroll and High-
land Sts., semi-classical in style, is of steel and brick with stone trimming.
The main auditorium seats 6,000 persons; a smaller convention hall is used
for meetings of the municipal park board and sporting events.
(11) JEWISH SYNAGOGUE, 619 Sibley St., an edifice of brick and
stone, follows conventional lines of Jewish temples. It was constructed
in 1902.
(12) CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, 540 Sibley St., based on thir-
teenth century monastic Gothic design, seats about 800 persons. On the
church grounds are a parochial school, a convent, and a rectory.
(13) FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 525 Sibley St., a dignified brick
and stone structure erected in 1913, will seat about 1,500. Land adjoin-
ing the church was bought for a settlement house, but instead the con-
gregation aided in the building of Brooks House.
(14) FEDERAL BUILDING, NE. cor. of State St. and Oakley Ave,
is of granite, Indiana limestone, and terra cotta structure, a main section
of three stories and basement and an extension of one story and basement.
The first floor and basement are occupied by the postal service; the second
floor is occupied by the United States District Court Judge. On the third
floor are the Federal Department of Labor, quarters of the Bureau of
Internal Revenue, and the Civil Service Commission.
(15) PUBLIC LIBRARY, SE. cor. of Hohman Ave. and Michigan
Ave., is a granite building of two stories above a high basement. A modi-
fied mansard roof is a distinguishing feature. The book circulation aver-
ages more than 800,000. Also in this building is a collection of Indian
antiquities.
(16) HOHMAN TAVERN SITE, north of the Grand Calumet
River, is opposite the American Steel Foundries office. The tavern was
a stopping place for travelers in the early fifties. Its owner sold the land
upon which the Hammond Packing plant was built.
(17) CHURCH OF ST. CASIMIR, NE. cor. of Cameron Ave. and
Huehn St., a building of brick and stone in Tudor Gothic style, seats 800.
212 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
To the rear is a rectory and an old church which has been transformed
into a school.
(18) CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL (Christhurst Col-
lege) at the line separating Hammond from East Chicago, consists of the
three-story school, a convent, and a gymnasium. On the grounds are a
cinder track enclosing a football field, and four tennis courts. The school,
erected in 1923, is accredited by the State Educational Board, and is the
only Roman Catholic high school in the county.
(19) LAKE FRONT PARK, N. end of Calumet Ave., has 1,300 ft. of
lake frontage with an entrance through an attractive sea wall leading to
the bathing beaches. On the park's slightly more than eight acres are a
bathhouse erected in 1915 and the Hammond Filtration plant, which con-
tains a 500,000 gallon reservoir built into the lake below water level.
East Chicago
GENERAL INFORMATION
Railroad Stations: Michigan Ave. and Guthrie St. in Indiana Harbor;
Pennsylvania R. R. 4600 Indianapolis Blvd. in East Chicago; Regent and
Watling Sts. in Indiana Harbor for Baltimore & Ohio; Regent and Wat-
ling Sts. for New York Central and Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
(Indiana Harbor) ; 819 Chicago Ave. (East Chicago) for Chicago, South
Shore and South Bend R. R. (South Shore Electric) ; South Shore also
for intercity service to Gary or to Chicago, service every 30 minutes.
Bus Stations: 3412 Guthrie St. for Greyhound, DeLuxe and Lincoln
Trails, long distance lines, and intercity buses.
Intercity Buses: 3448 Guthrie St. for Chicago & Calumet District
Transit Co. (Shore Lines) for Gary and Chicago. Fare to Chicago 25c.
Transfers from bus to street cars to any point in Calumet Region. From
street cars to bus for additional 2c.
Intercity buses from Hammond through East Chicago to Indiana
Harbor as follows: Shore Line bus No. 1 (175th and Jackson Ave.) from
Hammond terminal on 175th and Jackson Ave., to Conkey Ave. (161st
St.) to Hohman Ave., to State St., to Calumet Ave., to 150th St., to
Indianapolis Blvd., (here enters East Chicago) to Chicago Ave., to 140th
St., (here enters Indiana Harbor) to Main St., to Guthrie St., to Michi-
gan Ave.
Shore Line bus No. 2 (Michigan Ave. and Guthrie St. or 169th and
Columbia Ave.) from Hammond terminal on 169th and Columbia Ave.,
to Calumet Ave., to State St., to Hoffman St., to Indianapolis Blvd.,
(here enters East Chicago) to Columbus Drive, over viaduct to Broadway
(here enters Indiana Harbor) to Cline Ave., to Main St., to Guthrie St.,
to Michigan Ave. Fare lOc from one terminal to the other and along
the way. Transfers to all buses and street cars and to Chicago buses to
state line.
Street Cars: Indianapolis Blvd. street car (Chicago & Calumet District
Transit Co.) ; Terminal, 4605 Forsythe Ave., East Chicago on Forsythe
to Indianapolis Blvd. (here enters Whiting — Five Points) to State Line.
Fare 8c to State Line; additional fare of 7c to 63rd St. in Chicago. Trans-
fers to surface car or bus in Chicago to any point. Transfers from street
car to any bus in East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Whiting, or Hammond
with additional 2c fare.
Taxis: 3902 Butternut Ave. for Black & White Cab Co. (Indiana
Harbor) ; 804 W. Chicago Ave. for Red Top Cab Co. (East Chicago) ;
806 W. Chicago Ave. for Checker Cab Co. (East Chicago) ; and 3350
Michigan Ave. for Yellow Cab Co. (Indiana Harbor) .
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Seven motion picture houses.
Information Service: East Chicago Chamber of Commerce, 4618 Ma-
goun Ave., East Chicago.
Accommodations: Three small hotels.
Swimming: Lees Park Beach, Lake Michigan at Aldis St., public
beach; Washington Park, 142nd and Hemlock St., public pool; Kosciusko
214 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Park, Indianapolis Blvd., public pool; Tod Park, Forsythe Ave., public
pool.
Golf: Tod Park, Indianapolis Blvd., 9 holes (fee 15c for one round;
18 holes, twice around, 25c) .
Tennis: Kosciusko Park, Indianapolis Blvd., 4 courts, free; City Hall
Park, Indianapolis Blvd., 4 courts, free; Tod Park, Forsythe Ave., 4
courts, free; Washington Park, 142nd and Hemlock St., 4 courts, free;
Lees Park, Aldis Ave., 2 courts, free; and Riley Park, Chicago Ave., 2
courts, free.
Docks: East Chicago Dock Terminal, Canal St. (Indiana Harbor) ;
and Northern Indiana Dock Co., Canal St. (Indiana Harbor) .
Newspapers: Calumet News, 3207 Guthrie St. (Indiana Harbor),
weekly; and East Chicago Globe, 711 W. Chicago Ave. (East Chicago).
Telegraph: Postal Telegraph Co., 4619 Indianapolis Blvd. (East Chi-
cago) ; Western Union, 908 W. Chicago Ave. (Indiana Harbor) ; and
Western Union, 3409 Fir St. (Indiana Harbor) .
CHRONOLOGY OF EAST CHICAGO
1853 George W. Clark begins buying land on site of future East Chicago.
1860 Clark draws map of his holdings in Calumet Region.
1866 August 15— George W. Clark dies.
1868 December 1 — Clark's sister, Caroline M. Forsythe, becomes owner
of Clark property.
1881 November 10— Site of future city (8,000 acres) sold to East Chi-
cago Improvement Corp., "East Chicago" used for first time.
1883 January 11 — East Chicago Improvement Corp. executes power of
attorney to John Steward Kennedy, New York capitalist, to
handle holdings in Lake County.
1887 July 11 — East Chicago Improvement Corp. sells site to Calumet
Canal and Improvement Co., controlled by Joseph Thatcher
Torrence.
1887 December 22 — Calumet Canal and Improvement Co. sells site to
Chicago & Calumet Terminal Railway, insuring belt-line con-
nections for future industries.
1888 July 5 — Improvement company conveys right of way for proposed
canal from Indiana Harbor to Grand Calumet River to United
States.
William Graver Tank Works of Lima, Ohio, establishes first
industrial plant.
William H. Penman and family become first permanent residents.
May 19 — Standard Steel & Iron Co. files at Crown Point a plat
of 110-acre subdivision within what was to be East Chicago.
1889 March — Petition filed with Commissioners of Lake County for in-
corporation of town of East Chicago.
May 6 — Electors of proposed town of East Chicago indorse in-
corporation.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 215
1893 February 7 — East Chicago incorporated as a city; William H.
Penman elected mayor.
1896 Calumet Canal & Improvement Co. conveys site to Lake Michigan
Land Co.
1901 Block interests buy site for steel plant at Indiana Harbor.
1903 January 31 — East Chicago Co., undertakes development of the city.
Indiana Harbor and Ship canal opened.
1907 Construction begins on new city hall.
1913 Masonic Temple completed.
1917 Construction begun on Marks Housing project.
Construction begun on Sunny side Housing project.
1925 Construction of Roosevelt High School.
1926 April 21 — Ground broken for construction of St. Catherine's
Hospital.
1928 April 22— The Right Rev. John F. Noll dedicates St. Catherine's
Hospital.
1932 Indiana University sets up extension school.
1934 January 15 — Dillinger and Hamilton rob First National Bank.
1937 Construction of addition to Roosevelt High School.
1938 Construction begun on Indiana University Extension Building in
Tod Park.
INDUSTRIAL MURAL
While districts to the west, south, and east were being settled, the
vast swamps and marshes of the Calumet Region attracted no settlers
and little interest until 1853. In that year George W. Clark, engineer,
author, and undoubtedly something of a prophet, began buying lands in
Lake County, including the present site of Indiana's most important ter-
minal, East Chicago, because he believed that "travel and transportation
would converge in the area, resulting in a great metropolis at the foot of
Lake Michigan." Somewhere around 1860, Clark drew a map of the
Calumet Region, indicating a small headland on the shore line of Lake
Michigan, just about where Indiana Harbor is today, and naming it
"Poplar Point." He sketched in a pier and apparently planned a ship-
ping place for lumber, much in demand in Chicago at that time. With
the same foresight, he dealt with what he conceived to be the possibilities
of Wolf River, connecting Wolf Lake with Lake Michigan at a point
about four miles northwest of Poplar Point. Here, on his map, he showed
a proposed "Indiana Harbor of Wolf River." Those who subsequently
renamed Poplar Point, Indiana Harbor, either were aware of Clark's
plans or they understood the significance of the possibilities as well as
he did.
216 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Thus Indiana Harbor, now incorporated in East Chicago, received its
name prior to the latter. It was to be almost thirty years before the name
East Chicago appeared. At that time, 1881, Jacob Forsythe, related by
marriage to Clark and his business successor, entered into negotiations
with British financial houses, who were then greatly interested in American
industrial development. Forsythe sold his holdings to the London firm of
Melville, Evans and Company. The transaction being completed through
intermediaries, title passed to the East Chicago Improvement Company,
through which the London firm expected to develop its purchase. This
was the first mention of the city's name. Today East Chicago has a
street named for Lord Melville.
When Forsythe, who is said to have been the first person to exert any
significant influence on the Calumet area, took over its development after
Clark's death in 1866, he moved to Poplar Point. Dominick Mutter and
Louis Ahlendorf, German immigrants, had already cleared land and built
houses a mile and a half southeast of the headland. Forsythe lived here,
first at the Mutter farmstead and when it burned at the Ahlendorf home,
for some years. The Ahlendorf place was built not far from the present
site of the Grasselli plant.
Shortly before his death, Clark had given Forsythe a general power of
attorney, an indication of the close relationship between the two men and
an explanation of Forsythe's familiarity with Clark's plans, which Forsythe
proceeded to carry out. He established a sawmill at Poplar Point and
built a grist mill and siding adjacent to the tracks of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. The little settlement which grew up at this point, called Cassella,
was destroyed by fire in 1872.
In 1883, the English bankers gave a general power of attorney to John
Stewart Kennedy of New York, an associate of James J. Hill, one of
America's outstanding financiers of the period. Kennedy operated through
his nephew's private banking house, J. Kennedy Tod and Company. It
was not until 1887, however, when General Joseph Thatcher Torrence
acquired an interest in the undertaking, that real progress was made.
Torrence, a Pennsylvanian, after serving in the Civil War, became a
builder of steel furnaces. By 1874 he had established himself in Chicago
as a consulting engineer, and until the time of his death he was engaged
in promoting and developing industrial enterprises in the Chicago area.
He became associated with Marcus M. Towle, who had acquired con-
siderable wealth as part owner and superintendent of the Hammond Pack-
ing Plant. In 1886 Torrence was one of those instrumental in promoting
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 217
the Chicago and Calumet Terminal Railway Company, the first of the
belt lines in the Chicago area, of which he became president.
It is not clear how Torrence came into contact with John S. Kennedy
or the East Chicago Improvement Company, but on July 2, 1887, the
company conveyed its title through Torrence to the Calumet Canal and
Improvement Company, which mortgaged the site of East Chicago to the
Central Trust Company of New York in order to secure a loan of
$1,350,000. Marcus Towle, as president of the Calumet Canal and Im-
provement Company, figured in the transaction also, and in December of
that year was instrumental in conveying to the Chicago and Calumet
Terminal Railway a right of way through land owned by the canal and
improvement company in the general direction of the Illinois-Indiana state
line. Torrence planned a belt line around Chicago from a point on the
lake shore of that city. He borrowed $10,000,000 from the Central Trust
Company of New York to finance this venture, which eventually was
completed. Three additional belt lines were to be completed some years
later.
In 1892, because of objections to his management by the English inter-
ests, as represented by John S. Kennedy, Torrence signed a quit claim
deed in favor of the Calumet Canal and Improvement Company. Robert
E. Tod, Kennedy's nephew, was Torrence's successor. After the status
of East Chicago was changed from town to city, the following year,
Torrence figured little in its affairs.
From the time Torrence had first become interested in the Calumet
until he was supplanted, he had been obsessed with the idea of building
a harbor and canal system, connecting the latter with the Grand Calumet
River and thus with the industries in the southern part of Chicago. At-
tempts were made to interest the State in the project, but in the main
Torrence and his associates looked to the Federal Government for assist-
ance. In 1888 they conveyed to the Government a right of way for the
proposed waterway. In the meantime many changes took place in the
corporate ownership of the lands involved, and all of the successors of
the original Torrence enterprise, the Calumet Canal and Improvement
Company, contributed something toward completing the project. When
the United States government was finally to assume jurisdiction in 1914,
the harbor had been dredged and a large part of the canal had been
completed.
In 1888 the first industrial enterprise of any size, the William Graver
Tank Works, originally established in Lima, Ohio, in 1857, broke ground
on what is now the site of East Chicago. That same year William Pen-
218 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
man, who was to be the first mayor of East Chicago, brought his family
to this locality. He was the first permanent resident.
The first plat of land lying within the boundaries of East Chicago was
made on May 9, 1888, by the Standard Steel and Iron Company. This
was the subdivision of 110 acres lying between what is now Railroad Avenue
and a parallel line drawn just west of the present Indianapolis Boulevard.
The northern boundary was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the
southern, the present 151st St.
In March, 1889, a petition was presented to the Commissioners of Lake
County calling for the incorporation of the town of East Chicago. Ques-
tion of incorporation was submitted to the electors on May 6, 1889, and
an overwhelming majority approved. The boundaries of the new town
were White Oak Avenue, Kennedy Avenue, Michigan Street, and Broad-
way, an area of 3.75 square miles. (The present area of the city is nearly
eleven square miles, several annexations of contiguous lands making up the
difference. No further growth is possible, however, as East Chicago is now
entirely surrounded by Lake Michigan, and the cities of Whiting, Ham-
mond and Gary.)
In 1896 the Calumet Canal and Improvement Company turned certain
rights over to Chicago financial interests. This group, headed by Owen
T. Aldis, operated through the Lake Michigan Land Company. The
lands taken over by the company were those lying in the Indiana Harbor
section of the city, and the enterprises promoted there had a great in-
fluence on the future of East Chicago.
The Block interests, owning a rail rerolling mill in Chicago Heights,
purchased 50 acres in Indiana Harbor in 1901. They built open hearth
furnaces, blooming and bar mills, sheet mills and a jobbing mill. From
this plant Inland Steel, the largest independent steel corporation in the
Chicago district, developed.
A project of extreme importance to the entire region was the building
of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, carried out by Charles W. Hotch-
kiss, a railroad engineer, who was associated with the Aldis group. This
line is owned by the New York Central and Burlington railroads.
In January, 1903, the Calumet Canal and Improvement Company, the
Standard Steel and Iron Company, which despite its name was a real
estate company owning large tracts of land, and the Lake Michigan Land
Company were absorbed by the East Chicago Company, in which Potter
Palmer, the McCormicks, Delavan Smith, and other wealthy Chicagoans
had interests. Honore Palmer was president of the corporation, and the
Kennedy interests were overshadowed by this Chicago group. But within
Hammond City Hall
By Bodie
Hammond Civic Center
By Mclaughlin
Woodmor Country Club, Hammond
floosevelf High School Auditorium, East Chicago
By Mclaughlin
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 219
a year the Palmers ceased to be active in the affairs of the East Chicago
Company, and Robert E. Tod, representing John S. Kennedy, was in a
controlling position. He had Charles W. Hotchkiss appointed president
of the East Chicago Company.
After 1888, when the Graver plant had been brought to East Chicago,
sale of sites to industrial concerns interested in cheap and adequate trans-
portation facilities, both by rail and water, proceeded at a rapid rate. The
development was not in the nature of a "boom," but under direction of
Hotchkiss, improvement of East Chicago and its industrial growth gained
momentum. The southerly branch of the Indiana Harbor Canal was
completed from the forks, in Indiana Harbor, to the Grand Calumet
River; and the westerly branch was completed to the line of Calumet
Avenue in Hammond. However, when the Jones-Laughlin Steel Company
purchased a large tract from the East Chicago Company, it obtained the
right to fill in that portion of the canal that crossed their property, the
section lying between White Oak Avenue and the line of Calumet Avenue.
In addition to the Graver Tank and Manufacturing Corporation, and
the Inland Steel Company, other important industries locating in East
Chicago were the Grasselli Chemical Company in 1892; the Hubbard
Steel Foundry Company, now the Continental Roll and Steel Foundry
Company, in 1910; the Superheater Company, builders of power plant
equipment, in 1913; the Sinclair Refining Company in 1915; Youngstown
Sheet and Tube Company in 1923; and the Roxana Petroleum Corpora-
tion in 1928 (now the Shell Oil Co., Inc.). At present (1938) almost
400 products manufactured in more than 50 plants are sent from East
Chicago to all parts of the world.
Today the State's eighth largest city, East Chicago lies in that region
defined by the Bureau of Census as the "Metropolitan Area of Chicago
in Indiana." Its area is largely occupied by steel mills, tin plate mills,
foundries, petroleum refineries, chemical works, railway car and equipment
shops, steel fabricating shops, non-ferrous metal refining works, and
packing house by-products establishments. That section of "The Twin
City" known as Indiana Harbor lies on the shore of Lake Michigan; East
Chicago proper, two miles southwest, centers about the intersection of
Chicago and Forsythe Avenues, the "Four Corners."
The port of Indiana Harbor is the leading harbor in the state and one
of the largest on the Great Lakes. Because of the large number of indus-
tries that utilize the service of lake vessels, Indiana Harbor has more
waterborne commerce than many Atlantic seaboard ports. Principal re-
220 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
ceipts are iron ore, coal, limestone, and gypsum rock. Wood pulp is im-
ported from the Baltic countries, and palm oil comes from Africa.
The Indiana Harbor Ship Canal flows inland from the lake, through the
heart of the industrial section of the city, southwestward for about two
miles. At that point it passes a turning basin and forks south and west, the
south fork emptying into the Grand Calumet River and the west fork
ending at White Oak Avenue. The East Chicago Dock Terminal Com-
pany's heavy bulk terminal, the largest on Lake Michigan, is located at
the forking point of the canal and provides ample public wharves. To
this terminal come ships from American, Canadian, British, German,
Norwegian, Estonian, and African ports. Ocean passenger steamer
service began in 1936.
Starting from the lake shore and following the line of the canal, the
industrial panorama of East Chicago is impressive. The mills of the Inland
and Youngstown steel plants, the former on the north bank and the latter
on the south, are built on approximately 1,000 acres of "made land." In
contrast to modern, red-brick office buildings and squares of carefully kept
lawn are the plant buildings, black or dingy red, structural steel frame-
works of all sizes and shapes, rows of black smoke stacks, a network of
railroad tracks with engines, tiny in relation to their surroundings, puffing
back and forth. At the canal banks are huge ore unloaders, ore boats. The
scene is enveloped in a haze of smoke and clouds of steam, and peculiar
odors, a combination of chemicals and soot, permeate the air.
Southwestward, the canal passes the American Steel Foundries, whose
red brick, steel, and glass buildings are surrounded by piles of scrap iron.
Traveling south, after the division of the canal, more factories are passed,
the Continental Roll and Steel Foundry Company and the Superheater
Company, whose black, twin smokestacks, outlined against the sky, are
a sort of symbol for the district.
East Chicago is the terminal point for a vast network of pipe lines, some
more than 1,000 miles long. They reach into Wyoming, Kansas, Oklaho-
ma, and to ports in Texas, bringing crude oil to the refineries. Originally
crude oil was piped here from the Lima, Ohio, area and from Indiana oil
fields. Local refineries make the harbor the leading petroleum shipping
point on the Great Lakes, and possess daily crude oil "cracking" capacity
of 190,000 barrels. East of the emptying point of the canal into the Grand
Calumet and south of the river is the Shell Refinery, a subsidiary of the
Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, whose "tank farm" and office buildings
are in East Chicago with the remainder of the refinery lying over the line
in Hammond. The western branch of the canal is lined with refineries:
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 221
Standard Oil of Indiana and Sinclair on the north, Cities Service and
the Wadham Plant of the Socony-Vacuum on the south. The multitude of
low, grey storage tanks, and oil stills, the net work of pipes and railroad
tracks, and the strong odor of oil are bewildering to the senses. Opposite
the Sinclair refinery stands the huge gas tank of the Northern Indiana
Public Service Company, one of the largest in the world.
In the southwest corner of East Chicago, adjoining Hammond and
Gary, the buildings of the Grasselli plant of E. I. duPont de Nemours
and Company, one of the first industries to locate in East Chicago, cover
more than half of the 444 acres of the company's property. In the neigh-
borhood of this company, great piles of yellow sulphur completely over-
whelm other strong odors of industrial East Chicago.
"The Twin City's" business district, for the most part, is without
distinction. With the exception of the Federal building, two bank build-
ings, a hospital, a few churches, and the schools, the city cannot boast of
fine architecture. The business section of Indiana Harbor is crowded with
two-story brick and frame stores, shops, restaurants, bars — dingy and
dirty. In East Chicago the business streets are wider, the stores, and shops
larger, and the general appearance cleaner.
In the residential districts are two housing projects, Marks, built by the
Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, and Sunnyside, built by the
Inland Steel Company. Built in 1917 on 25 acres adjacent to the Youngs-
town plant, the cream-colored, stucco homes in Marks house 201 families
in 98 two and four-family units. There is a school, a bachelor hotel, and
a small park included in the project. Sunnyside might be regarded as the
most attractive spot in East Chicago. There are no alleys, no garages, no
separation of houses by fences or hedges, and tall poplars and maples
which line the winding streets produce a grove-like effect. The 100 two-
family houses, each unit having six rooms, are faced with asphalt shingles
of various soft colors. This housing project has been visited, as a model,
by housing experts from all over the country.
The modern brick residences of Parrish Avenue and Grand Avenue,
surrounded by beautiful lawns, border Washington Park and represent
East Chicago's finest residential area. In the background, to the west, St.
Catherine's Hospital adds distinction to this quiet, park-like community.
About a half mile to the north, in great contrast to the quiet streets
around Washington Park, is Indiana Harbor's "Little Mexico." Here, in
the shadow of the Inland Steel Company, in predepression days lived
several thousand Mexicans, in unpainted, dilapidated hovels, built on
stilts because of the marsh, and little more than boxes. The one business
222 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
street was jammed with one- and two-story stores, shops, restaurants, pawn
shops and taverns. During the dark days of 1932 and 1933, with most of
the community unemployed, social agencies raised funds to repatriate
these people, and now "Little Mexico" is largely occupied by Negroes.
Of East Chicago's 54,784 inhabitants (1930 census), 25.2 per cent
represented by Poles, Slavs, Hungarians, Roumanians, Lithuanians, Italians,
Greeks, Russians, and Mexicans, are foreign-born. There are 5,088 Ne-
groes in the city. The percentage of industrial workers, in East Chicago
is much higher than in the United States as a whole and higher than in
Indiana and Illinois.
Two social agencies serve the city, Katherine Community House, which
is a Baptist settlement house, and the Carmelite Orphanage. The orphan-
age cares for wards of the court, destitute girls, and orphans; it maintains
a boy's home in Hammond. In 1928, at a cost of $1,250,000, the 250-bed
St. Catherine's Hospital was opened by the Sisters of the Poor Hand-
maids of Jesus Christ.
The percentage of school children attending parochial schools in East
Chicago is unusually high, St. Stanislaus school, largest parochial school
in Indiana, being located in the city. Washington School, with 3,300 stu-
dents, is the largest public school in northwestern Indiana. North Town-
ship branch of the Extension Division of Indiana University has an en-
rollment of 750 students and was recently (August, 1938) granted land
adjacent to Tod Park on which to erect a university building. East Chi-
cago has 59 churches, 33 of which are Protestant, 16 Roman Catholic, 8
Greek Orthodox, and 2 Jewish.
There are two excellent libraries in the city, one in East Chicago proper,
the other in Indiana Harbor. The public library movement was begun by
Mrs. John D. Kennedy, president of the Tuesday Reading Club, after-
wards the East Chicago Woman's Club, who on December 1, 1908, ap-
pointed a committee to solicit books. Tag days and various drives were
held, and the city council petitioned, on August 3, 1909, to authorize a
levy for library maintenance. The levy was granted and four years later
the two libraries were dedicated, J. G. Allen, John R. Farovid, George W.
Lewis, A. A. Ross, John D. Kennedy, A. H. W. Johnson, and Mrs. E. W.
Walton being appointed to the first library board.
East Chicago boasts four athletic fields, a nine-hole golf course, and
five wading pools. The lawns, flowers, trees, and shrubs of the park
system have developed from top soil brought into the city and spread over
sand and marshland. In Washington Park are green houses in which
flowers and plants are propagated for transfer to city parks; each year a
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE ttt
flower show is held in the spring and a chrysanthemum show in the fall.
Washington Park also contains a zoo.
There is no cemetery in East Chicago. It has no daily newspaper and
depends upon the papers published in nearby cities. Several years ago it
was estimated that about 8,000 persons working here lived in Hammond,
Gary, South Chicago, and other places. The wages and salaries of this
group, earned in East Chicago, are naturally spent outside the city and,
despite the efforts of a very active Chamber of Commerce, retail sales in
relation to population are below those for Hammond and Gary.
EAST CHICAGO POINTS OF INTEREST
(1) FEDERAL BUILDING, SE. cor. of Chicago Ave. and Kennedy
Ave. architecturally the outstanding edifice in East Chicago is of dressed
Indiana limestone, Romanesque in style. The north half of the building
is two stories and the south half one story. The entrance, facing Chicago
Ave., is approached by the wide steps with columnar bronze lighting
standards on either side. The interior is finished in variegated marble,
the foyer having large marble columns, and furniture is of ornamental
wrought iron.
(2) RILEY PARK, six acres on the southern edge of Chicago Ave.
east of the Indiana Harbor Belt Line R.R. and extending to Grasselli
Ave., was named for Walter J. Riley, local banker. Northern frontage is
landscaped; to the south are two baseball diamonds. The park also has a
tennis court.
Boy Scout Hut stands midway of the width of the park, facing Chicago
Ave. The exterior of this one-story building is finished in imitation of the
peeled log cabins of the pioneers. It is cruciform in design, 80 feet long
and 60 feet wide. Headquarters of the Twin City Council of the Boy
Scouts of America, embracing 23 troops, one Sea Scout troop, and five
Cub packs, the hut was built in 1927 without cost to the municipality, Boy
Scout leaders providing the labor, and Chapter 16 of the Izaak Walton
League of East Chicago the tools and materials. Inside is a museum, con-
taining a number of natural and historical objects, many of which were
found on the site of a Potawatomi village a few hundred yards from where
the hut stands, and the office of the council. In the basement are a dining
room and kitchen, quarters for the camera club of the Scouts, a print
shop, and facilities for handcrafts as practiced by the older boys.
(3) CARMELITE ORPHANAGE, 4840 Grasselli Ave. a long brick
building, rising two stories above an English basement, dates from 1916,
when the provincial head of the Carmelite Order of the Divine Heart of
Jesus, at Milwaukee, opened homes both in East Chicago and in Ham-
mond, the latter for boys, the former for girls.
(4) CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, NW.
cor. of Olcott Ave. and 149th St., is a low building with an open belfry
at the northern angle, and a roof of red pantiles. The walls of the struc-
224 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
ture are of rough brick of various shades of red, set in gray mortar. The
floors, altars and the sanctuary rail are also warm-toned brick. At the rear
is a two-story structure that houses congregational activities. An adjacent
rectory conforms architecturally.
The church was built on a co-operative basis. Prof. Francis Kervick,
dean of the School of Agriculture, Notre Dame University, donated the
architectural plans, and the parishioners erected the edifice.
(5) KOSCIUSKO PARK, SW. cor. of Indianapolis Blvd., and 151st
St., named for the Polish hero, contains 19 acres, plentifully wooded and
well sodded. There are tennis courts, a playground and wading pool for
children, baseball diamond, athletic field, and a lagoon. With funds pro-
vided in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, a swimming pool
has been added.
(6) ELKS BUILDING, NW. cor. of Chicago Ave. and Magoun
Ave. a brown brick, three-story building with limestone trim, contains 52
rooms. The building contains all the appurtenances of a club, dining room,
bar, lounge, and card rooms. Since 1930 it has been open to the general
public as a hotel.
(7) In the MASONIC TEMPLE, 911 W. Chicago Ave., a three-
story building of brick and terra cotta, five Masonic bodies have lodge
rooms together with ante-rooms, reception rooms, and offices on the
second floor. Street level floors are given over to shops.
(8) FIRST M. E. CHURCH, SW. cor. of Chicago Ave. and Baring
Ave., of Gothic design, is a red brick structure, limestone trim about its
doorways and stained-glass windows, whose dominating feature is a squat
tower at the northeast angle, over the main entrance. The peaked roof of
slate forms gables on two fronts.
The first floor auditorium seats 500 persons; in the basement is a com-
munity room, with stage and facilities for social gatherings. A rectory (S)
is in the same style as the church.
(9) FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, NW. cor. of 145th
St. and Magoun Ave., a limestone edifice shows a slight Byzantine influ-
ence in the flattened dome surrounding it. Ionic half columns grace the
facade, and all windows are of stained glass.
(10) ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CENTER, NE. cor. of
Magoun Ave. and 144th St., built in 1916 of artificial stone, is cruciform
in plan with a spire over the entrance. It seats about 500. Other units of
this group are of brick, with stone trim. The school provides accommoda-
tion for 346 pupils.
(11) TOD PARK, 140th St. and Indianapolis Blvd., named for a
promoter of the city's development, spreads over 51 acres. A clear narrow
stream has ornamental footbridges crossing at intervals. In this park are
a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, and formal gardens. The ath-
letic field has provisions for football, baseball, and tennis. A bronze
plaque near the fieldhouse commemorates Roy R. Rutledge, connected with
the city's department of education for more than a decade.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 225
(12) CITY HALL PARK, bounded by Indianapolis Blvd., John St.,
Tod Ave., and 145th St., well planted with trees, flowers and shrubs, has
a playground in the eastern part and a band shell in the rear. Facing Indi-
anapolis Blvd. is a 155 millimeter howitzer captured during the World
War and presented by the War Department in recognition of services of
East Chicago citizens.
(13) CITY HALL, on Indianapolis Blvd., in City Hall Park, a red,
brick structure with limestone trim rises two stories above an English
basement. A shallow flight of stairs leads to the main entrance, whose door-
way is surmounted by a pediment, and flanked by four Ionic columns, two
on a side. The roof is done in pantiles. The rounded arches of the doors
and windows indicate a Romanesque influence.
(14) WASHINGTON PARK, bounded by 144th St., Parrish Ave.,
Grand Blvd., and 142nd St., has a zoo, a conservatory in which flower
shows are held, and a park lodge for offices of the park board. There are
also an athletic field, baseball diamond, swimming pool, tennis courts, and
a band shell. Two markers, one a memorial erected by American Legion
Post 266 to the men who lost their lives in the World War, and another
stating that the tree next it was planted to the memory of John W. Lees,
former superintendent of the Inland Steel works, by the Sons of the
American Legion, have been placed in the park.
(15) ST. CATHERINE'S HOSPITAL, NE. cor. of 144th St. and
Fir St., a large E shaped building of red brick with Bedford stone trim,
rises five stories, three wings projecting easterly from the main structure
fronting Fir St.
(16) SUNNYSIDE, at end of 141st St., a residential subdivision, is
Inland Steel's housing development, covering 15 acres. The two-family
houses are more or less standardized, each unit having six rooms. Original
frame construction has disappeared under a sheathing of fireproof ma-
terial, which lends itself to a wide variety of tints. The lawns, stretching
without break, give a park-like effect, and scattered around are hundreds
of trees, Carolina poplars and silver maples, well grown and well cared
for (about 750 of these trees were set out) . House residents must keep
automobiles in the community garage just outside the subdivision.
Garbage and ashes are removed, lawns are watered and mowed, shrub-
bery and trees trimmed, and streets cleaned and kept in repair by the
company, which retains full control and management.
(17) KATHERINE COMMUNITY HOUSE, SE. cor. of 138th
and Deodar Sts., a three-story dark red brick building with stone trim, is
operated by a staff of four paid workers and a score of volunteers.
Largely financed by the Baptist Home Missionary Society of New York,
it was named for Katherine Westfall, Baptist welfare worker.
(18) HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, 3717 Elm St., shows a marked
Gothic influence, particularly in the two truncated towers, of unequal
heights, with battlemented copings, flanking the entrance to the structure.
The building is constructed of variegated brown brick and seats 500.
226 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(19) ROUMANIAN CHURCH, 3620 Fir St., dedicated to St.
George, is of brick and stone, with two towers on Levantine lines that
flank the portal. The building serves 350 Roumanian families.
(20) ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, SW. cor. of 138th St. and Grand
Blvd., is designed in mission style, following the example set by Franciscan
Fathers on the Pacific coast. In connection with the church is a school
taught by Nuns of the Order of the Holy Cross.
(21) MAIN LIBRARY BUILDING, SE. cor. of 136th St. and
Grand Blvd., a low rambling red brick building is one of two Carnegie
libraries erected in 1913. The interior is buff in color, and trimmed with
well-grained dark oak. The library system contains 53,000 books, includ-
ing the nucleus for special collections on steel and petroleum.
(22) LEES PARK, SE. cor. of Aldis and Michigan Aves., one of the
smaller parks of East Chicago, has the only public shore line in the city.
The original purpose of the park was for a pumping station, but a small
bathing beach and bathhouse are provided. The pump house is of stucco.
A long, red building houses the filtration plant. A tennis court, park
benches, picnic tables, and flood lights are also provided. A stone wall,
following the shore extent of the park, was built by the Federal Emer-
gency Relief Administration.
(23) Buildings in the WASHINGTON SCHOOL GROUP, NE.
cor. of Parrish Ave. and 141st St. are institutional in style, of brownish
brick and stone trim, three stories in height. Enrollment for the school is
(1938) about 3,250. The group affords complete educational facilities
from kindergarten through high school. Exceptional facilities in music,
both instrumental and vocal, and in the arts and crafts are provided. There
are fourteen rooms, or shops, in which trades are taught. A staff of 15
teaches the elementary unit, and 96 the higher grades. Foreign-born
parents of 1937 graduates represented 28 nationalities.
(24) CENTRAL FIRE STATION, Columbus Dr. (141st St.) near
Canalport Ave. constructed of brick and re-inforced concrete, modern-
istic in design, is centrally located between the two divisions of the city,
to meet contingencies either in East Chicago proper, or in Indiana Har-
bor. Headquarters of the fire chief, it is said to be the finest station in
northern Indiana.
Whiting
GENERAL INFORMATION
Railroad Stations: 117th and Front Sts. for Pennsylvania R.R.; 1851
Front St. for New York Central R.R.
Bus Stations: 1918 Indianapolis Blvd. for Yankee Coach Lines and for
Lincoln Trailways.
Intercity Buses: Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. (Shore Line
Coaches) ; bus line (no station) to other cities of the Calumet Region and
Chicago. Any intersection along East Chicago-to-Chicago route (Route:
Dickey Road in Indiana Harbor to Front St., on 119th St. to Indianapolis
Blvd., along Indianapolis Blvd. to Whiting City Limits) .
Street Cars: Twenty to thirty minute service. Fare 8c. Free transfer
between street cars. Street car to bus, 2c. Bus to street car, no charge.
Street cars direct to Chicago, on East Chicago to Chicago line.
Taxis: 1449 Fishrupp Ave. for Checker Cab Co., 35c anywhere in town.
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Two motion picture houses.
Information Service: Whiting Chamber of Commerce, Illiana Hotel,
1907 Atchison Ave.
Accommodation: One hotel.
Swimming: Pools, Community Center, Community Court and Clark
St.; free, except to out-of-town groups; Whiting High School, 1741 Oliver
St., no charge — open only to school children. Beaches, Lake Beach at
Whiting, Front St. at Lake Michigan. Parking fee, 25c.
Tennis Courts: Whiting Park, 117th and Lake Michigan, no fee; Fil-
tration Plant, 1642— 119th St., no fee.
Newspapers: The Whiting Times, 1902 Indianapolis Blvd.
CHRONOLOGY OF WHITING
1847 March 6 — George M. Roberts buys land in vicinity of Whiting.
1848 Heinrich D. Eggers settles on site.
1852 Lake Shore & Michigan Southern R.R. reaches Chicago through
Whiting.
1854 Henry Reese, Henry and William Schrage settle on site with their
families.
1856 Roberts acquires "military land warrants"; title to add 313 acres
to holdings.
1858 Pennsylvania railroad parallels Lake Shore, entering Chicago.
1868 Henry Schrage opens general store.
1871 U. S. Post Office established in Schrage store.
1874 B. & O. R.R. establishes station.
1889 February — Henry Schrage purchases 246 acres for Standard Oil
Co.
March 5 — Standard Oil Co. starts construction.
1890 Summer — Standard Oil opens.
1892 Agitation starts for incorporating town.
1894 Hammond passes ordinance to annex all of Whiting except
Standard Oil property.
228 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
June 1 — Application to Lake County Commissioners to incor-
porate; June 27 set for election.
June 14 — Whiting Democrat, first newspaper published.
1895 Bank of Whiting founded.
1896 Suit filed by Hammond against incorporation of Whiting settled
in favor of Whiting.
1903 Whiting incorporated as city.
1908 City purchases park area of 22 acres.
1918 Dr. Burton, inventor of cracking process, elected President of
Standard Oil of Indiana.
1923 Memorial Community House erected by Rockefellers.
1929 March 7 — "Battles of Proxies" in the theater of Memorial Com-
munity House.
1932 Employees' committee discusses wage adjustments with Standard
Oil officials.
1935 Carbide and Carbon Chemical Co. plant erected.
1937 June 19 — Father Lach's Boys' Symphonic Band starts on foreign
tour.
Globe Roofing Co. plant built.
1938 American Smelting and Refining Co. plant is erected.
DONE IN OIL
Although Whiting was founded by the Standard Oil Company of
Indiana and as a city began its life in 1889 with the construction of the
first stills and storage tanks, early settlers arrived in the neighborhood
about the middle of the last century.
Little is known of George Matchler Roberts, for whom Robertsdale
was named. He appears to have been born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania,
and to have worked on the Erie Canal as a youth. Moving westward, he
settled first in Chicago, and in 1849 took up 40 acres of government land
in the Calumet Region within the present limits of Whiting. In 1856 he
added 313.20 acres to his original holdings by acquiring "military land
warrants," which, while apparently costing him less than $500, many years
later during a legal action involving his estate were valued at $90,000.
Although Roberts' acreage was largely dunes, swamps, and lagoons, there
were patches that were extraordinarily fertile, and on these he did a little
truck gardening for the Chicago market, raised cattle, planted orchards,
and started bee culture. He donated a right-of-way across his land to the
Pennsylvania Railroad, which erected the station of Robertsdale in recog-
nition of the gift.
Henry Reese, a German immigrant and early settler, is believed to have
settled in the Whiting area about 1852, and to have farmed some of the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 229
fertile spots found among the dunes and swamps. It seems likely that he
also engaged in truck farming for the Chicago market.
Henry Schrage, born of German immigrant parents in 1844, was reared
on his father's farm on land that is now Whiting. After enlistment in the
Civil War and a period of several years work on the railroads that
traversed the Calumet, he opened a general store. In 1871, when the post-
office was established, he became the first postmaster. The Bank of Whit-
ing was found by Schrage in 1895, and today a Whiting street is named
for him.
Other settlers who later became prominent were John F. K. Vater,
Robert Close, and Robert Atchison, whose young daughter married George
Roberts late in the latter's life. Atchison Avenue, the division line be-
tween Whiting and Robertsdale, is named for Robert Atchison, who was
a section-boss on the Lake Shore Railroad.
Settlement of the area was extremely slow, and as late as 1889 there
were not more than forty families in the region. In the main, early set-
tlers were German immigrants, and most of them worked for the rail-
roads. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern was built in 1852, the
Pennsylvania ran along side the Lake Shore into Chicago in 1858, and
the Baltimore and Ohio tracks were laid parallel to the others in 1874.
When the Lake Shore built a station near Schrage's store in 1874, the
locality became a minor center for railroad employees. A local story re-
lates that an engineer (some accounts say conductor) on the Lake Shore,
whose name was Whiting, wrecked his train by driving it into the path
of a Pennsylvania train. Thereafter, the place was known to railroad men
as Whiting's Crossing. Schrage shortened it to Whiting's and Standard
Oil, 20 years later, changed it to Whiting.
The Standard Oil Company came into Indiana soon after a pipe line
had been laid from the recently developed oil field in Ohio to a terminal
in Fleming Park, Chicago, where storage tanks were erected and a re-
finery planned. But Ohio oil had a heavy sulphur content, and the process
used at that time to remove this element created a nauseous stench. There
was considerable opposition to the location of a refinery in Fleming Park,
and when one of the storage tanks exploded the opposition become over-
whelming.
Great sums had been spent in laying the tracks to the tremendous
middlewestern market, but by back-tracking along the route of the pipe
line, an ideal site for a refinery was found where Whiting now stands, a
site on Lake Michigan close to the market, where land was easily pur-
chased, so isolated as to eliminate the nuisance problem, and adjacent to
230 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
an inexhaustible supply of water. Also building operations would be facili-
tated by ample railway service immediately at hand and plant output
could be easily distributed throughout . the country.
W. P. Cowan, superintendent of the Standard Oil plant in Cleveland,
was in charge of construction of the refinery at Whiting. He first com-
missioned Henry Schrage to buy some hundreds of acres of land border-
ing on Lake Michigan, carefully concealing his principals and purpose.
By February, 1889, Schrage had purchased 246 acres; the site was pre-
pared for construction by filling in swamps and leveling dunes. Actual
construction began on May 6. Stills and storage tanks were put up, and
a five-foot water tunnel to a crib a half mile off the shore of Lake Michi-
gan, with a capacity of 125,000,000 gallons daily — sufficient for the needs
of the refinery and the town — was begun. Cottages were built on a tract
west of the refinery for the technical and executive staffs. Trainloads of
lumber, steel, and other building material poured into Whiting; construc-
tion gangs were augmented daily. Everything was done in the name of
W. P. Cowan, and it was not until October that it became known that
the Standard Oil Company of Indiana was back of the new undertaking.
The technical staff for this construction came from Cleveland and other
cities. Until the dwellings in the "village" were completed, they lived in
Chicago, coming to Whiting daily on a special train. Laborers lived in
bunk houses, hastily erected in the southern part of the new town, then
known as "Oklahoma," where the number of saloons and resorts of ques-
tionable character gave the neighborhood a reputation which persisted
for some years.
Soon after the first plant was completed, Cowan acquired a hundred
additional acres and construction of the refinery proceeded rapidly. By
summer of 1890 the 80-still plant with a capacity of 600 barrels of crude
oil a day was ready for production. The first crude oil was run through
the stills on September 2; on Thanksgiving Day the first shipment of
kerosene was made.
Whiting remained an unincorporated town for several years. The Stand-
ard Oil Company provided the community with water, lights, fire protec-
tion, a sewerage system, and police, its guards functioning as constables.
In the spring of 1892, a meeting was held to establish a town government.
The proposed town was to include territory between the Illinois State line
and the Indiana Harbor canal, and the southern boundary was to be a
line drawn through Berry, George, and Wolf lakes. However, taxing
measures necessary to support a town government proved to be an obstacle,
and the incorporation of Whiting was delayed.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 231
Today the city limits of Whiting and Hammond and of Whiting and
East Chicago are contiguous. Originally an island-like area of wet
marshes and low sand dunes almost encircled by Lake Michigan and Wolf,
and George lakes, the city, covering only 971 acres, was built on these
dunes and marshes after the ground had been drained and filled.
The general appearance of Whiting is much the same as that of any
other small, midwest town. Most of the business is conducted on one main
thoroughfare, 119th street, with an office building and the Illiana Hotel
marking the western end of the district. The monotony of this street, with
its closely packed one- and two-story stores, shops, restaurants, drug stores,
and other small businesses, is relieved at intervals by more impressive
buildings, a school, the postoffice, a bank, a motion picture house, and the
medieval appearing armory.
In the western part of the town, from 119th street north to the Lake,
are streets paved with brick and lined with tall poplars or maples, whose
neat rows of small, one-family houses, usually frame but occasionally brick
or stucco, are set on well-kept lawns. These dwellings, built close to-
gether and high off the ground, are occupied for the most part by the
owners. Further east, on New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio avenues, are
older, smaller cottages of the original "village," built in 1889 for the fore-
man, department heads, and higher salaried employees. Another residential
district, built up by the foreign-born refinery workers, lies to the south
of 119th street. Here dwellings are of more recent construction than those
north of 119th, but many houses have no lawns and some of the streets
are unpaved.
The Standard Oil plant covers 750 acres southeast of Whiting and
extends into East Chicago and Hammond. Industrial buildings, rows of
light-gray, squat tanks with slightly conical tops, many smaller black and
gray tanks of all shapes, complicated stills with a labyrinth of pipes,
railroad tracks, and trains of tanks and freight cars make this huge plant
a forest of iron and steel dedicated to the production of gasoline and
dozens of by-products. At night thousands of tiny lights outline stills and
tanks, whose dark bulks, etched against the night sky, are reminiscent of
pictures of castles in Grimm's fairy tales. By-products range from heavy
oils and greases for locomotives to light oils for wrist watches, oil coke,
fuel oil, volatile fuel used in cigarette lighters, 30 varieties of asphalt,
road oils, and tallow candles of many designs and shapes. Many products,
such as insecticides, polishes, and medicinal oils are compounded from
petroleum derivatives or from these derivatives and other chemicals.
232 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
About $150,000,000 has been spent on this oil refinery. The dangers
that attended oil refining in the earlier period have been virtually elim-
inated. Today oil from Standard Oil Company wells in Texas, Oklahoma,
and Kansas is stored at Humboldt, Kansas, and pumped 520 miles to
Whiting, where there are storage facilities for a week's supply for the
refinery. In the 49 years since ground was broken for the Whiting plant,
there have been revolutionary developments in the methods and objectives
of oil refining. The "cracking" process, major change in petroleum re-
fining, was developed by Dr. William H. Burton, chief of the laboratory
staff of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, and subjects the residue
of gasoline distillation, in special stills, to intense heat and high pressure,
thus nearly doubling the output of gasoline from crude petroleum. De-
velopment of the internal combustion engine created a demand for gaso-
line, and industrial chemists have developed many useful petroleum by-
products.
In 1935 the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation completed a
plant on a 40-acre tract adjoining the Standard Refinery. Thirteen build-
ings and equipment designed to utilize the wastes of the refinery were
erected at a cost of $10,000,000. These two-story brick buildings are set
in the midst of a maze of piping. A six-inch main carries the wastes to
the Carbide plant to be broken up by chemical processes into industrial
alcohols, anti-freeze mixtures, and fuel gas. The use of "bottled gas" in
rural areas has developed from 1,000,000 gallons annually a few years ago
to 33 times that amount in 1937. This plant has about 350 employees,
most of them highly skilled technicians or chemists.
Whiting is now the home of another important industry. The plant of
the American Smelting and Refining Company was completed in 1938.
On the former site of the Great Western Smelting and Refining Com-
pany, which plant was dismantled several years ago, the new plant refines
non-ferrous metals, gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc.
In area, Whiting, like East Chicago has permitted itself to be fore-
stalled by Hammond. Its natural line of development was west toward
the Illinois state line, or south, toward the shallow lakes that at one time
separated it from Hammond. But Hammond, with a better appreciation of
the industrial future of the Calumet, reached out and annexed the ter-
ritory up to the boundary of Whiting. Making the best of the situation,
Whiting has improved the shallow enclave on the shore of Lake Michigan.
The streets within this small area were graded and most of them paved,
concrete side-walks were laid, and a water and sewerage system was in-
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 233
stalled. Schools were built, a public library was established, and a fine
community center was completed in 1923.
Meanwhile, Standard Oil, having underestimated its own stature, found
it necessary to go beyond the town of its own creation and purchase tracts
in East Chicago and Hammond. Whiting's population has increased until
it can no longer provide homes for Standard Oil employees. Virtually
every building lot has been utilized, until there is a density of population
of about 6,000 to the square mile.
One-fourth of Whiting's townspeople are foreign-born. The typical
resident of the city is a Slav and members of this race make up over 90
per cent of the total population. Of the Slavs, 50 per cent are Slovaks,
35 per cent Polish, and the remainder Croatians, Slovenes, Serbians, and
Ruthenians. There is also a small group of Hungarians. Among the small
group of Americans living in Whiting are descendants of German
immigrant settlers, who in early days gave the community its Teutonic
complexion.
Because of overcrowded housing conditions, the city does not welcome
newcomers, and restrictions are placed on their taking residence. Whiting
prohibits Negroes from living within its limits.
Most of the Slavs are Roman Catholics, and their churches and organi-
zations predominate in the religious life of the city. The Slovaks hold the
one distinctive annual celebration in Whiting, when, on a day in mid-
summer, they gather in Wicker Park for a festival. The celebration is
ended that evening with a ball in Slovak Hall, and is presided over by
a "Queen" chosen from the Slovak women.
As a rule, descendants of the original group of Standard Oil employees
have not entered the service of the company. This group was among those
who built up the residential section lying north of 119th St. Today their
sons and daughters still live in Whiting, but, are, for the most part,
employed in Chicago.
Most impressive building in Whiting is the Memorial Community
House. Built in 1923 by the Standard Oil Company and the Rockefellers
as a memorial to those who fought in the World War, it is a center of
community activities. It houses two gymnasia, an auditorium, a ballroom,
two banquet halls, and meeting rooms for the American Legion, the Boy
Scouts, and the Girl Scouts. Agencies carrying on social work in Whiting
are the Red Cross, the Carmelite Home for Boys, the Carmelite Home for
Girls, and the Whiting Relief and Aid Society, all financed in part by
the community chest.
234 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
City schools are modern and, for the most part, architecturally pleasing.
A school budget of $282,657 (1938) provided education for almost 1,900
pupils, with a teaching staff of 70. In addition to the public schools, there
are four parochial schools with a total enrollment of about 1,700.
In the first three years of the primary schools, conventional teaching
methods are followed. After that the grades are departmentalized, similar
to the "platoon" system, and further variance includes introduction to
ten branches of the industrial arts. In the cultural field, emphasis is placed
upon music and drama.
Whiting schools are nationally known for the excellence of training given
in music. The department is under the direction of Adam P. Lesinsky,
president of the National School Orchestra Association. Students are
given individual instruction until qualified for group instruction, and from
the groups are chosen those who compose the orchestra and the band. The
Whiting High School orchestra in state-wide competition won first place
for six successive years, and on two occasions won first place in national
competitions.
The dramatic department of the public schools offers training in all
phases of the theater. Students manage the business, design and paint
scenery, make costumes, and act in the plays. Other plays, more ambitious
than those given by the schools, are produced in collaboration with the
Indiana Lake Shore Theater Guild at the Memorial Community House.
During the period of unrestricted immigration, when the labor turn-
over in the refinery was high, Whiting schools gave considerable attention
to adult education, and a dozen or more evening classes were held with an
enrollment of about 1,300. Courses were offered in English, American
history, and government. Often it was necessary to use interpreters in
these classes. In 1937 this school enlarged its program and now offers
instruction in any subject for which there is sufficient demand.
Further evidence of more than ordinary interest in music to be found in
Whiting is represented by Father John J. Lach's Symphonic Boy's Band.
Father Lach, pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, serving
a Slovak congregation, about ten years ago organized the Boys' and Girls'
Band, whose 85 members, all Slovaks, ranged in age from seven to twelve
years. Because of its juvenile character, the band created much interest
and in 1931 made a tour of the East, ending in Washington. Since that
time age limits have been changed to range from 12 to 20, girls have been
eliminated, and other nationalities, although Slovaks still predominate,
are represented. The band performed at the Chicago Century of Progress
and in 1937 made a European tour.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 235
Newspaper publication began in Whiting with the Democrat (1894-
1897), followed by the News (1894-1928), the Sun (1897-1909), the
Call (1909-1921), the Star (1925-1927), the Herald (1926), and the
Benjamin Franklin News (1926-1935) . The present newspaper, the Times,
began publication in 1935.
Founding of a city in connection with the building of one industry
brings together people with common interests and more or less uniform
standards of living. This has been true in Whiting. First residents, work-
ing side by side in the refineries, living side by side in the "village," and
enduring the hardships of the early days, have been bound together in
enduring social relationships. In 1894 the wives of industrial and civic
leaders organized the Fortnightly Club; the men have a Chamber of Com-
merce, lodges and clubs, typically American in character. The Slavs, upon
arrival in Whiting, organized their own societies, usually around the parish
church, where the language and traditions of their native land were re-
tained. Today Whiting is separated into two social groups, the line of
cleavage being 119th street. And although only a few miles separate it
from Chicago, it has none of the characteristics of a suburb; its interests
are purely local.
WHITING POINTS OF INTEREST
(1) ST. JOHN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, SE. cor. of
Lincoln Ave. and Benedict St., serves a congregation of Slovaks, who, for
the most part, reside in Whiting, though the building itself is in Roberts-
dale. Erected in 1930, the burr brick structure is Romanesque in style,
with a tall spire dominating the facade. A parochial school with an en-
rollment of 660 is taught by 17 nuns of the Sisters of Providence.
(2) CHURCH OF SS. PETER AND PAUL, 1809 Atchison St., a
small two-story red brick building, was the first church built in Whiting.
It was then known as the Sacred Heart Church.
(3) ST. JOHN EVANGELICAL CHURCH, 1701 Cleveland Ave.,
a rough-brick structure, dominated by a low square entrance tower, serves
a congregation of 350.
(4) DISCIPLES OF CHRIST CHURCH, 1829 Central Ave., a red
cloister brick structure with Bedford stone trimmings, in early English
Gothic style, serves as a community center with its clubrooms, game rooms,
reading rooms, a modern rectory, and a large gymnasium.
(5) SACRED HEART PARISH CHURCH, NE. cor. of 118th St.
and LaPorte Ave., red brick with limestone trim, has modified Roman-
esque details. Entrances are through rounded arches in a 100 ft. cam-
panile at the southwest corner. Back of the church is the rectory and
beyond that a school where 250 children are taught by the Sisters of
Providence. Next the school is a small red brick convent.
236 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
(6) PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1735 Oliver St., is a warm red-brick build-
ing with green pantile roof, set in a spacious lawn, whose dominant
feature is a low, octagonal tower. The semi-circular arch, broad gable
over the entrance, and a many sided 'turret suggest modified German
Romanesque influence.
This one-story building, whose ample basement and steep roof provides
attic storage, is divided into reading rooms by permanent walls. On the
shelves are approximately 21,500 volumes or 1.93 volumes per capita of
population.
(7) The "VILLAGE," local designation for the residential section now
embracing Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York Avenues and the north side
of 119th Street, was established as a housing project in 1889 by the oil
company. Construction of small cottages was started on all streets except
New York Avenue; as fast as houses were completed, they were assigned
to department heads, foremen, still-men, the superintendent, and others.
Sidewalks were laid with boards. In 1891 more pretentious residences were
constructed along New York Avenue. No one but an employee was al-
lowed to be a tenant so long as the company owned the houses. In later
years, properties were sold to occupants.
(8) WHITING POSTOFFICE, NE. cor. of New York Ave. and
119th St., suggests the Georgian style of the latter half of the eighteenth
century. But arising behind the normal roof line and recessed from it is a
quasi-Mansard effect, carrying the windows that give light and air to the
concealed second story.
(9) WHITING ARMORY, 1443— 119th St., a red-brick building
with a forbidding facade, broken only by three entrances of narrow width,
frowning towers at the two angles of the front, and a battlemented para-
pet and embrasures, originally was the Plymouth Congregational Church.
In 1927 it was bought by Company F, 113th Engineers, Indiana National
Guard, and radically altered. In 1935-36 the building was further improved
to provide adequate drill space, and an addition was built with Works
Progress Administration funds, approximately $53,000.
(10) FIRST M. E. CHURCH, NW. cor. of Clark Ave. and Com-
munity Court, is a red brick structure of old English ecclesiastical style,
with Indiana limestone trim. The doors and all the windows — many of
them mullioned — are set in this stone. A low square tower, at the south-
east angle of the building, arises a few feet above the peaked two-toned
slate roof. On portions of the facades, ivy mounts to the roof line. In the
interior naked timbers and rafters support the roof.
To the west of the church is the structure that houses social activities
of the congregation. This two-story building, the second story finished in
the old English style of naked beams imbedded in stucco, has a ladies'
parlor, rooms for the primary classes of the Sunday School, a well-
equipped kitchen, and two smaller rooms for committee meetings. In the
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 237
basement, quarters of the Boy Scout Troop of the congregation are de-
signed to convey the impression of a log cabin.
(11) MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOUSE, SW. cor. of Clark
Ave. and Community Court, is of rough-surfaced brick in several shades
of dark red, laid in rutted courses, bound with a lighter tinted mortar,
and relieved with trimming in limestone. The building is two stories with
a sloping roof of dark green pantiles. The design suggests the architecture
of southern Italy. The auditorium at the rear is under the same roof, but,
to minimize fire hazards, it is constructionally a distinct building. Off the
foyer are two large banqueting rooms, and an adjoining kitchen, with all
the appurtenances of a hotel kitchen.
Along the length of the broad corridor leading to the auditorium are
fire doors that may block all communication from this part of the building.
In a comfortably furnished meeting room, small organizations assemble.
One gymnasium is designed for women, girls and small children, the other
for men and boys.
On the second floor are quarters of the American Legion. There is, also
a large ballroom with a dance floor.
The Rockefellers, and the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, gave
$550,000 toward the erection and equipment of the building, and the
Standard Oil Company of Indiana participates in its maintenance.
(12) CHURCH OF ST. MARY, SE. cor. of Clark Ave. and John
St., is constructed of dark brick with stone trimming. On the spire that
surmounts the facade is a peculiar cross which has three bars of unequal
length, the lowest of the three aslant. This church is Roman Catholic, but
is known officially as a church of the Byzantine rite, or a Uniat Church.
(13) MASONIC TEMPLE, 512 Temple Court, is a building of brick
and stone, two stories high, with an English basement. It is also used for
services by Christian Scientists.
(14) ST. ADALBERT'S CENTER, SW. cor. of 121st St. and
Indianapolis Blvd., is a temporary frame building in which the Polish
people of Whiting worship. The school, the nuns' home, the auditorium,
and the rectory are of brick and stone, so situated that they will be adjuncts
to the permanent church which has yet to be built.
(15) CENTER OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, on
Whiteoak Ave. between John St. and Fred St., is a Roman Catholic School
serving Slovaks. On Whiteoak Avenue and Fred Street a conventional
three-story building of red brick, houses all activities of the parish. On
the grounds also are the parish house, and a shrine dedicated to the
Immaculate Conception, erected through the efforts of the Sodality of
the Blessed Virgin.
(16) FRONT AVENUE is an historic cul-de-sac extending from
121st St. to the lake. The short street is the western border of the
Standard Oil Company plant. In early days, the west side of the street
238 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
was a solid row of saloons where on "paydays" the workmen gathered
to "celebrate." Various signs in foreign languages and the babble of
foreign tongues gave a bizarre note to the avenue. Today the street is
colorless with a few dingy business buildings.
(17) WHITING PARK, bounded by the New York Central R. R.,
117th St., Front Ave. and the lake, is a 22-acre park with 2,000 feet of
sandy beach, and adequate bathhouses (fee 25c adults, lOc children; suits
rent for 25c adults, lOc children) . It has a children's playground under
supervision of play directors, a baseball field, a pistol range, a trapshooters'
range and tennis courts.
Map Appendix
240
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
241
GLENWOOD STAGE
of
INDIANA -ILLINOIS
LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE
242
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
243
ENVIRONS
OF THE
CALUMET 2
244
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
LEGEND
1. Gary Works
2. Union Drawn Steel Co. Plant
3. Gary Sheet and Tin Mill$
4. American Bridge Co Plant
1. Buffington Plant • Universal Atlas
Cement Co. «
2. Buffington Harbor
3. Standard Oil Co. Plant
4. Carbide and Carbon Co. Plant
5. Lever Bros. Plant
6. American Maize Products Plant
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
245
246
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 247
ADDITIONAL INDUSTRIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
1 — National Tube Co. Plant
2 — Gary Screw and Bolt Co. Plant
3 — Pacific Electric Mfg. Corp. Plant
4 — Standard Steel Spring Co. Plant
5 — General American Transportation Corp. Plant
6 — Linde Air Products Co. Plant
7 — Harbison-Walker Refractories Plant
8— O. F. Jordan Plant
9 — East Chicago Plant American Steel Foundries
10— Inland Steel Co. Plant
11 — Indiana Harbor
12 — Standard Forgings Co. Plant
13 — Indiana Harbor Ship Canal
14 — The Plant of The Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co.
15— The Globe Roofing Products Co. Plant
16 — State Line Generating Plant
17 — American Smelting and Refining Co. Plant
18 — Sinclair Refining Co. Plant
19 — Associated Box Co. Plant
20— U. S. Gypsum Co. Plant
21 — East Chicago Dock Terminal Co. Plant
22 — Hoosier Terminal Co. Plant
23— Wadhams Oil Plant
24 — Continental Roll and Steel Foundry Co. Plant
25 — George K. Limbert Co. Plant
26— Plant of the Edward Valve & Mfg. Co., Inc.
27_The Union Metals Products Co. Plant
28 — U. S. Reduction Co. Plant
29— Cities Service Oil Co. Plant
30— The Shell Petroleum Corp. Plant
31— U. S. S. Lead Refinery, Inc. Plant
32 — Superheater Co. Plant
33— The Graver Tank and Mfg. Co. Plant
34 — The Calumet Foundry and Machine Co. Plant
35 — The Famous Manufacturing Co. Plant
36— Albert Given Mfg. Co. Plant
37 — The Substation of The Northern Indiana Public Service Company
38— La Vendor Cigar Co. Plant
39— W. J. Holliday Co. Plant
40 — Plant of The Federal American Cement Tile Co.
41— Presto-Lite Co. Plant
42— The Champion Corp. Plant
43 — The Plant of The American Steel Foundries
44 — United Boiler Heating and Foundry Co. Plant
45— Nowak Milling Co. Plant
46— Hirsch Shirt Corp. Plant
47 — Plant of The Screw Conveyor Corp.
48— Plant of the Weller Metal Products Co.
49 — Queen Anne Candy Co. Plant
50— Riverdale Products Co. Plant
51 — Metz Furniture Co. Plant
52 — Southern Wheel Division of the American Brake Shoe and Foundry Co. Plant
53 — The Camel Plant of the Youngstown Steel Door Co.
54 — Beatty Machine and Mfg. Co. Plant
55— La Salle Steel Co. Plant
56 — Plant of the Champion Rivet Co.
57— The Air Reduction Sales Co. Plant
58— The Bates Expanded Steel Corp. Plant
59— Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Co. Plant
60— The Plant of the Cities Construction Co.
61 — Plant of the Hoess Manufacturing Co.
62— The Metals Refining Co. Plant
63 — Calumet Steel Castings Corp. Plant
64— Central Railway Signal Co. Plant
248
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
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THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
249
250
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
251
HAMMOND
TOUR
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CHICAGO
©ST.
LEGEND
1. County Courthouse
2. St Joseph's Catholic Church
3. Technical High School
4. St Margaret's Hospital
5. Harrison Park
6. Riverside Park
7. Woodmar Golf Club
8. Brooks House
9. City Han
10. Civic Auditorium
11. Jewish Synagogue
12. Church of All Saints
13. First Baptist Church
14. Federal Building
15. Public Library
16. Hohman Tavern Site
17. Church of St. Casimir
18. Central Catholic High School
19. Lake Front Park
^ _J
252
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
EAST CHICAGO
TOUR
1. Federal Building
2. RileyPark
3. Carmelite Orphanage
4. Church of the Immaculate Conception
5. Kosciusko Park
6. Elks Building
7. Masonic Temple
8. First M. i. Church
9. First Congregational Church
10. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Center
11. Tod Park
12. City Hall Park
13. City Hall
14. Washington Park
15. St. Catherine's Hospital
16. Sunnyside
17. Katherine Community House
18. Holy Trinity Church
19. Roumanian Church
20. St. Patrick's Church
Main Library Building
22. Lees Park
23. Washington School
24. Central Fire Station
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
253
WHITING
TOUR
1. St. John's Roman Catholic Church
2. Church of SS. Peter and Paul
3. St. John Evangelical Church
4. Disciples of Christ Church
5. Sacred Heart Parish Church
6. Public Library
7. The Village
8. Postoffice
9. Armory
10. First M. E. Church
11. Memorial Community House
12. Church of St. Mary
13. Masonic Temple
14. St. Adalbert's Center
15. Ce-'er of the Immaculate Conception
16. Front Avenue
17. Whiting Park
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 255
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DUNES
Alice, Marjorie Hill. Ann's Surprising Summer. Boston, Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1933. 199 p. illus. Fiction.
Bailey, E. Stillman. The Sand Dunes of Indiana. Chicago, A. C.
McClurg & Co., 1917. 165 p. illus. A story told by camera and pen.
Blatchley, W. S. Geology of Lake and Porter Counties. (In Indiana
Department of Geology and Natural Resources. Report, 1897. p.
25-104.) Indianapolis, n.d. Description of Dunes and notes on flora.
Brennan, George A. The Wonders of the Dunes. Indianapolis, The
Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1923. 326 p. illus.
Cottman, George S. Indiana Dunes State Park- A History and Descrip-
tion. Indianapolis, 1930, 67 p. (Dept. of Conservation n. Pub. No. 97) .
Cressey, George Babcock. The Indiana Sand Dunes and Shore Lines of
the Lake Michigan Basin. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1928.
80 p. (The Geographic Society of Chicago. Bulletin No. 8) .
Downing, Elliot Rowland. A Naturalist in the Great Lakes Region.
Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1922. 328 p.
Harper, Samuel A. A Hoosier Tramp. Chicago, The Prairie Club, 1928.
151 p. An account of a hike through the Dunes.
Mulder, Arnold. The Sand Doctor. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1921. 317 p. Fiction.
Peattie, Donald Culross. Flora of the Indiana Dunes. Chicago, Field
Museum of Natural History, 1930. 432 p. illus.
Reed, Earl H. The Dune Country. New York, John Lane Co., 1916.
288 p. illus. by the author.
Reed, Earl H. Sketches in Duneland. New York, John Lane Co., 1918.
281 p. illus. by the author.
Alvord, Clarence W. "The Conquest of St. Joseph, Michigan, by the
Spaniards in 1781." Missouri Historical Review, Jan. 1908, v. 2:
195-210.
Ball, Timothy Horton. Lake County, Indiana from 1834 to 1872. Chi-
cago, J. W. Goodspeed, 1873. 364 p.
Ball, Timothy Horton. Lake County, Indiana, 1884. An Account of the
Semi-Centennial Celebration. Crown Point, The Old Settlers Associa-
tion of Lake County, 1884. 485 p.
Bowers, John O. Dream Cities of the Calumet. Gary, Calumet Press,
1929, 32 p. maps. Early history of the region.
Cannon, Thomas H., and others. History of the Lake and Calumet
Region of Indiana Embracing the Counties of Lake, Porter, and
LaPorte. Indianapolis, Historians Association, 1927. Vol. 1, 840 p.
Goodspeed, Weston A. and Blanchard, Charles. Counties of Porter and
Lake. Chicago, F. A. Battey & Co., 1882. 771 p.
Howat, William Frederick. A Standard History of Lake County Indians
and the Calumet Region. Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1915.
Vol. 1, 471 p. illus., port., maps.
256 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Old Settlers Association of Lake County, Indiana. Reports of the His-
torical Secretary from 1885 to 1890. Hammond, Cleveland & Glot-
felter, 1893. 42 p. port.
— Reports of the Historical Secretary from 1891 to 1895. Crown Point,
Lake County Star, 1895. 47 p. port.
—Reports of the Historical Secretary from 1896 to 1900. Crown Point,
Crown Point Register, 1901. 88 p. port.
— Reports of the Historical Secretary from 1901 to 1905. Crown Point,
J. J. Wheeler, 1905. 100 p.
—Reports of the Historical Secretary from 1906 to 1910. Crown Point,
J. J. Wheeler, 1910. 95 p.
— Hanover Papers and S. C. Dwyer's Address. Hammond, Cleveland
Printing Co., 1907. 31 p.
—Publication No. 6. Crown Point, J. J. Wheeler, 1909, 29 p.
— Report of the Historical Secretary and Papers. Crown Point, Crown
Point Register, 1911. 72 p.
— Historical Records of Lake County, n. p. 1924. 63 p.
— Vol. 11. Crown Point, Lake County Star, 1934. 342 p.
Lake County Historical Association. History of Lake County, Vol. 10.
Gary, Calumet Press, 1929. 223 p. illus., maps.
Sheehan, Mrs. Frank J. "The Northern Boundary of Indiana." (In
Indiana Historical Society, Publications. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill
Co., 1930. v. 8, p. 289-321).
Woods, Sam B. The First Hundred Years of Lake County., Indiana.
n. p., 1938. 418 p.
INDIANS
Hodge, Frederick Webb, ed. Handbook of American Indians North of
Mexico. Washington, Govt. Printing Office, 1912. Two parts, 972,
1221 p. illus., maps. (Smithsonian Institute. Bureau of American
Ethnology. Bulletin 30.)
Strong, William Duncan. The Indian Tribes of the Chicago Region with
Special Reference to the Illinois and Potawatomi. Chicago, Field
Museum of Natural History, 1926. 35 p. plates. (Anthropology
Leaflet 24) .
Skinner, Alanson. The Mascoutens or Prairie Potawatomi Indians.
(Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, v. 6, No.
1, 2, 3.) Milwaukee, 1927. 411 p. plates.
Smith, Huron H. Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians. (Bulle-
tin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, v. 7, No. 1.)
Milwaukee, 1933. 231 p. plates.
CARTOGRAPHY
Karpinsky, Louis C. Historical Atlas of the Great Lakes and Michigan.
Lansing, Michigan Historical Commission, 1931. 104 p.
Karpinsky, Louis C. Bibliography of the Printed Maps of Michigan.
1804-1880. Lansing, Michigan Historical Commission, 1931. 539 p.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 257
HIGHWAYS — RAILWAYS — WATERWAYS
Lincoln Highway Association. The Lincoln Highway. New York, Dodd,
Mead & Co., 1935. 315 p. plates, port.
Quaife, Milo M. Chicago's Highways Old and New. From Indian Trail
to Motor Road. Chicago, D. F. Keller dC Co., 1923. 278 p. illus., maps.
Chicago Regional Port Commission. Report on the Creation of an Inter-
state Port Authority for the States of Illinois and Indiana, n. p. 1933.
90 p. maps.
LABOR
"Carnegie-Illinois Agrees to Withdraw Support of Company Unions."
Iron Age, April 29, 1937, v. 139: 93-94.
"Industrial War. Little Steel, 1937." Fortune, Nov. 1937, v. 16: 166.
"It Happened in Steel." Myron C. Taylor Formula and Mr. Lewis.
Fortune, May 1937, v. 15: 91-94.
Gulich, Charles A. Labor Policy of the United States Steel Corporation.
New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1924, 200 p. (Studies in History,
Economics and Public Law, Columbia University, vol. 116, No. 1.)
Harbison, F. H. Collective Bargaining in the Steel Industry, 1937.
Princeton, N. J., Princeton University, 1937. 43 p.
Pound, Arthur. "Steel Shoulders a Relief Problem." Atlantic Monthly,
Feb. 1935, v. 155: 251-8.
Taylor, Paul S. Mexican Labor in the United States. Part 7. Chicago
and the Calumet Region. Berkeley, University of California, 1932.
284 p. (Vol. 7, No. 2 University of California Publications in
Economics.)
JUDGE GARY
Cotter, Arundel. The Gary I Knew. Boston, Stratford Co., 1928. 136
p. port.
Tarbell, Ida M. Life of Elbert H. Gary. New York, D. Appleton &
Co., 1926. 361 p.
U. S. Steel Corporation. Elbert Henry Gary, 1846-1927. A Memorial.
New York, 1927. 61 p.
U. S. STEEL CORPORATION
"The Corporation: United States Steel and Major Subsidiaries." Fortune,
March v. 13: 58-67; April, 126-132; May, 92-7; June, 1936, 113-120.
Berglund, Abraham. The United States Steel Corporation. New York,
Columbia University Press, 1907. 178 p. (Studies in History, Eco-
nomics and Public Law, Vol. 27, No. 2.) A study of the growth and
influence of combination in the iron and steel industry.
Reichmann, A. "History of the Steel Industry in the Chicago District."
Journal Western Society of Engineers, Feb. 1938 v. 43: 37-42.
Ware, N. J. "Wages and Profits in the United States Steel Corpora-
tion." New Republic, Oct. 21, 1931, v. 68: 265.
GARY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: THE WORK-STUDY-PLAY SYSTEM
Bourne, Randolph S. The Gary Schools. Boston, Houghton Mifflin
Co., 1916. 204 p.
258 THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE
Dewey, John and Evelyn. Schools of Tomorrow. New York, C. P.
Dutton & Co., 1915. 316 p. front., plates.
"Gary School Survey." Elementary School Journal, Feb. 1919, v. 19:
473-81. A criticism of the General Education Board's report of their
survey of the Gary schools.
GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD SURVEY OF GARY SCHOOLS
1. Flexner, Abraham and Bachman, Frank P. The Gary Schools: A
General Account.
2. Strayer, George D. and Bachman, Frank P. The Gary Public Schools:
Organization and Administration. New York, General Education
Board, 1918. 126 p. tables.
3. Bachman, Frank P. and Bowman, Ralph. The Gary Public Schools:
Costs, School Year, 1915-16. New York, General Education Board,
1918. 82 p. tables.
4. Richards, Charles R. The Gary Public Schools: Industrial Work.
New York, General Education Board, 1918. 204 p. illus.
5. White, Eva W. The Gary Public Schools: Household Arts. New
York, General Education Board, 1918. 49 p.
6. Hammer, Lee F. The Gary Public Schools: Physical Training and
Play. New York, General Education Board, 1919. 35 p.
7. Caldwell, Otis W. The Gary Public Schools: Science Teaching. New
York, General Education Board, 1919. 125 p. charts.
8. Courtis, Stuart A. The Gary Public Schools: Measurement of Class-
room Products. New York, General Education Board, 1919. 532 p.
tables.
McMillen, James A. The Gary System: A Bibliography. Rochester,
University of Rochester, 1917. 15 p.
Shaffer, Velma Ruth. The Gary System: A Bibliography. 1916-1935.
New York, School of Library Service, Columbia University, 1935. 19 p.
THE NEGRO PEOPLE
"Consumers' Cooperation Among Negroes." Monthly Labor Review,
Feb. 1936, v. 42: 369-71.
Fowler, Bertram B. "Miracle in Gary: The Negro Gropes Toward Eco-
nomic Equality." Forum, Sept., 1936, v. 96: 134-7.
Frazier, E. K. "Earnings of Negroes in the Iron and Steel Industry."
Monthly Labor Review, March, 1937, v. 44: 564-79.
UTILITIES
Blackburn, Glen A. "Gary Street Railway. Gary-Hobart and Gary-
Crown Point Railway." Indiana Magazine of History, Dec., 1924,
v. 20: 415-16, 421-23.
CITIES
Haig, R. M. "The Unearned Increment in Gary." Political Science
Quarterly, March, 1917, v. 32: 80-94.
Moore, Will H. // I Had Known About Gary in 1909. Chicago, Barnard
& Miller, 1909. 120 p. illus.
THE CALUMET REGION HISTORICAL GUIDE 259
Sheehan, Mrs. Frank J. Gary in the World War. 2 v. 326, 434 p.
Typewritten.
Starkey, Otis P. "Cities Built on Sand." Survey, Oct. 1, 1932, v. 68:
461-3. Gary in relation to regional planning and economic geography.
Leonard, Robert S. Some Facts Concerning the People, Industries, and
Schools of Hammond.
East Chicago-Indiana Harbor: Twin Cities of Indiana. Political, Histori-
cal and Industrial Sketch. 1913. 96 p. illus.
Flynn, John T. God's Gold: The Story of Rockefeller and His Times.
New York, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1932. 520 p. The story of the
man and the corporation that created the city of Whiting.
Montague, Gilbert Holland. The Rise and Progress of the Standard Oil
Co. New York, Harper & Bros., 1903. 143 p.
Tarbell, Ida M. History of the Standard Oil Co. The Macmillan Co.,
1904. 2 v. 406, 409 p. illus.
BIOGRAPHY
Ball, Timothy Horton. Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of
Lake County, Indiana. Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co., 1904. 674 p.
Howe, Frances R. The Story of a French Homestead in the Old North-
west. Columbus O., Press of Nitschke Bros., 1907. 165 p. The
story of Joseph Bailly and his family.
Kellar, Herbert Anthony. Solon Robinson: Pioneer and Agriculturist.
Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Bureau, 1936. 2 v. 582, 556 p.
Lester, J. W. "Pioneer Stories of the Calumet." Indiana Magazine of
History, June, Dec., 1922, v. 18: 166-176, 347-358.
Pictorial and Biographical Record of LaPorte, Porter, Lake, and Starke
Counties. Chicago, Goodspeed Bros., 1894. 569 p. port.
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
- •*
Appleton, John B. Iron and Steel Industry of the Calumet District. A
Study in Economic Geography. Urbana, University of Illinois, 1925.
133 p.
Streightoff, F. D. and F. H. Indiana: A Social and Economic Survey.
Indianapolis, W. K. Stewart Co., 1916. 261 p.
INDEX
Abbott, W. Rufus 172
Ackerman, William 31
Advance, Calumet 150
Aeolin String Quartette 47
Aetna 163, 165, 186
Aetna Powder Co 24. 32. 133, 186
Ahlendorf, Louis 216
Ainsworth 131
Air Reduction Sales Co. Plant 115
Albach, William 47
Aldis, Owen T 218
Aldrich, Charles H 203
Albright. Adam Emory 48
Allen, J. G 222
Allison. Andrew 20
Allouez, Father 11. 15
All Saints, Church of (Hammond).. ..2 11
Alvord, Burdick and Honson 176
Alyea, John 127
Amalgamated Association of Iron,
Steel and Tin Workers 62
Ambridge 191
Ambridge Glee Club 47
American (Newspaper) 54
American Brake Shoe and Foundry
Co. Plant 114
American Bridge Company 161, 164
Plant 90
American Federation of Labor
57, 60, 62, 63, 64
American Maize Products Co 206
Plant 96
American Smelting & Refining Co.. .232
Plant 108
American Sheet and Tin Plate Co.
161, 164
American Steel Foundries.. 25, 32, 62, 220
Plant 106.113
Applegate, Rev. L. W 38
Armory, 113th Engineers 192
Arthur Patterson Museum 117
Ashkum, Chief ("More So") 14,149
Associated Box Co. Plant 109
Association of Music and Allied Arts 47
Assyrian Presbyterian Church (Gary) 37
Atchison. Robert 229
Audubon Inn 117
Augsburg Swensk Scola (Bethlehem
Swedish Church) 139
August, Garry 50
— B —
Bailly, Alexis 27
Bailly, Eleanor 27
Bailly, Francis 27
Bailly, Joseph 19, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. 193
Homestead, 139; see also de Mes-
sein, Joseph Aubert de Gaspe
Bailly.
Bailly, Mitchell 27
Bailly, Phillip 27
Bailly, Robert 29
Bailly, Rose 29, 139
Bailly, Sophie 27
Baileytown 19, 29. 71
Ball Estate. Site of Old 125
Ball, Erasmus, Home 120
Ball, Hervey 44. 125
Ball, Rev. Timothy H 125. 128
Bollard, Mary 50
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 76,79
Barnard, Rosina 42
Bartlett Woods Farm 129
Bastion Glen 48
Bates Expanded Steel Corp. Plant.... 115
Beach House "Blowout" 140
Bear Brand Hosiery Company 162
Beatty Machine and Mfg. Co. Plant..! 15
Becker, Lawrence 44
Bell, Lieut. Charles A 31
Bell. Lola Mallatt 51
Belman, W. C 208
Bemis, Private 20
Ben-Ack, Chief ("A-Little-One-Sided")
14
Benetzsky. George 47
Benjamin Franklin News (Whiting)..235
Bennett Tavern 21
Benz, Carl 51
Berry, Hannah 21
Berry Tavern 21
Bertrand (Fur Trader) 19
Bethea. Dennis A 52
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal
Church (Hammond) 52
Betz, Frank S., Company 203
Beverly Shores 136
Beverly Shores Inn 141
Bielecky, Stanley 49
"Big Blowout" 141
"Big Steel" (United States Steel
Corporation) 3. 58, 64, 66
Binyon. John 126
Binyon. Nancy 126
Blanchard 15
B'nai Israel Congregation (Indiana
Harbor) 37
Bomberger, Louden L 159
Bonevman, Antonie 123
Boomer, Frances 49
Boos, John 124
Bowles, Frances 50
Bowers. John 0 25, 26
Boyd, Thomas 35
Boynton, George H 202
Boys Working Reserve 34
Brady, John 49
Brass, Allen H 123
Brass, Julia Watkins 123
Brass Tavern, Site of 123
Brennan 16
Bretsch, Clarence 158
Brooks, Dr. Charles A., 210; House..210
Brown, Alexander F 43
Brown, Henry Baker, 119; House 120
Brown, Rev. I. C ... 36
262
INDEX
Brown, Jacob L 125
Brown, Nathan A 31
Brown, Thomas 10, 20
Brownell, Clarence Ludlow 50
Bryan, Louis A 150, 159,196
Bryant, E. W 35
Buchsbaum Elizabeth 48
Buck, Joseph (see also Bukowski)..49, 51
Buffington, Eugene J 153, 174
Buffington Harbor 69, 92
Buffington Park 165, 186
Buffington Plant 91
(see Universal Atlas Cement Co.)
Bukowski, Joseph 49. 51
(see also Buck, Joseph)
Burke, Katherine 50
Burnett (Fur Trader) 19
Burns. Randall W 70
Burns Ditch 70
Burrel, L. B 52
Burton, Dr. William H 232
Butternut Spring 118
— C —
Colder, George 47
Caldwell, Millard A 158, 159
Calhoun, James E 20
California Exchange Hotel, Site of.. ..122
Call (Whiting) 235
Calumet, acceptance of name 9
Calumet Advance . 150
Calumet Beach 131. 132
Calumet Canal & Improvement Co...218
Calumet Foundry and Machine Co.
Plant 112
Calumet Gun Club 154
"Calumet Heights" 173
Calumet Lake 70
Calumet Motor Coach Company 80
Calumet Region, 3, 14; Cartography,
6; Labor, 56-67; Negro in, 51-56;
Population (1905), 3; (1939), 3;
Religious History, 34-38; Transpor-
tation 67-81
Calumet River 7, 8, 68, 69, 131
see also Grand Calumet River and
Little Calumet River.
Calumet Sag Canal 69
Calumet Steel Castings Corp. Plant.. 116
Calumet Symphony Orchestra 46
Cameron Game Preserve 127
Cameron, William 127
Camp 117, 133
Campbell, Mrs. Abbie Fifield 197
Campbell, Adam S., Home 120
Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Reuben 157
Campbell, T. E. A., Home 120
Carbon and Carbide Chemical Corp-
oration (Whiting), 57. 232; Plant.... 94
Carillco Band 47
Carlson Planetarium 142
Carmelite Home for Boys (Whiting)..233
Carmelite Home for Girls (Whiting)..233
Carmelite Orphanage (East Chicago)
....222,223
Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp. (see also
Gary Works) 32, 58, 67, 81, 175
Carr, Frederick 50
Carr, William 133
Carr's Beach 133
Cartier 6
Cass, John E 44
Castlebrook Golf Club 126
Cedar Creek Township 127
Cedar Lake 125, 126, 13'0
Conference Grounds 126
Central Baptist Church (Gary) 188
Central Catholic High School (Ham-
mond) 212
Central Christian Church (Gary) 36
"Central District" (Gary) 54
Central Railway Signal Co. Plant 116
Centra Espanol (Gary) 192
Chamberlain, Ebenezer M 43
Chamber of Commerce (Whiting) 235
Chambers, Frank 158
Champion Corp. Plant 113
Champion Rivet Co. Plant 115
Champlain 6
Chandonnai, John Baptiste 14
Chanute, Octave 137
Chapman, John 22
Charlevoix-Bellin Map 7
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 78
Chevalier, Chief Francois 14
Chicago & Atlantic Railroad 77
Chicago & Calumet District Transit
Company, Inc 80
Chicago & Cincinnati Railroad 77
Chicago & Erie Railroad Company,
see Erie Railroad.
Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad 76
Chicago & Terminal Railroad 78, 79
Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad 77
Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville
Railroad 78
Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville
Railway Co 77
Chicago Regional Planning Commis-
sion 6, 209
Chicago River 7
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal 69
Chicago, South Shore & South Bend
Railway 81
Chiesa, Vivian Delia 47
Chi Sigma Gamma 171
Choir Chopin 47
Choir Laura 47
Christ Episcopal Church (Gary) 187
Christian Church (Hammond) 36
Church of Christ (Lowell) 36
Ciega, George 48
Ciega, Jean 51
Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad 75
Cincinnati, Richmond & Muncie Rail-
road 78
Circuit Court Building (Crown Point) 41
Circuit Court of Lake County 22
Cities Construction Co. Plant 115
Cities Service Oil Co., 221; Plant Ill
City Church (Gary) 35, 162, 167, 187
City West 22
INDEX
263
Civil War, 31; Recruits Camp,
Site of, 120
Clark 24
Clark, George W 23,24,203,215
Clark, Mary Lois 47
Clark, William 22, 38, 43
Clayton, Mayor L. B 176
Cleveland, Clyde 45
Cline, George T 23
Close, Robert 229
Cloutier, Jean Baptiste 193
Cochrane, John C 39
Cody, John 44
Colby, A. C 176
Collins, Louise Wilder 48
Columbus School (East Chicago) 52
Colwell, Hugh 39
Colwell, Thomas 39
Commercial Wallpaper Mill, Inc. pi. 103
Committee for Industrial Organiza-
tion, (CIO) 63, 64, 67
Community Chest (Whiting) 233
Community Congregational Church
(Miller) 37
Community House (Crown Point) 128
Community House (Whiting) 46
Community Labor Boards 34
Community Theatre (East Chicago).... 50
Congregational Church (East Chgo.) 37
Conkey, W. B., Co., 25, 203; Plant....l03
Consumers' Co-operative Credit
Union 55
Continental Roll and Steel Co 219, 220
Continental Roll & Steel Foundry Co.,
219, 220; Plant 110
Continental Watershed 125
Cook 125
Coolidge, Pres. Calvin 123
Cooper, Gertrude 51
Coquillard (Fur Trader) 19
Corlin Nels 48
Coronelli Map 7
Cowan, W. P 230
Cowles, Dr. Henry W 134
Cowles Tamarack Swamps 134
Cox, Aaron 125
"Cracking" Process 232
Creative 50
Criminal Court Bldg. (Crown Point).... 41
Crites, Maurice E 44
Crockett, "Colonel".. 133
Crooks, William B 22, 43
Cross, Adeline 49
Cross, Rev. Ellis G 36
Crown Point....35, 38, 39, 41. 74, 125.
128, 129; County Courthouse, First,
128; Public Library 128
Crumpacker, E. D 152
Cudahy Packing Co. Plant 97
Curtis, Harvey J 45
Cutler, Thomas H 159
— D —
Dablon, Father 15
Dale Carlia Lake 126
Danch, William 48
Danville, Hohman, Map 8
Darrah, Juanita E 51
Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion, Pottawatomi Chapter.... ..135, 195
Davis, John C 22
Deagling, Kenneth 49
Deavitt, Albert G 44
Deep River, 70, 121; Site of Ferry,.. 116
Dekker, Dirk 48
Delisle, Map 7
Delphinium Dells 119
de Messein, Joseph Aubert de Gaspe
Bailly, 26; see also Bailly, Joseph.
Democrat (Whiting) 235
Dennewitz, Carl 0 50
Dent, James W 52
De Peyster, Major 30
De Saint Lusson, Daumond 15
Descension of the Holy Ghost Church 38
Detroit State Road 72
de Ville, Rev. Father John B., 50, 194
Diana of the Dunes 134
Dickson, A. B 47
Disciples of Christ Church (Whiting)..235
Doll House 190
Doolittle, Amos 8
Dorsey, Allen 25
Douglas, Mrs. Stephen A 201
Dubrieul, August 124
Dubrieul, John L 124
Dudley, Frank V 48, 140
Duncan, Catherine Lorrian 53
Duncan, Samuel J.. 37, 53
Dune Acres. 134, 165; Clubhouse,
134; Country Club, 134; Inn 134
Dune Country 4, 129-146
Wild Flowers 142-146
Dunes, Battle of the 29
Dunes Highway (US 12) 71-72
Duneside Inn 135
Dupes, Madeline „ 49
Du Pont Co 62
Durbin, Col. Winfield T 32
Dyer ..124. 131
Dyer Flour Mills 124
— E —
Eagle Creek 127
Earle, George 22,39, 117
Art Gallery, Site of 119
East Chicago 3. 5, 32, 39, 40, 51, 52, 68
Central Fire Station, 226; Chamber
of Commerce, 223; Chronology,
214-215; City Hall, 225; City Hall
Park, 225;; City Limits, 231; Gen-
eral Information, 213-214; Main
Library Bldg., 226; Male Chorus,
47; Street Railway 176
East Chicago Dock Terminal Co.,
Plant 109
Edgerton, Horace 30, 126
Edward Valve & Manufacturing Co.,
Inc., 32; Plant 110
Eight-Sided House (Valparaiso) 120
Elbert H. Gary (Steamship) 160
264
INDEX
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Belt-Line Ry.,
78, 79; Yards 164
Elks Band (Gary) 47
Elks Building (East Chicago) 224
Ellyson, Martha 48
Elm-Oak Marriage Tree 139
Emerson School (Gary) 165
Ensweiler, Nell 50
Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad 73
Erie Railroad 76, 77
see also Chicago & Erie Railroad Co.
Euston, Mrs. J. 1 48
— F —
Fallen Timbers, Battle of 11
Famous Manufacturing Co. Plant 112
Fancher Lake 129
Farina Bus Line 80
Farovid, John R 222
Farrar Choral Club 47
Farrington House 120
Father Lach's Band 48
Federal American Cement Tile Co.
Plant 113
Federal Building (East Chicago) 223
(Gary), 184; (Hammond) 211
Federation of Women's Clubs 46
Feltzer, Mrs. Leo 51
Field, Elisha C 44
Fine Arts, Calumet Region 46-51
Finley. John 121
First Baptist Church (Gary), 37
First Baptist Church (Hammond) 211
First Church of Christ (Whiting) 36
First Congregational Church (East
Chicago), 224; (Gary) 37, 190
First M. E. Church (Whiting) 236
First Presbyterian Church (Gary)..37, 189
Fisher, Carl 72
Five Points 206
Flint's Geography & History of the
Western States 10
Florida-Canadian Road (US 41) 72
Food Administration Committee 33
Forbis, William 152
Ford, David E 52
Former Post Office Building (Gary).. ..187
Forsythe, Caroline M 203
Forsythe Park 209
Forsythe, Jacob 24 203, 204. 216
Fort Creek 140
Fort Dearborn-Detroit Trail 21,71
Fort Joseph (see also Fort St. Joseph) 7
Fortnightly Club (Whiting) 235
Fort St. Joseph 17. 29
Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad 75
Foster. William Z 60. 61
"Four Comers" 219
Four-Minute Men 34
Fournier, Alexis Jean 48
Fowler, Jane 48
Fowler, L. A 38
Franciscan Seminary (Polish) 125
Frank S. Betz Company 203
Franquelin, Jean Baptiste 6
Frederickson, Henry 22
Freeman, Lorenzo, Home 120
French and Indian War 11
Friendship House (Gary) 54. 197
Friends of Our Native Landscape 134
Froebel School 166
Front Avenue (Whiting) 237
Fry, Sergeant Alfred 31
Fur Trading 27
Furness Home, Old 141
Furnessville "Blowout" 140
— G —
Gary 3, 5, 33, 40, 41. 51, 69, 133
Central Police and Fire Station,
184; Child Guidance Clinic, 183;
Chronology, 148-149; City Hall,
188; Commercial Club and Cham-
ber of Commerce, 187; Community
Chest, 172; General Information,
147-148; Municipal Bathhouse 136;
Public Library, 49, 186; Public
School's Art Association, 48; Utili-
ties, 172; Water Supply, 176; Gas
Reservoirs 85
Gary Art League 48
Gary-Alerding Settlement House 166
Gary Boy Scout Camp 136
Gary Chamber Music Association 47
Gary Choir Karogeorge 47
Gary Civic Band 47
Gary Civic Theatre 49
Gary Country Club 129
Gary, Judge Elbert H
56, 59, 60, 61, 151, 152, 153, 163, 194
Gary Gateway, 164, 183; Plaza 162
Gary Heat, Light and Water Co.,
85, 174, 175, 176, 178
Gary and Interurban Railroad Co 177
Gary International Institute 195
Gary Land Company
133, 156. 162, 164, 174, 183
Gary Liederkranz Society 47
Gary Municipal Chorus 47
Gary Municipal Gun Club House 137
Gary Post-Tribune, 170; Building,. ...184
Gary Public Schools 178-183
Gary Railways Company 177, 178
Gary Screw and Bolt Co., 162; Plant.. 105
Gary Sheet and Tin Mills (Carnegie-
Illinois Steel Corporation) 86
Gary Steel Mills 4, 35
Gary Street Railway 177
Gary Telephone Plant 178
Gary Women's Press Club 50
Gary Works (United States Steel
Corporation)..32, 58. 69, 81, 160,
161. 168, 169, 170; Blast Furnaces,
82; Coke Plant, 82; Open Hearth
Furnaces, 83; Rail Mill, 83; Turn-
ing Basin, 81; Wheel Plant 84
Gastaldi, Map 6
Gavit, Frank N 176
General American Tank Car Co 64
General American Transportation
Corporation Plant 105
George Earle Art Gallery, Site of,
118; House. Site of 118
INDEX
265
George Einsele Hotel 125
German Lutheran 36
Geyer, Ann Howe 48
Gibson, David 205
Gibson Inn 21
Gibson Station 202
Gibson Transfer 205
Gillett, Hiram A 44, 45
Gillett, John H 44, 45
Given, Albert Mfg. Co. Plant 112
Gleason, Mary Louise 160
Gleason. William P 153
Gleason, W. P., Welfare Center 196
Clinic 167
Glen Park 163. 165, 166
Glenwood Beach 124, 131
Globe Roofing Products Co. Plant.... 108
Goldman, Irvin 50
Gompers, Samuel 60
Goodrich, James P 135
Goodspeed, Weston 25
Grand Calumet River
4. 6. 70, 150, 155, 165. 167
Grand Trunk Western Railway 76
Grasselli Chemical Co.. 32. 219; Plant 98
"Grave Yard" 141
Graver Tank and Manufacturing
Corporation, 57, 64, 219; Plant 112
Great Eastern Railway Company 76
Great Lakes 6
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co 160
Great Lakes-Gulf of Mexico Water-
way System, 4; Project 70
Green, Alanson, Tavern 135
Green, Alvin 31
Green and Alexander (Lawyers) 53
Greenwald, Charles E 45
Greenwood, Una A 48
Griggs, Mrs. Bessie 53
Gunnell, Ruth Young 48
Gurnee, Odgers T 50
— H —
Haag, O. O 48
Haan, Maj. Gen. William G 33
Hack, John 35, 125
Half Houses (Valparaiso) 120
Halstead, M. A 127
Halstead. Samuel 127
Hamelin. Capt. Baptiste 30
Hamilton, Col. Thomas G 33
Hammond..3. 5, 32, 34, 35, 39, 40, 51,
176, 201, 202, 207; Chamber of
Commerce, 209; Chronology, 200-
201; Civic Auditorium, 211; Civic
Center, 46; Civic Drama Guild,
49; City Hall, 211; City Limits,
231; Community Chest, 209; Com-
munity Theatre. 50; Filtration
Works. 206, 212; General Informa-
tion, 199-200; Park Board, 209;
Public Library 211
Hammond Electric Railway Co 79
Hammond, George H 201.202,203
Packing Company 24. 207
Hammond Horse and Steam Street
Railway Company 79
Hammond Orpheus Choir 46
Hammond Painter and Sculptors
League 48
Hammond Symphony Orchestra 47
Hammond, Whiting & East Chicago
Railway Company 79, 80
Hanley, Governor Frank 127
Harbison-Walker Refractories Plant.. 106
Hardy, Walter T 44
Harris, Glenn 158
Harrison Park (Hammond) 210
Harrison, William Henry 18
Hart, A. M 124
Hart Ditch 124
Haynie, William Duff 153
Hebron 127
Hedrick, Dr. R. H 53
Hegewisch 15
Hellenic Orthodox (Greek) Church
(Gary) 194
Hemingway, Clara Edmonds 59
Henderson, Thomas 10, 20
Hennepin, Father 7
Hennepin's Map 7
Henry E. Cutler Model Farm 126
Herald (Whiting) " 235
Hering, Henry 138
Hess, Frank 205
Hess, Joseph 205
Hessville 24, 205
Hessville Church of Christ 36
Highland 123, 131
Highways 71
Hill, Walter 51
Hill's Tavern 119
Hindmarch. Alan 49
Hirsch Shirt Corp. Plant 114
Historic House (Gary) 188
Hixon, Jeremy 39
Hobart 3,75, 117
Hodgers, Leslie 54
Hodges, Mayor W. F 61
Hoess Manufacturing Co. Plant 116
Hoffman Opera House 39
Hohman, Mrs. Caroline 210
Hohman, Ernest .201, 202
Hohman Opera House 36, 37
Hohman's Tavern, 201; Site of 211
Hohmanville 201, 202
see also Hammond.
Holliday, W. J. Company Plant 113
Holmes. C. 0 158. 159
Holy Angels Church and School
(Gary) 190
Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Church
(East Chicago) 38
Holy Trinity Church (East Chicago)..225
Home for Colored Children (Gary)... 196
Hoosier Art Salon (Chicago) 46
"Hoosier's Nest" 121
Hoosier Terminal Company Plant 110
Hoover, Donald D 50
Hoover, Mrs. Donald D 51
Hopkins, Senator A. J 153
266
INDEX
Horace Mann School (Gary) 165, 191
Horner, David 126
Hotchkiss, Chas. W 218, 219
Howe, Frances 26, 28, 29, 139
Howe, J. Fred 48
Howe, Susan 48
Hotel Gary 188
Hubbard, Jack 50
Hubbard Steel Foundry 219
Hubbell, Lieut. Charles 0 32
Huber, Helen Ruth 48
Huff, Frank J 158
Huff, Gary 158
Huffman 28
Hull, General 8
Hulshuon's Map 8
Hungarian Educational and Enter-
tainment Club 171
Hungarian Ladies Social Club 171
Hungarian Reformed Federation of
America 171
Hungarian Women's Club 171
Hungarian Workers' Organization.... 171
Hutchin's 1778 Map 8
Hyman, Thomas J 174
— J —
Ibach, Joseph G 45
Illinois Ballast and Slag Co 160
Illinois Steel Company 161
Immaculate Conception, Church of
(East Chicago), 223; Center of 237
Immanuel Evangelical Church
(Hammond) 36
Indian Mineral Springs 141
Indiana Botanic Gardens Plant 104
Indiana City 21
Indiana Dunes State Park
5, 132, 134, 135, 139
Indiana Harbor
3, 4, 52, 68, 107, 176. 215, 216, 219
Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
4, 68, 107, 219, 220
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad 79, 218
Indiana Lake Shore Theatre Guild....
50, 234
Indiana State Highway Commission.. 72
Indiana University Extension 46
Indians 10, 14, 19
Inland Manor 133, 165
Inland Steel Company
3, 25, 32, 52, 56, 64, 65, 68, 79,
219; Plant, 106; see also "Little Steel"
Interchurch World Movement
Commission 61, 62
International Smelting and Refining
Company, Plant 100
International Workers' Order (Gary)..171
— J —
Jabraay, Dingemen 123
Jackson, Edward 135
Jackson Park (Gary) 190
Jansen, Monsignor Thomas 190
Jefferson Park (Gary) 189
Jefferson Primary School (Gary) 189
Jeffery 7
Jenkines, Bertram 45
Jensen, Jens 134
Jessen, Col. Edmond 117
Jesuit Relations 11
Jesuits 15, 16
Jewel, Edward 159
Jewett, Tom 49
Jewish Services 37
Jewish Symphony Orchestra 47
Jewish Synagogue (Hammond) 211
Johnson, A. H. W 222
Johnson, Lieut. August 32
Johnson, Neola 48
Johnson's Beach 134
Johnston, William 44
Joliet Road (see also Sauk Trail) 72
Jones, Alfred 25
Jones-Laughlin Steel Company 219
Jones, Rev. Stephen 35
Jones, Thelma 51
Jordan, O. F., Plant 106
Jordan, Capt. John 32
Joseph Bailly Cemetery 139
Josephus Wolf Home 118
Judge Gary — Bishop Alerding
Settlement House 193
— K —
Kankakee, 7; River 127
Kassas, Ernest 49
Katherine Community House (East
Chicago) 222, 225
Kay, Floyd 49
Keating, William 19, 20
Kellogg, Louise Phelps 6
Kelly 165
Kendrick, E. P 10, 20
Kennedy, John D 222
Kennedy, Mrs. John D 222
Kennedy, John Stewart 216. 217, 219
Kem, John W 160
Kervick, Prof. Francis 224
King, Shepard 53
Kinsey, Oliver Perry 119
Kirn. Francis 49
Klinedorf. Alma 50
Klootwyk, Cornelius 123
Knesseth Israel Congregation
(Hammond) 37
Knight, Kate 128
Knight, Martha 128
Knights of Columbus Bldg. (Gary)....189
Knotts, A. F 135. 151, 153, 156
Knotts, Thomas E...153, 156. 158, 159, 184
Knox, Dr. George 195
Koontz, Miss Amanda 208
Kopelke, Johannes 45
Kosciusko Park (East Chicago) 224
Krinbill, Oscar A 172, 173
— L —
Lab, Michael , 48
Labor, Calumet Region 56-67
Labor Division, Indiana Department
of Commerce and Industry 65
INDEX
267
"Lac des Poutouatomi," Lake of the
Potawatomi 7
Lach, Father John ]., 234; Band 48
Lacy, William 158
Lake Calumet, 69; Harbor 69
Lake Chicago 130, 131
Lake County 3, 13, 19. 21, 31, 39,
203; 1917 Population, 33; First
Brick House, 127; Judiciary, 38-45;
Oldest Log House, 125; Site of
First School in Southern, 125;
Board of Children's Guardian, 196;
Central Labor Union, 57, 62, 64;
Council of Defense, 33, 34; Court-
house, 22, 128;; Site of First, 117;
Courthouse (Crown Point), 21, 39;
Courthouse (Gary), 40, 183; Court-
house (Hammond), 40; Criminal
Court Building, 128; Detention
Home, 129; Fairgrounds, 125, 129;
Historical Markers Commission,
138; Jail, 41, 128; Negro Children's
Home (Gary), 54; Tuberculosis
Sanitarium 129
Lake Front Park (Hammond) 212
Lake George 118, 205
Lake Michigan— 6, 7, 15, 19, 67, 68,
130, 131, 132, 150, 155, 165, 167. 176
Lake Michigan Land Company 218
Lake of the Illinois (Lac des Illinois)..6, 7
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern.. 24
see also New York Central.
Lake Shore Road 71
Lake Station 23
Lane, Franklin H 135
Lanman, E. B., Company Plant 100
LaPorte County 21. 39
La Roche, Joseph 29
La Salle, Sieur de 16,67
La Salle Steel Co. Plant 115
La Vendor Cigar Co. Plant 112
Lawson, Herman 45
Lawson, Lenore Conde 48
Lee, Adele Bohling 47
Lee, General Fitzhugh 32
Lees, John W 225
Lees Park (East Chicago) 226
Le Fevre, Marie 27
Leman, W. H 134
Le Roy 127
Lesinsky, Adam P 234
Lester, James W 50
Leven and Melville, Earl of 24
Lever Brothers Plant 57, 94, 206
Lewis, David Hutton 136
Lewis, George W 222
Lewis, John L 63
Liberty Temple 34
Ligocki, Ray 49
Lilly, Calvin 126
Limbert, George B.. Co. Plant 110
Lincoln Highway (US 30) 72,73
Lincoln Highway Association 72
Linde Air Product Co. Plant 105
Linguist and Illsley (Contractors) 160
Listen, Jonathan A 38
Little Calumet River
6, 21, 70, 150, 165, 166
"Little Mexico" 22 1
"Little Steel" (Inland Steel Co.) 3, 65
Liverpool 22, 74
Logan Home 120
Long, Maj. S. H 19,20
Longfellow School (Gary) 196
Louis J. Bailey Branch Library 195
Louisville, New Albany & Chicago
Railroad 76, 77
Lowell, 127; Carnegie Library 127
Lowry, Robert R 43
Lucas (Dept. Commander G.A.R.) 127
Luther, James H 9
Lyman, Mrs. F. L 49
Lytle, Mrs. Elizabeth 53
McCarthy, Judge Benjamin 43, 126
McClarn, Thomas 127
McCray. Warren T 135
McDonald, Donald 202
McGwinn's Village, Site of 122
McKee, David 20
McMahan, Willis C 44, 45
McNary, Mrs. Walter 48
Made Land Law 152
Maguire, Edna 51
Magyar Haz, (see also Sokol Home).. 192
Manker, Rev. Orville P 51
Maps, Early 6
Merest, Father 7
Marquette, Father 15
Marquette Park (Gary)..70, 133, 136, 165
Pavilion 137
Marquette Statue 138
Marriage Tree (Elm-Oak Marriage
Tree) 139
Masonic Temple (Crown Point), 128;
(Gary). 189; (Whiting), 237; (East
Chicago) 224
Mather, Stephen H 135
Matthew, Gov. Claude 204
Maywood 51. 52
Melton, Col. A. P 33, 159
Memorial Auditorium (Gary) 46, 185
Memorial Community House
(Whiting) 233, 234, 237
Menard, Father 15
Mercator, Gerardus 6
Mercy Hospital (Gary) 162
Merrill, Dudley 122
Merrillville 3, 122, 131
Metal and Thermit Co. Plant 100
Metals Refinery Co. Plant 116
Methodist Hospital (Gary) 191
Metz Furniture Co. Plant 114
Mexican War 30
Meyn, Elene 51
Michigan 7
Michigan Central Railroad 24,74
Michigan City 4, 39, 71
Michigan Southern Railroad 74
Mickey Mouse Theatre 49
Midwest Motor Coach Company 80
268
INDEX
Miller 163, 165
Miller, John 133
Miller, W. H. H 203
Miller Beach 133
Miller's Hall 36
Miller's Station 24, 76, 133
Miner, Harold E 80
Mitchell, John 7
Mitchell's Map 8
Monon Railroad 76
Morriss, J. Roy 50
Mount Green 140
Mount Holden 132, 140
Mount Jackson 132
Mount Leman 134
Mount Mercy Sanitarium (Munster)....123
Mount Tom 132, 134, 140
Mount Vernon 136
Mt. Zion Baptist Church (Hammond) 52
Mullen, Carl 57
Munster 123. 131
Munster, Jacob 123
Murphy, Rose 49
Murray, William J 45
Mutter, Dominick 216
Myers, Mrs. K. S 51
Myslive, Frank 48
— N —
"Nation of the Fire", 6
see also Potawatomi.
National Labor Relations Act 63
Board 65
National Recovery Act (NRA)..57, 62, 65
National Tube Co., 162, 164; Plant....l04
Negroes 51-56
Negro Baptist Churches, Calumet
Region 37
Negro Golf Course (Gary) 196
Neighborhood House (Gary) 54. 195
News (Whiting) 235
New City West 135
New France 16
New St. George 37
New Wings (Magazine) 50
New York Central System 75
New York, Chicago & St. Louis Ry.
Co. (see also Nickle Plate System) 77
Nicolet, Jean 15. 67
Nichols, Mr. R 46
Nickle Plate System 76. 77
Nile, John B 43
"Norcottt's Addition 21
Norman, Hugh W 46
Norton, Capt. H. S 157, 158, 188
Norton, E. Miles 44
Norton Park 167, 193
North Hammond (Robertsdale) 6
Northern Indiana Public Service
Company. 175, 221; Substation 112
Northwest Ordinance 18
Northwest Territory 18
Nowak Milling Co. Plant 113
Nuisance Industry 24
— O —
Oak Hill 134
Oak Hill Cemetery (Gary) 198
Oberlin. Kay 51
Ogden Dunes 133, 134,165
Ohio 9
Ohio & Indiana Railroad 75
Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad 75
"Oklahoma" 230
Old Boundary Point 186
Old Hobart Mill 118
"Old Log Tavern in the Pines."
Site of 141
Old North Boundary 137
Old Sauk Trail 13
Olds, Capt. Lee 32
113th Engineers Band 47
Ordinance of 1787 26
Osborn, Andrew L 44
Osborne, Charles, Grave 121
Ostermann, Henry C 125
— P —
Pacific Electric Manufacturing Corp.
162; Plant 105
Paderewski Choral Society (East
Chicago) 47
Palette and Pencil Club (Gary) 48
Palmer, Henry D 43
Palmer, Honore 218
Palmer, James 30
Palmer, Potter 218
Parker, Lieut. Frank 32
Parsons, Mary E 128
Patch, The 166
Patterson, Arthur, 117; Museum 117
Patterson, Mrs. James A 178
"Paul Revere" Parade 33
Pearce, Michael 37, 43
Penman, William 217
Pennsylvania System 75, 76
Pere Marquette Railroad Company.. 78
Perrot, Nicholas 67
Petite Fort 8, 16. 17, 30, 140
Peyton Russel vs George H. Phillips 38
"People of the Place of Fire," 14
see also Potawatomi.
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago
Railroad 24. 75
Plum Creek 124
Plymouth Congregational Church
(Whiting) 37
Pneuman. A. B 153
Pneuman. Mildred Young 48
Poage, William 49
Pokagon, Leopold 13
Pokagon, Simon 14
Polish Arts Club (Hammond) 48
Polish Baptist Mission (Ind. Harbor) 37
Pontiac's Conspiracy 11
Poplar Point 215, 216
Port Chester 134
Porter 39. 40
Porter County 21, 39, 203
Courthouse (Valparaiso) 119
Porter, Commodore David 119
INDEX
269
Porter. Dr. George. 120; Home .......... 120
Portland Atlas Cement Company ...... 69
Potawatomi .................. 6, 7, 10. 11. 12. 15
Potawatomi Trail .................................. 13
Pottawatomi Chapter, D.A.R ..... 135, 195
Powell Myron ........................................ 120
Prairie Club of Chicago .............. 135, 140
Pratt, Guy .............................................. 49
Preradovic ............................................ 47
President's Industrial Conference ...... 61
Preston. lohn .......................................... 53
Prest-O-Lite Co. Plant .......................... 113
Price, A. E ............................................. 48
Progressive League .............................. 51
Pulaski .................................................... 40
Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Co.
Plant .................................................... 115
Quebec .................................................. 16
Queen Anne Candy Co. Plant ............ 114
— R —
Rankin, Raymond .............................. 37, 53
Ramusio's Map ...................................... 6
Red Line Motor Coaches ...................... 80
Reformed Ladies' Aid Society (Gary).. 171
Reformed Women"s Friendship
Circle (Gary) ...................................... 171
Reddix, Prof. lacob L ........................... 54
Reese, Henry .......................................... 228
Republic Steel Company .................... 65
Re-re-mosaw, Chief ("Parish or
Perrish") ............................................ 14
Reiter, Virgil S ....................................... 44
Ridge Road (US 6) ................................ 72
Ridgley. Claude V ............................... 45
Riley. Col. Walter J ....................... 32,223
Riley Park (East Chicago) .................. 223
Rimbach, lacob ...................................... 36
Riparian Rights BUI .............................. 152
Riverdale Products Co. Plant ............ 114
Riverside Park (Hammond) ......... 210
(Gary) ................................................ 197
Riverview Park ...................................... 1 17
Roberts, A. M ....................................... 158
Roberts, George Matchler ............ 204,228
Robertsdale ...................................... 35, 205
Robinson, Alexander or Chee-chee-
bing-way ("Blinking Eyes") ........ 14. 19
Robinson, Solon....9, 19, 21, 22, 38, 42, 128
Roby, 24, 204, 205; Race Track .......... 206
Roby, Edward H ................................... 203
Rockwell, William ................................ 43
Roman Catholic Mission for Negroes
(Gary) ................................................ 167
Ross, A. A ......................................... 222
Roosevelt High School (East Chicago)
46; (Gary), ............................ 54, 166, 196
Root, Peter .............................................. 31
Rough Bark Magnolia Trees .............. 120
Roumanian Orthodox Church (Gary).. 194
Roumanian Church (East Chicago)....226
Rowley. Ralph ................................ 153, 158
Roxana Petroleum Corporation .......... 219
Rump, Rev. August .............................. 193
Russel, Solomon 42
Rutledge, Roy R 224
— S —
Sacred Heart Parish Church
(Whiting) 35. 235
Sackett. Homer E 45
Saganaw, Chief 14
St. Adalbert's Center (Whiting) 237
St. Alban's Episcopal Church (East
Chicago) 38
St. Anthony's Church (Gary) 193
St. Antonio's Hospital (Gary) 196
St. Catherine's Hospital (East
Chicago) 222, 225
St. Casimir. Church of (Hammond)....211
Saint Emeric Lodge 171
St. George Orthodox Church (East
Chicago) 37
St. lohn 125
St. lohn Evangelical Church
(Whiting) 235
St. John's German Lutheran Church
Parochial School (Gary) 192
St. John's Lutheran Church (Tolleston) 36
St. John's Negro Hospital (Gary) 53
St. John's Roman Catholic Church
(Whiting) 235
St. Joseph's Catholic Church
(Hammond) 25, 210
St. Margaret's Hospital (Hammond)..210
St. Mary. Church of (Whiting) 237
St. Mary's Church (Crown Point) 35
St. Mary's Mercy Hospital (Gary)
165, 190
St. Mary's Orthodox Church (Gary).. 193
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Center
(East Chicago) .224
St. Luke's Church (Gary) 186
Parochial School 186
St. Michaels' Greek Catholic Church
(Gary) 194
St. Patrick's Church (East Chicago)....226
St. Paul's Evangelical Church
(Hammond) 36
SS. Peter and Paul, Church of
(Whiting) 35, 235
St. Sava' Serbian Orthodox Church
(Gary) 196
St. Stanislaus (East Chicago) 35
Salisbury, Major Elmore 33
Salt Creek 142
Sample, Samuel G 22, 38,43
Sauk Trail 21. 71
see also Old Sauk Trail.
Say, Thomas 20
Sayler, G. Z., Home 120
Schantz. Orpheus Moyer 132
Schererville 131
Schley. Jessie 48
School in the Dunes 134
Schrage, Henry 229, 230
Screw Conveyor Corporation Plant.. 114
Schubkegel. Olga 48
Schubert. John 125
Schurz, Carl.... ....117
270
INDEX
Schutz, Fred 62
Seaman, Rev. William Grant 35
Sears, John E 159
Serbian Singing Federation (Gary)....47
Sekulovich, Mladen 49
Seymour, Samuel 20
Shabonee ("Built-Like-a-Bear") 14
Shedd, C. B 203
Shedd, E. A 203
Sheehan, Frank J 45
Sheehan, Mrs. Frank J 135
Sheffield 24
Shell Oil Co., Inc 219
Shell Petroleum Corp. Plant..64, 111, 220
Shellhardh, John 49
Shore Line Motor Coach Company.... 80
Shottler, Maj. Edward 33
Shumway, Arthur 50, 166
Silverman, Seymour 46
Silverthorn, Lieut. George 32
Simplex Works 203
Simpson, Everett J 53
Sinclair Refining Company..64, 219, 221
Plant 109
Skemp, Olive Hess :... 48
Skemp, Robert 0 48
Slade, William V 31
Small, Deanette 50
Smith, Charles H 202
Smith, Delavan 218
Smith, Joseph P 30, 31
Smith, Lila 5*1
Smith, Martin J 45
Snow, Thomas 121
Southside Christian Church
(Hammond) 36
Sokol Home 192
Spanish American War 31
Springman, Margaret 50
Standard Forgings Co. Plant 107
Standard Oil, Company of Indiana,
3, 4, 5. 25, 56, 221, 228, 229,
230, 232, 233; Plant 93,231
Standard Steel and Iron Company.. ..2 18
Standard Steel Spring Co. Plant
64, 105, 162
Standard Steel Car Co., 32, 51; Plant 80
Stanfield, Thomas S 44
Star (Whiting) 235
Starfield, Thomas S 44
Stark, Joseph 31
Starke 40
State Cottage 140
State Line 202
State Line Electrical Generating
Plant 108, 175, 206
Stephens, William 51
Stevens, James 50
Stewart Settlement House (Gary)..54, 197
Steel Strike (1919), 60-61; (1937) 65
Steel Workers' Independent Union
Inc 66
Steel Workers' Organizing Committee
(SWOC), 63, 64. 65, 66; versus
Inland Steel.... ... 65
Story of a French Homestead in
the Northwest 26
Street, Mack 53
Strickland, Harold S 45
Strong, Constance Gill 48
Stubbins, Rev. Thomas 51
Sullivan, Joseph T 44
Sun (Whiting) 235
Sunnyside 225
Superheater Co.. 219, 220; Plant Ill
Swan, Peleg 31
— T —
Taggart, Thomas 135
Talcott, William 45
Tamarack Station 141
Tanberg, Victor 49
Tanner's New American Atlas 10
Tatum, Theodore A. H 53
Taylor, Adonijah 126
Taylor, Horace 126
Taylor, Israel 126
Taylor, Obadiah 29, 126
Taylor, S. G., Plant 102
Teamsters' International Union 57
Technical High School (Hammond)....210
Tecumseh 12
Temple Beth-El 37, 185
Temple Israel 37, 186
Templeton, John C 48, 49
Thames, Battle of the 12
Thayer 127
Thornton, LaVerne 48
Thorpe, George G 153, 174
Three Creeks, Monument 127
Times (Whiting) 235
Tinkham, Mrs. Robert 51
Tippecanoe, Battle of 11
Tod, Robert E 217, 219
Tod Park (East Chicago) 224
Toledo 18
Tolpa, Martin 49
Tolle, George 192, 193
Tolleston....24, 36, 75, 132, 150, 163,
173, 176, 192, 193; Beach, 131;
Gun Club. 150; Park 167
Torrence, General Joseph Thatcher
216, 217
Towle, Marcus M...201, 202, 208, 216, 217
"Town of Bailly" 29
Townsend, Governor Clifford..65, 66, 208
Topenbee 14
Tourist's Pocket Map of the State
of Indiana 10
Tozier, Reuben 31
Trail Creek 70
Transportation, Calumet Region 67
Transportation System (Gary) 176
Trappers 15
Treaty of Greenville 11
Treaty of Mississinewa 13, 19
Treaty of Paris 11
Treaty of Tippecanoe 13,21
Tremont 135
Tri Kappa Sorority..... 46
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
(Gary) 197
INDEX
271
Trinity Swedish M. E. Church
(Hobart) 35
Turkey Creek, 122; Country Club....l22
Turon, Ignatius 47
Turner, David 44
Turner, Murray A 209
Turner, Samuel 43
Tuthill, Harry B 44
Tuthill & Schwartz 124
"Twin City" 5, 219
Twin City Bus Line 80
__U —
Umpleby, Major J. A 33
United Boiler Heating & Foundry
Co. Plant 113
United States Gypsum Plant 57, 109
United States Highway System 72
United States Rubber Company 72
United States Reduction Inc. Plant.. ..Ill
U. S. S. Lead Refinery Inc. Plant Ill
United States Steel Corporation
3, 23, 37, 56. 59. 62, 63, 69, 70, 79,
90, 133, 150, 160. 162, 163. 172,
174, 183. 189; see also "Big Steel-
Universal Atlas Cement Co...62. 161, 164
Buffington Plant 91
Union Drawn Steel Plant 64, 85. 162
Union Espanol (Gary) 192
Union Metals Products Co. Plant 110
University of Notre Dame 14
Untules. Charles 49
Utilities (Gary) 172
— V —
Valparaiso, 39, 119; University 119
Valparaiso Moraines 130, 131
Voter. John F. K 229
Verhoway Aid Association 171
Verrazano, Giovanni 15
Voorhees, Daniel W 117
— W —
Wabash River 7
Wabash Railroad Company 77
Wadhams Oil Plant 110,221
Wagner Labor Relations Act 64
Walton, F. E 195
Walton, Mrs. E. W 222
Waldheim Cemetery 193
War of 1812 12,27,30
Warren, Gretchen 1 48
Washington Park, 222; (East Chgo)..225
Washington School Group (East
Chicago) 226
Waterman, F. W 162
Water Supply (Gary) 176
Waterways 67
Waxman, Henry 47
Wayne, Anthony 11
Weber Insulation Co. Plant, Inc 102
Webster, Daniel 22
Weesaw, Chief ("Sociable") 14
Weisner, Robert 49
Weller Metal Products Co. Plant 114
West Creek 127
Westfall, Katherine 225
West Gary 6
West Point Cemetery 126
Wheeler, Capt. John W 31
White, Emmett N 45
White, Robert J 46, 47
White, Lida Browning „. 47
White, Stanford 141
Whitecomb, Lieut. Samuel 31
Whiting 5, 32, 39, 51
Armory, 236; City Limits, 231;
Chronology, 227-228; General In-
formation, 227; Park, 238; Post-
office, 236; Relief and Aid Soceity,
233; Public Library 236
Whiting's Crossing 24
Whitlock, A. B 54
Wicker, Carrie M 123
Wicker Memorial Park 123
Wiggins, Jeremiah 42, 122
Wiggins Point 122
Wild Flowers, Dune County 142-146
Wildermuth, Ora L 159
Wilkinson, Robert 44
Wilowski, Witold 49
Wilson, James, Home 138
Wilson, Paul 134
Wilson Mill, Site of 122
Wilson's Camp 135
Wilson Station 131. 138
Williams, Charles G 165
William Graver Tank Works 217
Williams, Jane 195
Williams, Katherine 195
Winter in the West A 28
Wirt, William A 134. 159. 178. 185, 195
Witwer, Kathryn. 47; Birthplace 189
Wolf, Josephus 118
Wolf Lake, 70, 209; State Park 208
Wolf River 215
Wood. Maj. Gen. Leonard 61
Wood, John 121
Wood's Mill 121
Woodmar Golf Club (Hammond) 210
Woodvale Cemetery 121
Work-Study-Play System (Gary).. 178-1 83
World War 32
Wright, Russell 50
Wunderlich, Rev. Herman 36, 193
Wyatt. Arnold 153
— Y —
Young, J. H 10
Young, Mrs. Louis Van Hees 141
Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co.,
64, 65, 68, 219; Plant 108
Youngstown Steel Door Company,
Camel Plant 114
Young Men's Christian Association
(Gary), 161, 171, 187; Elgin, Joliet
& Eastern Railroad 86
Young Women's Christian Associa-
tion (Gary), 171; Building (Gary),
184; (Phyllis Wheatley Chapter).... 52
2
Zalewski. B. J 47
Zuvers, George 30
Zuvers, Solomon, Home 122
This book was manufactured in the Calumet
Region. It was printed by the Gorman
Printing Company in East Chicago and was
bound by the W. B. Conkey Company in
Hammond.
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