USA > Indiana > Lake County > Report of the historical secretary of the Old settler and historical association of Lake County, Indiana, and papers. Crown Point 1911 > Part 4
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Millard A. Caldwell, trustee, first ward.
Thomas E. Knotts, trustee, second ward.
John A. Sears, trustee, third ward. C. Oliver Holmes, town clerk.
Louis A. Bryan, town treasurer.
The only contested offices were those of clerk and
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treasurer for both of which William A. Walsh was defeated.
The town board met and organized on the 30th of July, 1906, electing T. F. Knotts town president. Most interesting of the many meetings of the Board were those at which public service franchises were granted. The first of these-for water, gas and electricity-was granted to the Gary Heat, Light & Water Company, a subsidiary company formed for the purpose by the Steel Corporation. The telephone franchise was granted to the Chicago Telephone Company. The street railway franchise aroused the most interest and was finally awarded to a company since formed by F. N. Gavit, of Whiting, as the Gary & Interurban Railway Company. The town officers held the reign of government until 1909, when, following a census by Marshall Joseph Martin, which showed a population of 11,733, the board ordered a special election to determine whether the town should become a city. This election, held October 16th, 1901, showed 595 voters in favor of such action against 14 opposed. On October 23d, 1909, the necessary papers were filed with the County Auditor and Gary became a city of the fifth class. The city was divided into five wards and city officers elected at the following fall elec- tion on November 2nd, which resulted in T. E. Knotts being elected as Mayor.
When Gary was first incorporated it contained about
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19 square miles of territory, extending seven miles east and west, and its greatest width was four miles north and south. The frontage on the lake shore is over seven miles. In 1906 the Town Board annexed two tracts of land embracing Buffington and practically all the terri- tory north and west of Tolleston, except Clarke. Later Clarke also, upon petition of its citizens, was added, making a territory of 25 square miles. In 1910 the town of Tolleston and the territory south of the Little Calu- met river contiguous to Broadway, known as Glen Park, were annexed by the city council, adding about eight more square miles to the city. The city is crossed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Lake Shore & Michi- gan Southern Railroad, the Wabash system, the Michi- gan Central, and the Pennsylvania Railroad (Fort Wayne division). Entering it are the Gary & Western (a belt line connecting to the Lake Shore Suburban service), the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (a freight line owned by the Steel Corporation), and the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend (an electric line). The Gary & Interurban railroad also affords connection with Hammond. Other electric lines are projected. The assessed valuation of Gary in 1906 was $2,778,645.00, and has grown to between twenty and twenty-one millions. Another index of growth that is worth recital is the increase in business of the Gary postoffice. From the smallest possible office in 1906 it has successively grown to a house free delivery and in
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the last annual report showed receipts lacking only $600 of enough to make Gary a postoffice of the first class. Congress has also appropriated $125,000 for a federal building which will be erected in 1912.
The establishment of schools began in the fall of 1906 with the erection of a one-room frame schoolhouse near the Lake Shore tracks cast of Broadway. O. L. Wilder- muth, now judge of the City court, was the first teacher, but the number of children increased so fast that another building was erected during the winter and R. R. Quillen installed as teacher. Henrietta Gibson was also in charge of the former school south of the Pennsylvania railroad, from Twenty-first street during this year. The first school board was organized in September, 1906, with Edward Jewell as president, T. H. Cutler secretary, and C. O. Holmes as treasurer. In the spring of 1907 William A. Wirt of Bluffton, Ind., was appointed superintendent of schools. Portable wooden school buildings were put up in the fall and fifteen teachers employed. The Gary Land Company erected the Jefferson street school-an $80,000 structure-which was ready in 1908, and the school board built the Emerson school on the east side at a cost of $200,000, which was finished in 1909. The board is at present building another $200,000 school on the south side, to be known as the Froebel school. The architect for the school board is William B. Ittner of St. Louis, and the St. Louis type of school building, which
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is generally recognized as the highest type of school building in the country today, is followed. Inasmuch as it is impossible for the lack of funds to provide enough school buildings to cover the whole territory, the board has adopted the plan of using groups of portable frame schools. Thus at Ambridge street there are two such buildings, at Fourteenth street eight, at Twenty-first street two, four at Twenty-fourth, and two for colored children at Twelfth street. The Beveridge school at Tolleston and a new brick building at Glen Park supply those regions with proper facilities. The board will em- ploy for this coming year about 110 teachers. Regarding the personnel of the school board, Edward Jewell gave way to A. P. Melton in 1907 and the board is at present composed of T. H. Cutler, president ; William A. Cain, secretary, and W. J. Flynn, treasurer. These men men- tioned are the only men who have served on the board.
In 1908 the school board organized a public library which has grown very encouragingly until it now has six people on its staff, a branch library in Tolleston, 16,000 volumes, and circulated during the past twelve months over 82,000 volumes. The library was placed under the control of an independent library board this summer and is now engaged in erecting a $65,000 build- ing.
The building up of successful church institutions in Gary has been arduous work for the most part, especially
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as regards church buildings. The first religious work was organized in the fall of 1906, when interested Chris- tians established a Union Sunday-School, which met dur- ing the winter in the first school house, and where an occasional visiting preacher held forth. Today Gary has
over thirty religious congregations. The first church definitely to locate was the Methodist Episcopal church, when Rev. George E. Deuel was appointed pastor and came to Gary in April, 1907. The Catholic and Protes- tant Episcopal church each organized in the following month of May. The Catholic church has the largest congregation, a large church and parochial school build- ing, and a Sisters' House now being erected. The Methodists and Episcopals are now erecting two fine buildings. The Episcopal church put up the first church building, opening on December 15, 1907, a temporary chapel which was also used by three other denomina- tions for a time. The Congregational church was organ- ized in the fall of 1907 and has since built a church build- ing, as has also the Presbyterian body, facing Jefferson Park. The United Presbyterian church has a good build- ing on the East Side Park. Other bodies now having buildings are the German Lutheran church, the Jewish Congregation Beth-El, the Polish Catholic and the Cen- tral Church of Christ. The Baptist denomination has a building partly erected. Besides these there are a num- ber of church and religious organizations meeting in
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halls and store rooms, and in every way spreading the word of their Master.
The industries for which Gary was established are those of the United States Steel Corporation. Indepen- dent industries are invited and expected to locate in Gary, however. In fact, the Gary Screw & Bolt works now building, is a large and important independent in- dustry attracted to Gary because of adequate steel supply, their raw material. It will employ 1,000 men, boys and girls and will be in operation within the present year. It has a site of twenty acres on the east side of the city and is spending a million dollars on its plant. Other such independent industries will continue to come to Gary, especially steel-using industries, and the Gary Land Company has reserved on the east side of the city a tract of 700 acres for such companies. The first and greatest industry is the Gary works of the Illinois Steel Company, organized for that purpose. In its operation for steel making, however, it is known as the Gary works. It is not for me today to attempt an account of this great steel works. The best and completest account of the plant is in the book entitled: "The Greatest Steel Plant in the World," published by David Williams Co. of New York City. To give you the barest idea, how- ever, I will quote a paragraph from the last annual report of the Steel Corporation for 1910: "The construction and development work at Gary, Indiana, progressed continu- ously and satisfactorily during the year of 1910. At the
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steel plant of the Indiana Steel Company six of the eight blast furnaces constructed have been satisfactorily ope- rated. Of the three units constructed, each comprising fourteen 65-ton open hearth furnaces, two units have been in operation. The rail mill has been in operation since February 17, 1909; the billet mill since August 16, 1909; the 18" merchant bar mill since December 16, 1909, and the 14" merchant bar mill since April 1, 1910. The axle mill is completed; the 160" plate mill will be ready for operation by April 1, 1911, and the three re- maining merchant bar mills by May 1, 1911. Since the publication of the last annual report the construction of a continuous sheet bar mill was started. This mill will supply bars for the sheet plant being constructed at Gary by the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, a subsidiary of this corporation. The new bar mill will be ready for operation by July 1, 1911. The by-product coke plant, construction of which was begun in June, 1909, is rapidly nearing completion, and it is expected the first battery of ovens will be placed in operation on or before April 1, 1911. This plant will have a total of 560 ovens of the Koppers type and an annual capacity of about 2,500,000 tons. A gas distributing system is being installed, by which all. the excess gas from the coke oven plant will be utilized in mill operations.
"The output of the Gary steel plant, of the Indiana C.cel Company, in 1910 was as follows: 729,072 tons of
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pig iron, 1,006,252 tons open-hearth ingots, 435,142 tons of open hearth steel rails, and 340,993 tons of shapes, merchant bars and miscellaneous steel products."
Another paragraph from the same report shows what Gary has cost the corporation in dollars and cents :
"The amount expended to December 31, 1910, at Gary, for land, development and construction work by all the Corporation's interests located there, was as follows: For real estate and for development and
construction work in the City of Gary,
less credits for lands, lots and houses sold $10,509,325.07 For construction of manufacturing plants .. 53,785,876.83 For terminal railroad work. 5,683,493.25
$69,987,695.15
Two large industries have about completed construction and are now operating certain units. The first of these, the plant of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, began construction in April, 1910, and will manufacture steel plates and sheets, with an annual capacity of 200,000 gross tons of finished product. The plant is comprised of two 72" plate mills, four jobbing mills, and sixteen sheet mills, together with a galvanizing department and auxiliary facilities.
The American Bridge Company began about the same
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time the construction of a plant for the fabricating of structural steel for bridges, buildings, etc. One unit of this plant is now in operation and a second unit nearing completion. Two more units will be erected and the plant is expected to employ about 4,000 workers.
These plants are now in active operation. A number of other subsidiary concerns of the Corporation have purchased sites and will begin construction of plants as soon as the necessity of the market warrants it. Among these are:
American Locomotive Works. 200 acres
American Car & Foundry Company 200 acres
National Tube Works. 100 acres
American Steel & Wire Works 100 acres
CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS.
The spirit of the city today is best evidenced by its civic organizations and by the way the problems have been confronted that mean a cleaner, healthier, saner and better city for the future industrially and physically, intellectually and spiritually. The first such organiza- tion in time and leadership is the Gary Commercial Club. Its membership is composed of 200 of the leading men in the commercial life of the city. In July they dedicated a new $35,000 club building, one of the finest in the state for its purpose. There has recently been organized a similar organization-the Chamber of Commerce-whose
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field is the industrial development of the city among independent manufacturing concerns. The women of the city maintain a strong Woman's club, which is inter- ested not only in the usual literary and musical sections but supports a civic section with strong interest in civic affairs. In the sixth ward, formerly the Tolleston terri- tory, has been organized an active and beneficial Sixth Ward Improvement Association, engaged in promoting the advancement to better conditions of that section of the city. One of the more recent organizations working for the betterment of the city is the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, with an able and representative Board of directors. Judge Gary, chairman of the Corporation and for whom the city was named, has given to the association a $200,000 building, and the subsidiary com- panies of the city have added $40,000 for furniture and furnishings. The building will be opened in November and will add greatly to the civic facilities of the city. The Steel Corporation has erected a model hospital, costing $250,000, for the treatment and care of any of the men injured in the works. In the city, the Franciscan Sisterhood of Burlington, Iowa, opened a temporary hos- pital in a house in the fall of 1907. They are now ready to build a $100,000 hospital building and efforts are being made by the Commercial Club and allied societies of the city to raise $20,000 to help in the building of the struc- ture.
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In addition to these there is a bar association, a medical society, a dental association, a retail merchants' associa- tion, and many organizations representing the different foreign nationalities of the city. There are the usual fra- ternal organizations, the Elks having recently opened a fine club house on Washington street.
The city is also represented by three daily and one weekly newspaper. These are the Gary Evening Post, the Gary Daily Times and the Gary Daily Tribune, and the Gary Tribune (weekly). The first newspaper estab- lished in Gary was the Northern Indianian, which began publication even before March, 1906. It was published weekly and ceased publication in 1909. The Gary Daily News was published during 1908 but lacked sufficient support. Another weekly, the Lake County Democrat, published a few numbers in 1909.
THE PEOPLE AND THE FUTURE.
The population of Gary has been recruited from all quarters of the globe. Practically all states of the Union and all the foreign nations are represented. Now num- bering about 25,000, that number has been sifted out of four times as many people. Gary from the beginning has had a shifting population. The sudden fame of the city created by fiat and with millions of money to back it, attracted the idler, adventurer, bum and tramp more quickly than steady workers and investors. Many well intentioned came but failed to stand the strain of pioneer-
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ing. Much foreign labor was of necessity introduced for the heavy grading and construction work. The popula- tion at the end of 1906 numbered between 1,500 and 2,000. It is said that during the first year the population changed almost entirely every three months. It is hard for out- siders to realize these things. The process of making a city as Gary has been made is too rare an occurrence for the phenomena to have been noted and recorded. Yet the grading gangs-the scum of creation, as they have been called-were succeeded gradually by good ordinary, steady-going humanity, so that today Gary is quite like other cities, and compared with the steel cities and towns of the East is much cleaner, healthier and more pro- gressive in every way.
It is not for the historian to prophesy. But as pioneers and settlers we are always most interested in the future ---- or we wouldn't have pioneered. It is probably unfortu- nate that the necessity of the real estate dealer has led him to often clearly overstate the present possibilities of the City of Gary. The open facts as they stand re- vealed on the books of the United States Steel Corpora- tion, and on the streets of Gary today, are wonderful beyond anticipation. That it has become what it is in five years' time seems almost a miracle; yet that it is to become one of the great cities of the Hoosier state and of the nation, so long as industry prevails, is assured by the spirit "I will" that is in every undertaking of its civic and commercial bodies.
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INDEX
This index is not arranged in alphabetical order. but as it is short any name in it can quite readily be found.
Queen Louise, of Prussia, Bv Miss Kopelke, . Page 22 Southeast Grove and Vicinity, by Mrs. William Brown. (now be- tween 80 and 90 years of age) Page 26
Early Inhabitants, . Page 33
Coming of the Bryant Family, Page 37
Wild Fruits, by Miss E. M. Hathaway,
Page 35
Gary.
Pages 49 to 70
Kankakee Ditching, by O. Dinwiddie, Page 41
Secretary's Report. Page 3
DEATHS
Family Name. Page.
Morton
3
Zumbuelte
3
Wood
4
Mangold 4
Taylor 4
Smith .
Salisbury
4
Strait
5
Kinney 5
: Swanson
5
Sassee .
6 Blayney
Albright 6
Boyd
7
Sigler .. 7
7
Mundernack
Hayward
7 Hyde
7
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(DEATHS Continued. )
Williams
8
Palmer
8
Church
G
Heintz
9
Dittmer 9
Schuster
10
Abrams 11
Deathe
11
Kenny
11
Myen
12
MARRIAGES AND ANNIVERSARIES
Brown, Fifield 12
Green, Thompson 13
Hayden, Strickland 18
Krost, Beckman 14
Foster, Bradley. 14
Crawford, Pannenburg 15
Golden Wedding 15
15
Brannon
.15
"The Silent Ten"
16
EVENTS
Ragon Scholars' Association Anniversary, 16
Paving of North and East Streets. 16
Laying of Corner Stone, 16
Our Publications. . 17
Crown Point, & City,
17
Cedar Valley Creamery.
18
Angora Goats, 18
School Report for 1911 19
Champion spellers of Lake County, 1.8
Visitors to Europe, 19
Lake County Fair, 20
Figures from the Census, 221
Passed Away .
21
Appointment of Judge Kopelke, 14
Mrs. Portz.
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