The Vidette-Messenger Centennial EditionThe 1936 special edition celebrating Porter County's centennial year . . . .
The following article has been transcribed from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger, published in Valparaiso, Indiana. This particular special edition focuses on Porter County's centennial celebration and contains a 94-page compendium of Porter County history up to that time.
Return to the index of articles from The Vidette-Messenger's Porter County Centennial special edition.
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso,
Porter County, Indiana; August 18, 1936; Volume 10, Section 3, Pages 15-16.
CRISMAN HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY OF PORTAGE TOWNSHIP
As Compiled By History Class and Instructors For The Vidette-Messenger
Topography
Millions of years ago, Nature set the stage for the geologic action which
produced the topography and surface soil of Portage Township.
Two hundred feet below our present soil is limestone of the Devonian age with
its fossilized organisms. Extending from this limestone to the surface is
glacial drift, which, containing no fossils, was left by the receding glacier
that covered this area in past ages. The last great glacier of the northern
hemisphere extended as far south as Valparaiso, leaving its terminal moraine in
that region. One spur of this moraine, about two miles in width, extends into
Portage Township and includes a portion of Twenty-Mile Prairie. This glacier
gouged out a great basin, and after its recession this basin was filled with
water, forming Lake Chicago. Lake Chicago was about sixty feet higher than Lake
Michigan, and the northern border extended south to where Lincoln highway now
is; Portage township was under water at the time. As Lake Chicago gradually
receded, sand and silt were deposited, building up the present soil of this
area. Several beaches apparently were formed during the recession of this larger
lake, evidence of one being the sand in the sand-pit at Crisman. Another beach
extended along the present location of the Dunes highway here in Portage
Township.
The sand dunes on the north of the township form the most picturesque and
striking feature of its scenery. They are the result of the wind and wave action
of the lake. These great hills or ridges of sand rise to a height of from fifty
to a hundred feet, being steep on the southern side with a gradual slope to the
north.
Running south from the old dunes the soil of the township is mainly sand as far
as the Gary and Valparaiso Electric Line. A great deal of this sand has been
shipped to Chicago for building purposes. From there south the soil is richer
with vegetation and is good farm land. In the McCool area there is a deposit of
loam about two feet thick. This is being dug up and shipped to the steel mills
for use in molding and calking boilers, etc. Along the Calumet river bed is
found marl, a mixture of snail and clam shells with clay, which is a good alkali
and fertilizer. The Lake Chicago beach sand is made up of quartz, silica,
vegetable matter, clay and silt and has been found to be valuable in the steel
industry. The Crisman Sand Company ships this sand to a number of steel mills
and motor companies.
The chief drainage of Portage township is afforded by the Calumet River, which
flows between two of the old beaches of Lake Chicago. It has a low gradient and
is consequently sluggist of current and was formerly subject to frequent
overflow. Burns Ditch was constructed to overcome this condition. Salt Creek is
a small stream winding through the township in a northerly direction and finally
draining into Calumet River. Willow Creek is another small stream running from a
swamp in Garyton. It meanders through Garyton and drains into Burns Ditch near
the B. and O. bridge.
The vegetation of our locality offers many varied plants, particularly in the
dunes region. In this area we find many very different species of plants living
together, a condition which is not duplicated in many places on our continent.
This is due to diversity of conditions of moisture, food, sunlight and
temperature. In a short distance one may find plants of the desert, as cactus;
plants of the deep woods, trillium; plants of the pine woods, bearberry; plants
of the swamp, larch; plants of the oak woods, salmon seal; and plants of the
prairie, St. Johnwort and various grasses. Species of such different natural
habitat are piled together in such abundance as to make a natural botanical
preserve of our usual native plants and plants of many outlying regions. We may
find the prickly pear cactus of the southwestern desert fighting with bearberry
of the arctic and the alpine regions. A few of the other more rare plants are
the jack-pine of the north growing in the bare sand, the larch, bunchberry,
dwarf birch, sage, willow, orchids, cranberry and leather leaf.
South of the dune region we find the oak and sassafras trees growing together
and farther south next to Union Township are the beech and oak trees and many
ferns. Throughout the township are found the fringed and bottle gentien,
cranberry marshes, the poplars, willows, and dogwood trees and many other
flowers and trees.
According to records, a bear and a cub were killed in the northern part of the
township in 1838. A few wolves and foxes were seen until people, railroads, and
highways drove most of them out except for one or two dens of foxes. There are
numerous woodchucks, gophers, red and gray squirrels, oppossums, skunks and
minks and rabbits and a few raccoons and flying squirrels. The squirrels and
rabbits are the only wild game animals.
The bird life of Portage township is more abundant than the animal life, both in
birds of permanent residence, migration birds, and migratory visitors. A few of
the permanent birds of this region are crow, blue jay, junco and sparrows. Some
of the migratory birds are the robbin, wren, bluebird, goldfinch, meadowlark,
morning dove, various wood peckers, cardinals and song sparrow. A few birds rest
here only for a short time as they make their way north or south such as the
geese, duck, and scarlet tanager.
Early History
One can not be sure who was the first white man to set foot on the soil which
now comprises Portage township. One may conjecture that Marquette, Joliet,
Hennepin, De la Croix, may have traversed this bit of land or that Fathers
Allonez and Dabion crossed it in 1672 or that Don Eugenio Pierre when he came
from St. Louis in 1781 to seize the lake shore for Spain may have set his flag
here. At least, the flags of France, Spain and England flew over it before the
stars and stripes. The first white settlers came in the spring of 1834 when
Jacob Wolfe, Berret Door and Reuben Hurlburt brought their families and located
claims within its boundaries. In the same year there came also two Spurloch
brothers and R. and Wilford Parrott. In 1835 S. P. Robbins and Benjamin James
and his son, Alllen, arrived and between 1836 and 1840 Perry Blake, Walker
McCool, Thomas Field, Palmer, Summer, Peter Ritter, and Harrison Curtis, Smith
and Arnold settled here. The homestead of Mr. Blake was built where Calvary
cemetery is now located; but at the time the burial ground was established, the
house, a two-story frame and chink building was moved south of the Gary and
Interurban tracks and is still being used there as a place of residence. Mr.
Blake also helped to prepare the grave of Mrs. Taylor in 1836 in Blake Cemetery,
which was named for him although the ground had been donated by another settler.
The township as a political and geographical unit was created April 12, 1836 by
a general order of the board of county commissioners and was probably named
after Portage county, Ohio, but the present boundaries are somewhat different
from the original ones. It was originally bounded on the north by Westchester
Township, on the east by Westchester and Liberty townships, on the south by
Union Township; and on the west by Lake County. Now Lake Michigan is the
northern boundary. In February, 1850, sections 30 and 31, township 37, range 6
and sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, and 36 township 37, range 7, were taken from
Westchester and added to Portage. These sections constitute a strip two miles in
width across the northern part of the present township. Portage township is now
four miles wide from east to west on the northern boundary and 5 miles in width
on the southern. Its greatest length from north to south is a little over eight
miles and its area is about 36 square miles.
To go back, the township was created April 12, and the first election was held
less than three weeks later at the house of Jacob Wolfe and James Spurloch as
inspector.
Twenty nine men polled their votes.
Conditions were hard for these pioneers. Homes were built from logs without
nails; greased paper was used for the windows and quilts with sticks across for
the doors. All supplies had to be brought from Michigan City, the nearest
trading center and it was twenty miles away. Matches were a luxury, selling for
12 1/2 cents a dozen. Postage on a letter was twenty-five cents and payable on
delivery. Conditions were hard but homes were built, schools established and
industries begun. A tavern, the first in the township, was built in 1837 by an
Italian, Carley, by name, on Willow Creek among the sand hills on the old stage
line between Detroit and Chicago. Another was opened later by two women and
these two were the only taverns that were kept in the township.
Of the earliest industries there is no definite knowledge. A sawmill was built
among the sand hills in 1851 or 1852. It was run a while and then abandoned. One
may suppose that much of virgin forest of this area may have been cut to supply
the rapidly growing Chicago with building material. The fertile soil of the
southern part of the township made dairying a profitable occupation and it is
known that a cheese factory was running in 1874, which did a flourishing
business.
By the time of the Civil War the township was well settled. There is no record
of all those who responded to the call for men but from the county records we
have the lost of those who went, leaving dependents: Stephen Coleman, Adison
Crisman, Joseph Ensign, who died in service, Henry Gaylord, Joel Hunter,
Frederick Kreiger, the grandfather of our present trustee, Carl Hamstrom; John
Miles, who was disabled; Thomas Russel, Judson Stovins, Jerome Sargent; Ezra
Spencer, disabled; and Charles Traiger. It may be mentioned here, too, that
Henry Battan, a revolutionary soldier who now lies buried in Liberty township,
first settled in Portage.
Schools
In 1840, four years after Portage township was created, the first schoolhouse
was erected on section 20, township 36, range 6, about a mile and a half
southeast of McCool. A Putnam Robbins was the architect and the labor and
materials were donated. Not long afterward a second school was erected in the
southwest part of the township.
Among the early teachers were N. S. Yost, M. L. Ferris, W. E. Hawthorne, Lottie
Hewitt, Minnie Spencer, and Rose Mitchel.
The first school houses were log buildings. Windows were made by leaving out one
log on the side and covering the opening with oiled paper. Window glass would
have been considered too great a luxury to be placed in the school. Heat was
furnished by a huge fireplace at one end of the building and seats were
constructed of split saplings bored with a large auger and pins inserted to form
the legs. The desks, which ran along the sides of the room, were wide board
supported on pens drives into the logs. Goose quill pens were used. The course
of study consisted, for the most part, of the three "R's". A pupil who mastered
the "Rule of Three" in mathematics was generally considered accomplished in that
field.
The earliest known record of Portage township business, which is in the
possession of the present trustee, Carl Hamstrom, dates back to April 25, 1853.
At this time there were four schoolhouses and a board of four directors, one for
each school district.
There is an account of money being raised for school purposes at the rate of
twenty-five cents on the one hundred dollars and twenty-five cents poll tax.
On June 14, 1853 the board met for the purpose of letting the "job of building"
a school house to H. P. Wheeler for one hundred and ninety dollars to be
finished by December first. There were four teachers in the township in 1854,
one male and three females. The average salary of the male was thirteen dollars
a month, and of the females, ten dollars per month. The average school term was
one hundred and twenty days. There was expended for education two hundred and
thirty-seven dollars, of which one hundred and fifteen was from the public fund
for education and a hundred and twenty-four was from the special tax fund. The
assessed valuation was sixty-seven thousand, five hundred and eighty-five
dollars. The enrollment was one hundred and two males, five to twenty-one years
of age, and eighty-three females, five to twenty-one years of age.
In 1856, the state report shows that the tax rate for schools was twenty-five
cents on the one hundred dollars for property and a fifty cent poll tax. There
were one hundred and seventy tax payers of which one hundred and nineteen paid
on five hundred dollars or less and thirty-two paying on more than a thousand
dollars.
According to the state report, by 1867, there were one hundred forty-eight males
and one hundred twenty-two females, five to twenty-one years of age attending
school. The school term had been increased to one hundred forty days and there
were seven teachers, all of whom were female. The average wages was sixty cents
per day.
The names and locations of the early schools as accurately as we have been able
to determine them follow here in a rough chronological order:
The Robbins school was probably the first in the township and its location has
been given above. The Heaton school was a very early one also. It was one half
mile south of the McCool airport. The Peak School, another very early one, and
which was later made into a residence, was located a mile east of the Lake
County line and about three-quarters of a mile south of State Road 6. It was
discontinued when consolidation took place. The Summer school, which was
opposite the present residence of George Lute and the Blake School, which was
across from James Love's store in Garyton were, consolidated to form the Bender
or Blake school, which is being used as a residence by Herman Swanson at the
present time. The Sand Knobs, which was located near what is know Old Glory
Garage was discontinued in 1906 when consolidation took place. The Dombey
school, which was abandoned in 1921, still stands. It is about a quarter of a
mile west of the present Garyton School. The Fifield school, a very early one,
was located one quarter of a mile west of the C. E. Fifield farm. It and the
Robbins school were consolidated to form the present McCool school. The Wolfe
school, located about a mile southwest of the Seven Dolors Shrine was abandoned
and razed in 1918. The Ad Crisman school was located at Willow Creek.
Where Crisman now stands was created a log school house 18x24 which was used for
nine years. The first term was taught by Elder Bartlett, a Baptist minister.
Cyrus Sales taught next and after him the order came Christina Fry, Emily
Gerhart, Chancey Gaylord, who was a cripple and the last to teach in the log
house. A frame building followed the log construction and a brick building was
erected in 1879.
The first school bus was purchased in 1906 by trustee, Burt T. Spencer, for the
price of one hundred and twenty-five dollars. It was a horse drawn hack. A
ruling was made at about this time that all schools having less than eight
pupils were to be closed. This necessitated transportation of the pupils and
accounts for the consolidation of many of the schools. A high school has been
maintained at Crisman since January, 1909. It kept this standing until 1913 when
it expired. There is no state record of the school's standing from 1913 to 1922
when it was given a commission. At this time an addition was made to the brick
building and three high school teachers were employed whereas formerly there had
been only two. Two or three years later the first gymnasium, a frame building,
was built at a cost of approximately $12,000. The enrollment increased very
rapidly and before the addition of 1922 was paid for the present high school
plant was created at a cost of $90,000 and was ready for use the fall of 1929.
The high school was given an expiring commission in 1923 and kept this rating
until 1928. An additional high school teacher was employed in the fall of 1927.
In 1930 a conditional commission rating was given which was changed to a
continuous rating in 1931. In the new building seven regular high school
teachers and a part-time music teacher were employed. The school was organized
on a six-six plan and on December 18, 1933, it was given a first class
commission, one of the few rural high schools in Indiana to be so rated, the
highest which the state gives. The authorities have an invitation to apply for
rating on the North Central Association of Secondary schools.
Besides the high school three grade schools are maintained in the township; at
Crisman with three teachers for grades one to six; at McCool, one teacher for
grades one to five; and at Garyton, three teachers for grades one to six. The
school building at Garyton was begun in 1921 as a two-room school on a four and
one-half acre site purchased from D. P. Blake and was completed before the term
ended in 1922. During the first part of the term the Swedish church was used for
holding school as the former school building, the Dombey school, was not large
enough. Because of the growth of the village, more room was needed and in 1927,
two more rooms were added to the building, making it a two-story structure. In
1927 three teachers were employed for the eight grades; the following year four
were employed, but in 1933 grades seven and eight were transported to Crisman to
become part of the 6 year high school and thereafter three teachers have been
employed for the first six grades.
In contract to the one horse drawn bus of 1906, today six large motor busses
gather the children from all over the township and convey them to Garyton and
Crisman.
Churches and Cemeteries
A young community always establishes schools and churches as soon as possible;
in Portage, other buildings were used for worship at first, for the first church
was the Presbyterian in 1852, at a cost of eight hundred dollars. Mr. S. P.
Robbins built the church and furnished all the material and money except about
one hundred and sixty dollars by subscription. After the church was completed,
it was deeded to the trustees of the church. The first organizers were S. P.
Robbins, Mr. and Mrs. R. Stoddard, Francis James, Emily James, Russell Door
Daniel Richardson, Mrs. Leter and sister. Rev. J. Brown was the first pastor.
Rev. Humphrey and Rev. Ogden were the only other two ministers. Eventually, the
Methodists acquired possession of the building which was located about half a
mile south of the village of McCool, the congregation having disbanded and the
members having joined other churches.
The Methodist church, located at McCool, was first organized in 1855 near the
present site of Crisman. Mr. McCool was the main factor in the construction of
this small house serving for a church. After a time the Methodist organization
died out, and the house was used temporarily by the German Lutherans. The
present Methodist church is directed by Rev. Beatty with a total of ninety-one
members participating in the church work. They have a joint service in the
morning -- children and adults -- no distinct Sunday school. The oldest member,
as far as records show, is Mrs. Peter Samuelson, seventy-one years of age. There
are a Ladies' Aid and an Epworth League organization.
The German Lutheran Church at McCool has been organized at its present site
since 1880. The first pastor, whose name is unknown, was an itinerant minister
serving several churches. The present pastor, Rev. J. A. Bescherer, has served
diligently since 1901. The church has a membership of seventy-five with two
organizations carrying the activities -- the Ladies' Aid Society and the Epworth
League. The four oldest members are Charles Hamstrom, John Gottlieb, Henry
Slanger, and Mrs. D. Lenburg, whose ages range from seventy to eighty. This
church is very active in its work and is growing steadily.
The Mission Church of Garyton and East Gary is the oldest church of that
community. The land was donated to the church by G. J. Johnson in 1873. The
first trustees were: J. P. Melon, Johannes Malmstone, Peter Gustafson, and C. J.
Larson. In 1929 the congregation decided to affiliate with and become a member
of the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America. The old church building
was completely destroyed by fire on Dec. 19, 1929, but church services were
continued in the Garyton school house and at the home of Mrs. Malmstone, until
the new church building was completed on the old site and ceremoniously
dedicated on Feb. 20, 1932. Rev. E. J. Mattson was pastor at this time of the
building of the new church. The trustees during this construction were Nels
Anderson, H. T. Lenburg, and Albert Parker. The Mission Covenant church has a
total membership of fifty-two. The church extends its work through five
organizations and societies: the Ladies' Aid, the Brotherhood, the Young
Peoples' Organization, Confirmation class, Teacher Training group and the Sunday
school. The present pastor is Rev. Bethel Bongston. The two oldest members are
Nels Anderson, age seventy-five, and Christine Malmstone, age seventy-four.
The Hope Lutheran church, located at Crisman, was organized in 1893-94. The
first service was approximately held on Thanksgiving Day in 1894. Services were
continued without the aid of a constitution until April 5, 1896. Two more years
passed before the church was dedicated on Feb. 6, 1898. The church has four very
active organizations to provide Christian activity for some ninety-six
communicant members: the Ladies Aid, Men's Brotherhood, Luther League, and the
Junior Luther League. The present pastor is Rev. Carl Grabeman, who was preceded
by Rev. O. K. Bosse.
The youngest church in the township is the United Brethren church at Garyton. D.
P. Blake presented the community with the necessary ground. The church was
dedicated on April 27, 1930, with D. A. Searfoss as pastor. The church was
reorganized on Aug. 21, 1932, as the United Brethren church of Garyton under the
direction of Rev. W. B. Taylor and Pastor L. E. Hawtin. The present pastor is
Albert Smith. Mrs. Edward Anderson serves as the Sunday school superintendent.
She was one of the directors of the present church building. The other
organization within the church is the Young Peoples', administering activities
for those between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.
In 1929, the Franciscan Fathers established a monastery in the south end of
Portage township. Within five years they built a Friary and a beautiful shrine
to perpetuate the love of their founder, St. Francis of Assisi, Italy. It is
called the "Seven Dolors Shrine." Judge Fetterhoff donated the land for the
shrine and the Rev. John Lach, the present active pastor of the Immaculate
Conception church of Whiting has been intimately associated with the
undertaking. The Right Rev. John Francis Noll, D. D., Bishop of Fort Wayne, by
his encouragement, was very influential in establishing the shrine, which has
been known to peoples of distant cities and states and visited by thousands.
When S. P. Robbins donated land and aided in the construction of the
Presbyterian church, he also donated one acre of land for burial purposes. The
cemetery is located about one mile southwest of McCool, and about one-fourth of
a mile east of the Robbins' home. There are seven soldiers interred, one
Revolutionary and six Civil war veterans. S. P. Robbins lies within the family
burial ground, together with several other pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. William
Babcock, a soldier and his wife, and Mr. Ashton. There are approximately one
hundred fifty graves, some with stones and some without. The cemetery lots are
open to anyone who wishes to purchase a lot from the association. The present
officers are Chester Robbins, president, and Ruth Robbins, secretary.
The Schrock cemetery is classed as one of the earlier graveyards of Portage
Township. It is located one mile north of Robbins' cemetery. It was founded in
1836 by an unknown person. Mrs. August Schrock, the present owner of the land
surrounding the cemetery states that the deed stipulates anyone who wishes
burial there may have it upon request. This graveyard also has the distinction
of entombing some of the pioneers of Portage township; namely, Allen James,
1838, Levenia James, 1845, who are the children of Russell and Emeline Door, the
two first married in Portage, Bathanna Wolfe, who was born in Pennsylvania in
1779, and died Jan. 27, 1868, and Jacob Wolfe, 1851.
The Blake cemetery located near the present Mission Covenant church is an all
congregation burial gound. Lots can be procured. No history is available.
The Calvary cemetery was organized by the Calumet Cemetery organization in 1913.
It comprises a total of 101 acres and is located in Garyton. This cemetery is
owned by a number of stock holders known as Calumet-Gary Cemetery Association.
There are two thousand four hundred and twenty-six graves. -- the first one
being Catherine B. Hennessey on June 5, 1914.
It seems that in 1876 the present McCool cemetery was located on the east side
of the road back of the church. Mr. Weissmeyer, the donor, requested that the
land there be used for church purposes, rather than for burial ground. When his
request was granted he donated the present acre for interment purposes. This
change necessitated moving several graves. The township owns the land and allows
one lot for each taxpayer in the township. Any other person desiring burial on
this ground may do so by purchasing a lot for $25 or a grave for $5. In this
graveyard lie some of the early pioneers, Walker McCool, William McCool,
Benjamin Fifield, Col. Wolfe, Benjamin Crisman and several Civil war veterans
and a World War nurse. Each grave owner maintains his own grave.
Before the white men buries their dead here the Indians had a burial ground in
the extreme north central end of the township near an old Indian trail where it
is believed there are about twenty graves.
Roads and Railroads
The first road through Porter county wound its uncertain way through the wilds
of Portage Township in the early part of the nineteenth century. This was the
Fort Dearborn road, over which the government's soldiers carried mail between
Chicago and Detroit in knapsacks on their backs. This road, which was
established in 1831, was a very crude affair, but it was a choice road at that
time, and the right to run a stage over it was let by the government by bids.
This road, which at first followed the shore of the lake, was later changed and
ran farther south through Willow Creek and east.
Michigan City was the supply center for all of Porter county for a number of
years, and was known as "the city" far and wide. The roads were mere paths, at
times impassible, and distance meant much to those early settlers with their
crude conveyances. Twenty-mile-Prairie, in the northern part of which is a part
of Portage township, derived its name from the fact that twenty miles separated
it from "the city." The needs of the people for easier means of travel created
an interest in the provision of building better roads.
The attempt to get to "the city" is exemplified by the early building of what is
still called the Michigan City Road in Portage Township, which runs north and
south through sections 23 and 26, township 36, crossing the present State Road 6
and angling northeast through the village of Crisman and out of Portage township
in the northeast part, making its way on through Porter in Westchester township.
We find the Michigan City road referred to in township records as having been
completed in 1854, and the general effort seems to have been to establish links
with this road.
In February, 1854, the Portage Township Board of Trustees accepted the report of
S. H. Myers, John McPherson, and John Walton, viewers for the road coming into
Crisman from the north, going west, then south from there. This road was another
link with the Michigan City road.
In March, 1854, the board accepted the report of viewers and approved the
establishment of a road running east from the Lake county line on the line
between sections 15 and 22 to the north and south Michigan City road. The
following July, the two other roads south of this one linking into the Michigan
City road with the county line road were approved by the board. These roads,
which were forty feet in width altogether, would present a strange contrast to
our present day sixty, eighty to one hundred forty feet highways to be found in
the township.
The Valparaiso-Liverpool road formed a link with the county seat in these early
times.
The earliest records show that the highways in the northern part of the county
were not developed to any great extent until a somewhat later date. In June,
1855, the board received a request for a road in the north part, but a
remonstrance accompanied it, so it was dismissed without further consideration.
The east and west road which leads from the south edge of McCool to Calvary
cemetery was petitioned for and granted in January, 1856, and the present
Samuelson north and south road was approved the same year. Both of these roads
are now hard surfaced.
The majority of the roads came into existence between the years 1850 and 1880.
It seems that the majority of the township board's business consisted of
accepting petitions, appointing viewers, and accepting reports, rejecting or
approving the prospective roads according to the judgment of the viewers.
Thus the development of Portage Township's road system went on year after year
until the present time which finds it one of the finest in the county.
Portage township is well equipped, with east and west highways, having three
splendid paved roads: No. 12, No. 6, and No. 20, with state maintenance. U. S.
Road 20, sometimes called the Dunes Relief Highway, is a splendid four-lane
construction, which has done a great deal to relieve National Highway 12 of its
excess traffic and has thus reduced the danger of travelling across northern
Porter county.
Portage township, although it has no state of national highways carrying traffic
north and south, has managed to maintain a fine road system of its own and has a
well kept network of macadamized and otherwise hard-surfaced and graveled roads
throughout the entire township.
At the same time that all of this development of public highway system was going
on, we find the growth of another means of travel; just as important to the
country as roads; names, railroads.
The first to be established were the Lake Shore, which is now the New York
Central, and Michigan Central, which were completed at about the same time,
approximately 1851. The Michigan Central was the pioneer railway by a very
narrow margin of time, and it was by this road that the first goods shipped to
Porter County by rail came.
During the year of 1874, the Baltimore and Ohio Railway laid its rails across
the township, bringing with it much excitement and an unusual occurrence.
According to the plan, it was necessary that the road should cross the already
established Michigan Central railroad at the site of the present Willow Creek
station. The attempt to cross the tracks was resisted by the Michigan Central
and a riot was the result. The appearance of hundreds of armed men made a bloody
battle seem inevitable, but the matter was taken care of quietly and
peacefully, without any fighting and the Baltimore and Ohio went through.
The Wabash road, which crosses both the B. and O. and Michigan Central tracks at
Willow Creek station, just west of Crisman, was established some eight or ten
years after this, and the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern came along soon after.
Other railroads running through Portage Township at the present time are the New
York, Chicago and St. Louis (which is more commonly known as the Nickel Plate)
and the Pennsylvania, both of which cross the southwest corner of the township;
the Chicago South Shore and South Bend, and the Gary and Valparaiso lines, both
of which are electric.
Altogether, Portage township has running through it a total of nine railroads,
while another, the C. I. and S., which would follow the lake shore is proposed
at the present time. Portage township has not only more railroads, but more
miles of railway within its bounds than any other township in the county.
Towns of the Township
In the earlier period of its history, the inhabitants of Portage township were
almost wholly engaged in agricultural pursuits. The rich soil in the southern
half was well adapted to farming. Because of the nearness of Chicago, dairying
became, after the advent of the railroads, the chief branch of farming, as it is
today; now it is even more widespread than formerly, for the milk trucks picks
up the milk at each farmer's home, whereas the shipping of raw milk into the
city was previously limited to those within hauling distance of the railroad
station.
The small towns developed in the last half century. Crisman, which was laid out
by B. G. Crisman after whom it was named, and which was located on the Michigan
Central railroad, and McCool, which was named after the pioneer family and is
located in the triangle formed by the B. and O., the E. J. and E., and the
Wabash railroads. This railroad junction attracted a few small business
enterprises, houses were built there and in 1910 both towns were about equal in
size. Postoffices were established at each place, the one at Crisman in 1891.
The one at McCool is in operation at the present time but the one at Crisman was
discontinued several years ago, that community now being served by rural routes
from Chesterton and Gary. At one time there was also a postoffice at Dune Park,
a small station on the New York Central railroad, formerly known as the Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern. It has long since been discontinued.
In the last quarter of a century, following the building of the steel mills at
Gary and the growth of Gary as a city, and because of the transportation
facilities offered by the two electric lines, and by good roads and automobiles,
the northern end, and particularly the north-western portion of the township,
has grown rapidly in population because of the large number of industrial
workers who make their homes there. This fact accounts for the growth of
Garyton, a village on the Gary and Valparaiso Electric Railroad, comprising,
with adjoining subdivisions, about sixty-nine houses, not including those of the
surrounding rural district. The promoters of the town were the real estate firm
of Van Lon and Funke of Gary, and the first houses were built by the Steel City
Home Builders of Gary in 1914.
Portage has thus grown not only in population, but also in wealth, its assessed
valuation now being $5,543,950, and the assessed valuation of Ogden Dunes being
$243,210. Portage ranks in third among the townships, Center and Westchester
coming first.
Portage has one other town of recent development which will be discussed in the
next chapter.
Ogden Dunes
The story of Ogden Dunes begins long before the time of any of our readers. The
first visitor here was Nature, and she seems to have been in one of her
extravagant moods. Perhaps she foresaw some of the things which have taken place
in more recent years. She has, at all events, laid very good foundations for
them.
Nature, in the form of the glacier, gave this region an ideal arrangement of
dunes and hollows for home sites for nature lovers. These dunes are arranged in
three "levels," each of which commands a view of the lake, and the last, or
highest, range commands a view of the back country as well. This is one of the
few places on the lake where home builders can have such a wide choice of
locations and, as it were, at the same time have the lake in the front yard.
Ogden Dunes is very fortunate in its variety of vegetation. Here again, nature
has certainly outdone herself. She has give to this region five districts of
plant life. First, is the indigenous vegetation, the native, of the kinds of
vegetation which would be found here naturally. Second, is the Northern hangover
type, of the kinds of which have been carried southward, and have found a
suitable environment here in our Duneland. They have decided to live with us and
have added much to the picturesque beauty of the dunes. Some examples of this
type are jack pine, white pine, juniper, and bearberry or "kinnikinnik." The
northern harebell also belong in this group. Third, we have the southern
immigrants, or those which rightfully belong in the south, but which, having
found their way here after arriving, having found a nice southern slope,
protected from Lake Michigan's icy winds, have settled down to travel no more.
In this group are to be found the tulip tree and certain of the grasses. Fourth,
we find the Eastern vegetation. This is represented by New Jersey, ---?---, sea
rockets, Mayflower or traveling arbutus, and the moccasin flower, or lady
slipper. We account for these visitors by the fact that in early times,
geologically speaking, Lake Michigan was a part of the Atlantic ocean. The fifth
division consists of the Western type of vegetation, best illustrated by the
well-known cactus which any visitor to the dunes must have seen. This cactus
invites you with its beautiful, pure yellow, rose-like flowers, and at the same
time, repulses your advances with its harmless looking, prickly leaves. Do not
try to pick the flower, but be satisfied to admire it from a short distance, and
it will repay you by continuing to add beauty and unique coloring to the dunes.
Nature, in Ogden Dunes, is a veritable Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde personage. The
cactus, a plant of arid regions, grows within a few feet of the cephalanthous,
or button-bush, a plant which grows only in water or very near it. Thus is made
possible by the case with which the button-bush can send its roots down for
water into the sand, on the top of which same the cactus gets is scanty moisture
needed for its existence. In one part of this comparatively small area lives a
pair or eagles, while less than a mile away can be found birds such as the wren
and robin, which live close to human habitations. In a secluded spot one may see
a group of moccasin flowers from the South, while just over the dune may be seen
the juniper furze, typical of the north. Even the dunes themselves afford an
example of these opposites of nature. These are living dunes and dead dunes; the
living are the bare dunes which are everchanging in form and even in location,
while the dead are the dunes which have stopped moving and have acquired a a
shroud of vegetation. Sunlight and moonlight, naturally opposites, take on even
more of the contrasting nature here in the dunes. The dunes by daylight are a
wonderland of natural beauty, but with the soft ethercal glow of the moon they
become in fancy, a fairies' playground or a witches' hollow -- depending upon
the nature of the spot one happens to be in at the moment. In several places one
may see the tops of trees looking up out of a living dune. The dune has engulfed
the trees and will later move on and leave the bare trees standing as evidence
of the work of the sands of time, or the time of the sands, just as you please.
The Dunes for years have been the natural home of the wild animals and it has
been here that the animals have made their last stand against civilization.
Within the memory of some of us, deer, foxes, wolves and the like have been
trapped or seen within this region. There are still the opossum, raccoon, and an
occasional fox to be found.
The ancestors of these animals must have been a source of livelihood for the
early settlers. Certain it is that just outside the limits of Ogden Dunes
proper, was an old trading post. Remains of stores, evidence of camping grounds
relics of Indian life and other similar proof leaves no doubt in the mind of the
student of such things that such were true. Perhaps boats stopped here for
trading purposes also. One boat stopped, it is certain, for now, of the beach is
just right and if the waves have been in an accommodating moods during the
preceding winter, the top outline of the hull of an old boat can be seen. This
is not always visible; Nature has to be on your side if you are fortunate enough
to be one of the few who have seen it. I have seen it; I know it's there, but
you will have to weave your own sea-faring yarn about it, for there can be no
material found on the subject. Such a sailor's story is not hard to imagine if
you visit the place on a windy November night when the waves are dashing a
frenzy of foam over the heavy timbered outline of the hull. Nature has covered
it up in the last few years, but as before she may, in one of her prankish
moods, uncover it again and set us all the weaving stories anew.
The early settler did not take kindly to this region for this home. This was but
natural, since his livelihood came from the soil and certainly this white
glistening sand would not furnish much in that line. We have on record that a
Mr. Goodrich in 1836 bought sixty acres in what is now the present town of Ogden
Dunes for $75.00. That is quite a different figure from the price some of the
same land brings today. The price of lots now ranges from $500 to $3,000 each.
Some years ago there was one man, a Mr. Banks, who made his home here. His time
was spent in fishing. From that time on we have no definite record of anyone
living permanently in this region, until the time of Diana of the Dunes. No
history of Ogden Dunes would be complete without mentioning Diana.
She sought the refuge and solitude of the Dunes for some reason, not quite clear
to us. For some years she lived further east in the dunes, but with the influx
of home seekers Diana left there an came to live in what is now Ogden Dunes. At
some time during her sojourn she met and married Paul Wilson, a powerful man,
who used his great strength to protect Diana. She had a great influence over him
and was the only one who seemed able to quiet his anger when he was aroused over
the incoming of strangers.
They had a small abode a short distance from the lake and were living here when
Mr. Samuel H. Reck took option on the land in 1922. They were permitted to
remain here until Diana's death in 1925. After this Paul and Mr. Reck burned the
place and destroyed the last vestige of one of the most romantic episodes in the
history of Ogden Dunes. No, not all, for still to be seen lying in the hollow
where the couple lived is the twenty-foot steel stack of a tugboat, which served
as a chimney. To see this is to fill one with awe at the strength of the man who
placed it there. To visit this spot on a quiet moonlight night is to make one
wish history could turn back and permit one to converse with this couple who
knew and loved the handiwork of Nature as she was to be ground here in Ogden
Dunes. This was in the days before modern civilization made its debut about
1923.
The land for the town of Ogden Dunes contains four hundred eighty-six acres and
was obtained from Francis A. Ogden, of Madison, Wisconsin. A small piece was
obtained from a Mrs. Chamberlain in California.
In 1922 Mr. Samuel H. Reck of Gary took option on this land and laid plans for
the development of a restricted lake front community.
In 1923 Ogden Dunes, Incorporated, was formed to take over the contract for the
land from Mr. Reck. The same year Mr. Reck had a home built for himself and
family near the lake. This was the first permanent home to built of the lake
front between Miller and Michigan City. The material for this home was hailed by
a four horse team from Dunes highway. A far cry, this, from today when high
powered cars go up and down the hills and travel at ease within sight of the
beach and over the same trails which Indians trekked and Paul and Diana wandered
such a few years ago.
The town of Ogden Dunes was formed in 1925. At a special meeting on August 31,
1925, the following trustee were elcted: Samuel H. Reck, Lynn A, Glover, and R.
B. Nicholson. Nelson Reck was elected town clerk and treasurer. Samuel H. Reck
was president of the Board of Trustees. The present Trustees are E. M. Kratz,
president; James E. Cassidy and Harold M. Whelpley.
The Ogden Dunes Realty Company was formed in 1927, to stimulate sales, and since
then the growth of the town has been quite rapid. In the spring of 1930 there
were thirty-five homes here and now in 1936 there are seventy-three homes, with
several now under construction and several more contracted for. From all
indications it would seem that the venture started by Mr. Reck just fourteen
years ago has certainly borne fruit. For those who remember the dune land as it
was when the only way to reach Portage Township's lake front was by tramping
over hills, the change is more than remarkable; it is awe-inspiring and perhaps
not altogether pleasant for anyone who likes Nature in the wild.
Nature is protected, however, here in Ogden Dunes, and few predations are made
against her, other than those necessary for the building homes and roads. Many
spot can be found within a stone's throw of the road, which, except for the hum
of a passing motor on the other side of the dune, are just as Nature planned
them. Certainly these were not places which are liable to get into the movies,
yet such a thing has happened.
The Ogden Dunes Ski Club was responsible for this fame. In 1927 the Grand Beach
Ski Club, which later changed its name to Ogden Dunes Ski Club, bought a strip
of land on a high hill over which was later built the largest steel ski slide in
the world. The rear towers of the slide were one hundred ninety-two feet high,
or equivalent to the height of a twenty-story building. The first ski meet was
held on January 22, 1928, and a meet was held each year for four years
thereafter until January, 1933. The longest jump ever made on this slide was one
hundred ninety-five feet. In 1932 the guest stars were the champions from Norway
who later took all prizes at the Lake Placid Olympic meet. It was at one of
these annual meets that Paramount News Reel took pictures, which were shown in
theatres throughout the United States. The Ski club met with reverses during the
depression. Expenses were especially heavy in the years when snow had to be
imported from northern Michigan and Wisconsin. In the spring of 1935 the steel
structure was sold to the Rockford, Illinois ski club, and during the summer was
dismantled and re-erected near that city. Now a road has been built to, and a
home is under construction on the top of the hill over which thousands have
walked and a few daring souls have leaped. Thus Nature is returning, in part, to
a place where she once nearly lost her foothold.
Burns Ditch Harbor Project
Mention has been made elsewhere of the fact that the main drainage of Portage
Township was the Calumet River and that it was subject to frequent overflows. To
correct this, the Burns Ditch was excavated in 1928 for drainage purposes. By
draining flood waters into Lake Michigan this makes the surrounding land
available for agricultural purposes. Two major promoters were Judge Crumpacker
of Valparaiso, and Senator Burns.
Deed for an open harbor on Lake Michigan for Porter county was felt and the
mouth of the Burns Ditch seemed the ideal spot. The first steps toward building
this Burns Ditch Harbor were taken in August 27, 1930. The Mid-west Steel
Corporation, a subsidiary of National Steel, which at this times owned a large
tract of land adjoining the proposed Burns Ditch Harbor, planned to erect a
steel manufacturing plant at this location of the harbor project could be
accomplished. The Mid-West Steel Corporation submitted a survey to the United
State Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors which later resulted in an
unfavorable report. Later, in the fall of 1935, the promoters of this proposed
Burns Ditch Harbor had a hearing in Chicago before the Board of Engineers for
Rivers and Harbors, at the office of Resident Member 2848 Munitions Building.
Those present at this Chicago hearing were Brigadier General George B.
Pillsbury, senior member; Colonel Wilbur Willing, resident member; Colonel Earl
I. Brown, Richmond; Colonel George R. Spaulding, New York; Colonel Elliott J.
Dent, Baltimore; Colonel Max C. Tyler, Cleveland; Lieutenant Colonel Glen E.
Edgerton, Washington D. C.; J. Ben Walker, executive secretary. Various worthy
reasons were proposed by the Indiana representative some of which were that a
harbor need existed at this location to help the steel industry and labor in
this section; that a city would develop here and added tax revenue would aid the
state of Indiana and the federal government, etc.; evidences of similar values
were submitted at this Chicago hearing, which was unfavorably acted upon.
In Washington, D. C., another hearing was held April 2, 1936. Those present were
Governor McNutt, Indiana; John Ward Wheeler, chairman Std. Planning Board,
member State High Committee, Indiana; Cong. Charles J. Hallock, second District,
Indiana; Congressman Wm. Schulte, first district, Indiana; Senator Sherman
Minton; Congresswoman Virginia Jencke; H. B. Snyder, editor Gary Post Tribune;
Mayor Clayton, Gary, Indiana; P. W. Clifford, Valparaiso, President Northern
Industrial Division Association; F. M. Clifford, director Valparaiso Chamber of
Commerce; F. W. Morton, member Executive Committee, Northern Industrial Division
Association; George A. Nelson, secretary Northern Industrial Division
Association and Secretary Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce; N. S. Amstutz,
Research Patent Attorney before Supreme Court of the United States; Wm. Urschel,
director, Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce; Wm. J. Benning, Consultation Engineer,
city of Chicago; L. M. Whipple, editor Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger; James
Crane, editor, South Chicago Reporter, Calumet Clean Streams Commission. At this
hearing the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors was asked to review the
reports on the Burns Ditch Harbor, Indiana. The Honorable J. J. Mansfield,
chairman of the Committee of Rivers and Harbors recognized the probably future
need for a suitable harbor for general commercial use on the Lake Michigan shore
of the State of Indiana, but it was of the opinion that the selection of a site
for such an improvement should be based on a comprehensive review of the whole
available frontage rather than the consideration of the site at Burns Ditch
alone. A consideration and review of this entire lake shore in Indiana will be
made in the future.
A bill has been introduced in the House that calls for a survey and an
examination of the lake shore of the State of Indiana, with a view to the
establishment and construction of a new and adequate commercial harbor at the
most suitable site. If this harbor is, at some time, constructed on the Burns
Ditch site, Portage Township will experience a great industrial development.
A history of the township would not be complete without a mention of the airport
located on Section 19. It was first established in 1924 about a half-mile
northeast of its present location on the land of Glen Robbins, an emergency
landing field for the air route between Chicago and Cleveland. Later it was
moved to its present location bordering U. S. 6 on the land of Ross Crisman.
Frequently especially in bad flying weather, planes land there. The lightkeepers
and caretakers in 1924 were George Samuelson, and now in 1936 are Louis
Himebrook, Harry Ditser, and Mr. Rowlett.
Article transcribed by Steven R. Shook