Black Oak (Gary)

Last updated
Black Oak
Neighborhood
US-IN-Gary-Black-Oak.png
Location within the city of Gary
Coordinates: 41°33′56″N87°23′48″W / 41.565452°N 87.396802°W / 41.565452; -87.396802
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana
County Lake County
City Gary
Annexed by Gary1976
Elevation
[1]
182 m (597 ft)
Population
 (2000) [2]
  Total4,216
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
46408, 46406
Area code 219

Black Oak is a neighborhood located on the far southwest side of Gary, Indiana. As of 2000, Black Oak had a population of 4,216, which was 84.7% white. [2] It is Gary's only majority-white neighborhood, and the most recent neighborhood added to the city. Black Oak was annexed in 1976, under the administration of mayor Richard Hatcher. [2] Prior to that, Black Oak had been an unincorporated area informally associated with nearby Hammond, and the area has Hammond telephone numbers.

Located in Gary's southwest corner, Black Oak adjoins the City of Hammond to the west, and the Town of Griffith and unincorporated Calumet Township to the south. The neighborhood's northern boundary is formed by 15th Avenue, just north of Interstate 80; and its eastern boundary is formed by Burr Street and Clark Road. Most of the neighborhood lies within the floodplain of the Little Calumet River. [3]

Because of its former status as an unincorporated region of the county, Black Oak is served by the Lake Ridge Schools Corporation, which also covers Calumet Township, rather than the Gary Community School Corporation. [4] Similarly, it is the only neighborhood in Gary served by a branch of the Lake County Public Library rather than the Gary Public Library. Private schools in Black Oak include Gary Academy and the Black Oak School for the Deaf, both of which are K-12 schools.

The housing stock in Black Oak is dominated by single-family and mobile homes. As of 2000, occupancy was 88%, and owner-occupancy was 70%. Black Oak is the only neighborhood in Gary where mobile homes make up a significant fraction of total housing. Thanks to its late date of annexation, it is also the only neighborhood where most development predates the neighborhood's becoming part of Gary. [2]

Poverty levels in Black Oak are similar to Gary as a whole; a 2005 study found that Black Oak residents faced obstacles to purchasing healthy and inexpensive food that were similar to those facing other Gary residents. [5] Commercial development in Black Oak is concentrated at the neighborhood's eastern boundary along the Burr Street and Interstate 80 corridor.

Black Oak has numerous expanses of wetland and undeveloped floodplain land near the Little Calumet River. It is the site of Lake Etta County Park, the only county park located entirely within Gary; in addition, a bike trail runs along the south bank of the Little Calumet. However, environmental degradation is a serious problem, with frequent illegal dumping. [6] The neighborhood includes Lake Sandy Jo, a Superfund site used as a toxic waste dump from 1967 to 1975, when it was closed by court order. [7] Lake Sandy Jo was fenced off in 1986, and remediation by the EPA was completed in 1994. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 69,093, making it Indiana's ninth-largest city. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of downtown Chicago. The city is the western gateway to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake County, Indiana</span> County in Indiana, United States

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area, and contains a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas. It is bordered on the north by Lake Michigan and contains a portion of the Indiana Dunes. It includes Marktown, Clayton Mark's planned worker community in East Chicago.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calumet River</span> System of rivers and canals in Illinois and Indiana, United States

The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former flowing west from Indiana into Illinois, then turning back east to its mouth at Lake Michigan at Marquette Park in Gary. Now the system is part of the Chicago Area Waterway System and through the use of locks flows away from Lake Michigan to the Cal-Sag Channel.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolleston</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Tolleston is a neighborhood and former town in west-central Gary, Indiana. It is situated south of Ambridge, west of Midtown, east of Westside and north of Black Oak. Tolleston is the site of two large city parks, a historic cemetery, and the oldest church north of the Little Calumet River. The neighborhood's borders are defined by the Norfolk Southern tracks on the north, Grant Street on the east, 25th Avenue on the south, and Clark Road on the west. As of 2000, Tolleston had a population of 14,289, and was 97.5% African-American.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aetna (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Aetna is a neighborhood in northeastern Gary, Indiana, south of Miller Beach and east of Interstate 65. As of 2000, the neighborhood had a population of 4,942, which was 83% black and 11% white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambridge Mann</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Ambridge Mann, sometimes called Ambridge-Horace Mann or Horace Mann-Ambridge, is a neighborhood in northwestern Gary, Indiana. It is bounded by the Grand Calumet River on the north, by Grant Street on the east, by Chase Street on the west, and by the Norfolk Southern railroad on the south. Adjacent areas include an industrial district to the north, Downtown West to the east, Tolleston to the south, and Brunswick to the west. As of 2000, Ambridge Mann had a population of 6,236, which was 96.3% African-American. Located just south of Interstate 90, the neighborhood can be seen while passing Buchanan Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Park (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Glen Park, also sometimes called University Park, is the most populous neighborhood in Gary, Indiana. It is situated on the city's far south side, south of the Little Calumet River and Borman Expressway. The neighborhood is often divided into Glen Park East and Glen Park West, on the respective sides of Broadway. Within Gary, Glen Park borders on Black Oak to the west and Midtown and Pulaski to the north; beyond Gary, it adjoins Hobart, Merrillville, and unincorporated Calumet Township. As of 2000, the neighborhood had a population of 25,454, approximately a third of Gary's total population. In terms of race, as of 2000 Glen Park was 86% African-American, 9% white, and 5.5% Hispanic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midtown (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Midtown, also called Central, is a neighborhood in central Gary, Indiana. For many decades it was the only African-American neighborhood in the city. It is located south of Downtown West and north of Glen Park along Broadway, Gary's principal thoroughfare. It adjoins the neighborhoods of Tolleston to the west and Pulaski to the east. As of 2000, Midtown had a population of 12,056.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Brunswick is a neighborhood in northwestern Gary, Indiana, just south of Gary Chicago Airport. It borders Hammond and East Chicago to the west, and the Gary neighborhoods of Ambridge Mann to the east and Westside to the south. The borders are defined by the Indiana Toll Road on the north, Chase Street on the east, the Norfolk Southern railway on the south and Cline Avenue on the west. As of 2000, Brunswick had a population of 4,442 people, which was 84.6% African-American and 7.7% white. Like many Gary neighborhoods, Brunswick was a segregated white community until the early 1970s, when a massive white flight occurred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westside (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

Westside is a neighborhood in west-central Gary, Indiana, USA, bounded by the Cline Avenue expressway on the west, the Norfolk Southern railroad on the north, Clark Road on the east and 25th Avenue on the south. It lies directly east of the Hessville neighborhood of Hammond. Within Gary, it adjoins the neighborhoods of Brunswick, Tolleston and Black Oak. In 2000, Westside had a population of 6,153, which was 63.3% African-American and 31.9% white, with 10.1% Hispanic ethnicity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulaski (Gary)</span> Neighborhood in Lake County, Indiana, United States

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The Grand Calumet River is a 13.0-mile-long (20.9 km) river that flows primarily into Lake Michigan. Originating in Miller Beach in Gary, it flows through the cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, as well as Calumet City and Burnham on the Illinois side. The majority of the river's flow drains into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, sending about 1,500 cubic feet (42 m3) per second of water into the lake. A smaller part of the flow, at the river's western end, enters the Calumet River, and through the Illinois ultimately drains into the Mississippi River.

Hessville is a neighborhood of Hammond, Indiana. Located in the southeast corner of Hammond, it adjoins the Hammond neighborhood of Woodmar to the west, the East Chicago neighborhood of Calumet to the north, the Gary neighborhoods of Westside and Black Oak to the east, and the town of Highland to the south. The neighborhood's boundaries correspond to Hammond's Planning District VI.

North Hammond is a neighborhood in western Hammond, Indiana, north of the Grand Calumet River and south of Wolf Lake. It is bounded to the south by Central Hammond, to the west by the Chicago neighborhood of Hegewisch, to the north by Robertsdale, and to the east by East Chicago. The neighborhood's boundaries correspond to Hammond's Planning District II. The neighborhood is traversed by the Indiana Toll Road, which has an exit into the neighborhood at Calumet Avenue, and by the South Shore Line railroad. Passenger trains for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District stop at Hammond Station in the neighborhood.

References

  1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. 1 2 3 4 City of Gary 2008, p. 160.
  3. Catlin 1993, p. 95.
  4. City of Gary 2008, p. 81.
  5. Barnes 2005, p. 75-76.
  6. City of Gary 2008, p. 161.
  7. Hurley 1995, p. 169.
  8. Environmental Protection Agency. "LAKE SANDY JO (M&M LANDFILL)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2011-06-09.