Tremont, Indiana

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Tremont
Ghost town
Tremont, Indiana.jpg
Tremont business district, circa 1920s
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Red pog.svg
Tremont
Location of Porter in the state of Indiana
Coordinates: 41°38′55″N87°02′37″W / 41.64861°N 87.04361°W / 41.64861; -87.04361 Coordinates: 41°38′55″N87°02′37″W / 41.64861°N 87.04361°W / 41.64861; -87.04361
Country United States
State Indiana
County Porter
Township Westchester
Established as New City West1833
Refounded as Tremont1908
Abandoned1960s
US 12 running through the former town of Tremont--note urban fire hydrant under the brown sign. US 12 Dunes Highway Tremont area.JPG
US 12 running through the former town of Tremont--note urban fire hydrant under the brown sign.

Tremont, Indiana, is a ghost town formerly located in what is now the Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Park in Westchester Township in northern Porter County, Indiana. It was first established in 1833. It was located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and County Road 100 East, near Indiana 49. The community is named for three massive sand dunes that are now contained within the State park. They are Mount Tom (200 feet (61 m) above the surrounding area), Mount Holden 170 feet (52 m), and Mount Green 160 feet (49 m). [1]

Contents

History

Tremont was originally established as New City West after City West, a settlement on the nearby shore of Lake Michigan that seemed prosperous in the mid-1830s. [2] City West intended to become a large harbor settlement to rival Chicago, which was a small town at the time and had not yet been incorporated. However, after the Panic of 1837, City West was abandoned, becoming a ghost town without a single resident, and subsequently burnt to the ground. [2] Despite the end of its namesake, New City West still maintained the City West Post Office and City West School. [2] About 20 houses were built in the new city after City West collapsed, and a sawmill, cooper shop, and brickyard were established. [3]

In 1853 the City West Post Office was consolidated with the Calumet Post Office, with D. H. Hopkins as postmaster. [4] The Alanson Green Tavern became a popular stop for tourists in the 1850s and 60s; they would dine while their stagecoach drivers exchanged horses. [3] During the same period, New City West served as major station in the Underground Railroad. [3] However, in 1875 a boiler explosion destroyed the New City West sawmill. [3] The prosperity of the city ended, and it was largely deserted sometime after 1876. [3]

Later, by 1908, New City West became commonly called Tremont due to the establishment of a station by that name on the South Shore Line, [2] an electric interurban railroad line that skirted the heart of the Indiana Dunes and provided Tremont's most important rail service. Because of its adjacency to this railway, descriptions of the history of the Dunes often mention Tremont. For example, the Prairie Club beach house built in 1913 by landscape preservationist Jens Jensen and a group of friends was built in Tremont, close to the rail line. [5] In 1929, "scarcely a building of New City West survived"; [2] however, new buildings on the site of the old city led to its repopulation as the summer resort town of Tremont. [3]

Tremont was always an unincorporated community, but grew to some extent during the early twentieth century and had its own commuter railroad station on the South Shore. The creation of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in the 1960s, and subsequent land condemnation proceedings, caused the remaining community to disperse.

Heritage

The Indiana Dunes, including the Tremont area, played a role in the creation of The Nature Conservancy [6] [7] and inspired conservation efforts. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Part of the former village of Tremont remains built upon, as the South Shore Line's current NICTD headquarters building and station is located adjacent to the former village center. The original Tremont railroad station was built somewhat east of the current Dune Park station and parking lots.

Related Research Articles

Porter County, Indiana County in Indiana, United States

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Burns Harbor, Indiana Town in Indiana, United States

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Chesterton, Indiana Town in Indiana, United States

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Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the ArcelorMittal steel plant on the west. A small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.

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Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore. The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.

John Merle Coulter American botanist and educator

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Pinhook Bog

Pinhook Bog is a unique bog in Indiana that has been designated a National Natural Landmark. It is part of Indiana Dunes National Park, an area that many citizens, scientists, and politicians fought hard to preserve. Its sister bog, Volo Bog, is located nearby. The bog contains a large variety of plants, including insect eating plants, tamarack trees, stands of blueberry bushes, and floating mats of sphagnum moss. Pinhook Bog is about 580 acres (2.3 km2), a quarter of which is a floating mat of sphagnum peat moss. A "moat" separates the bog from the uplands.

Cowles Bog

Cowles Bog is a 4,000-year-old wetland complex in Indiana Dunes National Park, near Chesterton, Indiana. It is named for Henry Chandler Cowles who did his pioneering work in ecology and ecological succession here. His work brought international attention to the area which led to efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1965. It contains bog, fen, marsh, wet meadow, swamp, and pond habitats.

Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana Township in Indiana, United States

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Dune Park station

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The Indiana dunes have been a cross road of activity since the glacier receded. Great explorers such as Jacques Marquette and René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle traversed this area. As early as 1862, the area was noted for its unique natural resources. At the start of the 20th century, the dunes were a living laboratory for scientist studying plants, animals, and the changes in the land. The first ecologist did his pioneering work here.

The Indiana Dunes are natural sand dunes occurring at the southern end of Lake Michigan in the American State of Indiana. They are known for their ecological significance. Many conservationists have played a role in preserving parts of the Indiana Dunes. The Hour Glass, a museum in Ogden Dunes, showcases some of the ecological import of the Dunes.

Long Lake is a large interdunal wetland in the Indiana Dunes region of Northwest Indiana. It was originally approximately 8 miles in length, but has been shortened due to development and drainage. It has a surface area of 34 hectares, and a maximum depth of 1.8 meters. There are three small islands, and the total shoreline length is 4.6 kilometers.

Interdunal wetland

An interdunal wetland, interdunal pond or dune slack is a water-filled depression between coastal sand dunes. It may be formed either by wind erosion or by dunal encroachment on an existing wetland. The wind erosion process involves wind scooping out sufficient sand to reach the water table, and typically occurs behind the first line of foredunes.

Tremont station (Indiana)

Tremont was a flag stop on the South Shore Line located at Tremont Road in Porter County, Indiana. The station was built by the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway and opened circa 1908, serving its namesake town and later the Indiana Dunes.

References

  1. ↑ Powell A. Moore; The Calumet Region, Indiana's Last Frontier; Indiana Historical Bureau, 1959, reprinted 1991.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bowers, John O. 1929. "Dream Cities of the Calumet," in (pp. 174-198) History of Lake County. Volume 10. Gary, Indiana: Lake County Historical Association (Calumet Press). 223 p.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Workers of the Writers' Program of the Works Project Administration, 1939. The Calumet Region Historical Guide, p.135.
  4. ↑ Cutler, Harry G. 1912. History of Porter county, Indiana, Volume I.
  5. ↑ "Reading 3: Beauty of the Wild", U.S. National Park Service, accessed November 21, 2008.
  6. ↑ Smith, S.H. & Mark, S. (2010). The historical roots of The Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From science to preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3, 1-10.
  7. ↑ "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  8. ↑ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community:The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2, pp. 16-28.
  9. ↑ "South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  10. ↑ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla:Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1, 15-21.
  11. ↑ "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-06-11.

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