F, I c. '"'"' ,,.. ,,, . Du,.~ s D /)_-SO THE BAILLY ARE A of PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA The Final Report of a geo­ historical study undertaken on behalf of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore c by Sarah Gibbard Cook and Robert s. Jackson of ROBERT JACKSON & ASSOCIATES EVANSTON • 1978 ( PLEASE RETURN TO: TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER DENVER SERVICE CENTER 0 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ·o: r 0 -• II .() .1• r TABLE OF CONTENTS Figures 1. A Harsh Industrial Boundary 2. The Lay of the Land 3. Record of Physical Features Compiled from Original Section Line Surveys of 1829-34 4. Stylized Map of Transportation Routes and Centers of Settlement 5. Sectional Map of Porter County, Abbot, 1855 6. Plat of Baillytown 7. Road Map of Porter County, 1960 8. Property Ownership in the Western Part of the Great Marsh and Vicinity 9. Water Levels in Lake Michigan, 1869 to 1955 10. General Plan of Dune Acres (Golf Grounds), Merton, 1924. 11. Merton's Plan and the 1970's Context 12. Aerial Photograph Taken November, 1938. Chapter I. A Geo-Historical Study . • . • •. 1 A. Forces Directly Shaping This Work, 1 B. Motivating Concerns, 4 c. Geo-History and Contemporary Consciousness, 5 D. Temporal and Geographical Scope, 7 E. The Prehistoric Shape of the Land, 8 F. Organization of Chapters, 10 Chapter II. Transporation . • . • • • . • . • • . • • • 12 A. Early Trails and Stage Roads, 12 B. Road Construction, 17 C. Waterways, 23 D. Railroads, 29 Chapter III. The Calumet Beach Ridge and the Upper Little Calumet Basin. • . • . • . • • . • . • . • • • • . • .• 34 A. Settlement, 34 B. Lumbering, 38 C. Agriculture, 41 D. Minerals and Mineral Springs, 44. Chapter IV. The Great Marsh and the Baillytown Sag •••..•• 47 A. Hunting and Gathering, 47 B. Farming in the Marsh, 54 C. Agricultural Drainage Ditches, 58 Chapter V. The Sand Hills and Interdunal Wetlands •.•.•.. 66 A. The Isolation of the Sand Hills, 66 B. Interdunal Wetlands, 71 c. Industry and Conservation, 77 Chapter VI. Epilogue: The European-American Impact •..••. 84 List of People Interviewed or Consulted, 87 Select Annotated List of Maps Consulted, 90 Select Annotated Bibliography, 96 c: Index, 103 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to acknowledge assistance from the facilities and/or staff members of the Chicago Historical Society, Duneland Historical Society, Evanston Public Library, Gary Public Library, Historical Society of Porter County, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, John Crerar Library, Newberry Library, National Park Service (Denver Service Center), Northwestern University, Rand McNally & Company, Recorder's Office of Porter County (Indiana), South Shore Railroad, Surveyor's Office of Porter County (Indiana). For their various contributions to the substance of this report we thank in particular all the individuals named in the "List of Persons Consulted." In addition we are grateful for help in typing and producing the physical copy of the report, to Ms. Susan Zinke. For help in overall conception we are grateful to Mr. J. Ronald Engel. 0 Sarah Gibbard Cook Robert S. Jackson Evanston, Illinois June, 1978 "The landscape we see today is a collection of legacies from the past, some from geological, some from historical, times." -- H. D. Darby See p. 5. () - II hfA~$J, i"r/" sir1·a/ kowH da ry - Figure l THE LAY OF THE LAND, showing beach ridges and major streams, with their relation to Baillytown • ... ,.... ~ ~·~ l'%j ~ I-'· ... \ • ~ g,: N :'If ~:~· {~ , Gle"woJg/_•f .. ' .......... .. ~ ' •• .. \ ,· ...... \ ,. I \ •• .................... ,.,,, • .ti Vo. I r11.r11.isO f4,, ~;"e ..... SGC llJ/77 0 rr /' ,,// Record of physical features compiled from original section line surveys of 1829-34. Mapped by Toni Ristau, 8/77. Names of features have been added. -t ( ' ~ r-,..... I t\) tTj D I-'· ',::". -:J.6 ~ ~~~ w s- >s.\~ - , ' II /;?. Jo JI I ii? .,.. ~ ..w 9\-. 0 0 I I 1, I I BAILLY AREA AND VICINITY, PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA STYLIZED MAP OF TRANSPORTATION ROUTES AND CENTERS OF SETTLEMENT IN RELATION TO THE LAY OF THE LAND 0 Figure 4 ~c 1/T1! RJII RVI RY T.36 Fiann=~ c; PLAT OF BAILLYTOWN 0 Plat recorded as "Town of. Bailly" by LaPorte County recorder, December 10, 1834. Description supplied by Joseph Bailly, pr.:>prietor, dated December 14, 1833: "The Village is laid out at right angles, corresponding with the great Cardinal points of the Compass, with the Maenetic Variation." 0 ~­ ~. ' ,, ,t t t ,I Figure 6 0 !I: !I: !I: !I: !I: !I: ... ... ... ... ... - ... 0 0 0 0 0 0 .I 0 0 ( ) ~ 0 0 0 0 0 ( ' g 0 0 0 0 0 ct~ 0 0 0 0 .J 0 ID ... ... "' .. "' N 5! ID.J 5! N 1') .. "' ... ... -------------,zoooN i "' I P; ••••••••• ! 2& ! i c; \).\'\ : : z· ~,c-r." ! UllGI; ' w I N t'. PORTER COUNTY '' r - --- - -- - - -- --- -·-.· ----------------~---------- 19~N ; : l z W lf(Bflll E \,\).~'(,. • ! l : ~ i 34 i :; I I ~ eoutttUO FROM COUNTY••••••• 5URvtYOA'S MCOADS AND DA TA AutUIT IHO : ! :? .. : TW WILLIAM S. TANKE 1eooN r----------------r-----··----·-----·-f•--------~::-:d~~---~lf'..--:~~~~IRMl!lffl~ CCMfT1' """'•"" j . \ ' - ' : f a : 1WiD or DO•HllCIMM i i . '"' . ! ~ o..0\.~ J!.>' I ~ A'T' MARTIN ERICSON 1700Nr----·-----· ·-- ·i------·------·--·r -- -------:;;;o~ ~ ~ U"lc •¥ ~ i VIRGIL 0. KING ! i l "ANGE • W. : •AHGE 5 w. r HARRY 8AMESBEAGER ~ ! 12 : 7. ~,c;~ ' l ~\O I ....... ........-! '51.~.. I "llA"'1ffir ~JisooN,~ I jfil1sooN l1~0N {. \,\).~'(,. "tj I-'· 'g., CD ......i f400Nr···--···· --·----,-----···--·-·-- --- r----:+ -···--- -f - ' i i I : : . I ' i 27 ! 0 " !11ANGE 7 W 11. ~ 1 4 Wr~1=_~ l'2R::J::N;'.J I l2'<1kf:bl .. ~::r~L;J 1 ~'f, H, ~ _..., ._ /...,,,- /_,,,.- i~PJ ·~ 't~· _ /1toV"'<~~ TO ~ '-' . _,. ,r 111 - ~' ~ -~ PROPERTY OWNERSHIP IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE GREAT MARSH ,_...,- ~ - - ~ 1"';J6~ -,4;1, '"~95; 1t'6'. ~.!" AND VICINITY, as shown in atlases and plat books of 1876, f!Z:\ ..~ _ ';t'l,,'fk'W·f> "~~~ 1895, 1906, 1928, 1944(-48), and 1968 or when condemned ,-3~i.e tow11 *p.,... ~:s~ ~:f~ for National Lakeshore. -,rc:;.;;..::.:.=.:::.;:;.;_.1~t-~;..._l"kflltC.~"'tt11~,,~·+-~~~~--.,.....~--.:L...~--I Shifts in property lines of less than 200 feet, . ~.....-:: MLDN1t::ld~"""'"'W 'Cff,- shoreline changes, spelling changes, railroad ~~ /lr-re~k '1% ~a.rr ft6 ~s~ and utility rights of way, and small lots -;.4c.D.,toald'?b . fiddi't"""1 ·~"!!" within the Town of Dune.-Acres are o~itte.d. /..e¥f'ltt>t"f5;'06 ile.t.e~.,n 1 .../' - - - _,_/ ~--1' ""r.;Mt of1 1'" let: ~ ''+~; 6fr - • • ~ - ___,- _,.,:. ~ · v--' -::lY1 ''t1T, '6D -~ __,,..../ / ------ ;---- ,,.... ·- ...-----· - ..---. ~-~lai'r '"!(. i:''-"e.-mi; .. ''i5; ........~ _.............- - ~'- '3 0. ~ ~-- ' G.,t.et ·~ ''f'f -- ~ _,,... \'1J5-~ ~ t1~ ...u , "" I -S+a.-rr ''1-6 z:~~I~& - I ~ c>-~e.. 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