Travel to East Chicago - Indiana - USA - History

East Chicago - Indiana - History

Churches have played a vital role in the history of East Chicago , serving as central gathering points for the diverse groups of people who settled in this industrial Mecca. Interestingly, the city's first churches predate East Chicago's incorporation as a city. The church that became the Church of Good Shepherd was established in 1888, primarily to serve people of English, Scottish, and Welsh descent, and the First United Methodist Church was built the same year to serve the same ethnic population. It was not until 1893 that East Chicago became a city. Over the course of the next forty years, dozens of new churches were established, with each ethnic group organizing one or more churches to meet their spiritual and social needs. East Chicago has been home to Polish, German, Hungarian, Swedish, Romanian, Lithuanian, Mexican, Puerto Rican and African-American churches as well as Jewish temples. Like all communities, East Chicago has changed over time. The record of closings reflect those changes just as recounting church openings provides insight into the early growth of the community. The story of East Chicago's churches is more than a mere account of erecting buildings. It is the story of East Chicago's many people, and it is a story that is still being written today. Therefore, the history of churches contained in the East Chicago History Room has far-reaching implications for industrial, social and cultural history as well. According to a church directory developed in 1956, there were 70 churches in East Chicago, reflecting a broad spectrum of religions, nationalities and cultures. At present the list of churches in our city contains 60 churches.

The East Chicago History Room is devoted to collecting and preserving East Chicago's heritage. At present the staff of this unique history room is ready to develop a cross-referenced, computerized database on the history of churches in East Chicago.

The East Chicago Public Library's church history collection includes more than 200 photographs and 60 folders, which contain newspaper articles, invitations, correspondence and other ephemeral material.

The primary goal of the project is to develop a database that will provide the accurate information about the collection while adding new materials to supplement the collection.

The Lake County Historical Museum showcases a variety of memorabilia representing the origination of Lake County and its developing years. Featured are artefacts that stand as a reminder of earlier ways of life in Lake County: farm implements, clothing, musical devices.

The Lake County Historical Museum features unique Lake County artefacts, including the enormous clerk's desk where several famous people such as Ronald Reagan received license to marry in Crown Point, Indiana. Also available for viewing are the family Bibles of Mariah Evans Robinson (wife of Crown Point founder Solon Robinson) and of Reverend Timothy Ball. Another feature is a full-size replica of the canoe that the French explorer LaSalle used for explorations; this replica canoe was used in an actual voyage in 1976 which re-enacted LaSalle's exploration. A Washington Printing Press, the last edition of the Guttenburg Press, is also on display.

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