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Today is the 180th anniversary of the Chartering of the City of Michigan City. It was chartered on February 8, 1836.

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Oh what might have been.

Early Hoosiers pinned their hopes on the site of what is today Michigan City, Indiana, which lies at the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan. But just as the promoters and developers of Michigan City sought growth, recognition, and profit for their hometown, so did another group of entrepreneurs in Chicago fix their sights on the profitable Great Lakes trade. A look at the early development of Michigan City, and the successes and failures of its leaders' efforts, may suggest reasons why this port on Lake Michigan never achieved major importance, while Chicago, only a short distance away, fulfilled its boosters' dreams.

http://bit.ly/1Q5hUhw

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Michigan City on the cusp of resurgence

Stan Maddux Times Correspondent

MICHIGAN CITY — Gone are the days when practically anybody could find a good paying blue collar job here.

For several years, the building blocks for a comeback have been placed in the schools and seemingly everywhere else to become not just a tourist destination but a place to have a high quality of life with more good paying high tech jobs.

City Councilman Chris Schwanke, who grew up here in the ‘70s and ‘80s, remembers when a job was not difficult to find in one of the local factories.

“Now, you have to look to get a good quality job. You really have to search those out,” said Schwanke

According to city officials, things are on the cusp of changing dramatically with the area of Ind. 212 and U.S 12 being primed for industrial development and more upscale housing growth.

A new hotel near the lakefront is being eyed as the city’s downtown continues its revitalization with eight new restaurants the past 18 months.

Test scores in the schools are also up as part of the strategy being closely followed to upgrade the quality of the local workforce.

The city also is continuing to demolish blighted properties for redevelopment, and millions of dollars have been invested on upgrading and beautifying U.S 35 to spur new investment in a long-struggling area.

In addition, millions of more dollars are earmarked for additional improvements around Blue Chip Casino and the lakefront to enhance the gains in tourism achieved the past decade.

So far, the strategies for rebuilding the city’s tax base seem to be paying off most noticeably, perhaps, in the downtown with just a few remaining empty storefronts.

“I think the future of Michigan City is definitely bright," said Clarence Hulse, executive director of the Economic Development Corp. of Michigan City.

Hulse said one of the keys is the community from all sectors continuing several years now moving forward as one and building around existing assets like the lakefront and Blue Chip Casino toward the mission of a better Michigan City.

In the downtown, for example, the emergence of the Uptown Arts District that includes the $11 million conversion of the former Warren Building at 7th and Franklin streets into affordable housing for artists is a major catalyst.

More than 40 units with a half dozen commercial spaces will start being occupied in the spring providing an influx of traffic for the downtown hit hard in the early 70s by the shift of retail activity to the city’s south side and the outlying communities.

A hotel and maybe even condominiums could go up once the current police station and former News-Dispatch building near the lakefront are torn down next year.

“In 20 to 30 years, I think you’re going to see Michigan City back to its former glory if not bigger and better,” said Schwanke.

Hulse envisions an even better community with a balanced economy of high tech jobs in manufacturing and other areas like computer software development along with more tourism and upscale retail on the south end.

The city is also looking for ways to capitalize on plans for relocating Franciscan St. Anthony Health from the city’s west side to the area of Interstate 94 and U.S 421.

“We want it to be 10 times better than it was so we don’t want to go back. It might not be as heavily industrialized as it was. We want to go forward and look at the industries of the future.

Michigan City got its start in 1830 when real estate speculator Isaac C. Elston purchased 160 acres for $200.

Six years later, it was incorporated with 1,500 residents and a commercial district that included 10 hotels.

There was also a post office, bank, newspaper and at least one church in an area spanning 15 square miles with $20,000 in state money in hand to build a port.

Also in 1836, John Barker arrived from Massachusetts, later bringing more prosperity by making railroad cars for a company that later became Pullman-Standard, a major employer on the north end for decades.

From then on, manufacturing was dominant in Michigan City, which also flourished in shipping with cargo boats on Lake Michigan coming in and out of the city’s harbor.

Michigan City, like it is today, was also a popular tourist destination with commercial boats from places like Chicago bringing people in for weekends at the beach.

According to history, the quick rise of Michigan City was no surprise after a group of surveyors working for the state in 1828 called the mouth of Trail Creek ideal for a harbor and shipping port and a selection committee appointed by Congress four years later described it as the most suitable site for a commercial town.

At first, ships at night were guided not by a lighthouse, but a lantern on a tall pole located just 100 feet away from the current lighthouse.

Permission to build a permanent lighthouse came in 1837; when constructed it had room for the keeper to live.

The first keeper, Edmund B. Harrison, was paid $350 a year.

Harriett Colfax was the keeper for 43 years, retiring in 1904 at the age of 80.

She died the following year shortly after the passing of Ann Hartwell, her longtime companion.

1904 also marked the building of the current lighthouse, which has become the city’s main symbol and marketing tool.

Michigan City is still home to Indiana State Prison, completed in 1868 and a century later the was the basis for “Michigan City Howdy-Do,” a hit song by country music singer Johnny Cash about an inmate tasting freedom after his release.

Michigan City was also known in the 19th century for the mining of sand along its stretch of Lake Michigan where NIPSCO’s coal-fired generating station now operates.

Professional baseball also called Michigan City home for four seasons beginning in 1956.

One of the players for the White Caps, a minor league affiliate of the New York Giants, was hall of fame pitcher Juan Marichal, who threw had a 21-8 record with a 1.87 ERA during his one season in Michigan City.

Don Larsen, who in 1956 threw the only perfect game in World Series history, is a Michigan City native. So is the late Anne Baxter, an academy award-winning actress, and Abe Gibron, a former player and head coach of the Chicago Bears.

The boys basketball team from Elston High School brought home the state championship in 1967, and Rogers High School basketball standouts Dan Palombizio and Delray Brooks had stellar careers at the collegiate level in the 1980s.

Things were going so well that in 1966 Michigan City was named an All-American city, but in a few short years a long downward slide began and its population dropped by nearly 10,000 to just over 30,000 now.

Hulse said helping to bring about positive change has been improvements in the city’s appearance, something that will continue in the years ahead with plans that include trails and improvements to the existing U.S 12 bridge across from the casino.

It might take a number of years before the full potential envisioned for the city is achieved, but Hulse said, “It’s on its way.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4k6PYG5r-o

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