Calumet Region

Coordinates: 41°33′N 87°27′W / 41.55°N 87.45°W / 41.55; -87.45
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

41°33′N 87°27′W / 41.55°N 87.45°W / 41.55; -87.45 The Calumet Region is the geographic area drained by the

Little Calumet River of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana in the United States. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, which eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sub-region of the greater Northwest Indiana region and the even larger Great Lakes region
.

This region includes the northern parts of Lake and Porter counties and the western portion of La Porte county in Indiana, as well as the eastern counties of northern Illinois, Will and Cook.[1]

Since much of this region is on the south shore of Lake Michigan, it is sometimes referred to as the "South Shore". Because it was initially cut off from the rest of the state due to natural geographic barriers like the Kankakee Marsh to the south, the Calumet Region was the last-settled portion of Indiana.[1]

The area is known for its industrial heritage and history as a center for production of

Memorial Day massacre of 1937, where ten steelworkers' rights activists were killed by police officers during a demonstration, occurred on Chicago's southeast side.[3]

Today, Calumet is notable as a site of many

The Field Museum, the Wetlands Initiative, and local branches of The Nature Conservancy, Green Corps and the Student Conservation Association.[6] Many of these sites have become host to locally rare and threatened species like Blanding's turtle, Wilson's phalarope and the least weasel.[7]

Cities

The Calumet Region includes the Indiana cities of

.

In Illinois a number of cities and villages lie in the Calumet watershed including: the southernmost part of Chicago, Lansing, Calumet City, South Holland, Riverdale, Burnham, Calumet Park, and Blue Island

Townships

The Calumet Region includes land from the following Indiana townships in Porter County: Portage, Union, Westchester, Liberty, Center, Pine, Jackson, Washington. It includes land located within the following townships of Lake County: North, St. John, Calumet, Hobart, and Ross. It also includes Coolspring Township in La Porte County.

Origin

The name Calumet is said to come from French interpretations of either the Potawatomi name for the rivers and lake in question (“low body of deep, still water”)[8] or is a corruption of the Old French term Chalemel, which means "reed". The word appears on early maps as Cal-La-Mick, Kil-La-Mick, Calumic, etc.[1]

History

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
189096,371
1900120,19324.7%
1910172,74943.7%
1920254,76147.5%
1930367,85044.4%
1940409,81311.4%
1950513,07325.2%
1960699,00336.2%
1970770,74410.3%
1980792,3952.8%
1990750,103−5.3%
2000786,0774.8%
2010819,5374.3%
2015 (est.)813,915[9]−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census (Calumet Region in Indiana)[10]

The first known print reference to refer to this area as a distinct geographical region is the 1755 map created by John Mitchell. In this map, however, he referred to the geographic region as "Quadoche", a name that the Iroquois had given to the Potawatomi that were known to occupy the region at that point in time.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Moore, Powell A. (1959). The Calumet Region: Indiana's Last Frontier. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. ^ Reese, Sarah (2016), Northwest Indiana Times http://www.nwitimes.com/news/special-section/ec-lead/a-century-of-heavy-industry-transformed-east-chicago-s-calumet/article_2e8a104e-2ae9-5f42-9142-a74829c6ea85.html
  3. ^ Franklin, Steven (2017), The Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-chicagodays-republicsteelstrike-story-story.html
  4. ^ US Geological Survey, Great Lakes https://www.glsc.usgs.gov/publications/2002/1170
  5. ^ Vaisvilas, Frank (2018). The Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-winter-volunteers-st-0116-20170113-story.html
  6. ^ Calumet Stewardship Initiative http://www.calumetstewardship.org/member-organizations#.WfInHnZOmUk
  7. ^ Dorworth, Leslie (2010). Grist http://grist.org/article/2010-07-07-cleanup-efforts-bring-life-back-to-grand-calumet-river/
  8. ^ Calumet River-Frontal Lake Michigan Archived 2015-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, Watershed Central Wiki, U.S. EPA, quoting from the "City of Chicago Calumet Land Use Plan"
  9. ^ "US Census QuickFacts". Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  10. ^ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  11. .