Editing Hammond, Indiana (section)

==History==
[[File:Hammond, Indiana (circa 1908).jpg|thumb|Hammond, circa 1908]]

The first European-descended residents arrived around 1847 to settle on land between the [[Grand Calumet River|Grand]] and [[Calumet River#Little Calumet River|Little Calumet Rivers]], on the south end of Lake Michigan. Those first residents of European descent were [[German Americans|German]] immigrant farmers looking for land and opportunity. Before that time, the area was a crossroad for Indian tribes, explorers, stagecoach lines and supply lines to the West. Convenient location and abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan led to the beginning of Hammond's industrialization in 1869 with the George H. Hammond Company meat-packing plant following merchants and farmers to the area. Hammond was incorporated on April 21, 1884, and was named after the [[Detroit]] butcher.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5404|title=Profile for Hammond, Indiana|publisher=[[ePodunk]]|access-date=June 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915064330/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5404|archive-date=September 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Hammond is one of the oldest cities in Lake County, with [[Crown Point, Indiana|Crown Point]] being the oldest (established in 1834).
According to the ''Encyclopedia of Chicago,'' George Henry Hammond, a pioneer in the use of refrigerated railcars for the transport of fresh meat, first used this method with his small packing company in Detroit, Michigan. In 1868, Hammond received a patent for a refrigerator car design. In the early 1870s, he built a new plant in northern Indiana along the tracks of the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1873, the George H. Hammond Co. was selling $1 million worth of meat a year; by 1875, sales were nearly $2 million. The company's large packing house in Hammond rivaled those located at the Union Stock Yard in Chicago. By the middle of the 1880s, when it built a new plant in Omaha, Nebraska, Hammond was slaughtering over 100,000 cattle a year and owned a fleet of 800 refrigerator cars. After Hammond died in 1886, the company became less important and no longer challenged the giant Chicago packers, who acquired Hammond at the turn of the century and merged it into their National Packing Co.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The Hammond Whiting & East Chicago Electric Railway Company [[Tram|trolley]] service ran from 1893 to 1940.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/calumet-roots-trolleys-were-hammond-success/article_e5a5231d-5658-5405-b848-67c490bd0297.html |title=Calumet Roots. Trolleys were Hammond success |first=Archibald |last=McKinlay |newspaper=[[The Times of Northwest Indiana]] |date=January 26, 1997 |location=Munster, Indiana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617041911/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/calumet-roots-trolleys-were-hammond-success/article_e5a5231d-5658-5405-b848-67c490bd0297.html |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

On June 22, 1918, the [[Hammond circus train wreck]] occurred about {{convert|5.5|mi|km}} east of the city, killing 86 and injuring 127 persons.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lytle |first=Richard M. |title=The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918: Tragedy on the Indiana Lakeshore |publisher=[[The History Press]] |date=2010 |location=[[Stroud]], [[Gloucestershire]], England |isbn=978-1596299313}}</ref>

The downtown Hammond shopping district along State Street and Hohman Avenue included major chains such as [[Sears]] and [[J. C. Penney]]. The largest stores in downtown were the [[Goldblatt's]] and E.C. Minas department stores.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=70&ArticleID=51176 |title=Hammond's downtown shopping district once a retail mecca |first=Jeff |last=Burton |newspaper=The Times of Northwest Indiana |date=November 27, 2009 |location=Munster, Indiana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228060238/http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=70&ArticleID=51176 |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all |quote=At various points in the city's 125-year history, major national retailers like Sears, J.C. Penney, Kresge's and F.W. Woolworth all had downtown storefronts, but the giants of Hohman and State were local stores, E.C. Minas and Goldblatt's. The two department stores occupied more than 300,000 square feet of retail space.}}</ref> The E.C. Minas store was constructed in 1894 and was in business until August 1984.<ref>{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/minas-building-downtown-fixture-for-years/article_eccd5756-9a86-5612-bb91-480d8782c62d.html|title= Minas building downtown fixture for 108 years|first= Sharon|last= Porta|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= February 6, 2002|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617032854/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/minas-building-downtown-fixture-for-years/article_eccd5756-9a86-5612-bb91-480d8782c62d.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote=The Minas building was constructed in 1894 and the neighboring building, the Henderson building, was constructed prior to 1904...The store closed its doors for good on August 15, 1984.}}</ref> The building which housed the Goldblatt's store had been purchased by the Chicago-based retailer in 1931 and operated until 1982 when it closed due to bankruptcy.<ref>{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/when-goldblatts-closed-hammond-lost-a-part-of-its-identity/article_99f3b1b6-6ced-5783-ace0-39eb4b390be5.html|title= When Goldblatts closed, Hammond lost a part of its identity|first= Alison|last= Skertic|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= October 12, 1999|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617033858/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/when-goldblatts-closed-hammond-lost-a-part-of-its-identity/article_99f3b1b6-6ced-5783-ace0-39eb4b390be5.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= The Goldblatts building had stood on Hohman Avenue since the 1920s, when it was known as the Lion's store. Goldblatt Brothers Inc. bought the store in 1931 and retained control until the store closed in 1982.}}</ref>

The [[Pullman Company|Pullman Standard Car Company]] built [[M4 Sherman]] [[Medium tank|tanks]] in Hammond during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/hammond-made-tanks-star-in-world-war-ii-movie-fury/article_70121e22-c37d-54cf-a6d4-c513b538be35.html|title= Hammond-made tanks star in World War II movie ''Fury''|first= Joseph S.|last= Pete|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= October 25, 2014|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150128204557/https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/hammond-made-tanks-star-in-world-war-ii-movie-fury/article_70121e22-c37d-54cf-a6d4-c513b538be35.html|archive-date= January 28, 2015|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Pullman made railroad cars on Chicago's South Side but was pressed into military service during the war. In less than a year, Hammond native Raymond Fox set up a tank and weapons factory at 165th Street and Columbia Avenue in south Hammond.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/wwii-veteran-joins-historians-for-program-on-hammond-tank-production/article_7aba9939-d5a7-51cc-b1ff-daeb5d8f15d7.html|title= WWII veteran joins historians for program on Hammond tank production|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= April 16, 2015|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617035435/https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/wwii-veteran-joins-historians-for-program-on-hammond-tank-production/article_7aba9939-d5a7-51cc-b1ff-daeb5d8f15d7.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Hammond was one of 10 locations in the U.S. that built the M4 medium tank.}}</ref>
 
Architect [[Victor Gruen]] designed the [[Woodmar Mall]]<ref>{{cite book|last= Hardwick|first= M. Jeffrey|chapter= Chapter Five: A 'Shopper's Paradise' for Suburbia|title= Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream|publisher= [[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|date= 2003|location= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page= 118|isbn= 978-0812237627|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=u3ljCgAAQBAJ&q=Woodmar+Victor+Gruen&pg=PA118}}</ref> in the [[Woodmar (Hammond)|Woodmar]] neighborhood. The mall opened in 1954 and was anchored by a [[Carson's|Carson Pirie Scott and Co.]] store.<ref name="Timeline">{{Citation|last= Bierschenk|first= Edwin|title= A sporting chance for revival at former Woodmar site|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= June 7, 2016|location= Munster, Indiana|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/a-sporting-chance-for-revival-at-former-woodmar-site/article_c5e0a2c4-4e1b-52bb-901d-7a90e64bb10e.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116073720/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/a-sporting-chance-for-revival-at-former-woodmar-site/article_c5e0a2c4-4e1b-52bb-901d-7a90e64bb10e.html|archive-date= January 16, 2017|url-status= live}}</ref>

According to the [[1960 United States census]] Hammond's population reached a record high of 111,698 residents.<ref>[http://www.hammondindiana.com/history2.htm History] hammondindiana.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427142016/http://hammondindiana.com/history2.htm |date=April 27, 2007 }}</ref> Hammond, like other industrial cities in the [[Rust Belt]], went into decline during the 1970s and 1980s, with the city's population plunging to 94,000 in 1980, and 83,000 in 2000. However, Hammond's economy was more diversified than neighboring [[Gary, Indiana]], [[East Chicago, Indiana]], and the south side of Chicago, which all relied on heavy industry (primarily steel production). Hammond's economy, on the other hand, depended on light manufacturing, transportation & warehousing, retail, banking & insurance, healthcare, hospitality & food service, and construction.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} In 1981, a toxic flood in Gary led Hammond to erect a barrier on 165th Street, one of several roads connecting the two cities, which led to lasting tensions with Gary.<ref name="schmidt">{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=William E. |title=Hammond Journal: Earthen Barrier Serves as Both Dam and Symbol |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/05/us/hammond-journal-earthen-barrier-serves-as-both-dam-and-symbol.html |access-date=October 26, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date= September 5, 1988 |page=6}}</ref>

Prominent manufacturing companies in Hammond include Unilever's soap factory, Atlas Tube, Cargill food processing, Munster Steel, Lear Seating Corporation, Jupiter Aluminum, Tri-State Automation, and Dover Chemical. Warehousing and storage is also prominent, with ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum having large oil storage facilities, and FedEx has a distribution center. Large railroad marshalling yards are also present in the city, with the [[Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad]]'s headquarters in the city. The [[State Line Generating Plant]] operated on the Indiana-Illinois state line from 1929 to 2012, and was demolished in 2014.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The Empress Casino opened in Hammond in June 1996 and was replaced with the [[Horseshoe Hammond]] casino in 2001.<ref>{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/business/gambling/for-nwi-casinos-it-s-been-years-and-billion/article_6a4cba22-c304-54bf-ab73-9237c9ddb0db.html|title= For NWI casinos, it's been 20 years and $20 billion|first= Andrew|last= Steele |newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= June 26, 2016|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161002111214/https://www.nwitimes.com/business/gambling/for-nwi-casinos-it-s-been-years-and-billion/article_6a4cba22-c304-54bf-ab73-9237c9ddb0db.html|archive-date= October 2, 2016|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= The original Empress Casino in Hammond — officially open for business on June 29, 1996 — was a standard boat at 43,000 square feet of gaming space.}}</ref>

In February 2006, the decision was made to demolish Woodmar Mall except for the Carson's store.<ref>{{Citation|last= Holecek|first= Andrea|title= Wrecking ball aimed at Woodmar Mall|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= February 8, 2006|location= Munster, Indiana|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/wrecking-ball-aimed-at-woodmar-mall/article_c7c20b69-d236-5a22-b3c6-f3577eecf5ea.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116072253/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/wrecking-ball-aimed-at-woodmar-mall/article_c7c20b69-d236-5a22-b3c6-f3577eecf5ea.html|archive-date= January 16, 2017|url-status= live}}</ref> The Hammond Redevelopment Commission announced plans in June 2016 for a $12 million sports complex to be built on the site of the former mall.<ref>{{Citation|last= Quinn|first= Michelle L.|title= Former Woodmar property eyed for sports complex|newspaper= Post-Tribune|date= June 8, 2016|location= Merrillville, Indiana|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-hammond-woodmar-st-0609-20160608-story.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160609150133/http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-hammond-woodmar-st-0609-20160608-story.html|archive-date= June 9, 2016|url-status= live}}</ref> The Carson's store closed in 2018, and was demolished in 2019, as part of its [[The Bon-Ton|parent company's]] liquidation.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/carson-s-to-close-in-southlake-mall-hammond-and-michigan/article_02349fe6-ce16-5408-b2a9-5eb02b3c2ab1.html|title= Carson's to close in Southlake Mall, Hammond and Michigan City 
|first= Joseph S.|last= Pete|date= April 29, 2018|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180504012004/http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/carson-s-to-close-in-southlake-mall-hammond-and-michigan/article_02349fe6-ce16-5408-b2a9-5eb02b3c2ab1.html|archive-date= May 4, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Carson's will close its department stores in Southlake Mall in Hobart, the Marquette Mall in Michigan City and in Hammond, where the three-story store is all that remains of the once-thriving but now largely demolished Woodmar Mall.}}</ref>