|
Miller History
A little history:
Miller, which was annexed by Gary in the early 1920's, is actually older than Gary,
which was founded in 1906. Situated at the south end of Lake Michigan, the land is former
lake bottom with sandy soil and an abundance of wetlands. Teeming with fish, wildlife and
berries, it was a popular hunting and food gathering area for the Indians.
Miller's history began in 1851 when a train stop, eventually called "Miller's
Junction", was constructed by a predecessor of Lake Shore
and Michigan Southern Railroad. There is no sure determination of how
Miller got it's name, but it has been speculated that the first family was named
Miller based on the oldest stone in Miller Cemetery, that of John S. age 3 dated
1851. The first written indication that I have of
the name of Miller is in the 1896 timetable of the LS&MS, reproduced in the
book on the railroad, where it is called "Millers" on the timetable
and the maps. The post office today sports the name "Millers
Station". It remained an unpopulated, out of the way railroad
junction surrounded by swampy terrain hardly suited for farming. The first inhabitants
were often fishermen, squatters along the beach who made their living fishing and selling
berries that grew wild in the dunes. The Carr family was prominent
among these people for many years, not only claiming claiming ownership of a lot of the
beach until 1930, but developing early tourism in the area. The first real settlement
occurred as Swedish immigrants, many fleeing Chicago after The Great Fire, moved to the
area in the early 1870's. They founded a church, eventually building a frame church in
1894 that still stands today on Lake Street.
The most important experiments in aeronautics prior to the the Wright brothers
invention of the airplane were conducted on the beaches of Miller and just to the east of
Miller. Octave Chanute, the elder
statesman of aeronautics at the time, performed glider experiments on the beach which
developed the basic bi-plane design which was adopted by the Wright brothers.
In the early 1900's the desolate dunes and broad beaches along Lake Michigan were a
primary attraction to many. Our most famous 'hermit' - "Diana of the Dunes" -
was actually a well educated, if somewhat romantic, University of Chicago graduate who
rebelled against the competitive, materialistic world of bustling Chicago and in 1915 fled
to the dunes with nothing but a knife, spoon, blanket, jelly glass and two guns, becoming
a local legend.
Miller's unique terrain and proximity to Chicago continued to be a draw for people
wanting to get away from the city and enjoy lake breezes. In the 1920's the Marquette Park
Pavilion and the Bathhouse were built. Small cabins began to appear in the dunes east of
the Park. After World War II many year-round homes were built and today the attraction
continues as many choose Miller as their primary residence or as a location for a summer
home.
(Thanks to James Lane's book "City of the Century" A History of Gary,
Indiana, for the above)
History and Genealogy links for
Northwest Indiana can be found in LakeNet's
Directory.
Historic
Landmarks Foundation of Indiana now has a Miller office at 563 S. Lake
Street.
The Calumet Archives and the IU
Digital Library have put over 2000 pictures from the US Steel Photo collection
online. Spanning the years 1906 to 1971 it includes pictures of very early
Marquette Park and many other pictures of interest. Check it out at the
US Steel Image
Collection
|