Whiting High School - Reflector Yearbook (Whiting, IN)

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19 n I listory of Whiting WHITING derived its name from a conductor on a Lake Shore freight train which was wrecked near the present station. The company built a siding to avoid similar accidents and called the place “Whiting’s turn out,” or Whitings. When the Standard Oil Company came in 1889 some of the office men of the Stand- ard objected to the awkward final “s” of Whitings, and succeeded in changing the word to its present form. The first Pennsylvania Station was at Berry Lake and was called Eggers. The Whiting stop of the Pennsylvania was established in 1889 and was called “Fields” for a short time. The station site was originally south of 119th Street, but was soon moved to the north side of 119th Street crossing. The present sta- tion was built in 1892. Ground was broken by the Standard Oil Company in May, 1889, by William Barstow who had charge of the first con- struction gang. The refinery was two years in building, although a part of the plant was put in operation in 1890. The establishment of the plant had a great deal to do with the growth of the popula- tion, for within two years the population of two thousand people had gathered. Year by year, additions were made until it had grown to the famous Standard Oil Company of the present day. An experienced engineer sunk a shaft and drove a tunnel under Lake Michigan to supply the millions of gallons of water required in the refining of the oil. While all this was taking place at the plant, a mushroom city was building. Stores were being opened in the rough board shacks. Gradually shacks were replaced by sub- stantial frame buildings so that early in the year 1891 many of the company’s dwellings were occupied. East of the Pennsylvania tracks was the business cen- ter as well as the resident district. Whiting in 1860 A VISITOR coming to Whiting about the year 1860, or in the middle of the fifties would have found transporta- tion a serious difficulty. If the stranger came by rail as he might have done after 1853, it was necessary to leave the train at Ainsworth, as South Chicago was then called, and walk the ties five miles to Whiting. If he came on foot or horse conveyance, he would have found a great scarcity of roads and bridges. Until the advents of the railroads, the swamps and sloughs of the northwest corner of Indiana were a wilderness, unbroken except by an occasional hunting or fishing party. Christopher Schrage and family came to Whiting from Chicago in 1854. They found it necessary to travel south as far as Hegewisch, in order to get to Chitten- den bridge over the Calumet river, as South Chicago did not have a bridge at that time. From Hegewisch they traveled on the so-called Indian Ridge to East Side, where they found a passable trail near the lake to Whiting. There were no bridges to the west or south, except ITohman’s bridge (now Hammond). Boats were common enough and a foot traveler could usually hire one boat to make a crossing. Transportation by water was usually inconvenient, for, although there

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SUPERINTENDENT W. W. HOLLIDAY 6

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 were many water ways, they did not ex- tend in the way people wished to travel. The water covered a very much greater proportion of the land then than now. The whole district was a succession of ridges and swales. The ridges were cov- ered with a rich growth of forest trees, together with a more or less dense growth of underbrush. Mud Lake was formerly called Lake George and had an outlet to Lake Michigan where Atchison Avenue is now. The joining of roads and the boom of the early fifties with its railroad build- ing brought many settlers to Whiting who formed the nucleus of the present Whiting. This boom was followed by a great panic in 1857 and Christopher Schrage tells of many hardships in the days just before the war. These were the hardest times ever known by the settlers, but the year 1870 brought a great boom, and a great rise in land values. In the year 1891 the first effort to incorporate as a town was made. Everyone appeared to be in favor of the project. It was proposed to in- corporate all the territory up to the state line. All attempts were unsuccessful until 1895. when the first town govern- ment was formed. During the six years which Whiting was under the administra- tion of town and government, our neigh- bor, Hammond, showed an inclination to lay claim to a large part of Whiting, after annexing Roby and Robertsdale. Ham- mond did, in fact annex all that part owned by the Standard Oil Company which included the works ami eighty-five cottages. Legal steps were taken to re- cover those parts which had been an- nexed and all was recovered except Rob- ertsdale. In order that our neighbor might not be able to repeat the annexa- tion scheme, Whiting was incorporated as a city in 1903, and the census showed the splendid growth in population from 1900 to 1910. During the administration of Warwick the first steps were taken to- wards street improvements. During the Smith administration the most notable event was the purchase of about twenty- two acres of Lake front property for pub- lic park purposes and two summers of diligent work have transformed an un- sitelv desert into a beautiful spot equipped with an artistic bath house, bridges, trees, flowers, and shrubbery, a spot that might call forth a glow of pride from a most indifferent citizen. Whiting has a public library, housed in a building that is an architectural gem, set in a little park radiant with trees, flowers, and shrubbery. With a wealth of beauty on the exterior, the interior is a mine of precious gems to those who are bookish in their inclination. The Hank of Whiting was established in 1895 by Henry Schrage. Lately, a mag- nificent building, that caused a gasp of amazement to Whitingites was com- pleted. First National Bank was organized by Mr. Bader and Mr. Smith, which occupies the handsome brick building at the corner of 119th Street and Oliver. Whiting may be proud of her public schools. Even Boston, mother of the public schools in this country, can pro- duce nothing more complete than the Whiting Public Schools. There are five buildings in all, the former High School, the McGregor School, the former kinder- garten. the Manual Training Building, and lastly the magnificent new High School. 8 Continued on Page 67)