•That our own 73rd Avenue holds quite an important place in
history? Our town thoroughfare roughly follows the Sauk Trail,
an important pathway running between what is now Rock Island,
Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. The trail is named for the Sauk
Indians and was actually part of a network of trails used by
various tribes nationwide for hundreds of years.
Later, settlers used this
same roadway as a stagecoach route to cities such as Michigan
City, Joliet, Detroit and Fort Dearborn (now known as Chicago).
It was sometimes known then as the Joliet Trail.
The road was also the route used by fortune hunters on their way
to California during the Gold Rush of the late 1840s and 1850s.
For a time, the local hotel here was named “The California
Exchange Hotel”.
Over the years, the street
has been called by other names by locals, including, simply,
"The Main Road".
When the first
transcontinental highway was created in the late-1910s, 73rd
Avenue was paved and became part of the famed Lincoln Highway.
When that highway moved a few blocks south in the late 1930s,
73rd Avenue started being referred to as the “Old Lincoln
Highway”. Its numerical designation also changed, from U.S 30 to
County Road 330.
•Other current Merrillville
streets were once known by other names as well: 57th Avenue was
Krieter Road and a portion of 61st Avenue was called Wehner
Drive.
•The Dr. Henry Palmer home,
located near 73rd and Taney, was a stop on the Underground
Railroad, a secret network helping escaped slaves reach safety
that operated before and during the Civil War.
In the 1830s, Dr. Palmer was
the first physician to settle in Lake County.
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Old street car garage
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Sauk Trail
commemorative sign
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Dr. Henry Palmer home
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•In the 1920s and 30s,
In the 1920s and 30s,
a street car line ran
along Cleveland / Taft Street from Gary to Crown Point. In fact,
the old Block House building at 62nd and Cleveland was
originally a garage and barn for the old trolley line.
•As a primarily agricultural
community for many years, Merrillville / Ross Township was home
to many dairy farms, such as Toney Smith’s near 57th and
Harrison. With the coming of the railroad here in the 1870-80s,
daily milk train routes were established. Several dairies were
here, too, including the Seldom Idle Dairy, which was located on
what is now Mississippi Street, and the Sunderman Dairy, located
on what is the current U.S. 30.
•In the days before television and Interstate highways,
Merrillville had quite a few interesting tourist sites and local
hot spots including Tierney's Steakhouse (now home to the Old
Mill Pizzeria), Kitchel’s Lodge, Schmidt’s Bowling Alley and
Halsted’s Dance Hall
•Ever hear of Merrillville's
Harding High School? Built in 1927-28 on the site of what is now
Pierce Middle School, Harding High School was used a very short
time before being completely destroyed in an October 1928 fire.
Four portable buildings were
erected in order to conduct classes while a new school was
constructed.
When the high school was
rebuilt, it was named Merrillville High School. Despite many
renovations, parts of this building still stands and is now
Pierce Middle School. The new (and current) Merrillville High
School at 276 E. 68th Place was opened in 1953.
