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Porter County collection

 Collection — Folder: S1686
Identifier: S1686

Scope and Contents

The collection includes three items from Porter County, Indiana, comprising a copy of a typed manuscript of the townships of Porter County, circa 1916; copies of naval letters regarding construction of a lighthouse at City West, Indiana in 1837 with an accompanying letter from Captain W. D. MacDougall to William H. Matthew on June 6, 1921; and a letter rom A.F. Knotts to Richard Lieber on August 30, 1929 with an accompanying photostat of a hand-drawn map depicting the location of the old fort near City West, Indiana.

Dates

  • 1837-1929

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

City West was a short-lived town located among the Indiana Dunes on the shore of Lake Michigan. The town was established in 1836 by land speculators, but the panic of 1837 killed the town, as . By fall of 1839, the town was completely abandoned. Old town site is currently part of the Indiana Dunes State Park in Porter County, Indiana.

Sources:

Items in the collection.

Atlas Obscura. "City West Ghost Town." Atlas Obscura. 2017. Accessed June 28, 2017. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/city-west-ghost-town.

"City West and Indiana City, Now Gone and Almost Forgotten Were Once Rivals of Chicago." The Vidette-Messenger, (Valparaiso, IN), August 18, 1936, 12. Accessed June 28, 2017. http://www.inportercounty.org/Data/PorterCountyCentennial/Sec1-12_CityWest-IndianaCity.html.

Taylor, Stephen Jesse. "City West: Lost Metropolis of the Indiana Dunes." Field of Vision: Spirit & Place blog, July 27, 2013. Accessed June 28, 2017. https://stephenjessetaylor.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/city-west-lost-metropolis-of-the-indiana-dunes.

Biographical Note/Historical Note

Richard Lieber was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1869. He immigrated to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1891, and was naturalized on February 6, 1901. Lieber first worked as a reporter for the Indiana Tribune, where he met and married Emma Rappaport, daughter of the newspaper's owner, Phillip Rappaport. In 1916, Lieber became the Conservation Commission Chairman under Governor Samuel M. Ralston, where he worked to develop Indiana’s state park system, creating ten state parks and five memorials. Acknowledged as the father of Indiana park system, Lieber authored seven books and manuscripts, He died in 1944. On 12 July 1958, the Richard Lieber State Park was dedicated in his honor.

Sources:

Indiana Department of Natural Resources. "The Begining of Indiana State Parks." Accessed June 1, 2017. http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/8622.htm.

Gunderman, Richard. "Hoosier Beacon: Richard Lieber Founded Indiana's Park System." Indianapolis Businesss Journal, October 1, 2016. Accessed June 28, 2017. https://www.ibj.com/articles/60596-richard-lieber-founded-indianarsquos-park-system.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Gary Public Library on 1935/05/03.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2017/06/01 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid created 2017/06/01 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid revised 2017/06/28 by Brittany Kropf.
Title
Porter County collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671