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41°33′N87°27′W / 41.55°N 87.45°W /41.55; -87.45TheCalumet Region is the geographic area drained by theGrand Calumet River and theLittle Calumet River of northeasternIllinois and northwesternIndiana in theUnited States. It is part of theGreat Lakes Basin, which eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sub-region of the greaterNorthwest Indiana region and the even largerGreat Lakes region.
This region includes the northern parts ofLake andPorter counties and the western portion ofLa Porte county in Indiana, as well as the eastern counties of northern Illinois,Will andCook.[1]
Since much of this region is on the south shore ofLake Michigan, it is sometimes referred to as the "South Shore". Because it was initially cut off from the rest of the state due to natural geographic barriers like the Kankakee Marsh to the south, the Calumet Region was the last-settled portion of Indiana.[1]
The area is known for its industrial heritage and history as a center for production ofsteel,minerals andchemicals. The toxic byproducts of these industries present major issues forpublic safety andnatural resource management today.[2] The region was a center for thelabor rights movement of the 1930s. TheMemorial Day massacre of 1937, where ten steelworkers' rights activists were killed by police officers during a demonstration, occurred on Chicago's southeast side.[3]
Today, Calumet is notable as a site of manyhabitat restoration projects. The area contains many endangereddune,Swale, andmoraine based ecosystems.[4] ManyForest Preserve District of Cook County sites, such as Powderhorn Prairie, 95th/Dan Ryan Woods, and Eggers Grove are being restored under the care of volunteer stewards.[5] In addition, nonprofit groups partner with the Forest Preserve District andChicago Park District to complete larger-scale restoration projects. Major partners includeThe Field Museum,the Wetlands Initiative, and local branches ofThe Nature Conservancy,Green Corps and theStudent Conservation Association.[6] Many of these sites have become host to locally rare and threatened species likeBlanding's turtle,Wilson's phalarope and theleast weasel.[7]
The Calumet Region includes the Indiana cities ofGary,East Chicago,Hammond,Highland,Griffith,Munster,Merrillville,Schererville,Hobart,Whiting,Crown Point,Dyer,Saint John, andValparaiso.
In Illinois a number of cities and villages lie in the Calumet watershed including: the southernmost part ofChicago,Lansing,Calumet City,South Holland,Riverdale,Burnham,Calumet Park, andBlue Island
The Calumet Region includes land from the following Indiana townships in Porter County:Portage,Union,Westchester,Liberty,Center,Pine,Jackson,Washington. It includes land located within the following townships of Lake County:North,St. John,Calumet,Hobart, andRoss. It also includesCoolspring Township in La Porte County.
The nameCalumet is said to come from French interpretations of either thePotawatomi name for the rivers and lake in question (“low body of deep, still water”)[8] or is a corruption of the Old French termChalemel, which means "reed". The word appears on early maps asCal-La-Mick,Kil-La-Mick,Calumic, etc.[1]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 96,371 | — | |
| 1900 | 120,193 | 24.7% | |
| 1910 | 172,749 | 43.7% | |
| 1920 | 254,761 | 47.5% | |
| 1930 | 367,850 | 44.4% | |
| 1940 | 409,813 | 11.4% | |
| 1950 | 513,073 | 25.2% | |
| 1960 | 699,003 | 36.2% | |
| 1970 | 770,744 | 10.3% | |
| 1980 | 792,395 | 2.8% | |
| 1990 | 750,103 | −5.3% | |
| 2000 | 786,077 | 4.8% | |
| 2010 | 819,537 | 4.3% | |
| 2015 (est.) | 813,915 | [9] | −0.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census (Calumet Region in Indiana)[10] | |||
The first known print reference to refer to this area as a distinct geographical region is the 1755 map created by John Mitchell. In this map, however, he referred to the geographic region as "Quadoche", a name that theIroquois had given to thePotawatomi that were known to occupy the region at that point in time.[11]