-
- Town
28,044
44%
$35,396
10.1%
America/Chicago
46312
Welcome:
The WikiXM 'East Chicago' platform is your gateway to becoming an active part of our vibrant community, regardless of your age or how long you've called 'East Chicago' home. It's more than just a news platform; it's a thriving hub where the collective wisdom of every 'East Chicago' resident converges to ignite discussions, foster learning, and empower one another with knowledge about our beloved town.
Here in 'East Chicago', we have a diverse tapestry of residents. Some have roots that run deep, their knowledge steeped in the rich history of our town. Others are students, dedicated to keeping us updated on school activities, while many are committed to sharing the ebb and flow of daily life.
What's more, from a civic and political perspective, there are countless opportunities for you to join in. Many in our community offer updates on policies and decisions, offering their unique insights. This platform is where all these local perspectives meld together, creating a better place for everyone to live, regardless of your age or how long you've been a part of 'East Chicago'.
So, whether you're a long-time resident or a newcomer, young or old, WikiXM is your invitation to dive into the heart of our community, to engage, and help us all create a more vibrant, inclusive, and connected 'East Chicago'. Join us and let's make a difference together!
East Chicago, IN - History
We would like to provide the residents of East Chicago a basic history overview.
Welcome to the East Chicago Home page. The East Chicago Home page provides as much information as possible on East Chicago. Knowing East Chicago’s history is essential to guiding its future. Within East Chicago’s Home page, you will also find East Chicago’s Founders, Holiday, and Birthday sections.
East Chicago has a population of 28044. 48.9% of East Chicago’s inhabitants are Male, and 51.1 are female. 33% of East Chicago is married and 43.8% own their own home. The Average Home price is $72,519, and the average rent is $658. Household median income in East Chicago is $35,396, and the individual median income is $24,670. East Chicago’s Ethnic is the following: Hispanic(57.5%), Black(36%), Other(34.6%), White(24.5%), Multiple(4.7%), Asian(0.1%), Native(0.1%).
The land that became East Chicago was originally swampland unsuitable for farming. The state of Indiana began selling off plots of land to railroads and speculators after 1851 to fund the local school system. Settlement of the area was very slow at first, and as late as the 1890s, the city had no proper streets or public utilities.
East Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1893. The city was named from its location east of Chicago, Illinois. The 1900 Census gives a total population of just 3,411, but the arrival of Inland Steel in 1903 transformed the city into an industrial powerhouse. The city's population skyrocketed to over 24,000 by 1910, powered by immigration from all over Europe and the United States, and quickly became the most industrialized city in the United States, with over 80% of the city's land zoned for heavy industry.
Inland Steel dominated the city's economy through the 1990s, and expanded its massive integrated mill at Indiana Harbor multiple times through the 1980s. From 60,000 tons of steel capacity in 1903, it expanded to 600,000 tons by 1914 and reached 1 million in 1917, and eventually peaked at 8.6 million tons in 1978.
By 1907, East Chicago boasted a navigable waterway link to Lake Michigan and to the Grand Calumet River: the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal. Steel mills, petroleum refineries, construction firms, and chemical factories operated at Indiana Harbor and along its inner canal system.Republic Steel, Youngstown Steel, LaSalle Steel, and U.S.
Steel all eventually had steel-making operations in the city. During World War I, East Chicago was nicknamed the "Arsenal of America" (not to be confused with Detroit's label as the "Arsenal of Democracy" during WWII) and the "Workshop of America".A rivalry developed between Indiana Harbor, the “East Side” home of Inland Steel and most working-class families, and East Chicago's “West Side,” the residential enclave of the native-born business community.
Locals spoke of the “Twin City” to describe spatial, residential, and class divisions at the heart of the town's identity. The "Twin City" moniker remains to this day.During the 1910s, several thousand Mexicans immigrated to East Chicago to work in the mills during the labor shortage of 1917-1918 due to U.S.
participation in World War I, and also acted as strike breakers during labor unrest in 1919. Most were single men who eventually hoped to return to Mexico, but many stayed on and eventually were joined by their families. The small Mexican community was targeted for voluntary and forced repatriation during the 1930s and 1950s (1,800 were deported in 1932 alone), but those who remained eventually paved the way for later Latino immigration after 1965. Black Americans also began to arrive in the 1910s and 1920s as part of the first wave of the Great Migration, and this continued from the 1940s to 1960s.
According to a city demographic survey in 1959, there were 1,000 Mexican families and 10,000 African American families, along with 3,000 Polish families. There were also a large number of families that identified as Puerto Rican, Romanian, Serbian, Italian, Lithuanian, and Croatian. Over 70 nationalities were represented, with over 59 congregations of the Protestants, Orthodox, Catholic Churches, as well as Jewish synagogues. Like neighboring Gary, Indiana, East Chicago quickly developed a reputation as a rough industrial city, plagued by extreme pollution, ethnic and racial tensions, organized crime, illegal gambling & clubs, political corruption, prostitution, and other vices.
The city continued to rapidly grow in the 1910s and 1920s, and the population peaked in 1960 at 57,669. However, East Chicago's population began to decline in the 1960s as suburbanization, white flight, affordability of automobiles, and the construction of highways meant that workers no longer had to live in the city, but could commute from less-polluted suburbs. It was the Steel crisis of the 1974-1986 period that completely devastated East Chicago, as it did other industrial cities like Gary, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and the south side of Chicago.
East Chicago's population plunged to 47,000 in 1970, 34,000 by 1990, and 29,000 by 2010. Employment at Inland Steel peaked at 25,000 in 1969, and successive layoffs over the next 30 years were devastating to the community; by 1998, only 9,000 were employed at Inland Steel. Inland Steel was acquired by Ispat International in 1998.
Both the Indiana Harbor mill and Youngstown Steel mill were absorbed and merged by ArcelorMittal in 2004 and subsequently sold to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020.The Indiana Harbor Public Library and Marktown Historic District are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.In 2009, parts of East Chicago were discovered to have toxic lead and arsenic contamination, designated the USS Lead Superfund Site.
The site is divided into three zones, with public housing and residential properties. Residents' decades-long concerns about lead contamination were confirmed in 2016 via EPA testing, especially affecting over 270 families in the West Calumet Housing Complex. As Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence declined to declare the Superfund site a state emergency; his successor Governor Eric Holcomb has issued Executive Order 17-13, declaring a disaster emergency in East Chicago.
With various live chat features, you can engage with locals in a virtual conversation.
Create & post topics in "town" you love like Sports, Entertainment
Ask questions about local services, where to find local activies or get other local advice from those that live in your town.
Create a local group in an area of your interest like Mt. Bikiing, Hiking, a book group.
See what we've included about your town and how can get to know your towns history much better and participate in its future.
The East Chicago, IN founder's page is dedicated to those people in the East Chicago, IN area that initially made the East Chicago, IN WikiXM news a reality. Without their initiative, foresight and social fortitude the East Chicago, IN WikiXM news would not have happened.
No Founding Member in East Chicago, IN.
The East Chicago, IN founder's page is dedicated to those people in the East Chicago, IN area that initially made the East Chicago, IN WikiXM news a reality. Without their initiative, foresight and social fortitude the East Chicago, IN WikiXM news would not have happened.
No Articles in East Chicago, IN.
The East Chicago, IN's Reporters play an important role in keeping their communities informed. They investigate stories, write articles, and inform the public about what is happening in their area.
No Reporters in East Chicago, IN.
Start a discussion, not a fire. Post with kindness.
Sign in Now to take part in the Live Chat
No Live Chat in East Chicago, IN
KNOW YOUR TOWN REPRESENTATIVES
EAST CHICAGO Representatives
Mayor : Anthony Copeland (D)
Lake County REPRESENTATIVES
Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Lake County Surveyor
Lake County Coroner
FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
Access Denied
Introducing Your Local Garage where you can post and sell everything you have wanted to sell.
Post upto 5 items for free. After that it's just $20 a year to post up to 50 items in your own Garage.
Directly Communicate with buyers.
Get direct feedback from Buyers to improve your postings.
Receive updates and reminders on items posted but not sold to improve sales.
Selling analytics
Your Garage will come with more selling features to help you get your items sold fast!
The site is protected by reCAPTCHA
