[The Francis A. Ogden estate included (what later became) Ogden Dunes and land to the west, south, and east. The above refers to what the federal government named their "West Beach," although there was already a different West Beach in (what became) the national lakeshore widely known under that name for many years. I'll cover that elsewhere.]
Since that time, no new development has come forward, but today another big transaction was placed on record at the recorder's office, when the steel company filed deeds to 240 more acres just bought from Mrs. Crumpacker. The deed shows a consideration of $1 but bears federal revenue stamps, showing a consideration of about $100,500. This tract which they just bought is a very short distance back from their lake front tract, which they bought from the Ogden estate, at which time it was announced that the plan was to fill in the lake quite a distance out, thus having more ground.
[This refers to what is now the national lakeshore's Inland Marsh area. Presumably that was named because it consists of intradunal ponds and marshes a good ways inland from the Lake (Michigan.) It was also owned by Inland Steel Corporation though. In any case, I am glad that Colorado's earlier idea to name it the Burns Marsh wasn't followed. Why honor the scum-freak who destroyed thousands of acres of the beautiful Little Calumet marshes, which had been part of the concept of the earlier Sand Dunes National Park (which failed to be created?)
This Crumpacker land had also been owned by Francis Ogden but was split off and sold to Crumpacker in ____. (Get back to me on that one. I'll have to scrounge that up again.)]
The Inland Company is a direct competitor of the Gary mills, and is planning to construct a modern steel city along the north end of the county that bids fair to become a rival to Gary, the magic steel city.
[It would be nice to know how serious and how far along those plans got. Inland never did do anything there except for sandmining the northern part (what's now "West Beach") flat, without however pushing the sand out into the Lake, as Midwest Steel and Bethlehem did later, thus causing the unnatural erosion of today's shoreline from Burns Ditch through this West Beach.]
The ground just bought from Mrs. Crumpacker will provide space for laying out the new town, just far enough from the proposed mill site, to make it attractive. Mrs. Crumpacker still holds a big tract of land in this vicinity and when this steel city springs into existence will be assured of ample room for growth, when the occasion demands it.
The Inland Company is now operating plants at Indiana Harbor, and other points along the lake, but is stopped from growing because of lack of space and lake frontage. Plans of the company are not authoritatively known, but indications point to an assured new steel city for Porter County.
[So does anyone reading this know anything of Inland's defunct plans? Did they get to the stage of actually drawing up plans for the inland city? Did they draw up any plans for the lakefront mills themselves? Sure, they did not happen but they are still history. It sure would be interesting to learn more of that "ghost town" that never was.]
WHAT IS THE INLAND GOING TO DO, IS THE QUESTION
If we could only get hold of Sherlock Holmes on the ouija board, maybe he could explain this greatest mystery of the Calumet steel belt, says Al Chase in the Chicago Tribune. We can't. Neither can the brokers. The bankers also profess ignorance. [Why would you ask brokers and bankers to try to get ahold of Sherlock Holmes? Oh, yeah--the stock market crash. Brokers and bankers do use ouija boards.] It has all the earmarks of a big story, and our hunch is that later on a good yarn will develop out of it. Here it is: The Inland Steel company, which has a big plant at Indiana Harbor, has just bought 580 acres in Porter county, bordering on the eastern city limits of Gary, from Mrs. Ida Crumpacker, of Hammond, Ind., for $100,000. Peter W. Meyn of Gostlin, Meyn & Hastings of Hammond was broker.
As the Inland company several years ago bought a mile of lake frontage adjoining this new purchase through the same brokers, it now has a tract of 836 acres which it is said will be used to handle the wastage of the Indiana Harbor plant. The supposition is that later on a huge steel plant will be erected there. The Indiana Harbor plant is hemmed in by other companies and residences and normal expansion should be on the new site.
[I'm happy they didn't but this raises the question of why didn't Inland Steel use this area for their wastage, as stated above? Had they already determined that they would instead extend way out into Lake Michigan north of Indiana Harbor, using the "wastage" there as fill?]