Depression: Indiana

Griffith is a town in Calumet and St. John townships, Lake County, Indiana. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. more...

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It is surrounded by the town of Highland, Lake County, Indiana, to the west, the city of Hammond, Indiana, to the north-west,the city of Gary, Indiana, to the north-east, the town of Schererville, Indiana, to the south, and unincorporated Calumet Township to the east. The town boundaries incorporate ancient Calumet Shore lines of Lake Michigan. The population was 17,334 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Griffith, Indiana is located at 41°31′51″N, 87°25′33″W (41.530835, -87.425812). The town has an elevation of 637 feet above sea level.

History of Griffith, Indiana

In its heyday, it saw more than 180 trains pass through its town boundaries. In its beginnings it was normal for its citizens to be called “clod hoppers”. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most baseball diamonds for its population, and for the most train tracks to intersect at one point. It was nearly called Dwiggin’s Junction but it is known today best as Griffith.

Humble start \"The Clod Hoppers\"

The year was 1853. The United States Congress and the Indiana State Legislature had just passed the Swamp Reclamation Act under terms from the Northwest Ordinance. The stage was set for the wave of immigrants that would change the face of our country.

Among the first settlers in what would become Griffith were Mathias and Anna Miller. They had left their native Germany for the uncertain future of life in the wilds of new and hostile land. Alone and with only a few goods which could be transported across a 700 mile journey with horse and carriage, they camped in a clearing on higher ground, an area of the ancient Glenwood and Calumet shorelines, the future town of Griffith. Their first home was a sod roofed dugout. Mathias and his brother would drain, plow, and plant 40 acres of buckwheat, corn, and potatoes purchased through the swamp act. Anna gave birth to 8 children who would go on to build a town.

Other first settlers to the area were Peter Young, Peter Govert, the Walters family, the Grimmer family, and the Beiriger family. There is currently an elementary school in Griffith named after Peter J. Beiriger.

It was nearly Dwiggins Junction

Soon visionary pioneers and developers came to the area. Two developers in particular, brothers Jay and Elmer Dwiggins, are often referred to as “the town founders.” The Dwigginses were land developers and speculators. They had grand visions for what is today the town of Griffith. In fact, at one point the brothers toyed with the idea of naming the area Dwiggins Junction. Because of the large number of train tracks in the area, their plan was to create a factory town, which attracted companies like \"Pleasant Remedies,\" an ice plant, and \"The Pennsylvania Art Glass Company.\" Their idea was to rival their big neighbor to the north, Chicago. Needless to say, their plan was never fulfilled. The Dwiggins brothers unfortunately did not have the financial backing they needed, because of the depression known in Griffith history as the Panic of 1893. Due to the Panic of 1893, the area’s visionary brothers left a struggling “soon to be town.” Other town developers include Aaron Hart a pioneer developer through the area who drained marshy land by a ditch called Hart Ditch.

Read more at Wikipedia.org