Aetna is a neighborhood in northeastern

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

, south of

Miller Beach Miller Beach (also commonly known as Miller) is a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. First settled in 1851, Miller Beach was originally an independent town. However, the "Town of Miller" was eventually annex ...

and east of

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

. As of 2000, the neighborhood had a population of 4,942, which was 83% black and 11% white. Aetna borders directly on Miller Beach to the northeast, but is separated from the Emerson and Pulaski neighborhoods to the west by the industrial corridor along Interstate 65, and from the town of

Lake Station Lake railway station is a station on the Isle of Wight serving the village of Lake, situated in a quiet residential area not far from Lake Cliff Gardens and the beach at Sandown Bay. Until the construction of an interchange station with the Is ...

to the south and east by the floodplain of the

Little Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the South Side, Chicago, south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River ...

. Aetna is divided from the Miller Beach neighborhood by Route 20 with Aetna being the area of Gary East of I65 but south of

U.S. 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. ...

. Aetna's housing stock is dominated by small single-family homes, with 89% occupancy and 66%

owner-occupancy Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family detached home, single-fa ...

as of 2000. Aetna's housing prices are significantly below the city average. This contrasts to homes in neighboring Miller Beach, which are among the city's most expensive. Aetna street

Aetna shares with Miller Beach the U.S. 20 retail corridor, one of the major retail areas in Gary. It is home to a 3.5-acre city park, Aetna Park. Aetna is also near the much larger recreational areas of Miller Beach, such as Marquette Park and the

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana Dunes National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the ...

. It is served by a single bus route of the

Gary Public Transportation Corporation The Gary Public Transportation Corporation (GPTC) is a commuter bus system in Gary, Indiana that offers service to numerous stops throughout the city and neighboring suburbs. GPTC is a public corporation owned but not directly controlled by the ...

; the same route also serves

. Aetna was founded in 1881 as a company town for the Aetna Powder Company, a munitions manufacturer. The location was chosen in part for its remoteness, in rolling dune and swale country nearly a mile from the small town of Miller. The factory employed about 500 workers, most of whom lived in Aetna although some commuted from nearby towns. Originally the munitions had to be carted to the train station in Miller for shipment, but the arrival of the

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

in 1895 gave Aetna its own train station. The plant suffered from frequent violent explosions, often fatal; a 1912 explosion caused six deaths, and another in 1914 broke windows as far away as

downtown Gary Downtown Gary is split by Broadway into two separate neighborhoods in north-central Gary, Indiana, United States. Emerson (Gary), Emerson and Downtown West (Gary), Downtown West combine to form what is known as Downtown Gary. It was part of the ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the factory employed 1200 people. However, it closed after the war, and Aetna's population shrank to fewer than 100. Aetna was incorporated as a town in 1907. It was annexed by Gary in proceedings lasting from 1924 to 1928. Aetna_wetlands

References

* * * {{authority control Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana Company towns in Indiana Former municipalities in Indiana Populated places established in 1907