Marktown is an urban planned worker community in

East Chicago East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 26,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centered around heavy industry, the city is home to the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwa ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, built during the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) was a period in the United States characterized by multiple social and political reform efforts. Reformers during this era, known as progressivism in the United States, Progressives, sought to address iss ...

in 1917 from marshland to provide a complete community for workers at The Mark Manufacturing Company. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. The Marktown Historic District was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975.

History

The community of Marktown was founded by

Clayton Mark Clayton Mark (June 30, 1858 – July 7, 1936), was an American industrialist in the Chicago area who founded the Mark Manufacturing Company in 1888, a firm for the fabrication and sale of water-well supplies and Clayton Mark and Company in 1900 ...

, a pioneer maker of steel in the United States. The renowned architect hired to design the community,

Howard Van Doren Shaw Howard Van Doren Shaw American Institute of Architects, AIA (May 7, 1869 – May 7, 1926) was an architect in Chicago, Illinois. Shaw was a leader in the American Craftsman movement, best exemplified in his 1900 remodel of Second Presbyteria ...

, created a unique design in which the streets serve as walkways and the cars are parked on the sidewalks, as noted in ''

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''. Shaw previously designed Mark's estate in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

. Only 10% of the original design was built, as the building of the community was terminated due to the aftereffects of

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 ...

and the sale of the Mark Manufacturing Company. The industries in East Chicago expanded to the borders of Marktown, surrounding the historic residential island with one of the densest industrial complexes in the world. It was added to the

in 1975, and was listed as one of the seven wonders of Northwest Indiana. Marktown is regarded as an important cultural resource of architectural and historical significance. In the words of the Marktown Revitalization Plan commissioned by the city of East Chicago in 2008, "Marktown is significant as it is a major work by a significant American architect, Howard Van Doren Shaw, for its association with the driving economic force of industry that served as an identity of the region, and is representative of the planned industrial community movement of the late 19th and early 20th century." As late as 2011, all of the originally constructed homes in Marktown still stood. However, since then some properties have been bought by BP and demolished. The homes are being evacuated due to air pollution and concerns regarding safety in the vicinity of the expanding crude tar sands processing facility. In 2022, East Chicago began a Marktown Neighborhood Housing Study to consider renovations of the historical district.

References

External links

Marktown Preservation Society
{{East Chicago, Indiana Planned communities in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Indiana East Chicago, Indiana Environmental disaster ghost towns