Liverpool was the original county seat of Lake County, Indiana, and one of the oldest towns in the area. Today, another settlement on the same site, named "Liverpool" after the former town, is a neighborhood of Lake Station, Indiana.
At the start of 1836, the land that Liverpool would occupy was still owned by PotawatomiAmerinds. However, under the Treaty of Tippecanoe, some of the Potawatomi were given certificates that allowed them to claim parcels of land. John Chapman bought one of these certificates, giving him ownership of section 24 of township 36 north of range 8 west. At the time, Chicago was a small but rapidly growing harbor town, and Chapman intended to make a city large enough to rival it. It joined the other four cities then competing to be the metropolis of Lake Michigan: Chicago, Michigan City, City West, and Indiana City.[3] Chapman platted Liverpool near the confluence of the Little Calumet River and Deep River, both of which were navigable at the time. An article from 1929 describes the original plan for the town, enumerating central streets and blocks:
"Of the streets thereon they had their Broadway, their Market Street, their Chestnut Street, Michigan, Indiana, and others of like dignity and rank, some of which were 100 feet in width. One block was designated "Public Square;" another "Market Square;" another "Church Square." Then there were 40 blocks subdivided into lots, 435 in number. Through this city to be, flowed the waters of Deep River, then described upon the plat as being 14 feet in depth, there being 18 blocks north of the river and 23 south."[3]
The town competed with the settlements of Lake Court House and Cedar Lake for the position of county seat in 1839. A wealthy land speculator named George Earle, who had acquired much of the surrounding territory, campaigned in support of Liverpool, and a commission decided in Liverpool's favor, making it the seat of Lake County. However, in 1840 citizens in the west of the county complained to the state legislature that the county seat was too far east, and another commission moved the county seat to Lake Court House, which later became Crown Point, Indiana.[3]
Combined with the financial problems of the Panic of 1837, this resulted in the end of Liverpool's brief period of significance. The Liverpool courthouse was sold and floated downriver to Blue Island, Illinois. George Earle moved away and founded Hobart, Indiana. At its height, there were about 500 settlers living in Liverpool; by the late 1840s, there were only two families left. Finally, a fire swept through the almost-empty town, and nothing was left of its original forty blocks of buildings.[3][4]
Today, a neighborhood of Lake Station, Indiana, which is at approximately the same location as the old city of Liverpool is sometimes referred to as "Liverpool."
Referencesedit
^ abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Liverpool, Indiana
^ abcdBowers, John O. 1929. "Dream Cities of the Calumet," (pp. 174-198) History of Lake County, Volume 10. Gary, Indiana: Lake County Historical Association (Calumet Press). 223 p.
^Goodspeed, Weston Arthur. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: historical and biographical. Chicago, Illinois: P. A. Battby & Co.
April 27, 2024
liverpool, indiana, other, uses, liverpool, disambiguation, liverpool, original, county, seat, lake, county, indiana, oldest, towns, area, today, another, settlement, same, site, named, liverpool, after, former, town, neighborhood, lake, station, indiana, live. For other uses see Liverpool disambiguation Liverpool was the original county seat of Lake County Indiana and one of the oldest towns in the area Today another settlement on the same site named Liverpool after the former town is a neighborhood of Lake Station Indiana Liverpool Lake County IndianaUnincorporated communityLiverpoolShow map of IndianaLiverpoolShow map of the United StatesCoordinates 41 33 09 N 87 17 41 W 41 55250 N 87 29472 W 41 55250 87 29472Country United StatesState IndianaCountyLakeTownshipHobartElevation 1 637 ft 194 m Time zoneUTC 6 Central Summer DST UTC 5 Central ZIP code46405Area code219FIPS code18 44388 2 GNIS feature ID438185 1 History editAt the start of 1836 the land that Liverpool would occupy was still owned by Potawatomi Amerinds However under the Treaty of Tippecanoe some of the Potawatomi were given certificates that allowed them to claim parcels of land John Chapman bought one of these certificates giving him ownership of section 24 of township 36 north of range 8 west At the time Chicago was a small but rapidly growing harbor town and Chapman intended to make a city large enough to rival it It joined the other four cities then competing to be the metropolis of Lake Michigan Chicago Michigan City City West and Indiana City 3 Chapman platted Liverpool near the confluence of the Little Calumet River and Deep River both of which were navigable at the time An article from 1929 describes the original plan for the town enumerating central streets and blocks Of the streets thereon they had their Broadway their Market Street their Chestnut Street Michigan Indiana and others of like dignity and rank some of which were 100 feet in width One block was designated Public Square another Market Square another Church Square Then there were 40 blocks subdivided into lots 435 in number Through this city to be flowed the waters of Deep River then described upon the plat as being 14 feet in depth there being 18 blocks north of the river and 23 south 3 The town competed with the settlements of Lake Court House and Cedar Lake for the position of county seat in 1839 A wealthy land speculator named George Earle who had acquired much of the surrounding territory campaigned in support of Liverpool and a commission decided in Liverpool s favor making it the seat of Lake County However in 1840 citizens in the west of the county complained to the state legislature that the county seat was too far east and another commission moved the county seat to Lake Court House which later became Crown Point Indiana 3 Combined with the financial problems of the Panic of 1837 this resulted in the end of Liverpool s brief period of significance The Liverpool courthouse was sold and floated downriver to Blue Island Illinois George Earle moved away and founded Hobart Indiana At its height there were about 500 settlers living in Liverpool by the late 1840s there were only two families left Finally a fire swept through the almost empty town and nothing was left of its original forty blocks of buildings 3 4 Today a neighborhood of Lake Station Indiana which is at approximately the same location as the old city of Liverpool is sometimes referred to as Liverpool References edit a b U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Liverpool Indiana U S Census website United States Census Bureau Retrieved 2015 04 13 a b c d Bowers John O 1929 Dream Cities of the Calumet pp 174 198 History of Lake County Volume 10 Gary Indiana Lake County Historical Association Calumet Press 223 p Goodspeed Weston Arthur 1882 Counties of Porter and Lake Indiana historical and biographical Chicago Illinois P A Battby amp Co Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Liverpool Indiana amp oldid 1194556984, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
