Tremont, Indiana, is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

formerly located in what is now the

Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Ind ...

and

Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park 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 nation ...

in Westchester Township in northern

Porter County, Indiana Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...

. It was first established in 1833. It was located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and County Road 100 East, near

Indiana 49 State Road 49 (SR 49) is a , north–south state highway in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 12 ( Dunes Highway) in Porter near the entrance to Indiana Dunes Sta ...

. The community is named for three massive sand

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

that are now contained within the State park. They are Mount Tom ( above the surrounding area), Mount Holden , and Mount Green .

History

Tremont was originally established as New City West after

City West City West (formerly known as ''Neuer Westen'' ("New West") or ''Zooviertel'' ("Zoo Quarter")) is an area in the western part of central Berlin. It is one of Berlin's main commercial areas, and was the commercial centre of former West Berlin when ...

, a settlement on the nearby shore of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

that seemed prosperous in the mid-1830s.Bowers, John O. 1929. "Dream Cities of the Calumet," in (pp. 174-198) History of Lake County. Volume 10. Gary, Indiana: Lake County Historical Association (Calumet Press). 223 p. City West intended to become a large harbor settlement to rival Chicago, which was a small town at the time and had not yet been incorporated. However, after the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

, City West was abandoned, becoming a

without a single resident, and subsequently burnt to the ground. Despite the end of its namesake, New City West still maintained the City West Post Office and City West School. About 20 houses were built in the new city after City West collapsed, and a sawmill, cooper shop, and brickyard were established.Workers of the Writers' Program of the Works Project Administration, 1939. ''The Calumet Region Historical Guide'', p.135. In 1853 the City West Post Office was consolidated with the Calumet Post Office, with D. H. Hopkins as postmaster.Cutler, Harry G. 1912. ''History of Porter county, Indiana, Volume I.'' The Alanson Green Tavern became a popular stop for tourists in the 1850s and 60s; they would dine while their stagecoach drivers exchanged horses. During the same period, New City West served as major station in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. However, in 1875 a boiler explosion destroyed the New City West sawmill. The prosperity of the city ended, and it was largely deserted sometime after 1876. Later, by 1908, New City West became commonly called Tremont due to the establishment of a station by that name on the

South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport in ...

, an electric

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

railroad line that skirted the heart of the

Indiana Dunes Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park 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 nation ...

and provided Tremont's most important rail service. Because of its adjacency to this railway, descriptions of the history of the Dunes often mention Tremont. For example, the ''Prairie Club'' beach house built in 1913 by landscape preservationist

Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to: * Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team * Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...

and a group of friends was built in Tremont, close to the rail line."Reading 3: Beauty of the Wild", U.S. National Park Service, accessed November 21, 200

/ref> In 1929, "scarcely a building of New City West survived"; however, new buildings on the site of the old city led to its repopulation as the summer resort town of Tremont. Tremont was always an unincorporated community, but grew to some extent during the early twentieth century and had its own

commuter railroad Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis, primarily for sho ...

station on the South Shore. The creation of the

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park 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 nation ...

in the 1960s, and subsequent land condemnation proceedings, caused the remaining community to disperse.

Heritage

The Indiana Dunes, including the Tremont area, played a role in the creation of The Nature Conservancy and inspired conservation efforts. Part of the former village of Tremont remains built upon, as the South Shore Line's current NICTD headquarters building and station is located adjacent to the former village center. The original Tremont railroad station was built somewhat east of the current Dune Park station and parking lots.

References

Historic images

Porter County GenWebAn 1856 map showing "New City West"
{{Porter County, Indiana Former populated places in Porter County, Indiana Ghost towns in Indiana Indiana Dunes National Park Populated places established in 1833 1833 establishments in Indiana