Dyer ( ) is a town in
St. John Township,
Lake County,
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 population was 16,517 at the 2020 census. It is a southeastern suburb of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
Geography
Dyer borders
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
to the north, unincorporated
St. John Township to the south,
Schererville to the east, and
Lynwood and
Sauk Village in Illinois to the west. The Illinois state line comprises Dyer's entire western border. One of Dyer's neighborhoods,
Briar Ridge, spans both Dyer and adjacent
Schererville.
Dyer is roughly 30 miles from downtown Chicago and 12 miles from Chicago's south side.
Dyer is built on mostly flat land with an exception being the steep sand ridge south of
US Highway 30. This is the
Glenwood Shoreline.
According to the 2010 census, Dyer has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
As of 2009, the median income for a household in the town was $76,599 while the mean income for a household in the town was $93,308. The median income for a family was $87,127 and the mean income for a family was $103,563. The estimated per capita income for the town was $34,275. About 0.7% of families and 1.2% of the population were estimated to be below the poverty line.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 16,390 people, 5,985 households, and 4,552 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 6,125 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2.5%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 2.9%
Asian, 2.4% from
other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 9.3% of the population.
There were 5,985 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.12.
The median age in the town was 42.9 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 31.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
History
In 1830, the first permanent white settlers came to Northwest Indiana.
The earliest historical records date back to 1838. On June 1, 1855, the original plat of the town
was established. Aaron Norton Hart, a settler from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, played a key role in developing Dyer's infrastructure in the 1860s and 1870s. Hart supervised construction of roads and the implementation of a drainage ditch system, allowing agricultural and commercial use of the marshy land. Hart was killed in 1883 while working on a ditch near Plum Creek. Hart Street, one of Dyer's major north–south streets, bears his name. Hart's wife, Martha Dyer Hart, is the town's namesake.
Dyer was incorporated as a town under Indiana law on February 8, 1910.
Upon incorporation, Dyer was divided into three wards: The first ward consisted of all land within town limits lying west of Hart Street; the second ward comprised the section east of Hart Street and south of Lincoln Highway; the land north of Lincoln Highway and east of Hart Street formed the third ward.
Meyer's Castle was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Transportation
Roads
Dyer's primary arterial road is
U.S. Route 30/
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...
, which runs east–west through the town. A stretch of this route traversing Dyer and
Schererville was considered one of the most prominent
Seedling Mile projects on the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...
when it was constructed in the early 1920s, and came to be known as the highway's "Ideal Section." It remains in use to this day.
Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Dyer at the
Dyer Amtrak Station. The station is served by the
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
with service to
Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station is an Inter-city rail, intercity and commuter rail terminal station, terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Uni ...
and
New York Penn Station via
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...
.
Education
Dyer is located in the
Lake Central School Corporation. Public high school students living in Dyer attend
Lake Central High School located in
St. John, Indiana. Three of the system's schools are located within Dyer town limits: Kahler Middle School, Protsman Elementary School, and Bibich Elementary School.
Private schools in Dyer include Protestant Reformed Christian School
and
Illiana Christian High School.
Mid-America Reformed Seminary is a theological institution located in Dyer.
Sports
Dyer was home to the
Chi-Town Shooters, a former minor league professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team that was a member of the
All American Hockey League. The team's home arena was
Midwest Training & Ice Center.
References
External links
Town of Dyer, Indiana website
{{authority control
Chicago metropolitan area
Towns in Lake County, Indiana
Towns in Indiana
Populated places established in 1838
1838 establishments in Indiana