Hessville is a neighborhood of
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...
. Located in the southeast corner of Hammond, it adjoins the Hammond neighborhood of
Woodmar to the west, the
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 ...
neighborhood of
Calumet to the north, the
Gary
Gary may refer to:
*Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
Places
;Iran
* Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province
;United States
*Gary (Tampa), Florida
*Gary, Ind ...
neighborhoods of
Westside and
Black Oak to the east, and the town of
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
to the south. The neighborhood's boundaries correspond to Hammond's Planning District VI.
Notable natural areas in Hessville include the
Carlson Oxbow Park,
Gibson Woods, and the Seidner Dune and Swale preserve operated by the
Shirley Heinze Land Trust
The Shirley Heinze Land Trust, originally known as the Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust dedicated to the preservation of natural areas in Northwest Indiana. The Heinze Trust manages more than 4,000 acres of ...
. Much of the neighborhood is built on a former
dune and swale landscape.
Notable people from Hessville include
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker "Shep" Shepherd Jr. (July 26, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storytelling, storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christm ...
, whose movie ''
A Christmas Story
''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...
'' is set in a fictionalized version of mid-20th-century Hessville.
The town was founded by local merchants Joseph and Elizabeth Hess in 1852.
Hessville was incorporated in 1918, but following a legal battle its incorporation was invalidated. The town was annexed by Hammond in 1923.
References
{{Hammond, Indiana
Hammond, Indiana