The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1912-05-08
hammond GETS ELEYEN
million DOLLAR PLANT
$50 Acres Purchased on North Side
For Industry. Big Boom For
Region

Hammond today heard the best bit
of news that has come to it in years.
The great Schlessinger steel interests
of Milwaukee, Wis. have bought
big tract of land on the north side on
which they will erect an eleven mil
lion dollar plant employing five
thousand men to start with.
| In time the industry will run into
20 millions. The Schlessingers will
put up a splendid steel plant which
will be tremendous thing for Ham.
mond. A contract has been entered
into, between the East Chicago COM
pany and coterie of Milwaukee cap
italists headed by Ferdinand Schles-
singer for the purchase by the latter
company of something ever 450
acres.
It's bounded as follows: White Oak
avenue on the east. Calumet avenue on
the west, the west branch of the canal.
t137th street) on the Moth and j 4srd
street on the south. This represents
tract ] mile by half mile in dimen-
sions.
STREETS MUST NE OPENED.
| The contract is conditional on the
municipality of Hammond and the
county complying with certain require
ments in the matter of the opening of
certain streets and the closing of 9TH
ers and the building of bridges. And
on the East Chicago Company dredg-
! ing the west branch of the canal to
government requirement etc.
c. W. Hotchkiss negotiated the deal
Tor the East Chicago company.
| The transfer is the biggest thing
ever put through by the East Chicago
company. which concern viii spend
improvements approximately what it
receives for the land, a quarter of a
million being laid out in the dredging
of the canal alone.
TWO CITIES JOINED.
The location of this new industry
means the joining of Hammond and
East Chicago, physically as with a big
steel plant within the boundaries nam
ed, every foot of the ground south Of
One Hundred and Forty-third street,
and west of White Oak avenue, now
vacant will be built up with homes for
the employees Chicago avenue will he
from where they now end. and thous-
ands will be added to the population oe
both Hammond and East Chicago. Tho
lmonthly payroll mounting up into hun
dreds of thousands of dollars will add
greatly to the prosperity of merchants
Throughout this region.
INDUSTRY A STEEL PLANT.
The new industry proposed will be
a steel plant with blast furnaces and
al of the other adjuncts, of a modern
steel mill. turning out finished prod
ucts, very much of the same order az
the Inland mill at Indiana Harbor
From the beginning it is estimated
that there will be 5000 men employed,
and the vastness of the tract nine
times large as that originally pur-
chased by the Inland which employs
5000 men. and FIVE times the acreage
lnow owned by that company, indicates
la far greater number of employees
when the plant is built to the proper
tions the site would indicate it will
Eventually be.
CITIES MUST DO THErD
Ieb thu Se-tes1.E oound ap1
money has tsesr pa,1 e3=a to insure
its execution. it is up to three cor
operations whether the plant will ever
be built, the county of Lake. the citv
of Hammond and the East Chic.e-
company. The latter is prepared to.
and will execute the conditions impos-
led upon it, i. e. the dredging of the
west branch of the canal to govern
ment requirements clear through to
Lake George and the construction If
a turning basin, the principal item.
1.-THE city of Hammond must condemn
i certain property for street purposes
and vacate other streets. and provide
adequate sewage facilities.
COUNTY HAS OBLIGATION.
The county's obligation is to build a
bascule bridge at Forsyth avenue over
the canal. Just what changes Will
have to be made in the laying out of
Hammond streets has not yet been
figured out in detail. and the survey of
the property has not yet been complet-