TOPIC:

In a 1935 published report Valparaiso University professor, Alfred H. Meyer wrote that preset day Baum's Bridge is "the most historic spot along the Kankakee River in the marsh proper." The oldest remaining standing structure at Baum's Bridge is the historic Collier Lodge. In 2006 Dr. Mark Schurr wrote: "the Collier Lodge site provides an11,000 yearlong archaeological record that at this time appears to be unique in northwestern Indiana."

The first documented exploration of the Kankakee River was by LaSalle in 1679. On December 3, 1679 LaSalle in command of 30 men set out from Fort Miami on the St. Joseph River, crossing to the Kankakee near South Bend to continue on down to the Illinois River. Who knows, perhaps he camped at present day Baum's Bridge.

In 1834 John Sherwood became the first American settler in the Baum’s Bridge area— two years before Porter County was organized. The first area birth was to William and Gillie Ann Trinkle. Their son Henry was born on Dec. 2, 1835. When Mrs. Trinkle arrived Mrs. Sherwood told her "she was the first white woman she had seen in two years." In 1836 Porter County built a road to Sherwood's Ferry located at present day Baum's Bridge on the Kankakee River. Sherwood did not have a license to operate a ferry and a license was then offered to the highest bidder–George Eaton. In 1836 Eaton operated the ferry at Baum's Bridge. In 1849 he built the first bridge at the crossing, rumor has it that the following year settlers from Jasper County burned the bridge down in retaliation to the toll Eaton charged. In 1863 Enos Baum built a new bridge at the site that survived the elements AND Jasper County settlers.

At this time railroads were beginning to bring people from across the country to the Kankakee Marsh. In1878 sportsmen began building clubhouses at Baum's Bridge. Now anyone could experience the wonders of this ‘Everglades of the North’. All it took was an adventurous spirit and a train ticket in the pocket.

In 1918 the river was channelized and the marsh drained; ending an era of renowned activity at Baum’s Bridge. The Kankakee River is now a mere shadow of its former majesty.

The trail that passes at Baum's Bridge is also known as The Allen Trace

Our waterways up here have a pretty remarkable history. It would be so cool to see the K3, Calumet River, and Chicago River watersheds as they were originally.

Always amazes me to see the ingenuity of things built back before the invention of power tools. Also was struck by the fact stated that in 1836 Mr. Sherwood had a ferry which obviously was doing well enough for Porter County to build a road to the location - if you build it they will come - and then the "guv'ment" put him out of business for improper licensing and awarded the license to George Eaton.
1) Indiana was only 20 years old and NW Indiana was as remote and wild as anyplace on the continent at the time - yet the state government was worried about issuing "ferry permits."
2) I would bet Eaton was someone's political crony.
3) I would guess with the state issued "ferry license" in his pocket, the price of a ferry boat ticket skyrocketed - enough that in just a decade or so he could self-fund the building of a bridge. I wonder if he had any issues with building inspectors or construction permits? I wonder what the bridge toll was?
4) I can imagine he was largely unpopular - enough so the vigilante crew felt the need to strike.

Add in an attractive lady or two, an old river rat who had been hunting the marsh for years and there's the making of an epic saga!

I smell an Emmy award. Maybe Netflix and the Obamas are reading these posts. BN, Dos Equis picked the wrong guy to be the “Worlds Most Interesting” man.

Sure is a shame that even a historical picture on this site,,,, now gets turned into a political statement.

Sorry, Ed - wasn't trying to be overtly political other than to point out things haven't much changed. I'm not even sure there were Ds and Rs back in those days. Maybe Whigs and Tories? Great story and photo. One thing I noticed was the length of the bridge. The dredged KKK is no where near that wide, these days.

For those that enjoy reading about the old times of our area, google up this information. It is a great read. I have only made it to chapter 7 so far.
Many of references to the Morrocco area, burial grounds, what the Kank was like when the indians were there, first whites to come into the area, and land trails from around the lake and the different tribes that traveled them. You will see old names of different spots, and how some names have been slightly modified.

PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA
A Part of the Indiana GenWeb Project
Northwestern Indiana from 1800 to 1900
A regional history written by Timothy H. Ball . . . .
The following history of Northwestern Indiana was written by Timothy H. Ball and published the printer Donohue and Henneberry of Chicago, Illinois, in 1900. Ball arrived in Porter County in 1837, settling with his parents in the now extinct village of City West. He later moved to Lake County, Indiana. Ball was a trained historian and a very able writer who resided in Northwestern Indiana nearly his entire life. He wrote extensively about the historical development of the area, especially the counties of Lake and Porter. As such, his perspectives of the early history of the entire region are rather insightful.

Below, we present a complete transcription of Ball's book. The book embraces historical information concerning the counties of Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke, and White. However, rather than presenting material on a county-by-county basis, Ball provides a more holistic review of the entire area embraced by Northwestern Indiana. The style and presentation of Ball's writing makes for the understanding of the early history and development of the region much clearer than the information published in most of the county histories prepared by other writers. Substantial information concerning the early history of Porter County is included in this book.

The following four maps are included in this book:
Northwestern Indiana, 1900
Jasper County, Indiana, 1900
Lake County, Indiana, 1890
State of Indiana

Source Citation:
Ball, Timothy H. 1900. Northwestern Indiana from 1800 to 1900 or A View of Our Region Through the Nineteenth Century. Chicago, Illinois: Donohue and Henneberry. 570 p.

NAVIGATION OF
NORTHWESTERN INDIANA FROM 1800 TO 1900

FRONT MATTER AND DEDICATION
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL OUTLINES
CHAPTER 2 - THE INDIANS
CHAPTER 3 - THE EARLY SETTLERS
CHAPTER 4 - WHAT THE EARLY SETTLERS FOUND
CHAPTER 5 - PIONEER LIFE
CHAPTER 6 - COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS
CHAPTER 7 - OUR LAKES AND STREAMS
CHAPTER 8 - LAKE MICHIGAN WATER SHED
CHAPTER 9 - TOWNSHIP AND STATISTICS
CHAPTER 10 - RAILROAD LIFE
CHAPTER 11 - POLITICAL HISTORY
CHAPTER 12 - THE WAR RECORD
CHAPTER 13 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER 14 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER 15 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER 16 - SUNDAY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER 17 - TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF NEWTON AND JASPER
CHAPTER 18 - TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF WHITE, PULASKI AND STARKE
CHAPTER 19 - VILLAGES, TOWNS AND CITIES OF LAKE
CHAPTER 20 - VILLAGES AND TOWNS OF PORTER
CHAPTER 21 - VILLAGES, TOWNS AND CITIES OF LA PORTE
CHAPTER 22 - EARLY TRAVELS
CHAPTER 23 - PUBLIC SCHOOLS
CHAPTER 24 - PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
CHAPTER 25 - LIBRARIES
CHAPTER 26 - OTHER INDUSTRIES
CHAPTER 27 - SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
CHAPTER 28 - THE KANKAKEE REGION
CHAPTER 29 - DRAINING MARSHES
CHAPTER 30 - ANIMALS AND PLANTS
CHAPTER 31 - MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
CHAPTER 32 - COURT HOUSES
CHAPTER 33 - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS
CHAPTER 34 - BIRTH PLACES OF PIONEERS
CHAPTER 35 - McCARTY
CHAPTER 36 - ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE
CHAPTER 37 - ALTITUDES
CHAPTER 38 - MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
CHAPTER 39 - SOME STATISTICS
CHAPTER 40 - WEATHER RECORD
CONCLUSION

Love old history, anyone know where the monument to the Indian chief is around Morocco?

I've lived around Morocco almost all my life. Never heard of a monument to an Indian Chief. There's a totem pole on private property near the south end of Willow Slough. It was brought to the property by a previous owner who hauled it from the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. I knew the guy, never asked where he got the pole.

Ed: Is there a specific URL you can post here?