Thornton Township in Calumet City in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Origins of Calumet City and Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, July 31, 2023

1. Origins of Calumet City and Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

Inscription. Two blocks north of this corner the funeral train of President Abraham Lincoln entered Illinois at approximately 10:15 a.m. on May 1, 1865, on the Michigan Central Railroad right-of-way.

In the autumn of 1869, the founders of the State Line Slaughter House walked east along the railroad tracks searching for a suitable site on which to establish their meat packing plant. The property they chose was north of the tracks on the east side of the Illinois-Indiana border. The company shipped its first load of dressed, refrigerated beef out of Hammond in October.

Within a few years, some of the land south of the tracks on the Illinois side, once owned by Stephen A. Douglas, an attorney for the Michigan Central and a political colleague of Lincoln, became home to many employees of the packing plant. By 1891, the plant was known as G.H. Hammond and Company and employed approximately 1,000 men and women. Many of them lived in the neighborhoods on or just off State Street, including Freitag's subdivision, which had been created in 1879 in the vicinity of Lincoln Avenue and State Street. Freitag's subdivision and the residential

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neighborhoods on Douglas, Ingraham, Forsythe, and Plummer avenues, as well as the commercial establishments along State Street, were incorporated as the village of West Hammond, Illinois, in 1893 and became known as Calumet City in 1924.

Erected 2009 by Calumet City Historical Society, the city of Calumet City, and the Illinois State Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is May 1, 1865.

Location. 41° 37.321′ N, 87° 31.517′ W. Marker is in Calumet City, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Thornton Township. It is at the intersection of State Street and State Line Avenue, on the right when traveling west on State Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12 State St, Calumet City IL 60409, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago

and in the Calumet Region.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, July 31, 2023

2. Origins of Calumet City and Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mt. Zion M.B. Church (approx. 2 miles away in Indiana); Castle #30 - Whiting, IN (approx. 4.2 miles away in Indiana); Memorial Park (approx. 4.2 miles away in Indiana); Martyrs—Heroes—Unionists (approx. 4.2 miles away); Centier Bank: Generations of Family Bankers (approx. 4.2 miles away in Indiana); The Schrage Family Mansion (approx. 4.2 miles away in Indiana); Henry Schrage and Whiting (approx. 4.2 miles away in Indiana); National Historic Site Memorial Day Massacre (approx. 4.3 miles away).

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, July 31, 2023

3. Origins of Calumet City and Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2023, by Mark Moxley-Knapp of Columbus, Ohio. This page has been viewed 484 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 3, 2023, by Mark Moxley-Knapp of Columbus, Ohio. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.