Munster

Town of Munster, Indiana
Founded in 1907
Munster's location in Lake County (left) and the state of Indiana (right).
Coordinates: 41°33′5″N 87°30′5″W / 41.55139°N 87.50139°W / 41.55139; -87.50139
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Lake
Township	North
Government
- Type	Town
- Town Manager	Tom DeGiulio
Area
- Total	7.6 sq mi (19.8 km2)
- Land	7.5 sq mi (19.7 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	610 ft (186 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	21,511
- Density	2,852.9/sq mi (1,101.5/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	46321
Area code(s)	219
FIPS code	18-51912[1]
GNIS feature ID	0439885[2]
Website	http://www.munster.org

Munster is a town located in the North Township, Lake County, in Northwest Indiana in the United States. This affluent town lies in the Chicago metropolitan area, colloquially known as Chicagoland. As of 2006, the town's population was 22,346.

The town is home to the Community Hospital, The Centre for Visual and Performing Arts, The Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper, a PepsiAmericas bottling and distribution facility, an Amazon.com distribution center [1] and The Three Floyds Brewing Company.

Geography

Munster is located at 41°33′5″N 87°30′5″W / 41.55139°N 87.50139°W / 41.55139; -87.50139 (41.551457, -87.501431)^[3], at a point on an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan (known as the Calumet Shoreline) which is today Ridge Road. This ridge runs east and west through the north part of town, hence the town's nickname "Town on the Ridge". The town's boundaries contain three small lakes, one of which, located within Centennial Park, is marshy and underdeveloped. The town is bordered on the north by the Little Calumet River, a shallow river surrounded by a thin strip of wooded area; and on the west by the Illinois state line. It shares municipal boundaries with Hammond to the north, Highland to the east, Schererville and Dyer in Indiana to the south, and with Lansing and Lynwood in Illinois to the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.6 square miles (19.7 km²), of which, 7.5 square miles (19.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.66%) is water.

History

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Potawatomi. Although a village did not exist in what was to become Munster's town boundaries, a trail along the dry sandy ridge now known as Ridge Road was well traveled by the tribe. Downtown Munster, the town hall, police and fire departments, the Centre for the Visual and Performing Arts, and the Munster 46321 post office are located on Ridge Road.

In the late 1600s and early 1700s the area what is today Munster was part of French territory. In the 1760s the British claimed the land where the Potawatomi lived as part of the British Empire. Twenty years later George Rogers Clark overran the British, claiming the land for the new and independent country known as the United States of America. In 1828 the federal government relocated the Potawatomi Indians to the Oklahoma territory.^{[citation needed]}

As the numbers of native Americans dwindled, pioneer settlers began to inhabit the area which would become Munster.

When Jacob Munster, a young man from the Netherlands who until the 1860s spelled his surname "Monster,"^[4] opened an area General Store complete with a U.S. Postal station on the back, the local farmers and settlers came to rely on the postal station, which soon became a United States Post Office. The post office was named Munster, as it was located in Jacob Munster's General store.

Before long more and more people moved to the "Munster" Area, and in 1907 Munster was incorporated as a town, with 76 residents voting "yes" for the incorporation and 28 voting "no."

Munster soon became a booming town that attracted many people. Munster saw difficult times through the rough years of the Great Depression and the two World Wars, like many other new towns in America.

In September 2008, Munster's northern portions suffered record flooding resulting from the impact of Hurricane Ike, which caused the Little Calumet River to overflow. Northwest Munster was mostly effected by the flood due to a main break in the levee which was located near the intersection of Calumet Avenue and River Drive. Munster has requested the Army Corps of Engineers to raise the levee up in the more lower areas.

Demographics

The relatively new "White Oak" neighborhood of Munster.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 21,511 people, 8,091 households, and 6,141 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,852.8 people per square mile (1,101.5/km²). There were 8,339 housing units at an average density of 1,105.9/sq mi (427.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.28% White, 1.03% African American, 0.06% Native American, 4.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.88% of the population.

Largest ancestries: German (19.5%), Polish (19.4%), Irish (14.1%), Italian (8.0%), English (7.1%), Dutch (5.0%).

There were 8,091 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 65.5% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $63,243, and the median income for a family was $74,255. Males had a median income of $53,387 versus $34,490 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,952. About 2.8% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The largest commercial airport closest to Munster is the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, but most Munster residents and visitors travel from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport or the Chicago Midway International Airport. The local Lansing Municipal Airport in nearby Illinois is the closest airport to Munster.

Munster lies just south of the Borman Expressway (I-80/94). Calumet Avenue is a major North-South artery in the town, and becomes U.S. Route 41 just north of the Borman. Interstate 65, The Indiana Toll Road, US 12, US 20 and US 30 are within a 20-mile (32 km) radius.

Education

The School Town of Munster, the town's public school system, is noted for its overall excellence. All five schools in the system are recognized as Indiana Blue Ribbon schools and have been awarded five star ratings. Munster High School is one of several schools from Indiana on Newsweek's 2006 and 2008 Top Schools list.

List of schools - School Town of Munster:

• Munster High School
• Wilbur Wright Middle School
• Ernest R. Elliott Elementary School
• James B. Eads Elementary School
• Frank H. Hammond Elementary School

Two private schools are located in the town: St. Thomas More Elementary School and St. Paul's Lutheran School.

Recreation

Munster has a variety of recreational area. Munster has eight parks and two recreational points of interest. The town is well known for its youth baseball programs. Munster's Babe Ruth All Star teams have won six state championships since 1985. Most recently, its 13-year-old all star teams won the state championships in 2007 and 2008 and its 14 year old all star team won the state championship in 2008. The Munster High School baseball team won the Indiana State Championship in 2002.

List of recreational areas- Recreation of Munster:

• Beech Park
• Orchard Park
• Bieker Woods Park
• Munster Community Park
• Circle Park
• Hart Park
• Twin Creek Park
• Briar Creek Park
• Centennial Park
• Somerset Park
• The Historical Kaske House
• The Veterans War Memorial

Police Department - Fallen Officers

In the history of the Munster Police Department, two officers have been killed in the line of duty. ^[5]

Notable residents

• Stephan Bonnar
• Sue Hendrickson
• Hal Morris
• Jack Hyles
• Joe Mansueto
• Brandy Grace

See also

• Calumet Shoreline

References

Further reading

• Hmurovic, Edward N. Munster, Indiana. 2003 (ISBN 0738523364)

External links

• Town of Munster - Official website

• Munster, Indiana is at coordinates 41°33′05″N 87°30′05″W / 41.551457°N 87.501431°W / 41.551457; -87.501431 (Munster, Indiana)Coordinates: 41°33′05″N 87°30′05″W / 41.551457°N 87.501431°W / 41.551457; -87.501431 (Munster, Indiana)
• Chabad of Northwest Indiana

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Lake County, Indiana County seat: Crown Point Cities Crown Point | East Chicago | Gary | Hammond | Hobart | Lake Station | Whiting Towns Cedar Lake | Dyer | Griffith | Highland | Lowell | Merrillville | Munster | New Chicago | St. John | Schererville | Schneider | Winfield Townships Calumet | Cedar Creek | Center | Eagle Creek | Hanover | Hobart | North | Ross | St. John | West Creek | Winfield Unincorporated communities Ainsworth | Belshaw | Brunswick | Creston | Deep River | Deer Creek | Dinwiddie | Green Acres | Hawthorne Hills | Klaasville | Kreitzburg | Lake Dalecarlia | Lake Hills | Lakes of the Four Seasons‡ | Leroy | Liberty Park | Liverpool | New Elliott | North Hayden | Orchard Grove | Palmer | Range Line | Rolling Hill Estates | Ross | Shady Lawn | Shelby | Southeast Grove | Southmoor Park | Van Loon | Wald View | Woodmar Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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