Lake Calumet
| Lake Calumet | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°40′48″N 87°35′24″W / 41.68000°N 87.59000°WCoordinates: 41°40′48″N 87°35′24″W / 41.68000°N 87.59000°W |
| Primary outflows | Des Plaines River |
| Basin countries | United States |
Lake Calumet is the largest body of water within the city of Chicago. Formerly a shallow, postglacial lake draining into Lake Michigan, it has been changed beyond recognition by industrial redevelopment and decay. Parts of the lake have been dredged, and other parts reshaped by landfill. Together with the rest of the city of Chicago, the remnant of the lake now drains into the Des Plaines River and the Mississippi River basin.
Calumet is a Norman word used since the 17th century by French colonists in Canada for the ceremonial pipes they saw used by First Nations peoples.
Until the 1800s, Lake Calumet was near the center of an extensive wetland area near the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Like other wetland areas, the Lake Calumet area and its rivers were a center of Native American life and settlement. The Field Museum maintains databases of archeological data on these settlements.
In 1861, the Lake Calumet region was mapped into Hyde Park Township, south of what was then the town of Chicago. In the 1880s, because the lake's Calumet River created shipping opportunities to connect into Lake Michigan, the swampy zone was rapidly filled and developed by industry. Hyde Park Township developed rapidly and was annexed into Chicago in 1889. The area remains heavily industrialized today.
The Chicago neighborhood of Pullman was developed as a company town with residences and services offered for rent to the workers in railroad passenger car factories. The complex, now a National Monument, is sited on the lake's west shore. Steel mills began to line the Calumet River. The Illinois Central railroad was built nearby.
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Wikipedia