| |
Indiana had not yet reached its twentieth birthday when a new port was being planned and developed on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. After much debate, it was decided that it should be located at the mouth of Trail Creek in La Porte County and named Michigan City. Indiana desperately needed its own harbor if they were to compete with future cities under development, especially, Chicago. This new port would soon become the lifeline of business for all Hoosiers living in Indiana. Wooden schooners of all types would ply their trade along the southern shore of Lake Michigan making trips back and forth between the ports in Illinois and Michigan City. The new harbor would soon develop into the center of commerce and prosperity for all of Indiana.
On a daily basis, steamboats began running round trip from Buffalo, New York to the ports at Chicago and Michigan City. These packet boats brought with them huge numbers of immigrants and products manufactured in the East.
By this time, wooden schooners had already been hauling bulk commodities around such as lumber and grain to the various ports on Lake Michigan and beyond. Back then, shipping by water was the cheapest and most economical way to transport people and merchandise over long distances. That was all about to change. |
