Map of Crown Point city, Indiana

Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 33,899 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to an area that later became Crown Point. Due to its location, Crown Point is known as the “Hub of Lake County”.

The city is surrounded by Merrillville to the north, Winfield to the east, Cedar Lake to the southwest, St. John to the west, and unincorporated Schererville to the northwest. The southern and southwestern parts of Crown Point border some unincorporated areas of Lake County.

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History

On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to stake a claim in the area that would eventually become Crown Point. In February 1837, Lake County was incorporated, with Liverpool, Indiana, as the county seat. Later that year, Solon Robinson funded a US$500 project to build a new wooden county courthouse in Crown Point, and the legislature was delighted to designate it as the county seat. It was not until 1868 that Crown Point was incorporated as a city.

In 1878, construction began on a new, larger county court house and clock tower. This new court house, now known as the Grand Old Lady, was built in the center of town and became the dominant feature of Crown Point (further additions to this courthouse would be made from 1907–1928). Campaigning for the presidency of the United States, William Jennings Bryan addressed a crowd from the steps of the court house in 1896. In 1897 a crowd of 4,000 gathered to watch a winning harness racing horse bred by noted Chicago theater manager Will J. Davis and his famous wife, contralto Jessie Bartlett Davis. The Davises bred trotters and dogs at their Crown Point farm c.1885-1917 (Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug 8, 1897, pg 7). Crown Point was the site of the first Cobe Trophy automobile race, won by Louis Chevrolet in 1909.

The Old Lake County Courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and the new Lake County Government Center opened on the north side of the city the next year.

Because Crown Point had no waiting period for marriage licenses, the city became a popular place for couples to marry; it became known as the “Marriage Mill”. Many famous people came to Crown Point to marry, including Tom Mix, Rudolph Valentino, Muhammad Ali, and Jackson 5 patriarch Joseph Jackson and their wives. Certain online sources claim that Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman were married in Crown Point. But Reagan and Wyman were married in Glendale, California, according to sources such as Fox News, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

The Walter Allman House, Wellington A. Clark House, Crown Point Courthouse Square Historic District, Lake County Courthouse, Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Nurses Home and Superintendent’s House, Lake County Sheriff’s House and Jail, Albert Maack House, and William Whitaker Landscape and House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Locally designated residential historic districts include:

• Sunnyside Historic District, includes St. Mary’s Church and School and surrounding homes.
• Holley Historic District, includes 20 homes and one church, including former Sheriff Lillian Holley’s home at the southeast corner of South and East streets.

Gangster era

On March 3, 1934, FBI “Public Enemy #1” John Dillinger escaped from the “escape-proof” (as it was dubbed by local authorities at the time) Lake County Jail, which was guarded by many police and national guardsmen. Dillinger apparently escaped while brandishing a hand-carved wooden gun blackened with shoe polish, although this was disputed by some witnesses. Dillinger further embarrassed the city, as well as the 42-year-old female Sheriff Lillian Holley, by driving off in her brand new V-8 Ford. The press augmented her chagrin with such headlines as: “Slim woman, mother of twins, controlled Dillinger as sheriff.” Incensed, Holley declared at the time, “If I ever see John Dillinger again, I’ll shoot him dead with my own gun. Don’t blame anyone else for this escape. Blame me. I have no political career ahead of me and I don’t care.” Furthermore, Holley made certain the Dillinger name would have no standing in Crown Point up until Holley’s death in 1994 at 102.

Public Enemies (film)

In March 2008, a Universal Studios team, under the direction of Michael Mann, visited Crown Point to film parts of the movie Public Enemies at the former county jail facility from which Dillinger escaped. The crime drama is set during The Great Depression with the focus on FBI agent Melvin Purvis’ attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Christian Bale plays FBI agent Purvis, and Johnny Depp plays Dillinger. Actress Lili Taylor portrayed Sheriff Holley in the film. The shoot took three days to complete and involved a number of scenes inside the former Sheriff’s house and jail. A scene was constructed for filming the exterior. Depp was on the set for all three days and stayed late into the evenings each night to shake hands with hundreds of fans who stood for hours to see him and the film shoot. The movie was released in June 2009.

Crown Point Road Map

Crown Point city Satellite Map

Geography

Crown Point lies on the Valparaiso Moraine.

According to the 2010 census, Crown Point has a total area of 17.725 square miles (45.91 km), of which 17.71 square miles (45.87 km) (or 99.92%) is land and 0.015 square miles (0.04 km) (or 0.08%) is water.

Crown Point is situated approximately 40 miles southeast of Chicago’s Loop.

See also