About the Crown Point, Indiana Area 

HOBART

LOCATION: Nestled along the banks of the Deep River in eastern Lake County, Indiana, Hobart is known as the “Friendly City”.  Combining the best of city convenience with relaxed country attitude, Hobart is just 12 miles from Gary and considered part of the Gary metro area.  A town of 25,000 residents, Hobart is just off Highway 130 and sits astride Lake George, a man made lake created when the Deep River was damned in the nineteenth century.  About 3 miles south of the I-80 and east of the I-65, it’s just a short 45-minute drive along the I-90 to Chicago, the cultural capital of the Midwest.  Nearby the beaches of Lake Michigan and the Illinois border, Hobart is smack dab in the heart of Indiana’s Chicagoland.

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS: Just off Highway 130 and about ten miles from the junction of I-80 and I-65, Hobart is freeway close yet still feels far from the hustle and bustle of city living.  Hobart Sky Ranch Airport serves private planes and with easy access to the regional airport in Gary only fifteen minutes away and just forty miles from Midway and O’Hare Airports in Chicago, wherever you’re going you can get there from here.  Amtrak trains can be boarded in Hammond and Dyer, each about a twenty-minute drive and Greyhound bus service is available in nearby Gary.

BRIEF HISTORY: In 1846, George Earle purchased land along the Deep River in Northwest Indiana from the Potawatomi Indian tribe.  He built a damn on the river to power a gristmill and the town of Hobart was born.  The damn slowed the flow of the Deep River, creating a lake and the town, named after the founder’s brother, grew up along its shore.  In 1847, just adjacent to Lake George, as it came to be called, Earle constructed a five story high mill made out of bricks that brought the town jobs and prosperity.  Sadly, the mill was destroyed by fire in 1953 but in its time it was said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the region and was captured in many paintings by contemporary artists.  By the turn of the 20th Century, Hobart was a thriving town, with a core of impressive buildings downtown surrounded by gracious homes with large yards.  With “The Friendly City” as its motto, the town matured into a commercial hub with businesses and residents that welcomed people to their town from all around Lake County.  That friendly tradition continues and Hobart remains to this day a great place to live, work and prosper.

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS: One of 13 parks in Hobart, recently renovated Lakefront Park embodies all that is best about the town.  With winding paths and beautiful lake views, it’s the local gathering place especially on weekends when families come to picnic and enjoy recreational activities.  Just beyond the damn at the north end of Lake George, lays Hidden Lake.  Formed in a depression that was created when the brick was excavated to build Earle’s mill, its waters are rich with bass and an angler’s hot spot.  The damn itself has been a playground for Hobart’s children for more than 150 years.  From sliding down its sides into the river to catching crawfish in the rock pools it created, while the damn has been modernized it maintains the same profile it had when Earle built it.  Hobart’s Main Street is virtually unchanged since it was built in the latter part of the 19th century and its old time charm remains intact.  The quaint shops and restaurants like Abbott’s lunch counter still attract folks from around the county.  Finally be sure to tour the circa 1838 John Wood Grist Mill in Deep River Park, which continues grinding grain (you can even take some home) and is a piece of living history.

EDUCATION: Hobart has 6 public elementary schools, 2 public middle schools and 2 public high schools as well as five private parochial schools.  There is also a College of Court Reporting and a Massage Therapy Academy in town.  Ivy Tech State and Indiana University Northwest are ten miles away in Gary and the Purdue University Calumet Campus is fifteen miles away in Hammond.  Valparaiso University is twenty miles away and South Suburban and Prairie College are twenty-five miles away.  The diverse institutions of higher learning in Chicago are a forty-five minute drive.