Historical Images of Porter County

Hotel and Post Office
Dune Park, Indiana

Date: 1911
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Unknown
Postmark: March 20, 1911, Dune Park, Indiana
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: Dune Park was a small station in Portage Township along the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad that took its name from the surrounding sand dunes. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad shipped a significant amount of sand from Dune Park, mostly to the Chicago market. In 1889, for instance, the railroad was reportedly shipping more than 300 railcars of sand per day from their Dune Park station.

A hotel and post office were located just south of the railroad tracks; the site also included a water tower to service trains. The hotel and post office were located adjacent to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad line (later owned and operated by the New York Central Railroad), just south of the railroad tracks, at the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 31, Township 37 North, Range 6 West. The post office at Dune Park opened on April 24, 1907, and ceased operations on February 15, 1913, when mail service was transferred to Chesterton.

It is believed that the hotel may have been called Hotel Moyer, Berton Moyer being the proprietor. Note the sign about the door in the image say "POST OFFICE."

The Knickerbocker Ice Company owned property directly across the railroad tracks from the hotel and post office. On October 3, 1912, the Dune Park Hotel burned. According to a newspaper report, "The resort was used in the winter by employees of the Knickerbocker Ice company and in the summer was the mecca of students and walking parties from Chicago who tramped the dunes. The hotel stood at the edge of the sand dunes and was the only building for several miles."

This image shows the water tower that served the rail line to the extreme left. The Knickerbocker Ice Company owned property directly across the railroad tracks from the hotel and post office.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook