Historical Images of Porter County

Sheridan Beach and Dancing Pavilion, Flint Lake
Valparaiso, Indiana

Date: Circa 1910
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Suhling & Koehn Company
Postmark: August 5, 1910, Valparaiso, Indiana
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: The side of the boathouse is painted with the following sign: "SHERIDAN BEACH, BOATS & SUITS TO RENT" As early as 1876, John McQuiston owned all the land located along the east side of Flint Lake. Much of McQuiston's land was later sold to A. W. Lytle, and as early as 1895 the site was being referred to as Sheridan Beach. Edgewater Beach, located on the north shore of Flint Lake, was immediately adjacent to Sheridan Beach. The hotel constructed in 1905; it was sold along with 47 acres of property to a retired manufacturer from Chicago name Sigmund Freund in 1906. Freund soon added running water and electricity to the resort. The resort was later purchased from Freund by the Kilmer-Fraiser Company on July 4, 1925, and the resort was renamed Blackhawk Beach Summer Resort. The resort was once again upgraded to include a roller skating facility, picnic grounds, a toboggan slide, and concession stands. The hotel was razed in 1957. The dance pavilion, with the curved roof, served as roller skating rink during the day; it was destroyed by a fire in March 1941. The structure partially seen to the extreme far right in this image was William Fraiser's ice house.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook