Local city information for Crown Point, IN

Crown Point is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was estimated 22,697 in July 2005. The city is the county seat of Lake County and was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family become first settlers to an area that later became Crown Point. Because of its location, Crown Point is known as the Hub of Lake County.

On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family become the first settlers to stake a claim in the area that will eventually become Crown Point. In February, 1837 Lake County is incorporated into a county with Liverpool, Indiana as the county seat. Later that year Solon Robinson funded a $500 project to build a new wooden county courthouse in Crown Point and thus Crown Point becomes the county seat. However it wasn't until 1868 that Crown Point was actually incorporated into a city. In 1878 construction began on a new more impressive county court house and clock tower. This new court house, known as the Grand Old Lady, was built in the center of town and would become 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 Davis' 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 to get married and became known as the Marriage Mill. Many famous people came to Crown Point to be wed including Tom Mix, Rudolph Valentino, Cassius Clay, Jackson 5 patriarch Joseph Jackson. Certain online sources claim that Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman were married in Crown Point, including the website of current mayor David Uran. However, Reagan and Wyman were in fact married in Glendale, California, according to FOX News, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

On March 3, 1934, Crown Point etched its name forever in the history books as the infamous bank robber and 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 using a hand-carved wooden gun blackened with shoe polish, although this was disputed by some witnesses. Dillinger further embarrassed the city, as well as then-42-year-old 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, Sheriff Holley made certain the Dillinger name would have no standing in Crown Point up until her death in 1994 at 102. Due mainly to her efforts, there is no mention of the "Great Escape" to be found anywhere in the city, save for a brief mention on a National Register of Historic Places plaque outside the old Sheriff's house.

In March 2008, Universal Studios, under the direction of Michael Mann, visited Crown Point to film parts of the upcoming 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 the FBI agent Melvin Purvis' attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Christian Bale will play FBI agent Purvis, and Johnny Depp will play Dillinger. The shoot took three days to complete and involved a number of scenes inside the former Sheriff's House and jail. There was a scene also constructed for filming of the exterior. Johnny Depp was on the set for all three days and stayed late into the evenings on each night to shake hands with hundreds of fans who stood for hours to see him and the film shoot. The movie is expected to be released in June 2009.

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