You’ll find Dunn Cemetery nestled on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus, not along Lake Michigan’s ghost town corridor. This three-sided cornerstone marks where 68 souls rest, including Revolutionary War veterans and the Brewster sisters who served the patriot cause. Bloodline requirements famously prevented even Hoagy Carmichael‘s burial here. For Porter County’s lakeside phantoms—City West beneath the dunes, vanished Baileytown, erased Tremont—you’ll need to head north where ambitious settlements dissolved into sand, and the stories grow stranger still.
Key Takeaways
- Dunn Cemetery on IU Campus features 68 graves including Revolutionary War veterans and the Brewster sisters’ three-sided cornerstone from 1855.
- City West, platted in 1836 to rival Chicago, now lies beneath Indiana Dunes State Park’s beach pavilion after the 1837 Panic.
- Baileytown exists as a National Historic Landmark homestead within Indiana Dunes, representing failed fur trading ambitions from the 1800s.
- Tremont evolved from an 1833 Underground Railroad stop to a 1920s resort before federal demolition erased it in 1966.
- Nearly 50 shipwrecks rest offshore along Lake Michigan, adding maritime history to the region’s ghost town landscape.
Understanding Indiana’s Forgotten Communities Along Lake Michigan
The Indiana shoreline along Lake Michigan conceals a landscape of vanished ambitions beneath its shifting sands. You’ll discover phantom properties where speculators once platted grand cities that never materialized, their dreams swallowed by economic collapse and nature’s persistence.
City West’s ninety blocks, designed to house thousands in 1836, disappeared within three years when the Panic of 1837 shattered fortunes. Later, Tremont thrived as a tourist haven for sixty years before federal acquisition erased it from maps.
Today, you can trace these vanished landscapes through gravel roads and isolated structures, while county records preserve ghostly property lines. Nearly fifty shipwrecks rest offshore, adding maritime graves to this haunted geography where freedom-seekers built and abandoned their visions.
Dunn Cemetery: A Historic Family Burial Ground on IU Campus
You’ll find Dunn Cemetery nestled between the Indiana Memorial Union and Beck Chapel, a kite-shaped plot that’s lifted souls heavenward since the 1820s. The three-sided cornerstone marks where the Brewster sisters rest—Revolutionary War patriots who traded Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for Bloomington soil—and their bloodline alone determines who can join them in this forever-deeded ground.
Legend whispers that Agnes Dunn still walks these grounds, her spirit bound to the family plot that predates the university spreading around it.
Cemetery Origins and Dedication
Before Indiana University sprawled across these rolling acres, three sisters who’d stitched uniforms and melted pewter for Revolutionary soldiers made their final journey west. Ellenor, Agnes, and Jennet Brewster followed their children from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to Indiana Territory, eventually resting beneath the valley’s oldest three-sided gravestone.
Their family legacy took root when Ellenor’s eldest son George established the cemetery’s boundaries in 1855, dedicating this kite-shaped plot “forever as a place of private burial where they’ll repose together as one family.” No dedication ceremonies marked the deed—just quiet legal precision preserving what mattered most.
Today, sixty-eight souls rest here, including Revolutionary War veterans who’d refused to stay conquered. You’ll find their graves where Public Health students now rush past, unaware they’re crossing hallowed ground.
Who Can Be Buried
Even Hoagy Carmichael, the legendary composer and IU alumnus, couldn’t break through these bloodline barriers. Genealogical curator Stephen Hofer oversees lineage verification, requiring exhaustive documentation before approving any petition.
With only 68 graves occupying this hallowed ground and few plots remaining, your Brewster heritage becomes your passport to eternity.
Agnes Dunn’s Ghostly Legend
Among the weathered headstones marking Revolutionary War patriots, one grave sparks whispered tales that refuse to fade with time. You’ll discover ghostly sightings connected to Agnes Brewster Alexander have woven themselves into campus folklore, creating family legends that blur history with mystery.
Local accounts describe encounters you might experience:
- A woman in Revolutionary-era clothing appearing near the three-sided corner gravestone at dusk
- Unexplained cold spots surrounding the sisters’ shared marker
- The scent of musty fabric and old pewter lingering without source
- Shadows moving between the kite-shaped cemetery’s boundaries when no one walks there
Whether these stories stem from genuine encounters or collective imagination, they’ve transformed this quiet burial ground into something more than stone and memory—a place where past and present intersect beneath Indiana University’s modern landscape.
City West: The Would-Be Chicago Rival That Never Was
When Jacob Bigelow and his partners platted City West on Lake Michigan’s southern shore in 1836, they weren’t dreaming small. They positioned their settlement directly opposite Chicago, convinced they’d captured lightning in a bottle. Their early commercial aspirations soared—25 blocks platted, railroad rights-of-way carved, a canal planned to the Little Calumet River. Senator Daniel Webster himself arrived on July 4, 1837, blessing this “grand city on the lake” before hopeful Whigs.
But the economic collapse in 1830s crushed everything. The Panic of 1837 sent banks demanding repayment. Federal port funding evaporated. By October 1839, you’d find only abandoned structures where 40 homes once stood. The grand 22-room hotel was eventually dragged to Chesterton. Today, you’ll discover nothing—City West sleeps beneath Indiana Dunes State Park‘s beach pavilion, another forgotten rival swallowed by time.
Baileytown: The Fur Trading Town That Remained Only on Paper
Consider what doomed this vision:
Even the most passionate vision cannot survive when economics, timing, and nature itself conspire against it.
- Overtrapping decimated fur populations by 1830
- Changing European fashions killed demand
- Strategic location couldn’t overcome poor timing
- Land speculation replaced actual construction
You’ll find the homestead standing as a National Historic Landmark within Indiana Dunes, an embodiment of wilderness dreams that freedom-seekers couldn’t force into existence.
Tremont: From Tourist Boom to National Park Erasure
Unlike Baileytown’s paper existence, Tremont actually thrived—twice—before the federal government erased it from the landscape.
You’ll find where this community first flourished in 1833 as City West, serving Underground Railroad passengers before economic collapse scattered its fortune-seekers by 1876. Then it roared back to life when the South Shore Line transformed it into a bustling 1920s resort town, complete with hotels, rental cabins, and access to Mount Tom, Mount Holden, and Mount Green.
But Congress’s 1966 Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore designation sealed Tremont’s fate. Federal agents condemned properties, demolished homes, and dispersed residents—all for dune ecology restoration. The local tourism industry collapse was swift and absolute.
Today, only gravel roads and scattered picnic shelters mark where freedom-loving entrepreneurs once built their lakeside dreams.
Mapping Your Route Through Porter County’s Lost Settlements
Your Porter County ghost town expedition requires strategic planning—these vanished settlements cluster within a compact northern corridor that you can explore in a single afternoon.
Begin your journey along Highway 12, where Tremont once thrived as a tourist destination. You’ll find minimal trail markers, but Tremont Road and a weathered picnic shelter mark where businesses stood before federal bulldozers arrived. City West Road reveals another erased community nearby.
Navigate your route using these reference points:
- Suman Valley near Chesterton – Colonel Suman’s homestead territory in Jackson Township
- Tremont Road intersection – Former South Shore station site from 1908
- City West remnants – Picnic shelter and namesake road
- Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore boundaries – Where communities vanished post-1966
Don’t expect historical reenactments or interpretive signage—these settlements disappeared intentionally, leaving only whispers.
What to See at Each Ghost Town Location Today
When you arrive at City West’s former footprint within Indiana Dunes State Park, you’ll encounter a jarring transformation—what was once a platted town now lies beneath a sprawling parking lot, surrounded by over 2,000 acres of reclaimed dunes and wetlands. Minor remnants of infrastructure peek through shifting natural landscapes, while a solitary 1930s bathhouse stands sentinel near the entrance. From the dunes at sunset, Chicago’s skyline emerges on the horizon.
At Tremont, you’ll find only Tremont Road, a picnic shelter, and the preserved South Shore station—sparse evidence of the tourist hub demolished after 1966. Baileytown requires archival maps; nothing was ever built. Morango Cave Park offers roadside cave entrances and abandoned structures along trails. Elkinsville’s Browning Hill delivers genuine eeriness—its mysterious stone alignments creating an unsettling atmosphere worth exploring on foot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Any of the Ghost Town Sites Accessible Year-Round or Seasonally Restricted?
You’ll find absolute freedom here—every single ghost town site welcomes exploration year-round without seasonal closures cramping your style. No accessibility hours restrict your wandering spirit through Dunn’s grain elevator ruins, dunes, or abandoned settlements whenever adventure calls.
Can Visitors Legally Explore Dunn Cemetery or Is It Private Property?
You’ll need the landowner’s permission before exploring Dunn Cemetery to avoid trespassing consequences. Indiana doesn’t mandate public access to private cemeteries, and cemetery maintenance requirements don’t override property rights—so seek permission first.
What Hiking Difficulty Level Should I Expect at These Locations?
The trail unfolds like a welcoming ribbon—you’ll find moderate hiking difficulty across these well-marked trail systems. With gentle grades under 3%, you’re free to explore at your own pace without steep, punishing climbs ahead.
Are There Camping Facilities Near the Porter County Ghost Town Sites?
You’ll find primitive camping spots at Sunset Hill Campground near Tremont’s ghost town remnants. Pack light, embrace walk-in tent sites, and explore self-guided walking tours through vanished communities. It’s raw, unfiltered adventure without modern constraints holding you back.
Do I Need Special Permits to Visit Locations Within the National Park?
You won’t need to obtain permission for standard exploration—beaches and trails welcome free wanderers. However, you’ll need special permits for organized events or competitions, so follow regulations if planning anything beyond solo adventuring through these historic landscapes.
