in Munster, IN

Munster is a town located in North Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. This bedroom community lies in the Chicago metropolitan area, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the Chicago Loop, and shares municipal boundaries with Hammond to the north, Highland to the east, Dyer and Schererville to the south and Lansing and Lynwood directly west of the Illinois border. The 2010 U.S. Census counted the town's population at 23,603.

Geography

Munster is located at 41°56′45″N 87°51′25″W (41.551457, -87.501431), at a point on an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan (known as the Calumet Shoreline) which is today Ridge Road. This ridge runs east and west through the north part of town, hence the town's nickname "Town on the Ridge".

The town's boundaries contain three small lakes, one of which, located within Centennial Park, is marshy and undeveloped. Munster is bordered on the north by the Little Calumet River, a shallow river surrounded by a thin strip of wooded area; and on the West by the Illinois state line.

According to the 2010 census, Munster has a total area of 7.65 square miles (19.81 km²), of which 7.57 square miles (19.61 km²) (or 98.95%) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km²) (or 1.05%) is water.

History

The Ibach House and Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Early history

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Potawatomi. Although a village did not exist in what was to become Munster's town boundaries, a trail along the dry sandy ridge now known as Ridge Road was well traveled by the indigenous inhabitants. Today, Munster's downtown area, the Town Hall, Police and Fire Department headquarters, the Centre for the Visual and Performing Arts, and the Munster Post Office are all situated on Ridge Road.