Gary

Sister cities

• Fuxin
• Lagos

History

Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the U.S. Steel corporation as the home for its new plant, Gary Works. The city was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. Gary was the site of civil unrest in the 1919 General Steel Strike. On October 4, 1919, a riot broke out on Broadway, the main north–south street through downtown Gary, between steel workers and strike breakers brought in from outside. Indiana governor James P. Goodrich declared martial law three days later. Shortly after that, over 4,000 federal troops under the command of Major General Leonard Wood arrived to restore order. The steel industry's jobs provided Gary with rapid growth and a diverse population within the first 26 years of its founding. In the 1920 United States census, 29.7% of Gary's population was classified as foreign-born, mostly from eastern European countries, with another 30.8% native-born with at least one foreign-born parent. By the 1930 United States census, the first census in which Gary's population exceeded 100,000, the city was the fifth largest in Indiana and comparable in size to South Bend, Fort Wayne, and Evansville. In 1930, 78.7% of the population was classified as white, with 19.3% as foreign-born and another 25.9% as native-born with at least one foreign-born parent. In addition to white internal migrants, Gary had attracted numerous African-American migrants from the South in the Great Migration, and 17.8% of the population was classified as black. Some 3.5% were classified as Mexican, now likely to be identified as Hispanic, as they included citizens and immigrants of other Spanish-speaking ethnicities. Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. The growth of the steel…

Geography

The city is located at the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago and the current Lake Michigan. Most of the city's soil, nearly one foot below the surface, is pure sand. The sand beneath Gary and on its beaches is of such volume and quality that for over a century, companies have mined it, especially for the manufacture of glass. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Miller Beach, Gary's easternmost neighborhood, borders Lake Station and Portage. Gary's southernmost section borders Griffith, Hobart, Merrillville, and unincorporated Ross. Gary is about from the Chicago Loop. Gary contains the western portion of Indiana Dunes National Park, including Miller Woods, the western part of Long Lake, and the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education. Much of this is within Gary's Miller Beach neighborhood, although the park's western tip extends to downtown Gary. Gary is listed by the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system as humid continental (Dfa). In July and August, the warmest months, high temperatures average 84 °F (29 °C) and peak just above 100 °F (38 °C), and low temperatures average 63 °F (17 °C). In January and February, the coldest months, high temperatures average around 29 °F (−2 °C) and low temperatures average 13 °F (−11 °C), with at least a few days of temperatures dipping below 0 °F (−18 °C). The weather in Gary is greatly regulated by its proximity to Lake Michigan. Weather varies yearly. In the summer months Gary is humid. The city's yearly precipitation averages about 1016 millimeters (40 inches). Summer is the rainiest season. Winters vary but are predominantly snowy. Snowfall…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  15,774
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,941
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  14,410
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,787
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,452
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,410
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,087
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,076

Largest nearby schools

• Merrillville High School
  High · Merrillville · 2,042 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Hammond Central High School
  High · Hammond · 1,863 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Morton Senior High School
  High · Hammond · 1,609 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Munster High School
  High · Munster · 1,564 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• 21st Century Charter Sch of Gary
  Other · Gary · 1,337 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Hobart High School
  High · Hobart · 1,306 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Gary Lighthouse Charter School
  Other · Gary · 1,127 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• East Chicago Central High School
  High · East Chicago · 1,079 students · 14:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois