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The Bailly Homestead
Although Indiana became a state in 1816, northwestern Indiana was essentially a wilderness when Joseph Bailly arrived in 1822 from Michigan with his wife Marie and their children to build their homestead. The 500,000 acre Kankakee Marsh, located to the southeast of here, was a major impediment to travel and discouraged settlement of the Calumet Region. The Baillys were among the first settlers to the area.
During the fur trading years, the homestead consisted of six log structures which served as living quarters, kitchen, storehouse and warehouses for the trade goods. Material from the original buildings is being preserved in the log structures you see today.
In 1833 Joseph Bailly and his family received $6,000 for his services in counseling the Potawatomi Indians in an agreement called the Chicago Treaty, which placed the land in northwestern Indiana in public domain. With this money he repaired various buildings around the homestead and began construction of the main house. Before Bailly could move into his new house he fell ill and died in 1835. |