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Hammond, Indiana (U.S.)

Lake County

image by Eugene Ipavec, 23 May 2009

Description of the flag

See also:

Description of the flag

The flag of Hammond, Indiana, has centered on it a map of the Land of Calumet. The flag of Hammond was adopted in 1971. Source: Albert Kirsch.
City website is at http://www.hammondindiana.com.
Mason Kaye, 25 February 2004

As a resident of Hammond, I can tell you that the only place I've ever seen it has been at City Hall. The flag flies in front of the City Hall building on Calumet Avenue and is flown on the southern-most of 3 flagpoles. The taller center one flies the US stars and stripes and the northern-most one flies the state flag of Indiana. Up until about 4 years ago, there was only 1 flagpole with an ornate base where 3 smaller flags (from top: US, Indiana, Hammond or POW) were flown. There are probably some shots in Hammond's website photogallery (www.gohammond.com/web/index.php?id=112,0,0,1,0,0 ).

As for Cal College (as we in the Region call Calumet College of St. Joseph), I attended there for about 3 years and they don't have a flag (at least not one I knew of...). Cal College is a small "commuter" college in north Hammond and doesn't really have any big university-style sports associations. The photo on this webpage, www.ccsj.edu/facstaff/adjunct/ showing lamppost banners, is the closest thing to college flag found there.
Brian Ellis, 5 April 2008

As for Hammond's flag, the following is based on what I know/have learned about Hammond while living here. Indian chief's head represents the native American history of the Illini ("Illinois") and Miami tribes. The other head may represent George Hammond, who Hammond is named after (details here: www.hammondindiana.com/history2.htm , look at 1873). It may also represent the non-native population now the majority in the area. The two squiggly lines are the Grand Calumet (top) and Little Calumet (bottom) rivers. These rivers are labeled on the flag, a classic case of "littered with letters." (I grew up very close to the Little Calumet, it forms the border between Hammond and Munster, Indiana.) The star at the top I would think is for Hammond and may have a similar meaning as the star for Indiana above the torch on Indiana's flag. Below the star is a "calumet" or native peace pipe. This area of Lake County, Indiana, and southeastern Chicago*, is known locally as the Calumet Region. (Another good link if you're a history buff: www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/hi_explore.html ).

As to the Chief's head, at first I thought it was Chief Calumet because I've heard of him but the more delving I do into his name, the more I'm under the impression he may not have existed and is a corruption of the phrase "chief's calumet," the chief's peace pipe."

*The Calumet Region is actually northern Lake County, Indiana, and southern Cook County, Illinois, along with some nearby areas. The area is the watershed of the Grand and Little Calumet rivers. The rivers originate in NW Indiana and merge to form the Calumet River in the south side of Chicago. The following link is a history and map of the Calumet Region: www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/203.html.
Brian Ellis, 15 April 2008

The flag can be found at www.gohammond.com/web/aid=1062.phtml.
About the city:
"Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 83,048 at the 2000 census. The first permanent residents arrived around 1847 to settle on land between the Grand and Little Calumet Rivers, on the South end of Lake Michigan. Those first residents were German farmers newly arrived from Europe looking for land and opportunity. Before that time, the area was a crossroad for Indian tribes, explorers, stagecoach lines and supply lines to the West. Convenient location and abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan led to the beginning of Hammond's industrialization in 1869 with the G.H. Hammond Company packing house following merchants and farmers to the area. Hammond was incorporated on April 21, 1884. Hammond is one of the oldest cities in Lake County, with Crown Point being the oldest, established in 1834. - from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond,_Indiana.
Valentin Poposki, 22 May 2009

My grandfather, Anthony Betustak Sr. designed the city flag for Hammond. He made two of them with money from his own pocket. He had given one of them to the Mayor and the other to the St. Casimir Church in Hammond, IN. Each thing on the flag represents something - there is a journal in the family that tells each thing step by step of what he did. The originals have a red fringe around them, I believe that is for Hammond residents that have perished in wars. The new flags that are in front of the city hall and police department do not have that on them. The flag that was given to the church was returned to the family and a relative has one of the 2 originals. The police department honor guard has also made a copy of the flag, with the fringe for their ceremonies.
Kevin Betustak, 22 July 2010