The St. Valentine's Day Massacre --- The Hammond Connection --- Although this renown historical event did not take place in the city of Hammond, events leading up to it can be traced back to the Calumet Region, specifically Hammond and Whiting. According to published reports, some two weeks after the gruesome gangland murders, Chicago police detectives have made a discovery of some key evidence. A trail of clues left behind by the assassins, has lead the Chicago police directly to Hammond. The evidence was discovered on Friday, February 22, 1929 in the partially burned and dismantled automobile believed to used by the killers. Authorities found a women's shoe bearing a trademark from a Hammond store. However it was not revealed to the public, which store made the sale of the shoe. It is believed that the discovery may lead to important information to the occupants of the vehicle thought to be involved in the bloody killings. The gangsters were executed gangland style in a north side Chicago illegal booze warehouse. The building was located at 2122 North Clark Street and housed the S. M. C. Cartage Company. Also found in the back seat of the burned and dismembered auto was a book of matches bearing the name of a Whiting store. These two clues lead the police to believe that the killers traveled through the region, possible via the "Dunes Highway", a popular route for bootleggers going from Chicago to Detroit and vise versa. More background information on The St. Valentine's Day Massacre can be found at: http://www.prairieghosts.com/valentine.html

|| Back to Twentieth Century Time Capsule Main Page ||
Source information and photos from The Times Newspapers located at the Hammond Public Library.

Twentieth Century Time Capsule © 1999 HammondIndiana.com

|| SEARCH || INDEX || MESSAGE BOARD || WEATHER || HISTORY || LINKS || PHOTOS || POSTCARDS || NEWSSTAND ||