Ethan Horst                                                                                                                                                    Grace College journalism student

NORTH WEBSTER — North Webster has a long and colorful history, moving from a vibrant pioneer mill town to a bustling lakefront resort. Incorporated in 1937, it is a town that was and is full of unique pioneer spirit, carving its own niche in northeast Indiana.

The area was originally known as Boydston Mill, after the mill that Ephraim S. Muirheid built. In 1846, the land and mill were sold to Thomas Boydston, the postmaster who made the post office the mill. In the spring of 1850, Boydston left the mill and post office in the hands of his employee, Benjamin Yohn, to pursue fortune in the California gold rush. Boydston returned to North Webster in 1853, cross-country on horseback. He found that the mill had burned down earlier that year, and Yohn had married his daughter. After his return, he became a Whig elected to the State Assembly, and rebuilt the mill in 1856. He was traveling back from Indianapolis when he caught pneumonia in a cold train station and died March 17, 1861. Yohn, his son-in-law, took over the mill operation until 1868.

During the same time period, two churches were founded. Rev. George W. Warner organized the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1838, and Rev. Christian Glause, with Henry Kline as class leader, organized the Evangelical Association in Webster in 1855. Silas L. Ketrig and Son were selling dry goods, shoes and groceries in 1854, “for ready cash only” according to an advertisement. The first hotel was built in 1887; the Mid-Lake Hotel was described as an enjoyable stop for people looking for a peaceful lake getaway. It also was the first building to have a telephone in 1893. It burned down in 1907.

North Webster became the official name in 1879 when the post office moved from the mill into town. Previously, the post was addressed to Boydston Mill, and the town was known as Webster.

However, there was already another Webster in the state, so the name was changed. The first steamboat on Webster Lake was the wooden steamer, the City of Webster, built by Joseph Breeck in 1906. Breeck was a blacksmith and steamboat pilot, and used the City of Webster as a floating blacksmith shop, mail and grocery carrier and excursion boat. It operated from 1903 to 1913, until it reportedly wrecked against rocks and sank.

Maranda J. France opened the M.J. France Hotel in 1900 with her husband, Obediah. In 1905, the hotel was rebuilt and renamed the Yellow Banks Hotel, named either for yellow minerals in the banks or the yellow-hulled boats which lined the hills.

North Webster’s big fire started on May 27, 1911, when Ed Phelps’ young children were playing with matches in the loft of Jefferson Gorbes’ barn. Their father was able to pull them out, but the barn and several stores were burned down.

During the 1930s, most people claim that John Dillenger stayed in cabins around the lake. One anecdote says that the Dillenger gang drove up to a gas station in North Webster, threatened the couple with Tommy guns, took a nap, then gassed up and drove off, leaving a large tip as thanks. Dillenger also held up the police station and stole all the guns after robbing a bank in South Bend.

The Webster Lake Boat and Ski Club was created in 1953 from negotiations between the teenage motor boaters and fishermen.

Bart’s Water Sports opened in the 1970s, and grew to become the largest mail-order water sports retailer in the country. The historic Yellow Banks Hotel was demolished in 1979 due to rising operating costs.

Homer Shoop, president of the Farmer’s State Bank, had a plan to increase tourism by renovating downtown North Webster to have a Camelot theme. He built the International Palace of Sports as a shrine to famous sportsmen and women and the legend of Camelot. Notable athletes, like O.J. Simpson in 1973 and Bruce Jenner in 1976, were crowned king or queen of sports for that year. Costs rose in the 1980s and fewer people visited, so the museum shut down in 1989. The contents were auctioned on April 23, 1990, and the building was bought by Pilcher’s Shoes.

The Mermaid Festival has developed far beyond its roots as a simple fishing festival in 1946, becoming a nine-day extravaganza, drawing more than 100,000 people. It hosts dances, sporting events and a cutie pageant, as well as the famous Queen of Lakes beauty contest.

A local treasure built in 1929, the Dixie boat was privately owned and operated by various individuals, giving lake tours and hosting events, as well as participating in the Mermaid Festival. In 2007, it needed extensive renovations, so it was placed in trust of a non-profit corporation to help raise money to preserve it.

North Webster has come a long way from the small pioneer town that it once was, boasting a population of 1,158 in 2015. Its town council and chamber of commerce keep its peaceful small-town atmosphere alive, and its lake is as pleasant as it has been since the pioneer days.