In 1908, an Indiana widow began 20-year fight over 120 acres; part of land later became protected

Carr remained determined to defend what she believed was hers (Photo: NPS) In the early 1900s, an Indiana widow spent more than two decades fighting to defend her claim to 120 acres along Lake Michigan. Drusilla Carr had lived on the land for decades before it became valuable. As the city of Gary, Indiana, grew around her, the lakeshore that had once been seen as little more than sand and swamp became increasingly sought after for parks, homes and industry.Carr was born on July 29, 1856, in Porter County, Indiana. She and her brother became orphans during the 1860s. According to National Park Service, at the age of 13, she was recorded in the 1870 census as working as a domestic servant. The census also noted that she had never been taught to read or write.In 1872, she left that household and moved to the Lake County lakeshore near the mouth of the Grand Calumet River at Miller. She worked at a fishing shack run by John and Hank Granger. “It was near to where the Gary Marquette Park is and close to the lagoon. I cooked for them,” she later recalled.The area was then very different from the developed shoreline that exists today. It consisted mainly of sand dunes, swamps, ponds and s...