The Northwest Indiana Region, while tradition-steeped, is evolving from steel and oil

But Chicago boomed economically, and titans of industry like John D. Rockerfeller and J.P. Morgan soon came knocking. As was the case in many cities at the time, the belching smokestacks of industry got pushed downriver, in this case south of the Calumet River. The Calumet Region of Chicago quickly filled up with great factories like the now-razed U.S. Steel South Works. After the city ran out of land, industrial development spilled across the state line into Northwest Indiana.

U.S. Steel, the first company to ever make a billion dollars and that was once so big and vital to the nation's economic well-being it was simply called The Corporation, built the entire city of Gary, constructing homes, businesses, government buildings and a massive steel mill that sprawls for seven miles along Lake Michigan. The rest of the lakeshore was soon lined with steel mills that spilled over into the duneland of Porter County.

Steel was good to the Region, drawing immigrants from all over the world and especially the Slavic countries in Eastern Europe. It elevated hard-working men and women to middle class lifestyles. They able to buy single-family homes, raise large families and even afford boats they docked in the Hammond or East Chicago marinas and sailed across Lake Michigan.

The Region built America in the 20th century. The metal it cranked out went into iconic structures like the Sears Tower and the St. Louis Arch. Northwest Indiana-made steel could be found in refrigerators and cars nationwide.

"Northwest Indiana prides itself on being a powerhouse in the national economy," Northwest Indiana Forum President and Chief Executive Officer Heather Ennis said. "Our great heritage has made for a strong and dynamic workforce and our natural resources have made us attractive to business investment, visitors and residents alike."

The steel industry has not been what it was. At one point a single mill employed around 30,000 workers, including far-flung immigrants who hopped off the train outside the mill gate with little more than a bindle. But today, after ongoing decline that can be attributed to automation and imports, Northwest Indiana's entire steel industry employs fewer people than that.

U.S. Steel employed around 93,000 workers nationally in 1981, but has less than a third of that on the payroll today. Though the steel industry continues to crank out as much metal as in its heyday, the 1960s, employment is expected to continue to shrink.

But thankfully, the Region's economy has been evolving beyond its staple mix of steel, oil and cars.

Northwest Indiana-based companies have developed apps for former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, came up with a novel way to keep people from dropping their iPhones on their noses in bed and invented a water-soluble film that changed the way people across the world do laundry. They recycle paper and brew some of the world's most acclaimed craft beer. They make lunch meat, soap, the Build-A-Bear machines in malls across the country, and the cutting equipment that's used to make McDonald's French fries and most everything at the supermarket. They produce solar inverters and have won national recognition for "pushing the boundaries of indoor agriculture."

The Region economy is evolving, but the draws like its central location and concentration of rail lines remain the same.

"Those resources will continue to attract investment and talent to the Region. We will continue to build on infrastructure, advanced manufacturing skills, process and product to ensure ease of investment is rarely an impediment to the right prospects," Ennis said. "Water, rail, highway, fiber, work ethic, regulatory and tax climate all tell a very compelling story, making this the place for business now and into the future."