Massive Klan Rally in Valparaiso

Saturday, May 19, 1923 saw a massive Ku Klux Klan rally in Valparaiso, involving not only Valpo citizens but also Klan members, new initiates, and observers from neighboring towns and as far away as Chicago and Indianapolis. Different sources reported estimates of their numbers that ranged from 10,000 to 60,000.[1]


(Click on image to enlarge)
Hobart News, May 24, 1923.

Not all of the observers were happy about the event, but any opposition was mentioned only in passing by the Valparaiso Vidette report of May 21, as reproduced in the Hobart Gazette:[2]

Both opponents and friends of the order took cognizance of the courteous conduct of the citizens of the town, visiting members of the organization and other visitors to the city. With all the crowds and congestion, boisterousness, heckling and rowdiness were at a minimum.

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[1] The Klan's mouthpiece publication gave an estimate of 50,000 ("Valparaiso Scene of Huge Klan Gathering," The Fiery Cross (Indianapolis), May 25, 1923, digitized at www.newspaperarchive.com).
[2] "Valpo Hostess to Many Thousand Klansmen," Hobart Gazette, May 25, 1923.