Richmond's Industrial Heritage

9 Locations | Curated by Sue King, Morrisson-Reeves Library

From rolling hills to flat stretches, Wayne County is home to a diverse topography. It contains Indiana’s highest point above sea level at the northern edge of the county which sits 1,257 feet above sea level. It also offers, just thirty miles south at the southern border of the county, the hamlet of Abington which is only 800 feet above sea level. The variety of topography situates Wayne County as an exciting location for industry, business, and leisure.

The earliest white settlers, who arrived after 1806, made full use of the water power by building mills throughout the county alongside rivers where the power could be harnessed. More than 400 feet of fall over 30 miles created an enormous amount of potential water power for use in agricultural mills. At its most active, Wayne County had more than 250 mills. Many of these gradually converted over into factories with water providing electricity for production. Richmond, the largest city in the county, grew as an industrial center until well after World War II. Water and the topography of the land created opportunity for economic success and ultimately reshaped the county.

In this tour, you'll get a glimpse of Wayne County and its industrial history.

White colonizers traveled to what would become Wayne County, Indiana after being enticed by the US government with promises of land to settle and abundant natural resources. They encountered fertile farmland, easily available building material - both wood and stone – and sovereign Miami and Shawnee…
View Story Show on Map

Located near the northern edge of Wayne County, enthusiasts who call themselves Highpointers (highpointers.org) can drive directly to the highest point in Indiana, 1,257 feet above sea level and only steps away from a county road. From there, Highpointers can see crops, roads, and the terrain of…
View Story Show on Map

By the 1870s, more business flowed toward Richmond, Indiana. In 1872, George Trayser, a renowned piano maker from Germany who had previously maintained factories in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, and had been awarded several U.S. patents for his innovative piano technology, moved his operations along…
View Story Show on Map

By 1915, the Starr Piano Company decided to start recording the discs to be played on those phonographs: records. Records were first issued under the Starr name until a separate division, Gennett Records, managed by Henry Gennett’s sons Harry, Clarence, and Fred, was established in 1917. The first…
View Story Show on Map

Gaar, Scott & Co. 1836-1911 Most of the mills in Wayne County were powered by streams, but some took advantage of the many springs available locally. Gaar, Scott & Co. was Richmond’s first major manufacturer with a national reach. It began humbly in 1836 as a machine shop called the Spring…
View Story Show on Map

Richmond, Indiana became a railroad hub in the Pennsylvania Railroad system with major arteries leading toward Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Chicago, Dayton, and Cincinnati. This meant that companies could use the railroads to easily ship goods produced in Richmond all over the country. Lincoln Funeral…
View Story Show on Map

Manufacturing was not the only type of business that took advantage of Richmond’s rail facilities. Wholesale houses sprang up in the vicinity of the Union Depot, and the largest ones even had their own rail spurs to offload material into their warehouses straight from railcars. The Miller…
View Story Show on Map

After farm equipment and pianos, one of the other industries that has defined Richmond is the production of the lawn mower. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Richmond was unofficially known as the “Lawn Mower Capital of the World,” because of the many companies located here which sent their…
View Story Show on Map

This tour was created in partnership with the Morrisson-Reeves Library and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Loading Stories
Map