Richmond, Indiana
Richmond, Indiana.
ABOUT (brief history)
The earliest European American settlers in the region were Quaker family from North Carolina who made their home near the East Fork of the Whitewater River in 1806. In the early decades following the American Revolution, there was a general westward migration that included this. One of the first people to settle was John Smith. Numerous Quaker institutions, such as Friends United Meeting, Richmond Friends School, Earlham College, and the Earlham School of Religion, are still located in Richmond.
In 1818, Robert Morrison became the first postmaster of Richmond's first post office. In 1840, the town was formally incorporated, and John Sailor was chosen as the town's first mayor.
Charles Francis Jenkins, a pioneer of early film and television, was up on a farm north of Richmond, where he first started creating practical devices. Jenkins assembled his family, friends, and newsmen at his cousin's jewelry store in downtown Richmond on June 6, 1894, as detailed in the Richmond Telegram, and showed a shot motion picture for the first time in front of an audience. Jenkins had self-filmed the movie, which was of a vaudeville performer doing a butterfly dance. The Phantoscope projector was the subject of a patent application by Jenkins in November 1894, and it was granted in March 1895.
Later, a modified Phantoscope was sold to Thomas Edison, who renamed it Edison's Vitascope and started showing motion pictures in vaudeville theaters in New York City, ushering in the era of American cinema.
Two of the three Egyptian mummies in Indiana may be found in Richmond. Since one is kept by the Wayne County Historical Museum and the other by the Joseph Moore Museum at Earlham College, the area has earned the moniker “Mummy capital of Indiana.”
A robust economy that was increasingly dependent on manufacturing helped to sustain the arts. Because Richmond served as a hub for lawnmower production from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, it was formerly referred to as “the lawnmower capital.” Davis, Motomower, Dille-McGuire, and F&N were among the producers. Gaar-Scott, a manufacturer of farm equipment, had its headquarters in Richmond. Beginning in 1929, the Davis Aircraft Co., a Richmond-based manufacturer of a light monoplane with a parasol wing, was in business.
Explosion in Richmond, Indiana
On April 6, 1968, a natural gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed or damaged numerous downtown blocks and resulted in the deaths of 41 people and more than 150 injuries. The novel Death in a Sunny Street contains details about the incident.
Geography of Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is situated at 39°49′49′′N 84°53′26′′W.
Richmond has a total area of 24.067 square miles (62.33 km2), of which 0.157 square miles (0.41 km2) (or 0.65%) is water and 23.91 square miles (61.93 km2) (or 99.35%) is land.
The highest peak in Indiana, Hoosier Hill, is about 12 miles to the south of Richmond.
Architecture
Richmond is renowned for having a wide variety of historic buildings. The Indiana Historical Society published a book by Cornell University architectural historians Michael and Mary Raddant Tomlan in 2003 titled Richmond Indiana:
Its Physical Development and Aesthetic Heritage to 1920. The 1902 Pennsylvania Railroad Station by Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham and the 1893 Wayne County Courthouse by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin are two particularly noteworthy structures. Notable local architects include William S. Kaufman, Stephen O. Yates, and John A. Hasecoster.
The architecture's importance has been acknowledged. The National Register of Historic Places, the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the Historic American Engineering Record all identify five sizable districts, including the Depot District, as well as numerous individual buildings.
what is Richmond Indiana famous for?
The Wayne County Historical Museum and the Joseph Moore Museum on the Earlham College campus each house one of the three Egyptian mummies that can be seen in the state of Indiana; the other two are located in Richmond. The Indianapolis Children's Museum is home to the third Indiana mummy.
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