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A Short History of Richmond, Indiana

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The child abuse lawyers from Richmond presents to you the following article about the city of Richmond. Discover the history of the area and learn about its many interesting factoids.

Brief History of Richmond

Richmond is a city in the east-central portion of Indiana. Situated mostly in Wayne Township, it is part of the Dayton Ohio Metropolitan Area and is the county seat of Wayne County. The area was settled in 1806 by Quaker families from North Carolina. In 1818, the first post office was developed. The town of Richmond was incorporated in 1840.

Charles Francis Jenkins, an early cinema and television pioneer, grew up just north of Richmond. On June 6, 1894, he gathered his family and friends in downtown Richmond and projected a filmed motion picture. In November of 1894, Jenkins filed for a patent for his Phantoscope project. In March of the following year, the patent was issued. Later on, a modified version of it was sold to Thomas Edison. This was the beginning of American cinema as Edison named it Edison's Vitascope and began projecting motion pictures in vaudeville theaters throughout New York City.

The City of Richmond was connected to the National Road. In the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, it was the city for manufacturing lawnmowers and became known as "the lawnmower capital. Most of the arts in Richmond were supported by the strong economy created by manufacturing. Companies that were operating in the city include:

  • Gaar, Scott & Co.
  • Davis Aircraft Co.
  • Davis
  • Motomower
  • Dillie-McGuire
  • F&N
  • Wayne Corporation (Wayne Agricultural Works)

Richmond was also home to Hill's Roses. The company had a number of greenhouse complexes and grew many varieties of roses, which led to the city being known as "Rose City." The Richmond Rose Festival was held annually for 30 years to honor the rose industry in the city.

Learn more: An Account of Merrillville, Indiana

Gennett Records

Gennett Records was a record company and label in Richmond. The recording studio was founded by the Starrs Piano Company in 1917. Although it is no longer active, the label is notable for making the earliest jazz recordings and records. Some of the early musicians who recorded in the studio were:

  • Kings Oliver's band with Louis Armstrong
  • Bix Beiderbecke
  • Jelly Roll Morton
  • Hoagy Carmichael
  • Lawrence Welk
  • Gene Autry
  • Duke Ellington
  • Fats Waller
  • Jaybird Colmans, Ernest Stoneman
  • The Red Onion Jazz Babies
  • Thomas A. Dorsey

The record label got the city its "cradle of recorded jazz" moniker.

Joseph Edgar Maddy

Joseph Edgar Maddy was an American music educator and conductor. Born in Wellington, Kansas, he became the first music supervisor of instrumental music in the U.S. in 1918.  While taking a job at Morton High School in Richmond through the encouragement of his friend Will Earhart, he founded the first complete high school orchestra in the country.

Education

Richmond is home to four higher educational institutions. This includes the Purdue Polytechnic Institute – Richmond, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Indiana University East, and Earlham College. The city also has two seminaries – Bethany Theological Seminary (Chruch of the Brethren) and Earlham School of Religion (Quaker) – and a part-time Japanese school called the Richmond Japanese Language School.

As the only public high school in Richmond, Richmond High School can be found on Hub Etchison Parkway. During the 2018-2019 school year, it had a total enrollment of 1,289 students. The high school features the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center, the Richmond Art Museum and the Tiernan Center, which is the 5th-largest high school gym in the U.S.

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