Indiana Cities & Towns Thread

[Vince49]

Oh-LITT-ick

Oolitic,IN also home of the famous racing Kinser family.

 

[Gluemanz28]

Elkhart County facts:

Elkhart County is considered the Recreational Vehicle Capital of the World. For every two RVs you see on the road, one was built in Elkhart County. Its humble beginnings were in 1935, when Schult (the first producer of trailers in Indiana) began producing one trailer per day, each selling for $198. Today, the RV industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. In fact, nearly 1,000 manufacturers of RVs, RV supplies and parts are located in Elkhart County.


C.G. Conn is credited for Elkhart becoming the Band Instrument Capital of the World. A cornet player, legend has it he became involved in a street brawl that left him with a badly cut lip and scar - making it difficult for him to play his instrument. So, he invented a special mouthpiece cushion out of rubber for himself, which drew great attention. He soon began manufacturing these mouthpieces for the public, his business grew rapidly, and it evolved into the manufacturing of band instruments. In fact, in its heyday, the CG Conn Company manufactured most of the world's band instruments. As a sidenote, Conn also founded the Elkhart Truth, a local newspaper still in publication today.


Speedy Alka-Seltzer, the character symbolizing the product Alka-Seltzer, is a notable native. Alka-Seltzer was produced in Elkhart by Miles Laboratories - now Bayer Corp, which holds the trademark on Speedy. Originally known as Sparky, his name was changed to reflect the promotional theme: Speedy Relief. Radio actor Dick Beals was the voice of Speedy.

 

[Old_grunt]

I'd like to add that Richard "Red" Skelton was born and raised in Vincennes!

 

[Dirtebiker]

Peoga (pronounced pee-o-gee)Indiana is the home of the longest running Fourth of July parade in the country.







I think

 

[stephen87]

Up north, a couple of hours from me, you can drive a couple of minutes through Denver and wind up in Mexico. I always laugh when I drive through there.

 

[hooky]

Up north, a couple of hours from me, you can drive a couple of minutes through Denver and wind up in Mexico. I always laugh when I drive through there.

Don't forget peru and chili!

 

[stephen87]

Ah, yes. How could I forget Peru? I've never been to Chili, but I've been to Mexico and Denver and Peru. Drove past the one shop in Mexico, keep in mind this was 2008ish, and I think there was a Texaco sign up that way somewhere too.

 

[hooky]

It's quite International up there.

 

[Bigtanker]

Sometime in the 1800's, the Northern border of Indiana was moved about 15 miles North so Indiana could have access to a port on Lake Michigan. What did Michigan get in exchange? The Upper Peninsula.

I know this thead is about towns so here is one about Mishawaka. The city was named after a indian princess. She loved a white man. An indian loved her. Both men fought each other and were killed but the dying indiana stabbed Mishawaka in the chest before he died. She recovered.

Mishawak was aslo the home of a soldier named Charles Kuhl. Chuck was slapped by general George Patton, leading to Patton losing has command.

 

[maddawg138]

The founder of Dr. Scholl's, William Scholl, was born in my hometown of La Porte


Also the movie Prancer was filmed mainly in La Porte as well.

AND it is also the state capital for the day on the 4th of July as we are known for having one of, if not the biggest, 4th of july parades in the state.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Peoga (pronounced pee-o-gee)Indiana is the home of the longest running Fourth of July parade in the country.







I think

I know you said "parade" but seems like I remember a sign as you pass through New Pekin that they claim to have the oldest, continuous 4th of July celebration in the country.

 

[upalot]

Most know of French Lick being the home of Larry Bird, but few know that it is where Ketchup was invented.

 

[Stschil]

Someone once told me this about Indiana cities and their names:

Indiana has a screwed up way of naming things. South Bend is in the north, North Vernon is in the south, and French Lick doesn't mean what you think it should mean.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Peoga (pronounced pee-o-gee)Indiana is the home of the longest running Fourth of July parade in the country.







I think

My family used to have some land down in Brown County in th 70s (wish we still did), and we pretty much had to drive through Peoga to get to it. In that place, three people in line would constitute a parade, but I'm not sure if you'd have anyone left as spectators. It may have grown since then.

 

[ghuns]

My hometown, Wakarusa, was first called Salem. When it was discovered that the name was already taken, they changed it to Wakarusa, which in some native American language means knee deep in mud.

Lucky for us white-men, we field tiled the ***** outta the whole area and put in drainage ditches and know the mud ain't so bad.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I neither live in a city nor a town, so for us un-incorporated types: Johnson County is home to a new online firearms accessories retailer, and an interstate runs through it!

 

[mcolford]

Batesville is the leading casket manufacturer in the United States. (Dont live there, just know the random fact).

Now on to my local area, Logansport:
Logansport is the home of 1 of 3 INTACT Dentzel Carousels IN THE WORLD (and both of my kids LOVE IT).
Logansport High school's mascot "Felix The Cat" is the oldest known mascot in Indiana.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Goshen Indiana has an armored police booth on the courthouse square that was installed to protect the city's banks from gangsters of the day. The concrete structure is fortified with bullet proof glass and gun ports.

 

[ghuns]

Goshen Indiana has an armored police booth on the courthouse square that was installed to protect the city's banks from gangsters of the day. The concrete structure is fortified with bullet proof glass and gun ports.

Hmm, always wondered what that was for.

 

[Mark 1911]

Jacob Munster, a young man from the Netherlands in the 1860s opened an area General Store complete with a U.S. postal station. The local farmers and settlers came to rely on the postal station, which soon became a United States Post Office. The post office was named Munster, as it was located in Jacob Munster's general store. In 1907 Munster was incorporated as a town.


During the Cold War, Munster served as the site of the Nike-Zeus Missile defense base C-46. The site was closed in 1971.