The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Richmond (Indiana)

RICHMOND, a city and the county seat of Wayne co., Indiana, on the E. side of the east branch of Whitewater river, 68 m. E. of Indianapolis; pop. in 1850, 1,443; in 1860, 6,603; in 1870, 9,445 ; in 1875, 11,579, of whom 1,581 were Germans and 422 Irish. It is built on rolling ground 700 ft. above tide water, and is surrounded by a fertile agricultural district, with which it has an important trade. There is a good fire department. Horse cars traverse the principal streets. In the N. E. corner of the city are fair grounds 33 acres in extent. Richmond is an important railroad centre, the Little Miami, the Cincinnati, Richmond, and Fort Wayne, and the Cincinnati, Eaton, and Richmond railroads, as well as several divisions of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis railroad, centring here. There is good water power. The number of manufacturing establishments in 1874 was 127; number of hands employed, 1,507; capital invested, $1,807,785; value of raw materials used, $795,784; of products, $2,729,846. The chief articles of manufacture are threshing machines, portable engines, ploughs, flour and saw mill works, school and church furniture, and burial caskets of wood. The slaughtering of hogs is extensively carried on, the number slaughtered in 1874 being 27,700. There are three banks, with an aggregate capital of $900,000. The taxable value of property in 1875 was $8,383,767. The principal charitable institutions are the orphans' home and the home for friendless women. There are nine public school houses, with a high school and inferior grades, having 37 teachers and an enrollment of 1,900 pupils. There are also two Lutheran and two Roman Catholic schools and a business college. The Friends' academy is an important institution. Earlham college, also under the auspices of the Friends, was founded in 1859. It has preparatory and collegiate departments, and admits both sexes. In 1874-'5 it had 14 instructors, 221 students, and a library of 3,500 volumes. The buildings are about half a mile W. of the city. Richmond has two theatres, two daily and six weekly (two German) newspapers, a public library of 10,000 volumes, and 20 churches: 2 Baptist, 1 Christian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Evangelical Association, 3 Friends', 2 Lutheran, 4 Methodist, 1 New Jerusalem, 2 Presbyterian, 2 Roman Catholic, and 1 Wesleyan.