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Adrian was founded on the banks of the Raisin River in 1826 by Addison Comstock who was instrumental in encouraging the development of the Erie & Kalamazoo Railway in 1836. Railway passengers, on their way to Chicago and westward, would stay the night at the Lawrence Hotel before continuing on by stagecoach. As new railway lines were added and rail travel became popular new settlers and entrepreneurs arrived in Adrian to open retail businesses, banks, manufacturing industries and houses. Traveling entertainers, politicians, famous authors and speakers persons flocked to the southeast Michigan community. From 1840 to 1870 Adrian enjoyed a " Golden Age". Downtown wooden buildings were replaced with three story brick structures built in the Commericail Italianate style. By 1860 Adrian was the third largest city in the state of Michigan and had sent it's first Governor, William L Greenly to the state capital. The result of this commerce and development is evident today in the downtown area where numerous historic brick buildings built in the 1850's to the 1900's still stand and are being restored to their former glory. Adrian's early population included a large contingent of the Society of Friends whose Quaker leanings gave rise to a strong antislavery movement in the area. In the mid 1800's Adrian's Laura Haviland helped spirit travelers along the underground railway and in 1839 established the Raisin Institute, one of the first coeducational schools in the country to admit girls and negroes. A statue erected in Mrs. Haviland's memory stands in front of city hall next to the Adrian Historical Museum. During the Civil War era area politicians sided with the anti-slavery Republican party including Lenawee County's most eminent political leader Charles M. Croswell, a state senator in the 1860's who was also elected to two term's as Michigan's governor -1877 to 1881. In 1859 Croswell joined with a group of prominent Adrian businessmen to build the Adrian Union Hall, which opened in 1866, now known as the Croswell Opera House. The hall served as a meeting place and venue for political speakers, traveling theater troupes, authors and popular entertainers of the day for the citizens of Lenawee County. Adrian continued as a manufacturing city but in the 1880's things changed with the railroads and new industries grew up in the area. J. Wallace Page invented a new type of bounce-back fencing wire for farmers and in 1889 the page Woven Wire Fence Company was incorporated. In the early 1900's Adrain called itself the wire fence capital of the world. Other industry included a knitting mill, steel post company, electrical parts and the new auto industry. The Murray Car Company tried its hand at manufacturing and in 1909 William Burnham began the Lion Motor Car company. Today the Lenawee County Historical Museum houses an original Lion Motor Car that is still in working condition. The availability of factory space and Adrian's close proximity to Detroit made it a good place for companies to locate that were involved in the auto industry. In the mid 1930's, Stubnitz-Greene made springs for car seats, Gerity-Adrain made metal parts for the automobiles, American Chain & Cable-brake assemblies, Magnesium Fabricators electroplated metal parts, Bohn Aluminum produced extruded aluminum for aircraft and auto factories. During World War II many of these companies played a role in the war effort. Hurd Lock manufactured anti-aircraft shells and the government defense department built an $18 Million dollar plant for Bohn Aluminum to increase production of the B-17 and B29 bombers. After the war new entrepreneurs were attracted to Adrian and several successful companies began that grew to be major companies including Brazeway Corporation - refrigeration products, Merillat Industries -Kitchen Cabinets, Kapnick Insurance, and Anderson Chemical. |
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