Editorial: Founders Day Brings History, Community Together
Editorial: Founders Day Brings History, Community Together
September 23, 2003 - Topics Newspapers
The headlines, the trends and the statistics are telling.
- The headline “5,000 jobs coming to city” topped Friday’s front page. The area known as the corporate campus – east of Indiana 37 and north of 141st Street, dominating the city’s southeast section – is about ready to take off. The 280-acre Saxony development broke ground Thursday on a vision expected to create 5,000 jobs in three million square feet of office, warehouse, and light industrial space.
- Saxony isn’t the only area east of Ind. 37 where dirt is flying. A new-generation Marsh store is going up at the northeast corner of 141st Street and Ind. 37. A bit north, construction is also under way for a Meijer department and grocery store. Add to that the recent openings of Barnes and Noble, Shoe Carnival and other nationally known retailers coming to this booming area of the city and you can see that the landscape of Noblesville is changing dramatically before our eyes.
- For more than a decade, Hamilton County has been the fastest-growing among Indiana’s 92 counties, with the majority of the growth coming in the Indianapolis edge communities of Carmel and Fishers. Further north, an already-steady stream of Noblesville newcomers is picking up at a quick pace. Consider this statistic: Last time Noblesville elected a mayor, just four years ago, 43 percent of the adults currently living in Noblesville lived somewhere else. Two-thirds of the city’s population arrived within the last 10 years. These newcomers have little idea what Noblesville was like before they arrived.
These three points make a strong case for the Oct. 4 Founders Day in Noblesville. Once known as Community Day, a small fall event that would show off the city’s shiny police and fire vehicles, Founders Day will embrace the city’s 180 years on this special anniversary and allow us a glimpse of our roots before shovels began digging them up.
Organizers have identified five key periods in the city’s history, beginning five years before the community of Noblesville was born in 1823. Displays, classic city vehicles and historical interpreters will bring to life what Noblesville was like in the Pioneer period, 1818 to 1840; Civil War period, 1840 to 1880; gas-boom years, 1880 to 1920; period of change, 1920 to 1950; and modern Noblesville, 1950 to today.
We encourage citizens, new and old, to visit the free event between 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the grounds of Noblesville High School. You can even gaze at headlines and historic front pages of The Noblesville Ledger while browsing the grounds and taking in the flavor of Noblesville over its 180 years.
Founders Day will be both captivating and fun for people of all ages.
From the new headlines, the new trends and the new statistics, it’s easy to see where our 180-year-old city is headed. On the first Saturday of October, you have a unique chance to see how we got here. We hope to see you there.
