OCTOBER, 1955
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firestone in INDIANA—This aerial view of ihe Company's plant in
Noblesville, Ind., shows the new warehouse addition al the left. The plant; now has
Well over 500,000 square feet of space.
ROLLS AND ROLLS OF HOSE—The Noblesville plant manufactures a sub
stantial percentage of radiator hose used by the automobile industry. The picture
above shows hundreds of coils of extruded radiator hose tubing.
Hoosier City Is Location
Of Industrial Products Plant
Ford motor mountings—Doris Clark places a Ford
•^otor mounting in a press for curing. These mountings isolate
vibration of the motor and cushion the engine from road shock.
Modern schools—^NoblesviUe, a growing and modern
community, now boasts of a public school system second to
Above is the new $400,000 elementary school.
By Kenneth Wright, Editor, Firestone Hoosier
INDIANA, a state full to the brim with pride
and tradition, is the home of the Noblesville
plant of Firestone Industrial Products. Located
just a few miles to the north of Indianapolis, the
state capital, Noblesville is the county seat of
Hamilton County.
Surrounded by fertile fields and timbered,
gently rolling hills, the community was incor
porated as a town more than 100 years ago. Born
as an agricultural community, to this day the
city depends a great deal on agriculture.
It is significant that some 70 years later an
other product of the soil—rubber—began playing,
an important role in the growth and welfare of
the community. And, since that date over 30
years ago, rubber manufacturing and the city
have grown up together and will continue to
grow and “Build for the Future.”
To understand the growth of Firestone and
Noblesville, of which the former is a corpo
rate citizen, we must go back to the year
1800 when William Conner started the ball
rolling. Conner, the first white inhabitant in
Hamilton County, started an Indian trading post
along White River about four miles south of the
present site of Noblesville. Other white inhabi
tants did not arrive until after the treaty of
St. Mary’s. The first settlement became a reality
a short time later.
A modern and growing community, Noblesville
has proved to be a fitting home for Firestone
Industrial Products. Six highways connect
Noblesville with such cities as Indianapolis, Fort
Wayne, Detroit, and others.
IMPROVEMENTS CONSTANTLY are being
made in every field. A new high school is under
I
AT LEFT—Noblesville is the county seat for Hamilton
County. The distinctive architecture of the Courthouse sym
bolizes the strong spirit of the county residents who settled the
community.
BELOW—Many different kinds of semi-pneumatic tires are
manufactured at the plant including those for farm implements,
industrial trucks, garden tractors, lawnmowers and children's
toys.
construction but even without it the city has a
public school system second to none. A modern
hospital was completed in recent years and in
1954 Noblesville Township had an assessed valua
tion of over $21,000,000.
Noblesville and the county are important to
other areas of the state too. Most of the drinking
water for the half million plus residents of Indi
anapolis is obtained from the 1,800 acre Geist
Reservoir located near Noblesville, In the near
future water for Indianapolis also will come from
a reservoir on Cicero Creek northwest of the city.
Every summer thousands of visitors flock to
beautiful Forest Park with its numerous picnic
tables, swimming pool, tennis courts, and one of
the finest golf courses in the state.
To satisfy the religious and cultural needs of
its citizens, Noblesville is the home of 21 church
es or an average of one church for every 350
people,
ALL OF THESE things are evidence of the fact
that Noblesville is a prosperous and progressive
community and is making every effort to pro
mote community interests for present and future
generations.
The Firestone plant and its people have played
a large part in the progress of the community.
The original Firestone Industrial Products
building was constructed more than 30 years ago
and was owned by several rubber companies un
til Firestone bought the plant in 1936 and im
mediately began expanding production facilities.
When the United States plunged into war in
December of 1941 Firestone threw its entire ef
fort behind the war production program, and the
Noblesville plant played an important part in
Firestone’s contribution to the war effort. This
marked the turning point from a small industrial
operation to a large scale operation.
AT THE TIME the plant was purchased by
Firestone there were approximately 80,000 square
feet of floor space. With new additions and the
completion of additional warehouse space the
area has been increased to well over 500,000
square feet or more than six times the original
area.
Not only does Firestone contribute a large
share of the taxes paid into the city treasury but
each month the Company pays out almost two-
thirds of a million dollars in salaries and wages
to residents of Noblesville and surrounding com
munities.
Financial aid isn’t the only contribution made
by Firestone and its employees. Many employees
give freely of their time to community activities.
They serve on the School Board, Chamber of
Commerce, Red Cross, Mental Health, and par
ticipate in the activities of various church groups
and service clubs.
From the Noblesville plant comes a large varie
ty of products used in the everyday life of
Noblesville citizens and others throughout In
diana and the rest of the world.
Here are produced numerous items for the
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