Industry

Industry. Early 1800s — Present. Princeton's natural resources and its location at a transportation crossroads has allowed it to thrive as a hub of industry for over 200 years. In the early 1800s, as pioneers arrived, tradesmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters were quick to set up shop. Horse and water-powered mills were used for cutting lumber, grinding corn and carding wool. A young Abe Lincoln came all the way from Spencer County to Princeton to have his wool carded in 1827. Several whiskey and brandy distilleries were active in the teens and 1820s, in the words of the late historian Gilbert Stormont, "to meet the wants of the community, however varied they might be." The 1830s saw the rise of a pork packing business. In the winter of 1836-1837 the Devin brothers packed and shipped nearly a million pounds of pork on flatboats downriver to New Orleans. Subsequent industries included coal mining, railroad shops, lumber mills and brick plants. In 1907 a clock-maker named Julius Hansen invented an automatic bell-ringing system for schools. Princeton High School was the first in the nation to implement the system. Hansen soon opened a factory, which continues to make specialized motors in Princeton today. In the 1920s and 30s, Princeton expanded into the food industry with the opening of the Heinz Ketchup factory and Princeton Farms, where popcorn was produced on as scale of 10 million lbs. per year. Mid-States Rubber Products became part of World War II's industrial war effort in 1944, making rubber parts for Army aircraft. In 1958 the company moved from Evansville to Princeton, where it manufactures appliance components today. Potter and Brumfield designed and produced the first viable aerospace electronic relays; virtually all space vehicles through the 1980s used P&B relays. In 1995 Toyota chose Princeton for the site of its new billion dollar manufacturing plant, and an economic boom ensued. Their suppliers such as EnovaPremier, Vuteq, TISA, Millennium Steel, Gibson County Quality Assurance, Product Action International and Toyota Boshoku, also opened locations near Princeton to minimize shipping costs. Additionally, many services opened in Princeton to satisfy the needs of its growing workforce. Other companies in Princeton include Nidec, Highway Machine Co., Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation and the Gibson Generating Station. The City of Princeton takes great pride in its industrial heritage and hopes the future will see the birth of new and flourishing industries to come.