Elkhart's Early Industrial Power

Elkhart's Early Industrial Power. . , Elkhart’s rise as an early industrialized community can be tied directly to its rivers and the power they provided. Water flowing through a system of dams and raceways, known as hydraulics, generated the power for many types of industry., In 1840, Elkhart's founding father, Dr. Havilan Beardsley, constructed a dam on Christiana Creek near what is now the Water Works property. From there, a canal was dug south to the St. Joseph River. The canal divided into two races, one for a flour mill and the other for a paper mill. You can still see the remnants of the paper mill race near the intersection Beardsley and Edwardsburg Avenues., There were three other major hydraulic developments in Elkhart’s history. Two of them dominated the "lowlands" area between the St. Joseph and the Elkhart Rivers., The first one, developed by Vincent Voisinet in 1870 and later sold to Clark Lane, was located on the east bank of the Elkhart River between East Jackson Blvd. and Elkhart Ave. Over the years, the raceway powered a flour mill, plow works, a woolen factory and a paper factory., In 1868 the Elkhart Hydraulic Co. constructed a dam across the St. Joseph River thus creating the second hydraulic works. Some of the major industries operating from this site included: G. Conn Band Instruments, Elkhart Knitting Co., and Sage Brothers Harvest Queen flour mill. Today this area is occupied by Easy Shopping Place., The third development called the St. Joseph Hydraulic Co. was located on the north side of the St. Joseph River and drew its power from raceways above the same dam. Later in 1892 the Home Electric Light and Power Co. erected a power plant on this race below the dam near the mouth of Christiana Creek. This company was an early provider of electrical power to the city., The hydraulics and the industries they powered saw their demise begin in the 1890's due to frequent flooding, fires, and the eventual conversion to alternative power sources.