Small Town Breakdown No. 65: Hagerstown, Indiana
For this week’s small town breakdown we’re going from the county seat of Boonville in Warrick County to Hagerstown in Wayne County. Hagerstown is 1 hour east of Indianapolis and 40 minutes south of Muncie.
The History of Wayne County and Hagerstown, Indiana
Wayne County was established in 1811. It was named after “Mad” Anthony Wayne, a Revolutionary War General who also served in the Northwest Indian War in the 1790s.
Hagerstown was settled by German Baptists in 1820 and platted in 1832. It serves as a namesake for the legacy of the Maryland town where the German settlers came from. It grew as a transportation hub that featured the Whitewater Canal and the Big Four Railroad.
Ralph Teetor, who graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1908 and the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1912, famously invented what is known today as “cruise control.” In 1919 he started working for the Piston Ring Company, later called the Perfect Circle Company, which was the successor to the Teetor family’s piston rings manufacturing division of the Teetor-Hartley Motor Company. He was president of the Perfect Circle Company from 1946-57 and in 1948, received his first patent on the speed control device named the “Speedostat.”
As of the 2024 census, Hagerstown’s population is 1,684, making it the fourth-largest incorporated town/city in Wayne County behind the county seat of Richmond (35,561), Centerville (2,769) and Cambridge City (1,736). It is the 262nd-largest city in Indiana.
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Things to Do In or Near Hagerstown, Indiana
History buffs will enjoy visiting the Wilbur Wright Birthplace Museum, which sits just 10 minutes northwest of town. In addition to the homestead of Wright, one of the pioneers of aviation, see an authentic replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, replica of the Kill Devil Hills hangar, historic artifacts, and more.