Indian Monument To Be Dedicated

MIDDLETOWN, CT – A dedication ceremony for a monument on the site where the first Indian motorcycle was built in 1901 will be held here at 4 p.m. Thursday. Indian enthusiast and historian Chris Hinze, who pinpointed the location earlier this year, called late yesterday afternoon with the news.

Hendee Manufacturing produced original Indian motorcycles in Springfield, MA. until the company went bankrupt in 1953. However, it was in Middletown that Carl Oscar Hedstrom built the prototype for what became the Indian on the site of Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company on Hamlin St.

Through research at the library, Hinze determined from a city directory from the 1890s that the actual location of the Worcester factory was 24 Hamlin St. and that, back in the early 1900s, Hamlin Street ran two blocks. It later got trimmed to one block. Where 24 Hamlin St. was located is now a courtyard between some apartments and a multi-story building belonging to Wesleyan University.

Hinze obtained a granite marker for free off of Craigslist back in August and installed it in the courtyard behind the Wesleyan High Rise at 110 Church St.

Haymond Law and the Indian Motorcycle of Springfield dealership donated the $1,400 needed to have it engraved by Labbadia Monuments. Also sponsoring the marker were Wild Bill’s Nostalgia and an anonymous donor.

– Bud Wilkinson