Birthplace Of Indian Motorcycle : Part 1

(This location is incorrect according to the linked article in The Middletown Press. I’m going to leave the video up for the info provided)http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150811/middletown-man-finds-birthplace-of-1st-indian-motorcycle-hidden-on-wesleyan-property .

According to Jerry Hatfield’s “Standard Catalog Of American Motorcycles 1898-1981” in January 1901 Oscar Hedstrom left Springfield, Massachusetts to build the original Indian prototype in Middletown, Connecticut, a town located about 40 miles down the Connecticut River. George Hendee stayed behind to solicit potential investors for the cost of the new marque’s startup. When Hedstrom returned to Springfield with the prototype in late May the bike’s consistently sterling performance quickly impressed all interested parties and within 10 years the Indian Motocycle, produced by The Hendee Manufacturing Company, was the most famous and popular motorcycle in the world. Indian No. 1, as Hatfield calls the Middletown bike, was one of only three motorcycles built that first year. Unfortunately it was known to have been quickly cannibalised for spare parts at the new Springfield factory. Hatfield makes no mention of the name or location of the factory in Middletown that produced No. 1 but a reasonable guess can be made. According to Hatfield’s catalog in 1901-1902 the Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company of Middletown CT produced a motorcycle called The Keating at the former Keating bicycle factory. Since the first Indians were motorized bicycles this would have been exactly the type of facility Hedstrom would have needed, presumably capable of producing an engine and bicycle to spec. The next step was to find where the Keating factory was located and if it’s still standing. As it happens a surveyor friend of mine who lives in Middletown has original prints of a 1901 survey done of most of downtown Middletown. The Keating bicycle factory, across the tracks at the end of North Main St., is prominent, probably the largest building in the survey. Sure enough, it’s still there, and it’s huge, at least 300 yards long with lots of wings. It’s still being used for multiple business’s, such as Baldwin Lawn Furniture, ( baldwinfurniture.com )and a Karate studio. This footage is from the north-western end of the building, where North Main St. hits Johnson St…

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