Speaker : Jeff Rasley
The state and local communities in Indiana have experienced cycles of increasing prosperity and population explosions and then economic and population declines repeatedly from when Indiana was a territory to today. The talk, enhanced with projected images, will describe the most significant boom/bust cycles and how the booms and busts have affected the development of the state and many of our towns and cities. Some communities have prospered from a boom and then never recovered from the bust, while others just keep growing by deftly pivoting through different booms and busts. Jeff and Alicia Rasley are engaged in a research and writing project about Indiana's towns and small cities. One section of the work in progress is about Indiana's boom/bust cycles, and the talk will reflect what they have learned by visiting and researching the history of over 150 Hoosier communities so far.
Former Club president and current Scientech Foundation president; BA University of Chicago, JD Indiana University-Indianapolis, and MDiv Christian Theological Seminary. Jeff has authored over 90 feature articles in Newsweek, Chicago Magazine, ABA Journal, Indiana Lawyer, Journal of Communal Societies, Friends Journal, and other periodicals. He is the author of 14 books and has appeared as a featured guest on over 200 podcasts and radio programs to discuss philanthropy, politics, law, spirituality, and adventure travel experiences.
Program: Indiana’s History of Boom & Bust Cycles
Speaker: Jeff Rasley, JD, teacher, author, past Club president and current Foundation president
Introduced By: Marty Meisenheimer
Attendance: NESC: 104; Zoom: 25
Guest(s): Martha Guzman, Larry Daly Jr, Alicia Rasley
Scribe: Dr. Alan Schmidt
Editor: Ed Nitka
Talk’s Zoom recording found at: https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/07212025.mp4
Speaker: Jeff Rasley is a former Club president and current Scientech Foundation president; BA University of Chicago, JD Indiana University-Indianapolis, and MDiv Christian Theological Seminary. Jeff has authored over 90 feature articles in Newsweek, Chicago Magazine, ABA Journal, Indiana Lawyer, Journal of Communal Societies, Friends Journal, and other periodicals. He is the author of 14 books and has appeared as a featured guest on over 200 podcasts and radio programs discussing topics such as philanthropy, politics, law, spirituality, and adventure travel experiences.
The state and local communities in Indiana have experienced cycles of increasing prosperity and population explosions and then economic and population declines repeatedly from when Indiana was a territory to today. Jeff Rasley described the most significant boom/bust cycles and how these cycles have affected the development of the state and many of our towns and cities. Some communities have prospered from a boom and then never recovered from the bust, while others just keep growing by deftly pivoting through different booms and busts. His talk reflected what has been learned by visiting and researching the history of over 150 Hoosier communities. He describes his travels on Facebook.
Vincennes, Indiana first capital of the Indiana Territory positioned along the Wabash River, was the first boom town with fur trading the mainstay of the local economy. It included the first Indiana newspaper published by Elihu Stout in 1804 by the Indiana Gazette print shop which is still there. Almost all booms are followed by busts frequently from better technology. In the case of newspapers, the glimmer of being busted started in the 1950s by readily available television programs with video. The explosion of the Internet and increasing popularity of cable news in the 1990s really spurred a bust.
Indiana’s second boomtown, Lawrenceburg, experienced a major river transport hub boom. Now, tourism to its beautiful riverfront is bringing the town back.
There was a boom along US-40 in the 1830s as the first major federal highway funding used to transport goods. There are many historic towns along its route. The towns declined after parallel Interstate-70 was built. The population of Brazil in 1960 at 8,853 declined to 8,181 in the 2020 census.
The popularity of US 40 contributed to the canal boom going bust, nearly bankrupting the state. The canals were sold to developers by the states and then the developers eventually went bankrupt. The canals were active from 1830 to 1860 coinciding with a booming population growth. Floods, vandalism, and erosion have caused ongoing damage to the canals including some maintained as tourist sites, such as the canal boat now at Delphi.
Railroads in the middle of the canal times were faster also contributing to a canal bust. Intrastate rails connected to the main railroad line from New York City to Chicago going across northern Indiana. Indianapolis was a major rail hub. Union City was born out of the railroads. Many towns have railroad museums including rail cars and some have repurposed depots as community centers. There are rails to trails now including the Monon Trail all over Indianapolis. The Nickel Plate Trail is 40 miles long and connects 10 communities. The railroads were busted by the federal Interstate Highways.
There was the Trenton natural gas field usage boom in northeast Indiana. The population of Kokomo increased four times. The natural gas boom led to the birth of the auto and steel industries, but the natural gas was pumped out by the 1920s. There were steel stamping plants in Gary. Union membership boomed allowing a prosperous working class. Elwood Haynes, maker of the Haynes automobile, was a charter member of our Scientech Club. There is a Fayette County Historical Museum in Connersville. In the 1930s and 1940s, the growing, prosperous population had bungalow houses followed by ranch houses in the 1950s and 1960s. The auto industry went bust in the 1970s and 1980s due to competing Honda Civic and Toyota foreign imports with good gas mileage. Kokomo has had a steady population growth from 2,000 before the natural gas discovery to 60,000 in 2020, pivoting each time along the way to new technology. The Stellantis auto manufacturer is there now. Kokomo has a trail along Wild Cat Creek. The 22’ foot Kokomantis praying mantis artwork has been shifted to West Lafayette to allow new art. (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kokomantis-scrap-art-sculpture)
There was a construction boom incorporating Indiana limestone. The shells and bones from marine life 300 million year ago in a shallow ocean above Indiana produced deposits of Calcium carbonate that became Indiana limestone. Oolitic, Indiana is named after the type of oolitic limestone in Indiana. Thirty-five of the 50 state capitols are built with Indiana limestone. Sandstone was less porous with fewer effects from pollution and caused a limestone use decline in the 1930s. In the 1950s, steel, concrete, and glass caused a decline in sandstone usage. Limestone usage is coming back now with laser cutters, efficient computer operations, and future artificial intelligence allowing a 7.3% annual growth rate.
The 1851 Indiana constitution banned lotteries which was considered to cover gambling. In the 1980s, the Indiana legislature repealed blue laws thus allowing gambling. One casino can create 1,000 jobs. There are 38,000 jobs created in the Indian gaming (gambling) industry. Gary had two casinos that opened -which have since closed. South Bend got a casino, but the population is still down from the Studebaker automobile closing. There is a 9.5% gaming tax on sports betting. The gaming tax goes to local, county, and state governments. Gambling is not a healthy thing to do, but government now depends on it. The West Baden Spring Hotel was restored with casino taxes. Bill Cook funded the restoration after the French Lick Casino was licensed.
What will Indiana’s next boom be? Pharmaceuticals will continue to advance, along with medical technology, telecommunications, robotics, artificial intelligence, and flying cars. Some innovations may be unknown and or even unimaginable.
Jeff Rasley
