The Beginning

In the Northwest territory, Miami Indians dominated the region and Delaware Indians migrated west and settled alongside the Whitewater River. Earlier than this, the river and the Ohio River had been inhabited by other Native Americans called Mound Builders. The River provided a great resource to the Native American people. The Whitewater River Valley was created by the Wisconsin Glaciation, which is what Fayette County was. A warm period made the glaciers disappear, making floods into rivers and streams that we see today. In 1847, the Whitewater Canal linked the Whitewater River to the Ohio River, making Connersville a great link.

Connersville is named after John Conner who was an Indiana settler who established Connersville as a town in 1813 (Indiana territory began in 1801).  John Conner laid out the town west of the Whitewater River, adjacent to the fur trading post, later renamed “Conner’s Post.” He died in late 1972.

The Industrial Age

As Connersville entered into the industrial age, Root’s Blowers became a major manufacturing company. From then on automotive manufacturing companies took place, such as Stant. In the early 20th century, the town became known as “Little Detroit” because of its importance to the automobile industry.

The Decline

After the high cost of union labor, most industries departed, especially between the 1980s and 1990s. When the Visteon factory shut down in 2007, Connersville lost its role in the automobile manufacturing world. Root’s Blower and Stant still stands today, but with few employees. Today, people from this town will still share stories about the Visteon factory shutting down and how it affected everyone in the town of Connersville.