Meinrad Rumely, a German immigrant who came to America in 1848, opened a blacksmith shop on this site in 1853 and built it into the Rumely Companies, which he led for more than 50 years. Trained as a blacksmith and millwright, he expanded the company’s products and facilities through his mechanical skill and leadership, while also inspiring unusual loyalty among employees, many of whom spent their entire careers with the firm. His civic and philanthropic work helped bring about a new fire station, St. Joseph’s Parochial School, and Holy Family Hospital. By his death in 1904, he was widely known as “The Grand Old Man of LaPorte.” From 1853 to 1931, the Rumely Companies evolved through several corporate forms and produced agricultural equipment such as threshers and steam engines that helped shift farming from human and animal muscle to steam power and eventually internal-combustion engines. In 1909 the Rumelys began developing a kerosene-fueled tractor that eliminated the steam tractor’s boiler and need for water and solid fuel, and the Rumely OilPull, introduced in 1910, became an immediate practical and commercial success, with nearly 60,000 built. Its unique carburetion system, developed by chief engineer John Secor, efficiently converted a low-cost petroleum product into mechanical power, greatly reducing the need for animal and steam power on American farms. Dr. Edward Rumely, grandson of Meinrad Rumely, continued the company’s emphasis on agricultural mechanization and foresaw its major effects on farm productivity and efficiency. After the company was acquired in 1931, many Rumely engineering achievements were carried forward by the Allis-Chalmers Company.

Photo: via Find A Grave

Photo: Courtesy:: 2009 Tippecanoe Steam & Gas Power Show - Battleground, In.

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

Photo: Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf

La Porte, Indiana · USA