Conn Band Instrument Company
Conn Band Instrument Company is located at 1101 East Beardsley Avenue. Charles Gerard Conn, an Elkhart native, is known as the father of the musical industry in Elkhart. Conn enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen and by the age of nineteen, he was made Captain. During the Civil War, he was a Prisoner of War and received the Medal of Honor. According to the story, the beginning of the Conn Band Instrument Company started when during a fight, Conn was slugged in the mouth, leaving his mouth severely lacerated. The injury ruined Conn’s ability to play the Cornet. Fearing that his playing days were over, he took measures to ensure that he would be able to continue playing by inventing a new mouthpiece. After showing a couple of friends his invention, it took off. He began by making mouthpieces out of his grocery store, but by 1877 he had started a factory, at which point he went into full production. Conn Company started here, though the factory did not last long. The site caught fire and had to be moved to another location, but the memory of this factory is forever memorialized at this site. Your next stop on the tour is Armstrong Company. From Conn, continue east on Beardsley for about four blocks and turn left on Independence Street. Turn left on Grant Street, where Armstrong is located on the north side of the street at 1536 Grant. The building is now MorRyde Business.
Armstrong Company
Armstrong Company is located at 1536 Grant Street. William J.T. Armstrong founded Armstrong Company. He began his career in the music industry working for Buescher as an assembler in 1910. By 1914 he became self-employed as a piano tuner. He continued as a tuner for a number of years and in 1931 he founded W.T. Armstrong Company. The company specialized in the manufacturing of flutes and piccolos. Sadly, William J.T. Armstrong died two years after the founding of the company, leaving it to his son Edward Armstrong who remained company executive until 1968. Armstrong continued to manufacture products at this location until it merged into United Musical Instruments. Your next stop on the tour is the Martin Band Instrument Company, located at 431 Baldwin Street. From Armstrong, turn right on Lilac Street and left on Baldwin. Follow Baldwin for about seven blocks, until you reach the tennis courts at North High Dive Park, located on the south side of the street. Here, at 431 Baldwin, is the original location of Martin Band Instrument Company.
Martin Band Company
Martin Band Company is located at 431 Baldwin Street. Martin Band Instrument Company, the third company to be established in Elkhart, was not necessarily a new company but the reappearance of an old company. John Henry Martin apprenticed as a horn maker at a young age. He immigrated to the United States in 1855 and moved to Chicago shortly after, where he founded the first Martin Band Instrument Company. Tragedy struck Martin and his company in 1871 when he lost everything to a fire. Martin Band Instrument Company’s loss left the Martin family without a home, living on the street. John Henry Martin, learning of Conn’s in Elkhart, and with nothing else to lose, walked with his family from Chicago to Elkhart in 1876. Martin became the sixth employee to work for Conn, but due to a number of strokes, his employment with Conn became sporadic until his death in 1910. After his death, his son Henry Charles Martin also worked for Conn. Following in his father’s footsteps he started making instruments out of his own home. In 1910 Henry Charles earned enough money to reestablish Martin Band Instrument Company. The Pedler Company is located at 430 Baldwin Street. From the tennis courts at High Dive Park, look directly across the street to 430 Baldwin, which is the location of the Pedler Company.
Pedler Company
The Pedler Company is located at 430 Baldwin Street. Harry Pedler, Senior, born in London, England, apprenticed as a clarinet maker until he became a master of the craft. William Gronert, also a native of London, was an employee of Conn in Elkhart. Gronert, while visiting relatives in London, met Pedler. Gronert was impressed with Pedler’s skills and persuaded him to go to Elkhart. Pedler accepted the offer to come to the United States, also becoming an employee of Conn. Until World War I, the United States heavily depended upon French-made clarinets. During this time, imports from Europe nearly stopped due to factories converting their resources and manpower to support the war effort. This event created a large need for clarinet production. Pedler, recognizing the opportunity, founded Harry Pedler and Company, which existed from 1916 to 1930 until it was sold to Martin Company. Selmer Company is located at 1119 North Main street. From Pedler on Baldwin Street, turn north on Cassopolis Street and left on Simonton Avenue. Selmer is located at 1119 Main Street, on the southwest corner of Main Street and Simonton Avenue.
Selmer Company
The Selmer Company is located at 1119 Main Street. Frederic Selmer, a renowned clarinetist, was a father to two sons, Henri and Alexandre. The sons later established the Selmer Company in France. Following in their father’s footsteps, the two brothers learned to play the clarinet. Early in Henri’s career as a clarinetist, he noticed intonation problems with the clarinets and he yearned for a better sounding instrument. In 1885 he founded Henri and Alexandre Selmer and Cie Company, thus abandoning his clarinet career. Alexandre continued his career as a clarinetist, which made him popular among orchestras in both the United States and France and played with popular orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic. Alexandre always played Selmer made instruments, making them popular among musicians. Demand for Selmer instruments, on the rise, created a need for a store in the United States. Alexandre established a store in New York City, which was managed by a student of his, George M. Bundy, a native to Indianapolis. Eventually, in 1929, American Selmer Company was founded here at 1119 Main Street with the help of Carl Greenleaf. The company continued for a little over thirty years until 1963 when Vincent Bach purchased the business. Your next stop on the Buescher Company, located at 1100 West Beardsley Avenue. From Selmer, turn south on Main Street for about three blocks and turn west on Beardsley Avenue. Located on the northwest corner of Beardsley and Ward Street is the Buescher Company.
Buescher Company
The Buescher Company is located at 1100 West Beardsley Avenue. The company was one of the many offshoot instrument companies to be started by previous Conn employees. Ferdinand August Buescher, one of Conn’s first employees, had ideas of having his own company after seeing the success of Charles Gerard Conn. He founded the Buescher Company in 1895, and it became the second company to be established in the musical instrument industry of Elkhart. Buescher specialized in band instruments such as horns. In 1908, Miles executive Andrew Hubble Beardsley saved the company after being hit hard by a disastrous bank crash. Beardsley eventually became the president of the company in 1919, while Buescher stayed on as the vice-president of the company until 1929. Buescher Company remained at this site until 1963 when the company eventually sold to Selmer. Your next stop on the tour the E.K. Blessing Company, located at 1301 Beardsley. From Buescher, continue west on Beardsley to 1301. Located on the south side of the street is the Blessing Company.
Blessing Company
The Blessing Company is located at 1301 Beardsley Avenue. Blessing Company of Elkhart, originally founded by Emil Karg Blessing, Senior, came to Elkhart from Sclechtbach, Württemberg, Germany. He began his work at Buescher Company, helping to design Buescher’s first piston valves. E. K. Blessing then moved from Elkhart to Chicago, where he worked for a number of factories as a tool and dye setter. In 1907, he returned back to Elkhart, making instruments in his house. Demand for his instruments increased and in 1926 his operation grew into a factory. Since its beginnings, members of the Blessing family have managed the Company. Your next stop on the tour the Babbitt Brothers’ Company, located at 1505 Beardsley. From Blessing, continue west on Beardsley to 1505, the location of Babbitt.
Babbitt Company
The Babbitt Company is located at 1505 Beardsley Avenue. The Babbitt Brother’s Jesse, Marvin, and Rolla Babbitt founded the company in 1922. Originally from Allegan, Michigan, Jesse first moved to Elkhart in 1911 working as a toolmaker. Marvin and Rolla heard of their brother’s success as a toolmaker and soon followed Jesse to Elkhart. Upon learning about the success of the musical industry here, Jesse and Marvin started the Babbitt Brother’s company. At first, Marvin and Rolla worked outside the company as machinists to help support the company’s efforts and modest beginnings. The success of Babbitt Brothers became evident by 1922 when the three brothers fully employed themselves in the company. The Babbitt Brothers’ company came to be the largest manufacturer of clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces in the world. This concludes the Elkhart Band Instrument Industrial tour.
