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|  Looking down Main Street in the mid 1960's  Richmond, Indiana is my home town. I lived there for the first eighteen years of my life. It was a wonderful place to grow up. Richmond is located in eastern Indiana on the Ohio state line. Major highways going through Richmond include: I-70, US-40, US-27, and US-35. Richmond's current population is estimated at 38,000 and is the county seat of Wayne County.  Quakers from North Carolina and German immigrants established Richmond on the Whitewater River in 1806. The city has become one of Indiana's leading industrial communities as well as the trade and distribution center for agriculturally rich Wayne County.  Richmond also has one of the largest rose-growing industries in the world. In Glen Miller Park the Hill Memorial Rose Garden cultivates more than 73 varieties of roses, and the All-American Rose Garden propagates 1,600 rose bushes, annuals and perennials.  Disaster struck on Saturday, April 6, 1968. That was the date of the appalling explosion that tore apart downtown Richmond, the city's most disastrous day in its 160 year history. I, along with my father and brothers were right on Main Street at the time of the blast. Luckily we had just passed through ground zero and were about two blocks down the street when we heard the thunderous explosion behind us and the sky filled with smoke. We were not injured but others were not so lucky as 41 people lost their lives in the horrendous catastrophe and more than 100 others were injured.    More than a city block was leveled, with damages estimated in the millions of dollars. Twenty downtown buildings were condemned. The force of the double explosion was so strong that glass shattered more than a mile away. 147 is a documentary about that day, click HERE for more information.  Pictured above is a memorial in downtown Richmond honoring those who lost their lives in the tragic disaster. I snapped a few photos of Richmond during my last visit in June of 2005.  Wayne County Court House  Richmond Municipal Building  Main Street, downtown Richmond  the new Main Street Bridge over the Whitewater River  Richmond Senior High School Richmond Area Links... Hayes Regional Arboretum Official Website  Richmond, Indiana By richmondindiana.com Richmond - Wayne County By Economic Development Corporation The Richmond-Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Phone: (765) 962-1511 Richmond/Wayne County, Indiana! By Convention and Tourism Bureau Inc. Wayne County, Indiana! Government Website  WayNet   The links on this page were last tested June 2001.
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