Newcomers to any city learn their way around with a street tour.

And that's how Michelle Bormet begins "A History of the City of Warsaw, Indiana," subtitled "Preserving the Past for the Future."

Bormet, secretary to the mayors of Warsaw for the last 10 years, spent the better part of a year compiling the hardcover volume, published by the Kosciusko County Historical Society.

That effort has resulted in a 17-chapter, 237-page book which begins with a settlement called Red Brush in 1834 and ends with Warsaw's 125th anniversary in 2000. The city was incorporated April 19, 1875, by a vote of 278 votes for and 200 against.

It's a comprehensive overview of the city, a wonderful source of information for residents old and new.

The town was platted in 1835 and Buffalo and Detroit streets were named after the civil engineering students who worked on the project. Their home towns were Buffalo, N.Y., and Detroit, Mich. The third student came from Columbus, Ohio; however there was already a Columbia Street and, since he lived on High Street, that name was considered suitable.

Streets with proper names - Scott, Funk, Bronson, Sherman, Grant Colfax, Cleveland, Harrison, Clark, etc. - were named after local families or men who had achieved national fame.

The history book is illustrated with more than 250 photographs and drawings, at least one per page, dating back to 1868.

An eight-page color section at the end of the book features full-color reproductions of postcards.

Notes of national interest occupy the margins. For example Little Crow Foods was founded in Warsaw in 1903 by Wilbur F. Maish Sr. and the Kellogg Co. began selling Corn Flakes in 1906.

There is a chapter on prominent physicians, beginning with Dr. John Marshal Bash (1847 - 1909) who built the Bash mansion on the northwest corner of Lake and Market streets in 1881. The section goes on to chronicle the lives of Dr. Tiffin J. Shackelford, Dr. A.C. McDonald, Dr. J.R. Baum and the McDonald Hospital. The story of Dr. Samuel G. and Hazel Murphy who built the Murphy Medical Center also is included.

Murphy Medical Center closed July 1, 1977, one year after Kosciusko Community Hospital opened its doors and following a lawsuit against KCH's construction.

Bormet highlights early business entrepreneurs and their establishments. Stories of their families and personal successes are presented.

Warsaw benefited from industrial advances at the turn of the century, which led to a commercial boom. Robinson's Market was founded by Jack Robinson in 1910 along with Hugro Manufacturing Co., which produced vacuums and carpet sweepers and other household goods.

Dalton Foundries Inc., Henderson & Parker Electric Co. and Chinworth Brothers Hardware opened their doors in 1910.

Warsaw Cut Glass was established in 1912 at the same time prizes were first put in boxes of Cracker Jack.

Special attention is given to the county's oldest continuous business, the Times-Union, owned by the Williams family since 1856.

The history of service organizations, philanthropists and volunteer groups from the Kosciusko County Medical Society, incorporated in 1847, to the grand opening of Central Park along the shores of Center Lake in 1995 are detailed.

More than 3,200 familiar names and places course throughout the pages. Special attention is given to theaters, drive-ins, candy stores, restaurants and their owners.

The famous and infamous are also documented with photographs detailing visits and performances by well-known entertainers like The Cisco Kid and The Four Freshmen, and the unwelcome arrival in 1934 by the notorious John Dillinger.

Buildings and businesses have come and gone over the years and one wonders why the spectacular Hays Hotel was ever left to decay.

Warsaw has mirrored America's love affair with the automobile. Quite a few paragraphs are given to local auto dealerships, and parked cars of all makes and models are shown in a number of photographs.

Gone are the dairys, bakeries and specialty shops that served residents for decades, slowly replaced by mass production and supermarkets.

Bormet includes as many topics as possible about the lake city.

From one page to the next the reader can stroll down the streets of Warsaw, from their crude, packed-dirt beginnings to the modern boulevards of today.

Copies cost $41.95, including tax, and are available at the Old Jail Museum, 121 N. Indiana St., 269-1078, and at city hall, 302 E. Market, 372-9595. A limited number of copies are available at Courthouse Coffee.

All the net proceeds will be given to the Kosciusko County Historical Society. [[In-content Ad]]