NIPSCO
In 1926, Samuel Insull combined Northern Indiana Gas & Electric with his
Calumet
Electric Co., forming the Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
The joining of Calumet Electric and Northern Indiana Gas and Electric Co. was the beginning of
the modern Northern Indiana Public Service Co. The first chairman was Samuel Insull, one of the
creators of General Electric. At the time, Insull also owned the Chicago South Shore and South
Bend Railroad.
By the 1930s, NIPSCO consolidated its business in the 30 counties of Northern Indiana by trading
properties it owned in Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Frankfort and Lebanon with Interstate Public
Service Co. for properties that company owned in Goshen, Warsaw and Monticello.
1936 = Jan 29 - NIPSCO Moves Next Door Into Larger Quarters
The Northern Indiana Publice service Company moved last week into
its new quarters in the State Exhange Bank Builing
It is occupying the room formerly used by the post office, which
is next door to the utility's former location.
The room has been divided into three rooms the front office -
manager's office and a stock room. The change allows a greatly impoved
space for display of mercandise.
Workmen are now busy remodeling the room to be used as a private office
for W. O. Osborn, which is at the rear of the Western Union room,
1926 Feb 10 - New Name Selected For Public Service Co.
The Name of the Calument Gass and Eletric Company serving this
community, has been changed to Northern INdiana Public Sercice
Company
Because the Company has grown by purchase and extensions to include
properties extending across northern Indiana from Illinois to the Ohio
stateline, the new name more accurate;u describes the terrritory new
served by this company.
The Northern Indiana Public Service Company gives service to 83
communities in Northern Indiana. The compan owns the 132,00 volt
super-power line which extends from the Indiana-Illinois state line
to Michigan City and an extension to that line which is not under
construction which will interconnect this company with powers systems
extending to Virgina, West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. successor to Calumet Gass and
Electric Company - Culver Citizen
|
The building in 2000 |
Culver Employess
Earl Mishler
Lester Young
Other Properties
Nipsco Substation
Merger History
In 1918 - the company was then the Hawk's Electric Liight co., at Milford
and then became Interstate Public Service Company
Samuel Insull organized the Interstate Public Service Company in Indianapolis in 1912
with headquarters located in the Traction Terminal Building. The company provided
power for interurban electric train service between Indianapolis and Louisville.
In 1923, Northern Indiana was purchased by Samuel Insull, who owned utilities all
round the Chicago area.
the descendant of several small enterprises founded during the nineteenth century,
including the South Bend Gas Light Co., established in 1868 by the Studebaker
brothers, of the famous wagon-making firm. During the first decade of the twentieth
century, a series of mergers caused the Hammond Illuminating Co. (founded in 1901)
to become the South Shore Gas & Electric Co., which by 1909 would become the Northern
Indiana Gas & Electric Co. In 1923, Northern Indiana was purchased by Samuel Insull,
who owned utilities all around the Chicago area
In 1909, Northern Indiana Gas and Electric Company was formed; a year later, it
acquired South Bend Gas Light Company and became a subsidiary of United Gas
Improvement Co. This formative branch of NIPSCO was complemented by another,
the Calumet Electric Company, whose 1912 date of incorporation
is usually given as the inception of NIPSCO. Like Northern Indiana Gas, Calumet
eventually attracted the interest of a large holding company, the
multi-billion-dollar Midland Utilities Company, managed by Samuel Insull, a former
business secretary of Edison and a titan of the public utilities industry. In
1923, Midland acquired Northern Indiana Gas, thus uniting the two branches of
NIPSCO
and then NIPSCO In 1926, when Insull combined Northern Indiana Gas & Electric with
his Calumet Electric Co., forming the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. NIPSCO
attained its near-present form when Calumet changed its corporate name to Northern
Indiana Public Service Company and then merged with Northern Indiana Gas. At that
time, NIPSCO, chaired by Insull, served 25 counties and approximately 200,000
customers.
Over the years Insull centralized control of many small electric and gas companies
into Interstate but overextended his holdings and following the stock market crash
in 1929, he was forced to declare bankruptcy.
In 1931 when J.N. Shannahan replaced Insull as Chairman of the Board, the company
name changed to Public Service Indiana (PSI)
For a brief time, Samuel Insull, Jr., served as chairman, but by 1932, with the
election of John N. Shannahan to the post, the Insull family ceased its direct
participation in NIPSCO's affairs. Meanwhile, acquisitions, service territory,
and power capability increased rapidly. Following Shannahan's death in 1938,
NIPSCO embarked on a long, steady period of growth under the leadership of Dean
H. Mitchell.
NIPSCO began working with Commonwealth Edison of Chicago in 1939 by selling a
subsidiary to Comm Ed but retaining a long-term contract.
In 1947, Midland Utilities Company sold block of privately held stock in NIPSCO,
allowing the former subsidiary to go public.
By the middle of the 1960s, this Hammond-based company grossed nearly $200 million
in annual sales and employed over 4,000 people Net income in 1969 amounted to
$37 million, up from $27 million net income in 1965
The 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were marked by continued corporate expansion and the
completion of the Mitchell, Bailly, and Schahfer generating stations, all located
in the northwestern corner of Indiana. Together with the Michigan City plant,
completed decades earlier, these electric stations possess a total capacity of
3,059 megawatts, or approximately 90 percent of NIPSCO's total power capability
By 1970 NIPSCO was capable of generating 1.39 million kilowatts, with 500,000
kilowatts available under purchase contracts. The company engaged in extensive
dealings with Commonwealth Edison, Public Service Company of Indiana, and Indiana
& Michigan Electric Comp
In 1988, the name of the company was changed to Nipsco Industries Inc.
By the 1990s, Nipsco was providing electricity to 400,000 customers in Northern
Indiana; it also had about 700,000 gas customers.
After several more mergers and acquisitions at the end of the twentieth century,
the company operated out of Merrillville, Indiana, and became known as NiSource
Inc., with more than $6 billion in annual revenues and 7,500 employees