Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy Culver, Marshall, Indiana

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