Celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce was created in 1935 as a voice for businesses.
“The thing is, prior to chambers of commerce, people really worked out of the lodges, like the Old Fellows Lodge and the Masonic Lodge,” Hamilton County Historian David Heighway said. “It was the lodge that did all of your business networking for you, but as time went along, obviously they needed to be a little bit more professional about it, so they needed to organize these groups.”
The chamber, which weren’t common at the time, released posters and ads promoting Noblesville and its businesses and job opportunities in its first days of existence.
“For these guys, this would have been a big deal because they were looking for ways to kind of keep things going,” Heighway said. “They’re hurting, and by 1935, population has moved out, and they don’t know if it’s turning around or not. It did and eventually leveled off.” (Photo and information provided by David Heighway)
