This story first appeared in July 2009.
Although the first documented appearance of a bicycle can be traced to a demonstration of the high-wheeled bike called the “Ordinary” in 1869, these old fashioned contraptions would be almost unrecognizable to the riders of today. With their huge front tires and seats that seemed to require a ladder to climb up to, these early bikes were awkward and unwieldy for use by all but the most hardy of daredevil souls. (They didn’t call them “boneshakers” for nothing back then.) It would take nearly 25 years after the close of the American Civil War before the bike began to resemble the form most familiar to riders of today. The development of the safety bike with its two equal-sized wheels in the 1880s made the new sport more acceptable as a hobby and pastime.
In 1889, bicycle mechanic and expert rider Harry T. Hearsey opened the first bicycle shop in Indianapolis, located at the intersection of Delaware and New York streets on the city’s near-eastside. He would later open a larger shop at 116-118 N. Pennsylvania St. Hearsey is credited for introducing the first safety bicycle to Indianapolis in 1889. Hoosiers took to it immediately and within a few short years, the streets of Indy were so clogged with bicyclists that the City Council passed a bicycle licensing ordinance requiring a $1 license fee for every bicycle in the city.
Hearsey had fallen in love with Indianapolis during an exhibition tour for the Cunningham-Heath bicycle company of Boston in 1885. He not only sold the first new style bicycles in the Indy area, he also formed the first riding clubs in the city. These clubs, with colorful names like the “U.S. Military Wheelmen” and the “Dragon Cycle Club,” would regularly host festive long distance bicycle trips known as “Century Rides” to towns like Greenfield and Bloomington. This period has been called the “Golden Age of Bicycling” by historians.
His innovations included the installation of a revolutionary foot air bellows system that would be known for decades as the “town pump” for public use outside of his store. His shop became a popular hangout for the city’s bicyclists who liked to drop in and rub elbows with all of the greatest bike racers of the age. Indianapolis was a Midwest Mecca for pro-bicycling in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Hearsey would often use the massive Tomlinson Hall in Indy to unveil the newest model of bicycle in the 1890s. Tomlinson Hall was the largest public venue in the city and Hearsey would routinely fill the place to the rafters with excited Hoosier bicyclists, which would be like renting Lucas Oil Stadium to unveil a new bike nowadays. Today, the City Market occupies the spot where Tomlinson Hall once stood.
Cycling was so popular in Indianapolis that the city constructed a racing track known as the “Newby Oval” located near 30th Street and Central Avenue in 1898. The track was designed by Shortridge graduate Herbert Foltz who also designed the Broadway Methodist Church, Irvington United Methodist Church and the Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church. Foltz would also design the new Shortridge High School at 34th and Meridian. The state of the art cycling facility could, and often did, seat 20,000 and hosted several national championship sponsored by the chief sanctioning body, “The League of American Wheelmen.” Legendary Indianapolis African-American bicycle champion, Marshall “Major” Taylor, raced at the Newby Oval almost exclusively until 1900. Taylor was hired by Harry Hearsey to perform bicycle stunts outside of his shop in 1892. Taylor performed his stunts while dressed in a military uniform and earned the nickname “Major,” which stuck with him the rest of his life. Major Taylor has been widely acknowledged as the first American International superstar of bicycle racing.
During this turn-of-the-century era, Indianapolis became one of the leading manufacturers of bicycles in the United States with companies like Waverly and Outing offering some of the finest riding machines of the day. With the advent of the automobile and motorcycles in the early 1910s, interest in bicycling as a form of transportation waned. Harry Hearsey changed with the times and became Indianapolis’ first automobile dealer.
Indianapolis would soon become a pioneer in the manufacture of automobiles, second only to Detroit, in fact. It should not come as a surprise that many of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were former colleagues of Harry Hearsey and members of his bicycle clubs. In fact, the first race ever held at the world famous track was a motorcycle race on August 19, 1909. Six people died in that first race, three drivers, two spectators and one crewman. Scheduled for 300 miles, the deaths caused the race to be stopped at 235 miles. Indianapolis cycling was indeed a deadly business back then.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View,” “Irvington Haunts. The Tour Guide,” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
