Editing Connersville, Indiana (section)

===Automotive and industrial age to 1960s===
In the early 20th century, the town became known as "Little Detroit" because of its importance to the automobile industry, with over 500,000 jeep bodies produced in the town during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Automobile manufacturing in Connersville began as early as 1909 and included [[Auburn Automobile|Auburn]], [[Cord Automobile|Cord]], [[Duesenberg]], [[Ansted]], [[Empire (1910 automobile)|Empire]], [[Lexington Automobile|Lexington]], and [[McFarlan Automobile|McFarlan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1968-08-24 |title=History of John Conner and the founding of Connersville |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tipton-daily-tribune-history-of-john/733641/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |work=The Tipton Daily Tribune |pages=2}}</ref> The [[Willys MB Jeep]] body was manufactured in Connersville during the 1940s.<ref name="Connersville Chamber of Commerce"/> Much of the western portion of town was occupied by light industry for the 150 years prior to 1990. Companies included Roots Blower (later [[Dresser Industries]]), Stant, [[McQuay-Norris]], Design & Manufacturing Co. (D&M), H. H. Robertson, [[Visteon]], and [[Philco Ford]].

McQuay-Norris, manufacturer of auto parts based in St. Louis, got its start in Connersville in 1921 by the acquisition of Wainwright Engineering, a privately held local company manufacturing automotive engines. In 1969, it was acquired by Eaton, Yale & Towne, and closed its Connersville and Indianapolis plants in 1983.

Design & Manufacturing (D&M) company got its start when Rex Regenstrief purchased American Kitchens in 1958 and renamed the company. By 1972, D&M controlled 25% of the nation’s dishwasher market. Design & Manufacturing’s assets were sold to [[White Consolidated Industries]] in 1987 and the firm was dissolved in 1990.

Architectural Products Division of H. H. Robertson purchased land owned by the defunct Lexington Motor Car Company in February 1960. Robertson was a victim of hard times for the industry in the late 1980s and the Connersville plant was merged with operations in [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], starting in 1986.