The Hulman Dynasty - Coming to America

In the time since Francis Hulman arrived in Terre Haute nearly 150 years ago, the Hulman family has dominated the city's commerce like no other. Some of its business activity and acquisitions:

Herman Hulman merged with R.S. Cox Jr., his closest competitor in the wholesale grocery business, in 1869.
Herman purchased the Alexander McGregor Distillery in 1869 and sold it in 1875. Later he repurchased a half-interest that he traded to Cox in 1878 for his half-interest in the wholesale business, ending the Hulman & Cox name.
In 1881, Herman opened a broom factory that failed due to competition from Cincinnati factories.
Hulman & Co. bought the Decker Grocery Store in Brazil in 1912 and operated it as a warehouse. That closed during World War I due to wartime regulations and never reopened.
In the 1930s, Tony Hulman bought an office building in Evansville, the Richmond Gas Co., the Terre Haute Gas Corp. and an office building in Dayton, Ohio.
On Nov. 14, 1945, Tony purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Eddie Rickenbacker for $750,000.
In 1950, he acquired two baking powder competitors: the KC Foods Division Plant in North Little Rock, Ark., and the Rumford Plant near Providence, R.I. The plants' products were strong sellers in the East, where Clabber Girl sales were weak. The 28-building Rumford Plant was the first manufacturer of baking powder. Hulman & Co. later consolidated those plants' production to the Clabber Girl plant, where their products are still made.
After WTHI radio went on the air in 1948, Tony bought 82 percent of the stock; the television station followed. He'd also acquired a majority of the 97-year-old Cook Brewery in Evansville. A few years after he purchasing it, employees went on strike, and Tony shut the brewery and sold it. It closed for good in 1957.
In 1959, Tony bought the Terre Haute House, Terre Haute House Garage and Grand Opera House at Seventh and Cherry Streets for an undisclosed amount. The opera house was torn down soon after.
The 1950s also saw Tony acquire the city's two newspapers, The Tribune and The Star, and invest in development of Terre Haute's first shopping center, The Meadows. Terre Haute Realty Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hulman & Co., now owns the shopping center, along with the Terre Haute House and Corporate Square Ī the old Schulte High School that is now office space.
In 1965, Tony bought the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Indianapolis from James S. Yuncker for $2 million. Tony later bought bottling plants in Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Anderson and New Castle, consolidating bottling operations to Indianapolis, but keeping warehouses in those cities. The family sold it in 1981 for an estimated $30 million.
Other acquisitions in the 1980s included Indianapolis television station WMCC, which was renamed it WNDY; WFTX, a Fox affiliate serving Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Naples in Florida, and WOAG, serving Ocala and Gainesville, both in 1987 for an estimated $25 million to $30 million. WOAG has since been sold.
The Hulmans also sold gas companies in Terre Haute and Richmond to Indiana Energy, which netted them more than 13 percent in the Indianapolis-based gas company reportedly worth more than $50 million. ˛ Current holdings ˛ Hulman & Co., incorporated in 1916, is parent company of all the current Hulman George family holdings. Based at Ninth and Wabash in Terre Haute, it began with a wholesale grocery store operated by Francis T. Hulman and John Bernhard Ludowici in 1850.
The Hulman family acquired Terre Haute-based general contractor Newlin-Johnson Development Co., incorporated in 1937, in the 1960s.
Tony acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp., which was incorporated in 1927 and includes the speedway, Brickyard Crossing Golf Course and motel, in 1945.
The Hulman family acquired The Morris Plan Company of Terre Haute, which was incorporated in 1916 and involves the banking facility at 817 Wabash Ave., in the 1960s.
Hulco Sales Corp., incorporated in 1990, does business as Clabber Girl Baking Powder Co., Rumford Baking Powder Co. and KC Baking Powder Co. It is based in Terre Haute.
The Terre Haute Realty Corp., incorporated in 1944, owns, operates, develops and maintains real estate, including the Terre Haute House hotel, The Meadows Shopping Center and other properties. It is based in Corporate Square at 2901 Ohio Blvd. The hotel was acquired by the Hulman family in 1959, while the shopping center was developed in the 1950s.
Another shopping center the family developed in the 1950s, Plaza North, is owned and operated by Plaza North Partnership, made up of Hulman & Co. and Ragle & Co.