A Brief History of the Conn Company (1874-present)*
by Margaret Downie Banks, Ph.D.
Curator of Musical Instruments
National Music Museum
Vermillion, South Dakota
© Copyright 1997 by The National Music Museum.
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*Excerpted and updated from Elkhart's Brass Roots: An Exhibition
to
Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of C. G. Conn's Birth and the 120th
Anniversary of the Conn Company by Margaret Downie Banks (Vermillion,
South Dakota: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1994).
A disastrous fire totally destroyed Conn's Jackson Street factory
on May 22, 1910. The plant burned while Conn was fishing off Catalina Island,
California. Upon his return to Elkhart four days later, Conn announced his
determination to rebuild his Elkhart facility on a portion of his farm land
near the edge of town. Work began on the East Beardsley Street facility in
August. The Spanish Mission style factory was in full operation a mere four
months later. Claiming great improvements in the redesign of his instruments
following the fire, Conn temporarily dropped the Wonder trademark in order
to introduce his New Invention line.
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Dr. Margaret Downie Banks, Curator of Musical Instruments
National Music Museum
The University of South Dakota
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
E-mail: mbanks@usd.edu
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