How Wabash, Indiana Saved Its Main Street

In 1880, Wabash, Indiana became the first city in the world to light its streets with electricity—earning gasps of wonder and cries of "miracle!" But by the 1970s, like downtowns across America, Wabash's Main Street was dying. Storefronts boarded up. Street lights flickering over empty sidewalks. Suburban malls had won.

Then something unexpected happened. Instead of accepting defeat, Wabash fought back. Through grassroots revival efforts, facade restoration programs, strategic partnerships with the Honeywell Foundation and Ford Meter Box Company, and community events like First Fridays, this small Indiana town engineered one of the most successful downtown comebacks in America. Their secret weapon? The Main Street approach—a four-pillar methodology that transformed 75% vacancy rates into thriving business districts.

From the 1981 founding of Wabash Marketplace to winning the 2016 Small Business Revolution contest, this is the story of how one town proved that Main Street isn't dead—it just needed people willing to fight for it.

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