John Purdue - Business Man

Business Man

As stated in the 1979 Marion County History Book, on March 13, 1831, he bought a 160-acre (0.65 km2) farm in Salt Rock Township in Marion County, Ohio. He sold the same on August 20, 1832, at a profit. He derived additional gain from collecting a commission taking his neighbor's hogs to market.

Purdue developed a farm products brokerage that covered the Adelphi, Worthington and Columbus area. In 1833, he and Moses Fowler opened a general merchandise store in Adelphi. On December 9, 1834, Purdue purchased 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land in Indiana from Jesse Spencer for $850 which he partially paid for in store goods. The land that he bought currently lies northeast of the intersection of Creasy Lane and McCarty Lane in Lafayette, Indiana.

In 1838 or 1839, Purdue and his associate Fowler liquidated their Ohio holdings and permanently moved to Lafayette. Once there they opened a dry goods business on the courthouse square. Purdue continued to gain wealth and prestige over the next several years. Most accounts show a man devoted to leading a good civic life, donating time, money and expertise to various local projects including a bridge over the Wabash River, a railroad from Lafayette to Indianapolis and serving on various boards.

In 1844, Moses Fowler and Purdue split ways. In 1847, a group of five merchants, including Purdue, completed a 600-foot (180 m) wooden toll bridge across the Wabash.

On October 20, 1852, Purdue along with four others was appointed as the first trustees of the new Lafayette City Public School. While various tax-related lawsuits crippled the new statewide public school budget, Purdue and others privately helped keep them afloat.

By 1855, Purdue was spending a fair amount of time in New York doing business. In 1856, he became involved in what would come to be Purdue, Ward and Company.

In 1857, he bought stock in and served as a trustee of the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute (college prep classes.) He also donated $500 in cash to help another collegiate institute in the newly platted Stockwell, Indiana.

Purdue profited greatly during the Civil War mainly due to the increase in demand for dry goods by the Union Army. Lafayette supported the Union in the war but some nighttime raids by Confederate sympathizers on local businesses were reported. To protect his assets, Purdue established the "Purdue Rifles" a volunteer protective force of about 100 trained, uniformed and armed men that guarded Confederate prisoners, rounded up deserters and maintained order.

Throughout the 1860s, Purdue acquired large tracts of land in Warren county. By 1872, he owned about 2,020 acres (8.2 km2) which came to be known as the Walnut Grove Farm.

In 1867, Purdue invested money in and presided as president of the Lafayette Agricultural Works, a Lafayette implement factory, through the mid-1870s.

In 1868, he contributed money and served as the president (for seven years) of the new Springvale Cemetery in Lafayette.

In 1869, he helped found the Lafayette Savings Bank, following Salmon Portland Chase's office as Secretary of the Treasury. Purdue served as its president. Eventually, JP Morgan Chase & Co would purchase Purdue National Corporation of Lafayette, Indiana, in 1984, a merger that would unite the names of these two individuals again.

Purdue was a freemason with Chase, and later supported some questionable business ventures including: backing the Lafayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad even as lawsuits and debts climbed. Purdue also backed a silver mining scheme in Colorado called the Purdue Gold and Silver Mining and Ore Reduction Company that failed to pay any dividends.