On this day in 1956, the first bicycle rolled off the line at Murray Ohio’s Lawrenceburg plant, while concrete trucks were still pouring the floor in the back part of the building.

That first bicycle was a “bright red Western Auto model,” according to a 1986 newspaper interview with former Murray vice president of personnel, Cromer Smotherman. In order to keep up with its production schedule, Murray produced 10,000 sets of bicycle parts in Cleveland before closing its bicycle lines in that city and moving the equipment for the line south to Lawrenceburg, a feat which required 800 boxcars. By 1986, the plant would celebrate production of its 50 millionth bicycle.

One of the county’s largest employers for decades, Murray chose Lawrenceburg in 1955 after representatives for the company visited the city and were impressed with what they found. The construction of the plant was a huge undertaking that required local government buy-in. Without knowing the name of the company or what it produced, the people of Lawrenceburg voted 2,346 to 5 to approve $2 million in industrial bonds in the autumn of 1955 to fund construction of the new factory.

The initial plant was opened for business with 500 employees and 382,000 square feet of space in the spring of 1956. Over the years, the plant expanded in size and capacity to 2.5 million square feet across 120 acres and more than 1,000 employees. Gradually, Murray began to move the bicycle assembly business to China and shifted the Lawrenceburg plant to lawn mowers and snow blowers.

According to former Murray executive Cromer Smotherman, the Murray representatives were drawn to Lawrenceburg over other locations in Tennessee because of Lawrenceburg’s welcoming culture and positive community outlook. Murray president C.W. Hannon told reporters in 1955 that the company also chose Lawrenceburg because it had “more favorable economic operating conditions” than its recently-closed plant in Cleveland.

The assembly line shut down in August 2005 following the company’s bankruptcy. Today, the old Murray facility is being used by several local businesses for a variety of purposes.