Ichabod Washburn

Who was Ichabod Washburn?

Ichabod Washburn was a church deacon and industrialist from Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. His financial endowments led to the naming of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and the foundation of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Washburn became an apprentice in a Leicester, Massachusetts blacksmith shop at the age of sixteen. He attended Leicester Academy with his distant relative Emory Washburn and Stephen Salisbury II, both of whom would many years later help in the founding of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

By 1865, Washburn was co-proprietor of Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, the world's largest wire mill. The company manufactured piano wire, crinoline and supports for hoop skirts, wire for fences and other similar products.