Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County. The population was 21,133 at the 2010 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 7th congressional district.HistoryAdrian was founded on June 18, 1826, by Addison Comstock, promoter of the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad, and was originally named Logan. In 1828 Addison's wife renamed the village to Adrian after the Roman Emperor Hadrian.The only remaining piece of the Bank of Pennsylvania— one of the stone pillars — was moved to Adrian, Michigan and erected as the Civil War Memorial in commemoration of those in Adrian who died in the American Civil War.In the late 19th century through early 20th century Adrian was known as the "fence capital of the world," when J. Wallace Page invented the first successful wire fence. Throughout this period, Adrian was one of the first fencing manufacturers in the world and its fences were shipped as far as New York, Berlin, Asia, and Africa. The company sponsored the highly successful Page Fence Giants black baseball team.One of the first motor vehicles, the Lion automobile, was created in Adrian. Between 1900 and 1912, Adrian was shaping up to be one of the motor capitals of the world, with three car models manufactured in Adrian during those 12 years. But due to some unfortunate turn of events, it never came to be.
