Region G: Little Rodentia
Artist: Tangerine, with special thanks to Silverchase
It is a well-understood fact in Zootopia, and beyond, that watchmaking played a significant part in what established Little Rodentia as a full-fledged neighborhood in the city. While it may seem hard to believe now, the rodent population in Zootopia was not significant throughout most of its history: the 1861 census reported only 14,431 of the 'very-small-scale' mammals, and there was no centralized district designated for them. The few rodents living in the city up to that point were thinly spread apart, with the occasional 'neighborhood' of several units built together -- one such example, on Prairie Road, is still mostly intact, and is now a museum and in the Z.T. Register of Historic Places.
In 1868, Edward Meadows and Thaddeus Fielder, two voles who had found moderate success up to that point producing prayer nuts, devised the idea of producing mechanical watches to break into the then-burgeoning industry. The two believed that the small and intricate parts that went into assembling a mechanical watch would be a job best suited for the smallest of mammals. Volex was founded the following year, and the two voles began manufacturing and selling pocket watches aimed at size A5 mammals in their Savanna Central warehouse.
While mechanics were seen as more suited for larger mammals up to that point, public opinion soon perceiving Volex watches as more precise than any other, and Volex marketing campaigns have taken significant advantage of this since. Demand for the watches skyrocketed, and by 1900, the company was producing as many as 200 watches per day from their factory in Zootopia.
The sudden growth of Volex not only began to centralize the city's rodent population, but also brought in significant numbers from outlying regions. The growth called for a designated rodent community, and in 1897, the district of Little Rodentia was officially incorporated.
Pictured: an overhead view of the Volex factory in 1973, with a curious tiger peering over the gate.
With a larger, more centralized rodent population in Zootopia developing, opportunities beyond just watchmaking began to develop. Other items with intricate parts, such as musical boxes, mechanical pencils, mechanical calculators, and even typewriters, saw manufacture in significant numbers by rodents and rodent-founded companies.
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However, despite Volex's legacy, the days for the company's factory in Little Rodentia would eventually prove to be numbered. While the new factory that began construction in Ratowice in 1974 was intended to be supplemental to the factory in Zootopia, the company reported significant financial issues the following year and announced it would undergo restructuring. That December, the company subsequently announced that their factory in Zootopia would cease operation, speculated as being largely from Zootopia's steep tax for smaller mammals. This decision was met with significant backlash from the community of Little Rodentia, and continues to be the source of controversy. While there were numerous attempts to preserve the entire complex after its closing, it eventually fell into disrepair. In 1994, all but the oldest factory building were demolished.
Despite the fate of the Little Rodentia factory, Volex is still remembered largely for being the catalyst that created the district of Little Rodentia, and for ushering in an age where rodents would be renowned for intricate, precise machinery.
Pictured: Two Volex executives announce the Sorella at an expo in Little Rodentia. Dated April 8, 1972.
