"Broadway High School was the first commissioned high school for colored in Indiana" according to Grant S. Murray, Principal of the Broadway School from 1914-1917. In the September 6, 1880 edition of the Madison Courier, the newly opened school...
Railroad stations; Train depots; Buses; Madison Depot; Madison; Railroads
"In 1893 the railroad bought the whole block on First Street from Vine to Mill and and bought the depot." The Victorian style building was built in 1895. On the property had stood a fine old home which had to be taken down to make way for the...
"In 1893 the railroad bought the whole block on First Street from Vine to Mill Streets and built the depot and moved it in 1894"-Madison Courier, November 28, 1981. The station was used for passenger service until June 22, 1935. It was used for...
"Lunch Refreshed" was probably done in the late 1950s or early 1960s from what we can see in the picture. Ladies were still wearing hats to luncheons and the dispenser has what is now called the "retro" look.
A crew of four on a hand-car. The small building to the left in the picture is probably the hand-car shed so they are either just leaving or just returning.
A group of people are shown on the "Falls City" on the Kentucky River. The "Falls City" was built in 1890 at New Albany and worked the Louisville to Frankfort route until she had to be replaced with another boat bearing the same name in 1898.
Horses; W. H. Rogers; John Louis Spicer; Railroad freight cars
A horse and dray are used to pick up a load of paint for W. H. Rogers of Madison, Indiana. You can see the name on the side of the box car. There was no middleman here. The paint was loaded at the paint factory and delivered directly to Madison...
Accidents were not rare on the railroads but, considering the number of trains on the track, overall they were considered quite safe. When an accident such as this one occurred, it was quite a sensation. On April 17, 1913, the Madison-Courier...
According to Harry Lemen, this coal oil wagon was fifty-three years old in 1927 and the owner, Paul Meyers, was its twenty-third owner. In the late 1800s and early 1900s coal oil, or kerosene, was much in demand. Its primary use was for lamps and...
Business enterprises; Transportation; Horse-drawn vehicles
According to Harry Lemen's commentary, this was the last horse drawn coal wagon in Madison. Notice the smaller wheels in the front of the wagon. This was for maneuvering into tight spaces. Many folks who had coal furnaces will remember the...
According to library historical files, the original location was occupied by the market house located on the square which was on lots 69, 70 and 71 which had been laid aside for a courthouse, jail and public market place. The lots were sold to the...
According to Way's Packet Directory the "Homer Smith" was build by Howard's in 1914. The "Homer Smith" ran excursions on the lower Ohio in 1915 and briefly tried the Louisville and Cincinnati trade. It became a regular excursion boat at Pittsburg...
Industries-Indiana; Nail industry; Tacks; Factories
An early view of the Tower Manufacturing Co. at 110-112 Depot St. The drawing was published in 1899 when the factory was only four years old. According to the May 18, 1899 issue of the Madison Daily Democrat "It turns out tons and tons of cat...
