This picture gives you an idea of the scope of the incline. In the early days of the railroad, engines were not strong enough or heavy enough to adhere to the tracks. The only means of pulling the train up the incline was horse power. On March 6,...
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...
Maps; Horse railroads; Steamboats; Lanier, J.F.D.; Hanging Rock Hill, Indiana; Rowboats; Madison, Indiana; Ohio River
This is an inset from an old map (no date given); in it you can see steamboats on the Ohio River along with three men in a row boat. On the shore horses pull the quaint little train along the track. The house to the far left that is partially cut...
The "Washington" is shown docked at Madison, Indiana, just above the Trow Flour Mill. On its sign you can see part of the word 'Perfection'. Perfection flour was shipped all over the country, and to other countries, by boat and rail. The mill...
Shown in this picture are Sylvester "Darby" Davis and his wife, Bertha Mae. The river was their home and they loved it and the boats that floated by their front door. Darby and Mae lived in a shanty boat and they were as much a part of Madison,...
Steamboats; Riverboats; Madison, Indiana; Rivers; "Kentucky"; "East St. Louis"
Here the "Kentucky" and "East St. Louis" pass Madison, Indiana. You can find out more about the boats by using the search feature and typing in the name of each boat.
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...
Rivers; Waterfronts; Horses; Mules; Steamboats; Riverboats; Mail steamers; Passengers
This river scene depicts great activity along the levee in any typical river town. The "Columbia" is either loading or unloading her passengers. The horse-drawn carts near the gangplank were probably used to convey passengers to and from the boat....
Here is another view of the old dike that jutted out from the Kentucky side of the river. You can see Madison on the opposite bank. Again, it seems to be a favorite place for people to congregate.
This scene is the Ohio River during the terrible winter of 1917-1918. You can see the "Princess" locked in the ice. That winter was exceptionally cold and the river and its tributaries froze "stem to stern". It caused much destruction along the...
Here you can see some of the devastation the ice caused during the harsh winter of 1917-1918. The ferryboat "Trimble" is caught and nearly buried in the thick ice. She did survive but was badly damaged. On February 20, 1918 the newspaper reported,...
This is the Pennsylvania Railroad freight station after the east end of the building had been taken off and a new frame structure had been constructed in its place. This took place sometime around 1918. The doors that you see down the side of the...
There were at least four depots in Madison during the life of the railroad. Not much is known of the first two. The Madison Courier on November 28, 1981 stated, "The first depot downtown was an old shed just around the bend in the track." It was at...
The newly built "Reuben Wells" sits at the Jeffersonville yards where she was built for the J M & I Railroad under the supervision and to the specifications of Master Mechanic, Reuben Wells, for whom she was named. Her boiler was tilted forward to...
The locomotive "M.G. Bright" is shown here on the Madison incline. In the lower right hand corner you can see a boy. He is standing at the stone mile marker.
This is a photograph of Madison's Main Street in 1852. Main Street was then called Main Cross and the first intersection of streets is Mulberry Street. Some of the businesses pictured are the A. (Aaron) Marks clothing store on the northwest corner;...
In the early 1900s Marks and Benson, a men's clothier, began an advertising campaign that they would continue for over 25 years. Some of the rules and offers changed over the years, but basically when any boy, accompanied by a parent, purchased a...
