In 1851, John Brough, president of the first railway that ran through Madison and Governor of Ohio, built Cravenhurst. Three stories high, made of brick, the home was located on a ten acre farm on Michigan Road on the brow of the hill, in what is...
In 1851, John Brough, president of the first railway that ran through Madison and Governor of Ohio, built Cravenhurst. Three stories high, made of brick, the home was located on a ten acre farm on Michigan Road on the brow of the hill, in what is...
The "Senator" was built in 1903 as the "Saint Paul," but she was rebuilt in Paducah, Kentucky in the winter of 1939-1940 and was at that time given the name "Senator." She was owned by Streckfus Steamers, Inc., out of St. Louis and operated on the...
Here you can see one of the many shanty boats that dotted the shoreline of the Ohio River. In the distance you can see a barge pushing cargo up the river.
The "Trimble" ferryboat was a familiar sight in Madison for many years. Built in 1895 for Captain Joseph C. Abbott, at the Jeffersonville boatworks, she worked the Milton-to-Madison run for almost thirty-five years.
"Fleetwood"; "New South"; Waterfronts; Rivers; Ohio River; Madison, Indiana; Steamboats
The "Fleetwood" and "New South" are seen at the U.S. Mail Line wharf boat at Madison, Indiana. The wharf boat has been described as a "big barn of a building". It is believed that the "N. Williams, Agent for the Lines" was Captain Nat Williams,...
"City of Jeffersonville"; Steamboats; Riverboats; Rivers; Ohio River; Ferryboat
The "City of Jeffersonville" was built at the Howard Steamboat Works in 1891 and was no longer working by 1914. In this picture she is docked on the Madison Levee.
Sources vary as to who designed the hotel, though it is generally credited to Francis Costigan. The hotel encompassed 100 years of history in Madison. Another hotel, Fitzhugh's Hotel, which had been built in the 1830s was removed from the site...
The "Princess" has a front row seat for the 1910 Madison Regatta. The "Princess" was sister to the "Island Queen" in the Coney Island trade. She was built in 1900. During the terrible winter of 1917-1918 she was wintering at the mouth of 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,...
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 "Delta Queen" and her sister ship "Delta King" were fabricated in Scotland and disassembled for shipment to San Francisco. She was then sent to Stockton, California where she was reassembled and fitted for work in the Sacramento area. In 1941...
The "G.W. McBride" was built in 1916 at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania as the "Conqueror". The "Conqueror" was upset in a storm and sank. She was raised, rebuilt, and named the "G.W. McBride" by Captain Birch McBride. She was sold to the Ohio River...
Frank P. Vail was born in 1866 in Madison, Indiana,and died in 1956 in Dayton Ohio. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George C. Vail and for many years was in partnership with his brother, Harry L. Vail, in the operation of the Vail Furniture Store...
