Darby Davis and his wife, Mae are shown relaxing along the Ohio as the Island Queen floats by. Darby Davis was born in Carroll County, Kentucky in 1886. In his younger days he was a blacksmith and boat tender, and in later years worked in the...
Pius Schneider was the son of Fredoline and Katherine Schneider. He lived nearly all his life in Madison working as a carpenter most of the time. He died in 1930 at the age of 77. He was the last member of his immediate family.
Louis Decar was born June 30, 1923 in his beloved Madison. His father, also Louis, was the chief florist at the Madison State Hospital until his death in 1924. His mother, Helen, who instilled in him a deep love and respect for his hometown, raised...
Louis Decar was born June 30, 1923 in his beloved Madison. His father, also Louis, was the chief florist at the Madison State Hospital until his death in 1924. His mother, Helen, who instilled in him a deep love and respect for his hometown, raised...
The First Baptist Church of Madison, founded in 1807, has the oldest continuous history as a Baptist church in the state of Indiana. The congregation occupied two different sites on the hilltop before moving to its current location at 416 Vine...
The First Baptist Church of Madison, founded in 1807, has the oldest continuous history as a Baptist church in the state of Indiana. The congregation occupied two different sites on the hilltop before moving to its current location at 416 Vine...
This building is shown in the 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps but it was probably built several years before that. It was for several years the Anger Plumbing Co. but in the early 1920s it was the Antle Ice Cream Store. In 1925 Frank Schnaitter...
This building is shown in the 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps but it was probably built several years before that. It was for several years the Anger Plumbing Co. but in the early 1920s it was the Antle Ice Cream Store. In 1925 Frank Schnaitter...
Steam shovels; Bridges; Ohio River; Road construction
Here is another way steam was used, this time to the detriment of steamboats and railroads. It is seen chopping away at the hillside opposite of Madison, Indiana, where a new road is being made to connect with the Madison-Milton Bridge. The...
Construction was begun in 1879 and the intended use of the building was as a "school house for the colored pupils." In short order the patrons were unhappy with the location of the school. "The noise and bustle of business localities" seemed to...
The Madison Courier interviewed W.F. Guthrie, an old gentleman who had seen the railroad from an early time. He stated, "After a shower of rain the wheels would slip on the rail and the brakes would not have the desired effect. It was said of a...
Reuben Wells, master mechanic, designed his namesake. It was built in the railroad shops at Jeffersonville, Indiana, under his supervision and placed in service in 1868. It was, at the time, the most powerful engine in the world. It was built to...
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...
Perl Inville watches as the "W .C. Mitchell" passes by. In 1907 a new towboat was built and named "George Matheson No. 2". She was known familiarly along the Kanawha River as the "Bologna George". In 1920 she was renamed the "W. C. Mitchell" and...
The "Belle of the Bends" was built in 1898 and in 1909 she sank and was raised for the first time. A year later she again went under and was raised. She ran as an excursion boat in New Orleans in 1910 and 1911. Soon after she was overhauled and...
The showboat, "Water Queen" was once host to, and co-star with, Gloria Swanson during the filming of 'Stage Struck'. The "Water Queen" looks like anything but a movie star while resting along side the levee at Madison, Indiana. She sank at her...
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...
Steamboats; Showboats; Riverboats; "Grace Devers"; Towboats; Tugboats; Levees; Otto Hitner
The "Cotton Blossom" began life in 1896 as a raft for a lumber company working out of St. Paul. She handled the large excursion barge named "Mississippi" at one time, was renamed "The Princess" and was then sold to the Barrett Line for use as a...
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...
