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Riverfront
Events
Lodging Guide
Attractions Guide
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The History of New Albany
New Albany was founded in July 1813 by brothers Joel, Abner, and Nathaniel
Scribner, who had arrived at the Falls of the Ohio a short time earlier from New
York City. Named for the capital city of the founders’ home state, New Albany
was platted by surveyor John Graham on land the Scribner brothers had purchased
from Col. John Paul of Madison. The site was originally part of George Rogers
Clark’s grant from the Virginia legislature. In 1819 New Albany became the seat
of government for Floyd County, which recently had been formed from portions of
Clark and Harrison counties. The county probably was named for Davis Floyd, the
flamboyant politician who was the county’s first circuit court judge.
The Ohio River and the steamboat industry were the foundations of the city’s
economy during the mid-19th century. At least a half-dozen shipbuilders turned
out scores of packet boats as well as famous steamboats such as the Eclipse, A.A.
Shotwell, and Robert E. Lee. Shipbuilding also was accompanied by a wide range
of complementary concerns, including machine shops, foundries, cabinet and
furniture factories, and silversmith shops. By 1850 New Albany was the largest
city in Indiana.
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One of the city’s most prominent figures during this era was an astute young
politician named Ashbel P. Willard. After just two years in the state
legislature he was elected lieutenant governor in 1852. Four years later, at the
tender age of 36, he was elected governor. But Willard suffered from ill health,
and in October 1860, just before the end of his term , he died at age 40, the
first Indiana governor to die in office.
During the second half of the 19th century New Albany experienced a substantial
industrial boom, despite the collapse of its steamboat industry. The coming of
the railroad spurred development of the pork-packing and locomotive repair
businesses. In 1865 Capt. John B. Ford established the American Plate Glass
Works. With financial support from his cousin, Washington C. DePauw, Ford built
a prosperous business. After the crash of 1873, DePauw took over the firm’s
operations and Ford moved to Pennsylvania, where he built a plant that
eventually became part of Libbey-Owens-Ford in Toledo, Ohio. Meanwhile, American
Plate Glass Company flourished under DePauw’s leadership, employing over 2,000
workers in 1881. When fuel shortages and economic problems forced the firm’s
relocation in 1893, New Albany suffered a severe population loss as workers
followed the company to its new location.
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During the early 20th century, New Albany became a major producer of plywood and
veneer, with companies such as Indiana Veneer and Panel Company, New Albany
Veneering Company (later Breech Plywood Company), and Hoosier Panel Company. By
1920 New Albany produced more plywood than any other community in the world.
In recent years, New Albany’s economy has become much more diverse, embracing
such items as prepared dough products, plastic moldings tools and machinery,
fireproof file cabinets and safes, computer equipment and automotive parts. New
Albany is also the home of Indiana University Southeast, a regional campus
serving nearly 6,000 students with associate, bachelor, and graduate degree
programs.
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New Albany Highlights
SCRIBNER HOUSE : Built in 1814 by Joel and Mary Scribner, this simple
wood-frame, Federal-style structure is the oldest building in New Albany. The
two-and-one-half story house has a basement, two parlors, and a hall on the
first floor, three bedrooms and a hall on the second floor. A two-level rear
porch provides a spectacular view of the Ohio River.
Today the house is owned by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution and serves as its meeting place. Tours are available by advance
reservations only.
MANSION ROW NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES DISTRICT: Stretching for
several blocks along Main and Market streets east of downtown, Mansion Row
constitutes the best single collection of Federal, Italianate, Greek Revival,
Gothic Revival, and Victorian architecture in the Louisville Metropolitan area.
During the 19th century such notables as industrialist Washington C. DePauw,
merchant William S. Culbertson, U.S. Speaker of the House Michael C. Kerr,
physician Asahel Clapp, and playwright William Vaughn Moody enriched this
neighborhood. Conveying a sense of New Albany’s 19th century commercial
prominence is the State Bank of Indiana Building. Built in 1837 at a cost of
$40,000, this two-story Greek Revival structure was the largest building in the
city at the time of its completion. Most of the structures in Mansion Row have
been carefully restored, providing a glimpse of life in New Albany’s "Age of
Elegance".
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CULBERTSON MANSION STATE MEMORIAL:
The highlight of Mansion Row, this opulent French Second Empire mansion was
erected between 1867 and 1869 by William S. Culbertson, one of Indiana’s richest
merchants and philanthropists. Designed by local architect James T. Banes, the
three-story brick structure cost about $120,000 and contains approximately 16,00
square feet of living space. The 20-room interior includes fabric-quality
wallpapers, marble fireplaces, frescoed ceilings, and a spectacular cantilevered
staircase. The woodwork was crafted by local boat builders, and the tin roof was
shipped from Scotland.
CARNEGIE CENTER FOR ART & HISTORY:
Located at Spring and Bank streets on the site of the first New Albany High
School, this building housed the New Albany Public Library from its completion
in 1904 until 1969. It was erected with financial support from Andrew Carnegie
and designed in the popular Beaux-Arts style. In 1971 the building reopened as
an art and history museum and in 1998 it underwent major renovations. The Center
hosts a succession of traveling exhibits, often in conjunction with special
programs on local history and culture.
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TOWN CLOCK CHURCH:
Located at the corner of Third and Main Streets, this recently restored Greek
Revival church has been a landmark since 1852, when it was completed by the
congregation of the Second Presbyterian Church. For decades the structure’s most
outstanding feature was a 160-foot clock tower, which signaled New Albany’s
location to the Ohio River boatmen. The original tower has since been shortened,
but it remains distinctive. Owned since 1889 by the Second Baptist Church, an
African-American congregation, the structure is said to have been a way station
on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War.
KENTUCKY & INDIANA BRIDGE:
Erected between 1910 and 1912, the existing Kentucky and Indiana Bridge replaced
an earlier span that opened in 1886. Built primarily to carry railroad and local
interurban traffic between New Albany and Louisville, the K&I was one of the
largest and heaviest plain truss bridges in the world at the time it was
completed. The complete span, including approaches, measured nearly 6,000 feet
in length and 225 feet in height from its highest point to the normal river
surface. The bridge’s 70-foot width originally included two pairs of railroad
lines flanked by wagon ways paved with creosoted wooden blocks. These blocks
handled automobile traffic until 1952, when they were replaced with a steel
gridwork. The K&I accommodated vehicular traffic until early 1979, when a road
bed partially collapsed under the weight of an overloaded gravel truck. It
continues to carry railroad traffic.
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SHERMAN MINTON BRIDGE:
This graceful, twin-arched double-decked span, which carries Interstate 64
between New Albany and Louisville, was completed in 1962 at a cost of $14.8
million. It is named for US Senator and Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton,
who was born in Georgetown and practiced law in New Albany. Designed by the
Louisville firm of Hazelet & Erdal, it was named the most beautiful long-span
bridge of 1961 by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
RIVERFRONT HERITAGE OVERLOOK AMPHITHEATER:
Center of the action on the New Albany Riverfont, this outdoor showplace
accommodates up to 10,000 persons for activities ranging from Bluegrass music
shows and fireworks displays to rock concerts and visiting symphony orchestra
performances.
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