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...
The inscription on the old picture reads, "Madison & Milton Ferry Landing--1908." The landing at Madison and the ferryboat, "Trimble" looked much like this during the winter of 1917 and 1918 when some of the worst weather of the century hit much...
The formal opening of Dr. George E. Denny's new Hillside Hotel took place on June 10, 1924. The main entrance opened into a beautifully furnished lounge. The bedrooms were equipped in "the most modern way and complete in every detail." The...
The formal opening of Dr. George E. Denny's new Hillside Hotel took place on June 10, 1924. The main entrance opened into a beautifully furnished lounge. The bedrooms were equipped in "the most modern way and complete in every detail." The...
Steamboats; Riverboats; W. S. McChesney, Jr.; Diesel; Ohio River
The "Froman M. Coots" began life as a steam ferry built for the Wiggins Ferry Company of St. Louis. At that time she was called the "W. S. McChesney, Jr." She served the Louisville and Jeffersonville areas. It was converted to diesel-electric...
The formal opening of Dr. George E. Denny's new Hillside Hotel took place on June 10, 1924. The main entrance opened into a beautifully furnished lounge. The bedrooms were equipped in "the most modern way and complete in every detail." The...
The Fairplay Fire Company #1 was founded in 1841. Four years later Joseph Todd and M. A. Gavitt were appointed to write the company's constitution and apply for a charter from the state. In 1846 the city council recognized the Ones, as they were...
This building was a former high school from 1878 to 1907 at which time it became a grammar school from 1907 to 1918. In 1918 it became a junior high school and was used as such until 1928, when it was sold for private use. In the 1939 city...
"General Pike"; Steamboats; Riverboats; Steamboat accidents; Mail steamers
On January 1, 1891, the "General Pike" collided with one of the Middleton and Wymond coal barges, causing both to sink in a very few minutes. Captain Sam Bryant, Clerk Ed Long, and Pilot Bowen managed to save everyone on board. She was built for...
This is a drawing of an engine similar to the one used on the Madison Railroad in its early years. Built by the Baldwin Company of Pennsylvania, the inscription for the picture reads: "The hill-climbing locomotive built by Andrew Cathcart in 1840...
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...
This is a notice published to advise the public of the privatization of the railroad and the rules and regulations that would prevail on it. This notice was, no doubt, published in newspapers and used as posters and handbills as was the practice of...
The original part of the building was built sometime in the early to mid 1800s with a new front being added in 1868. It served as a private home, an inn, and a private seminary in the 1850s, according to Brooklyn Cull, who has researched the...
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 excursion boat, "America" is docked at Madison loading up for a day at Rose Island (formerly Fern Grove). The occasion is the American Boy excursion of 1927 in which about 1,500 people participated. The boat was scheduled to return at 7:30 p.m....
In 1886 the Sandborn Fire Insurance maps list this address as a dwelling but by 1902 it is listed as a bakery. However, one year later a grocery store was located on the property and it remained a grocery store until the mid 1920's. J. H. Waltz...
Built by Dr. George Denny in the late 1920s, this hotel was called the Hotel Denny until about 1967 when it became the Chalet Denny Motor Hotel. It was called the Swiss Chalet at one time but it has been mostly known, in modern times, as the...
Built by Dr. George Denny in the late 1920's, this hotel was called the Hotel Denny until about 1967 when it became the Chalet Denny Motor Hotel. It was called the Swiss Chalet at one time but it has been mostly known, in modern times, as the...