New Albany High School - Vista Senior Blotter Yearbook (New Albany, IN)

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steamboats on the Ohio. lt was the birthplace of almost SOO river boats--the Eclipse, the A. L. Shotwell, and the Robert E. Lee, most famous of them all. It was the home of the people who came to build the boats and to command the boats. The river has played a leading role in the devel- opment of our town since the early l800's. Our town more than once has seen the river on a ram- page . . . flooding its banks . . . ruining farm land ii lsv -an - I - . 5 I, f' 'HTG ' i..E'..u.. its--.r-1-JU , -fi? - L. ' . ., 'z: '.e 'f' f , ' . .A - . ....,,.....,4- , , , . v -,LAWN -,w- . , V, 4 -. ' 4 '- 1 'mf ..-1-1.13.-H ... A ' ' . ' ' . . , 7 V lg V , ,D , J , .. . ig-am , Q V The Robert E. Lee was the most luxurious boat ever built in New Albany. lts victory over the Natchez in a race from New Orleans to St. Louis made steamboat history. . . . leaving people homeless. However, when kept under control, it fertilized the rich bottom lands so the pioneers could grow corn and other food . . . it encouraged manufacturing by supply- ing unlimited water power . . . its steamboats made possible the most economical means of transportation. Even today our town is dependent upon the river for its industry and shipping. As in the Past, the Ohio is an integral part of New Albany.

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The view from Silver Hills of our town, the river, and the hills around is one of unsurpassed beauty. 2 . . a town steeped in river lore. It was the birthplace of packets that made history on the rivers of our newiy developing continent. It was the jumping-oft place for explorers going into the Northwest Territory . . . the site ot the famous buffalo crossing into the bluegrass country . . . the scene of the over-night stage stop . . . tne beginning ot the Yankee country. Our town grew up with the shrill whistle ot

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The Scribner House was built by Joel Scribner in l8l4. lt is the oldest residence in town and today retains its original furn- ishings. 4 . . . a town long associated with historic fact and fiction. It was the western border of the land grant made to George Rogers Clark . . . the site of many shipyards famous for the steamboats they furnished for Ohio and Mississippi River trans- portation . . . the home of William Vaughn Moody . . . the last station south on a famous railroad . . . the beginning of industries new to the Middle West . . . the site of colorful taverns where Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and many other famous persons were entertained. Our town was founded by the three Scribner brothers who left Albany, New York to sail down the Ohio River to find new and fertile lands. ln the spring of l8l 3, they set foot on the soil they later named New Albany. Our town grew rapidly and within a few years had acquired a reputation as a boat-building cen- ter. Timber was plentiful and near at hand . . . the shore sloped to a deep all-season channel. Little wonder the best steamboat builders crowded into New Albany. During this era of river traffic, our town was the scene of brilliant social affairs . . . steamboat captains and their families crowded the local taverns . . . southerners vacationed here. New