New Albany is a city in
Floyd CountyFloyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 74,578. The county seat is New Albany. Floyd County is the county with the second smallest land area in the entire state...
,
IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, situated along the
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
opposite
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Floyd CountyFloyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 74,578. The county seat is New Albany. Floyd County is the county with the second smallest land area in the entire state...
. It is bounded by I-265 to the north and the
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
to the south, and is considered part of the
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The mayor of New Albany is Jeff Gahan, a Democrat, he was recently elected in 2011.
History=
The land of New Albany was officially granted to the United States after the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The territory had been captured by
George Rogers ClarkGeorge Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
in 1779. For his services Clark was awarded large tracts of land in Southern Indiana including most of Floyd County. After the war Clark sold and distributed some of his land to his fellow soldiers. The area of New Albany ended up in the possession of Col. John Paul.
Early history
New Albany was founded in July 1813 when three brothers from Albany,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
—Joel, Abner, and Nathaniel Scribner—arrived at the
Falls of the OhioThe Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981.- Overview :...
and named the site after their home. They purchased the land from Col. John Paul. New Albany was platted by John Graham on the land owned by the Scribner brothers. In 1814 Joel and Mary Scribner built their home in New Albany, the Scribner House still stands today.
New Albany was incorporated as a town in 1817 as part of
Clark CountyClark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2010 Census, the population was 110,232. The county seat is Jeffersonville. Clarksville is also a major city in the county...
. In 1819, three years after Indiana was admitted as a state, New Albany became the seat of government for newly established
Floyd CountyFloyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 74,578. The county seat is New Albany. Floyd County is the county with the second smallest land area in the entire state...
. A courthouse was finally built in 1824. New Albany was incorporated as a city in 1839. It would remain one of the largest cities in the mid-west for the next 50 years.
Boom town
The steamboat industry was the engine of the city's economy during the mid-19th century. At least a half-dozen shipbuilders were in operation and turned out a multitude of steamboats and packet boats including the
Robert E. LeeThe Robert E. Lee, nicknamed the "Monarch of the Mississippi," was a steamboat built in New Albany, Indiana in 1866. The hull was designed by DeWitt Hill, and the riverboat cost more than $200,000 to build. It was named for Robert E...
,
Eliza BattleThe Eliza Battle was a Tombigbee River steamboat that ran a route between Columbus, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama during the 1850s. She was destroyed in a fire on the river near modern Pennington, Alabama on March 1, 1858...
, the Eclipse, and the A.A. Shotwell. Shipbuilding was accompanied by a wide range of ancillary business including machine shops, foundries, cabinet and furniture factories, and silversmith shops. Its second largest business was the American Plate Glass Works. By 1850, New Albany was the largest city in Indiana due to its river contacts with the South. New Albany's size and economic influence overshadowed all of its neighboring cities, including
LouisvilleLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
In 1853 the
New Albany High SchoolFounded in 1853, New Albany High School is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Alleghenies and the first in Indiana. New Albany High School has the first rastafarian-run FM radio station to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and has had their own cable TV channel ...
opened, the first public high school in the state. The original school was built at the corner of West First Street and Spring Street. New Albany would also be the first in the state to create a consolidated school district several years later.
Before the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Over half of Hoosiers with over $100,000 lived in New Albany making it by far the wealthiest part of the state.
Ashbel P. Willard, Governor of the State of Indiana and a native of New Albany, dedicated the Floyd County Fairgrounds in 1859. That year the
Indiana State FairThe Indiana State Fair is an annual fair held in Indianapolis, Indiana, usually in the month of August. The first fair was held in 1881 and the 2009 fair had the highest number of attendees at 973,902....
was held in New Albany. During the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the fairgrounds were converted to become Camp Noble and used as a muster point for the area's regiments.
In 1862
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
established one of the first seven
National Cemeteries"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 146 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...
in New Albany for burying the many war dead.
A new larger courthouse was built in 1865 which was used until the 1960s when the current City-County courthouse was constructed, also the first in Indiana.
The
Town Clock ChurchThe Town Clock Church, currently the Second Baptist Church of New Albany, Indiana, is a historic church located at 300 East Main Street, within the New Albany Downtown Historic District. It was originally constructed in 1852 as Second Presbyterian Church, in what was then the largest city in...
, now the Second Baptist Church, was used as the New Albany stop in the
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the trade with the South dwindled, and after the War much of Indiana saw New Albany as too friendly to the South. The city never regained its stature, remaining a city of 40,000 with only its antebellum/early-Victorian “
Mansion-RowThe Mansion Row Historic District in New Albany, Indiana has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. It features the various mansions of the city when New Albany was the largest city in Indiana around the time of the American Civil War. The main section is on Main Street from...
” buildings to remind itself of its boom period. New Albany’s robust steamboat industry ended by 1870, with the last steamboat built in New Albany named, appropriately, the
Robert E. LeeThe Robert E. Lee, nicknamed the "Monarch of the Mississippi," was a steamboat built in New Albany, Indiana in 1866. The hull was designed by DeWitt Hill, and the riverboat cost more than $200,000 to build. It was named for Robert E...
.
During the second half of the 19th century New Albany experienced an industrial boom despite the collapse of the steamboat industry. The advent of the railroad created economic opportunity for the city as a pork packing and locomotive repair center. A bridge was built across the
RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in 1886 providing a rail and road connection with Kentucky. American Plate Glass Works opened in 1865 which employed as many as 2,000 workers. When the factory relocated in 1893 New Albany lost a large part of its population and went into economic decline.
20th century
In the early 20th century, New Albany became a center of plywood and veneer, and its largest employer was the New Albany Veneering Company. By 1920, New Albany was the largest producer of plywood and veneer in the world with other producers including Indiana Veneer Panel Company and Hoosier Panel Company.
Interstate 64 came through New Albany in 1961 and led to the construction of the
Sherman Minton BridgeThe Sherman Minton Bridge is a double-deck through arch bridge spanning the Ohio River, carrying I-64 and US 150 over the river between Kentucky and Indiana. The bridge connects the west side of Louisville, Kentucky to downtown New Albany, Indiana.- History :...
. The project cost 14.8 million dollars. The bridge was named for US Senator and later Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton who was a native of nearby Georgetown and practiced law in New Albany. The bridge was named the "most beautiful long-span bridge of 1961" by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Charles Allen ProsserCharles Allen Prosser was the Father of Vocational Education in the United States and the architect of the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act. His mission in life was to help improve the education of American children.- Biography :...
lived in New Albany for much of his life.
Charles Allen Prosser School of TechnologyCharles Allen Prosser School of Technology is a vocational school in New Albany, Indiana. The school was named in honor of New Albany native Charles Allen Prosser, the "Father of Vocational Education" in the United States.-Courses:...
was named in honor of his accomplishments as the
"Father of Vocational Education."
In the mid and late 20th century, New Albany became an innovator in using electronic media in education. New Albany High School, a public school, started WNAS-FM in 1949, which is the nation's oldest continuously operating
high school radioHigh school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...
station.
In the late 1960s, Slate Run Elementary School started WSRS, a non-licensed student-produced closed circuit television service for its classrooms, one of the nation's first in an elementary school.
Ohio River flood
In January 1937 a terrible flood affected New Albany and the region. New Albany, like the other river towns, had no flood walls and no methods of regulating the river. The
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
rose to 60.8 feet at New Albany leaving most of the town under 10 or more feet of water for nearly three weeks. The flood would be the worst disaster to ever befall the city.
After the flood New Albany was the first city in the region to begin construction on massive flood walls around the city. New Albany's flood walls would serve as examples for those that would later be constructed around Louisville and Clark County.
Notable people
- Charles M. La Follette
Charles Marion La Follette was an American lawyer and politician from Indiana. His great-grandfather was William Heilman, who was in the United States House of Representatives from Indiana...
- member of Congress, was born in New Albany.
- George W. Maher
George Washington Maher was a significant contributor to the Prairie School-style of architecture during the first-quarter of the 20th century. He also was known for blending the traditional with the Arts & Crafts-style. According to architectural historian H...
- early 20th century Prairie SchoolPrairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
style architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
- Sherman Minton
Sherman "Shay" Minton was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was the most educated justice during his time on the Supreme Court, having attended Indiana University, Yale and the Sorbonne...
- United States Supreme Court JusticeThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
who practiced law in New Albany. He is buried in the city's Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery. The I-64Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...
double-decker bridge that crosses the Ohio River between New Albany and Louisville, Kentucky is named for him.
- Shanda Sharer - girl who was tortured and burned to death by four teenage girls.
- Fuzzy Zoeller
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jr. is an American professional golfer. He is one of three golfers to have won The Masters in his first appearance in the event. He also won the 1984 U.S. Open, which earned him the 1985 Bob Jones Award....
- PGA golfer - 1979 Masters Champion and 1984 U.S. OpenThe United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
Champion
- Camille Wright Thompson (born March 5, 1955 New Albany, Indiana) is a former American swimmer. Wright won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.Beat by the East German swimmers.Graduate of New Albany High School 1973,University of Hawaii1979. .http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/25/sports/olympics-us-seeks-redress-for-1976-doping-in-olympics.html
- Mike Wolfe - Pro Bowler on the PBA Tour
The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA Tour consists of "exempt" bowlers who are a part of the almost 4,300 members worldwide...
, winner of the Earl Anthony Classic
- Robert C. Harding - Academic, author, and noted expert on Latin American, international security, and space policy issues. Graduate of Our Lady of Providence High School.
- Rob Conway - Former WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
Wrestler
- Joseph Ritter - Cardinal
- Four Reno Gang
The Reno Brothers Gang, also known as the Reno Gang and The Jackson Thieves, were a group of criminals that operated in the Midwestern United States during and just after the American Civil War. Though short-lived, they carried out the first three peacetime train robberies in U.S. history...
members were lynched in the New Albany Jail by masked vigilantes from Jackson County in 1868
- Charles Allen Prosser
Charles Allen Prosser was the Father of Vocational Education in the United States and the architect of the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act. His mission in life was to help improve the education of American children.- Biography :...
- the Father of Vocational EducationVocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
- C. A. Prosser School of TechnologyCharles Allen Prosser School of Technology is a vocational school in New Albany, Indiana. The school was named in honor of New Albany native Charles Allen Prosser, the "Father of Vocational Education" in the United States.-Courses:...
in New Albany is named in his honor.
- Mike Sodrel
Michael E. "Mike" Sodrel served as the United States Representative from the Ninth Congressional district of Indiana, representing the Republican Party, for one term from 2004. Sodrel's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives was his first public office. Sodrel launched another run against...
- Former congressman of Indiana's 9th district.
- Ashbel P. Willard
Ashbel Parsons Willard was state senator, the 12th Lieutenant Governor, and the 11th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. His terms in office were marked by increasingly severe partisanship leading to the breakup of the state Democratic Party in the years leading up to the American Civil War...
- 11th Governor of Indiana
- Edwin Hubble
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy...
- Astronomer and namesake of the Hubble Space Telescope was a physics and Spanish teacher and basketball coach at New Albany High School during the 1913-1914 academic year.
- John M. Stotsenburg
John M. Stotsenburg was a Captain of the Sixth U.S. Cavalry, and a Colonel of the First Nebraska Volunteers. He was killed in the Philippine-American war, while leading his regiment in action near Quingua, Bulacan, Philippines on April 23, 1899 .-History:Colonel Stotsenburg was a native of New...
- United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
colonelIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
killed in the Philippine-American WarThe Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
.
- John MacLeod - college basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
and NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
coach.
- Craig Pumphrey
Craig Pumphrey began his martial arts education when he was fourteen years old. He is a world-renowned award-winning martial arts expert and Guinness world record holding professional breaker. His first "big break" was diving off a shed and body slamming through 10 feet of ice...
- Current Police Officer for the city. Know well as a Television presenterHuman Wrecking Balls is an American television reality show that premiered on November 12, 2008 on G4 television network.-Details:Martial Artists and breaking champions Craig and Paul Pumphrey demolish everything from boats and cars to houses using only their bare hands...
and martial artist.
- Gregg Seidl-Author of "Images of America: New Albany," "Wicked New Albany,"and local historian and tour guide.
- Jouett Meekin
George Jouett Meekin was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1891 to 1900. He played for the Louisville Colonels, Washington Senators, New York Giants, Boston Beaneaters, and Pittsburgh Pirates...
- pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who won 153 games in Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Attractions
New Albany's Main Street features a large collection of late 19th century mansions from the city's heyday as a shipbuilding center. The centerpiece is the
Culbertson MansionCulbertson Mansion State Historic Site is located in New Albany, Indiana by the Ohio River. It was the home of William Culbertson, who was once the richest man in Indiana. Built in 1867 at a cost of $120,000, this French Second Empire-style mansion has 25-rooms within , and was completed in...
, a three-story French Second Empire Style structure, which is today an Indiana state memorial.
Every October, the downtown area of New Albany is host to the
Harvest Homecoming festival, one of the largest annual events in the state. Festivities begin on the first weekend of October, but the main part, consisting of midway rides, shows, and booths lining the downtown streets, lasts from Thursday-Sunday of the second weekend in October.
Geography
New Albany is located at 38.301935°N 85.821442°W (38.301935, -85.821442).
According to the United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 14.8 square miles (38.3 km²), of which, 14.6 square miles (37.8 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (1.15%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 37,603 people, 15,959 households, and 10,054 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,571.1 people per square mile (992.4/km
2). There were 17,098 housing units at an average density of 1,169.1 per square mile (451.2/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.00% White, 12.93% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.62% from two or more races. 1.36% of the population is Hispanic (Hispanics can be of any race).
There were 15,959 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,923, and the median income for a family was $41,993. Males had a median income of $31,778 versus $24,002 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,365. About 11.4% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
See also
- List of mayors of New Albany, Indiana
- List of cities and towns along the Ohio River
- New Albany High School
Founded in 1853, New Albany High School is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Alleghenies and the first in Indiana. New Albany High School has the first rastafarian-run FM radio station to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and has had their own cable TV channel ...
- Indiana University Southeast
Indiana University Southeast is a regional campus in the Indiana University system and is located in New Albany, Indiana, in Floyd County, which is in south-central Indiana and part of the metropolitan Louisville, Kentucky, area.- History :...
External links