Old Jeffersonville Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Old Jeffersonville Historic District is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana
. It marks the original boundaries of Jeffersonville, and is the heart of modern day downtown Jeffersonville It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983. The area is roughly bounded by Court Avenue at the North, Graham Street on the east, the Ohio River
at the south, and Interstate 65
at the west. In total, the district has 2,030 acres (8.2 km²), 500 buildings, 6 structures, and 11 objects. Several banks are located in the historic buildings in the district. The now defunct Steamboat Days Festival, held on the second weekend in September, used to be held on Spring Street and the waterfront. Jeffersonville's largest fire wiped out a block in the historical district on January 11, 2004 which destroyed the original Horner's Novelty store.
Several important buildings are located in the district. At Warder Park
the old Carnegie Library still stands, one of many built throughout Indiana in the early 20th Century. Across Spring Street from Warder Park is the Old Masonic Temple, built in the early 20th Century, with a majestic marble
staircase. The local office of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
maintains the historic Grisamore House
, its former office, and the Willey-Allhands House, its current office, which are located beside each other. Schimpff's Confectionery
is well known its candies, especially its red-hots and Modjelskas (a caramel-covered marshmallow confection). Horner's Novelty, a long-time commercial supplier of party supplies and costumes that was rebuilt after a fire, is also included in the landmark boundaries.
The first settlement in what later became Jeffersonville was just above the Falls of the Ohio, the only natural barrier along the entire length of the Ohio River
. Because of its location above the falls, Jeffersonville has the deepest harbor of any nearby town. The settlement was established in 1786 at Finney, near the present day Big Four Bridge. In June 1802, Lieutenant Isaac Bowman had 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of land, known as Section No. 1, awarded to him for his service in the American Revolutionary War
as part of Clark's Grant
.
Jeffersonville started as three streets that paralleled the Ohio River: Water Street (gone), Front Street (Riverside Drive) and Market Street.
In 1802 John Gwathemey was appointed to plat the land north of Market Street using a plan devised by Thomas Jefferson. This plan deviated from Jefferson's original with the use of diagonal streets in the open checkerboard. By 1816 this plan proved to be unworkable and was re-platted by order of the Indiana Legislature (An Act to Change the Plan of the Town of Jeffersonville) in 1817.
In 1836 a Cincinnati civil engineer (H. L. Barnum) was hired to plot the northern expansion of the town. This plan was again an attempt to use Jefferson's original. The plan was rejected by the town council and another plan from a local civil engineer (Edmund F. Lee) was accepted. At the time Cincinnati was the major town in the area and subsequent map makers used the Barnum map as their primary source. Consequently most maps of Jeffersonville from 1837 to about 1852 are in error.
From its heyday of the 1850s until the Great Depression
in the 1930s, Jeffersonville was the leading center of U.S. steamboat
production, due largely to its excellent harbor, which remained the deepest in the surrounding area. Many individuals who lived in the district worked at the Howard Shipyards, that became Jeffboat
in the nearby town of Port Fulton
, which was eventually annexed into Jeffersonville. The town gained its first railroad in 1852, connecting to Columbus, Indiana
, and with the opening of the Fourteenth Street Bridge in 1870, became a railroad center. The city became an important distribution center during the Civil War
for the Union Army
, because three railroads connected to Jeffersonville and because the Ohio River served as a defensive barrier against invasion from Confederate
attack, it was deemed a safer location than the more vulnerable city of Louisville, Kentucky
located on the southern side of the river.
Most of the buildings still standing in the district were built after 1870. The majority of the commercial buildings along Spring Street are Italianate styles and Gothic Revival
churches reflecting the large immigrations from Ireland
and Germany
that came during the time period. The residential buildings are generally of the American Four Square
style, bungalow
s, and shotgun house
s.
Until the mid-1950s, the district was a significant commercial area, including a J.C.Penney department store. However, with the construction of Youngstown Shopping Center 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the downtown area on 10th Street/Indiana State Road 62
, the district began its decline. The decline was completed when Green Tree Mall
was built in the 1960s, taking Penney's with it. By the 1980s over twenty store fronts were empty, leaving the bulk of the stores in the district occupied by antique shops, thrift stores, or repair technicians.
Spring Street, a typical commercial 19th century corridor, is the primary roadway within the district. Most buildings along Spring Street are Italianate
and eclectic Victorian
. The structure vary between two and three stories tall, with brick as the most common building material. The 100 block is the closest to the Ohio River and has seen the most demolition. It contains the Old Strauss Hotel at the corner of Riverside Drive, a three-story Italianate
hostelry with a corbeled cornice and arched windows. The buildings on the 200 block are mostly Italianate
style buildings, the most notable being the old Elk's Club structure (a three-story highly decorated glazed brick building) and the Bensinger's Building (a 1920s commercial building of pressed brick and crenelated parapet
). There is more diverse architecture on the 300-block, with an 1800s Masonic Temple, the LaRose Theatre (a 1920s orange glazed brick structure with terra cotta
trim), Horner's Novelty (which had to be rebuilt after the worst fire in Jeffersonville's history), and Schimpff's Confectionery
, a candy store that opened in 1891 that now also features a small candy museum. More Italianate
structures are on the 400 block, but its most important structure is the 1907 Citizens National Bank Building, which is stone Classical Revival with large eagles for adornment. The block also holds the regional office for the local Boy Scouts of America
council. Warder Park
is located on the east side of the 500 block and features a Classical Revival
Masonic Temple that used for most of the 20th Century.
At the southeast end of Spring Street is Riverside Drive, which provides some of the most scenic views of the Ohio River and the eastern Louisville
shoreline because of the limited alterations compared to other sections of the Ohio River in the Louisville area. Houseboats are docked along the Ohio River on the south side of Riverside Drive. The north side of Riverside Drive has a variety of architectural styles and is mostly residential. Unlike the other prominent streets, Riverside drive is outside the flood-wall that surrounds most of the city and was built two feet higher than the height the Ohio River flood of 1937
.
Market Street is largely residential, its 200 block is has many vacant areas, but the 300–500 blocks features many shotgun houses. As Market Streets proceeds eastward out of the district, it becomes known as Utica Pike near the Howard Steamboat Museum
and connects Jeffersonville with Utica, Indiana
. North of Market Street, few buildings remain that date before 1850, making the character of the district during the early time frame unknowable.
Chestnut Street is also largely residential. The 200 block of West Chestnut features old supports for the Big Four Bridge and the 100 block of West Chestnut holds the Grisamore House
, which was separately placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. On East Chestnut, the 100 block contains many houses built around 1900 and the 200 block is filled with bungalow
s. St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, a Spanish-flavored neo-Baroque
structure with a Moor
ish-styled rectory
, is located on the 300 block of East Chestnut. Another church is located on the 400 block including the Gothic Revival style First Presbyterian Church (with lancet windows and belltower, and a typical Works Progress Administration
Art Modern school whose cruciform plan has a stuccoed facade and metal casement windows.
Maple Street features more commercial enterprises than the previous southwest/northeast streets. The 100 block of West Maple Street is dominated by parking lots and a funeral home. The Old Towne Grocery, originally built in the 1920s as a Krogers and later an A&P, and a collectibles store named Hockeyman's are located across from each other on the 100 block of East Maple. The 200 block of East Maple Street is mostly residential, with four large Victorian homes and a large office building used by the Indiana Bell Telephone Company. The 300–800 blocks of East Maple are residential and are mostly American Four-Square in construction. The blocks also contain a few Gothic-Revival churches,
The northernmost street is Court Avenue, sections of which are part of the historic district and others, having seen new construction, are not part of the district; only the 100 West, 100 East, and 700–900 East Blocks of Court Avenue are in the district. This allows for Warder Park and eastern residential areas, but not the current Jeffersonville Township Public Library
and the Clark County Courthouse. This was the site of the Falls City Area Center, a community college that eventually moved to New Albany and became Indiana University Southeast
. Warder Park was also the site of an important Civil War bakery, which furnished hardtack
for thousands of Union soldiers.
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
. It marks the original boundaries of Jeffersonville, and is the heart of modern day downtown Jeffersonville It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983. The area is roughly bounded by Court Avenue at the North, Graham Street on the east, the Ohio River
Ohio River
The 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...
at the south, and Interstate 65
Interstate 65 in Indiana
In the U.S. state of Indiana, Interstate 65 traverses the state from south to north. The Indiana portion begins near Louisville, Kentucky and travels north, passing through Columbus, Indianapolis, Lafayette. Interstate 65 terminates near Gary on the Indiana Toll Road. Interstate 65 covers 261.27...
at the west. In total, the district has 2,030 acres (8.2 km²), 500 buildings, 6 structures, and 11 objects. Several banks are located in the historic buildings in the district. The now defunct Steamboat Days Festival, held on the second weekend in September, used to be held on Spring Street and the waterfront. Jeffersonville's largest fire wiped out a block in the historical district on January 11, 2004 which destroyed the original Horner's Novelty store.
Several important buildings are located in the district. At Warder Park
Warder Park
Warder Park is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana on Court Avenue. This park has been a part of the community since the mid-19th century, when it had a bakery to produce hardtack to Union soldiers during the American Civil War. The park wasn't established officially until the year 1881 and is named...
the old Carnegie Library still stands, one of many built throughout Indiana in the early 20th Century. Across Spring Street from Warder Park is the Old Masonic Temple, built in the early 20th Century, with a majestic marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
staircase. The local office of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
Indiana Landmarks is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded as the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana by Indianapolis pharmaceutical executive Eli Lilly in 1960, the organization is a private non-governmental organization with nearly 11,000 members...
maintains the historic Grisamore House
Grisamore House
The Grisamore House was built by two brothers from Philadelphia, David and Wilson Grisamore, in 1837. It was designed from elements of both Federal and Greek style to build this two-story brick structure, originally intended to be a row house. It has housed several Jeffersonville families of...
, its former office, and the Willey-Allhands House, its current office, which are located beside each other. Schimpff's Confectionery
Schimpff's Confectionery
Schimpff's Confectionery is a candy store and museum located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, within the Old Jeffersonville Historic District. It was opened in 1891 at the same site it is today by Gustav Schimpff Sr. and Jr., although the family had been making candy in the Louisville, Kentucky, area...
is well known its candies, especially its red-hots and Modjelskas (a caramel-covered marshmallow confection). Horner's Novelty, a long-time commercial supplier of party supplies and costumes that was rebuilt after a fire, is also included in the landmark boundaries.
History
Ohio River
The 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...
. Because of its location above the falls, Jeffersonville has the deepest harbor of any nearby town. The settlement was established in 1786 at Finney, near the present day Big Four Bridge. In June 1802, Lieutenant Isaac Bowman had 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of land, known as Section No. 1, awarded to him for his service in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The 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...
as part of Clark's Grant
Clark's Grant
Clark's Grant was a tract of land granted to George Rogers Clark and the soldiers who fought with him during the American Revolutionary War by the state of Virginia in honor of their service...
.
Jeffersonville started as three streets that paralleled the Ohio River: Water Street (gone), Front Street (Riverside Drive) and Market Street.
In 1802 John Gwathemey was appointed to plat the land north of Market Street using a plan devised by Thomas Jefferson. This plan deviated from Jefferson's original with the use of diagonal streets in the open checkerboard. By 1816 this plan proved to be unworkable and was re-platted by order of the Indiana Legislature (An Act to Change the Plan of the Town of Jeffersonville) in 1817.
In 1836 a Cincinnati civil engineer (H. L. Barnum) was hired to plot the northern expansion of the town. This plan was again an attempt to use Jefferson's original. The plan was rejected by the town council and another plan from a local civil engineer (Edmund F. Lee) was accepted. At the time Cincinnati was the major town in the area and subsequent map makers used the Barnum map as their primary source. Consequently most maps of Jeffersonville from 1837 to about 1852 are in error.
From its heyday of the 1850s until the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in the 1930s, Jeffersonville was the leading center of U.S. steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
production, due largely to its excellent harbor, which remained the deepest in the surrounding area. Many individuals who lived in the district worked at the Howard Shipyards, that became Jeffboat
Jeffboat
Jeffboat is the largest inland shipbuilder in the United States, located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is the second-largest builder of barges...
in the nearby town of Port Fulton
Port Fulton, Indiana
Port Fulton was a town located two miles up the river from Louisville, within present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana. At its height it stretched from the Ohio River to modern-day 10th Street, and from Crestview to Jefferson/Main Streets....
, which was eventually annexed into Jeffersonville. The town gained its first railroad in 1852, connecting to Columbus, Indiana
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
, and with the opening of the Fourteenth Street Bridge in 1870, became a railroad center. The city became an important distribution center during the Civil War
American Civil War
The 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...
for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, because three railroads connected to Jeffersonville and because the Ohio River served as a defensive barrier against invasion from Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
attack, it was deemed a safer location than the more vulnerable city of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville 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...
located on the southern side of the river.
Most of the buildings still standing in the district were built after 1870. The majority of the commercial buildings along Spring Street are Italianate styles and Gothic Revival
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
churches reflecting the large immigrations from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
that came during the time period. The residential buildings are generally of the American Four Square
American Foursquare
The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
style, bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s, and shotgun house
Shotgun house
The shotgun house is a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than 12 feet wide, with doors at each end. It was the most popular style of house in the Southern United States from the end of the American Civil War , through the 1920s. Alternate names include shotgun shack,...
s.
Until the mid-1950s, the district was a significant commercial area, including a J.C.Penney department store. However, with the construction of Youngstown Shopping Center 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the downtown area on 10th Street/Indiana State Road 62
Indiana State Road 62
State Road 62 in the U.S. State of Indiana is an east–west route that runs from the Illinois state line in the southwest corner of Indiana to the Louisville, Kentucky area, then northeast toward the Cincinnati, Ohio area.-Route description:...
, the district began its decline. The decline was completed when Green Tree Mall
Green Tree Mall
Green Tree Mall is a shopping mall located in Clarksville, Indiana, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. The mall is located off of I-65 about four miles north of downtown Louisville. It has a total area of . It was named for a large boundary tree of considerable age that once stood at the location...
was built in the 1960s, taking Penney's with it. By the 1980s over twenty store fronts were empty, leaving the bulk of the stores in the district occupied by antique shops, thrift stores, or repair technicians.
Streets
The district is served by a northwest/southeast primary road called Spring Street. From Spring Street are five secondary streets going southwest to northeast; starting from the Ohio River and going the north the secondary streets are Riverside Drive, Market Street, Chestnut Street, Maple Street, and ending with Court Avenue.Spring Street, a typical commercial 19th century corridor, is the primary roadway within the district. Most buildings along Spring Street are Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
and eclectic Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
. The structure vary between two and three stories tall, with brick as the most common building material. The 100 block is the closest to the Ohio River and has seen the most demolition. It contains the Old Strauss Hotel at the corner of Riverside Drive, a three-story Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
hostelry with a corbeled cornice and arched windows. The buildings on the 200 block are mostly Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style buildings, the most notable being the old Elk's Club structure (a three-story highly decorated glazed brick building) and the Bensinger's Building (a 1920s commercial building of pressed brick and crenelated parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
). There is more diverse architecture on the 300-block, with an 1800s Masonic Temple, the LaRose Theatre (a 1920s orange glazed brick structure with terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
trim), Horner's Novelty (which had to be rebuilt after the worst fire in Jeffersonville's history), and Schimpff's Confectionery
Schimpff's Confectionery
Schimpff's Confectionery is a candy store and museum located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, within the Old Jeffersonville Historic District. It was opened in 1891 at the same site it is today by Gustav Schimpff Sr. and Jr., although the family had been making candy in the Louisville, Kentucky, area...
, a candy store that opened in 1891 that now also features a small candy museum. More Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
structures are on the 400 block, but its most important structure is the 1907 Citizens National Bank Building, which is stone Classical Revival with large eagles for adornment. The block also holds the regional office for the local Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
council. Warder Park
Warder Park
Warder Park is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana on Court Avenue. This park has been a part of the community since the mid-19th century, when it had a bakery to produce hardtack to Union soldiers during the American Civil War. The park wasn't established officially until the year 1881 and is named...
is located on the east side of the 500 block and features a Classical Revival
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
Masonic Temple that used for most of the 20th Century.
At the southeast end of Spring Street is Riverside Drive, which provides some of the most scenic views of the Ohio River and the eastern Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville 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...
shoreline because of the limited alterations compared to other sections of the Ohio River in the Louisville area. Houseboats are docked along the Ohio River on the south side of Riverside Drive. The north side of Riverside Drive has a variety of architectural styles and is mostly residential. Unlike the other prominent streets, Riverside drive is outside the flood-wall that surrounds most of the city and was built two feet higher than the height the Ohio River flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
.
Howard Steamboat Museum
The Howard Steamboat Museum is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. Based in the old Howard home, it features items related to steamboat history....
and connects Jeffersonville with Utica, Indiana
Utica, Indiana
Utica is a town in Utica Township, Clark County, Indiana, United States. The population was 776 at the 2010 census.- History :Between 1794-1825, Utica was a popular ferry crossing, as ferry crossings were considered too dangerous at Jeffersonville, due to inexperienced ferry operators and the Falls...
. North of Market Street, few buildings remain that date before 1850, making the character of the district during the early time frame unknowable.
Chestnut Street is also largely residential. The 200 block of West Chestnut features old supports for the Big Four Bridge and the 100 block of West Chestnut holds the Grisamore House
Grisamore House
The Grisamore House was built by two brothers from Philadelphia, David and Wilson Grisamore, in 1837. It was designed from elements of both Federal and Greek style to build this two-story brick structure, originally intended to be a row house. It has housed several Jeffersonville families of...
, which was separately placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. On East Chestnut, the 100 block contains many houses built around 1900 and the 200 block is filled with bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s. St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, a Spanish-flavored neo-Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
structure with a Moor
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
ish-styled rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, is located on the 300 block of East Chestnut. Another church is located on the 400 block including the Gothic Revival style First Presbyterian Church (with lancet windows and belltower, and a typical Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
Art Modern school whose cruciform plan has a stuccoed facade and metal casement windows.
The northernmost street is Court Avenue, sections of which are part of the historic district and others, having seen new construction, are not part of the district; only the 100 West, 100 East, and 700–900 East Blocks of Court Avenue are in the district. This allows for Warder Park and eastern residential areas, but not the current Jeffersonville Township Public Library
Jeffersonville Township Public Library
Jeffersonville Township Public Library is a public library system in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA. The Jeffersonville Township Public Library manages two libraries. One in Jeffersonville and the other in Clarksville, Indiana...
and the Clark County Courthouse. This was the site of the Falls City Area Center, a community college that eventually moved to New Albany and became Indiana University Southeast
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 :...
. Warder Park was also the site of an important Civil War bakery, which furnished hardtack
Hardtack
Hardtack is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang...
for thousands of Union soldiers.
See also
- List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
- New Albany Downtown Historic District
- Old Clarksville SiteOld Clarksville SiteThe Old Clarksville Site is along the waterfront of Clarksville, Indiana, roughly between the Interpretive Center and Clark Homesite of Falls of the Ohio State Park...
External links
- Historic Landmarks Foundation dedicates new Jeffersonville office — News story from October 2004
- Downtown Jeffersonville Historic Sites