Howard Steamboat Museum

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Howard Home
Howard Steamboat Museum.JPG
Side view of Howard Steamboat Museum
Howard Steamboat Museum is located in Clark County, Indiana
Howard Steamboat Museum
Location in Clark County
Location1101 E. Market St., Jeffersonville, Indiana
Coordinates38°16′52″N 85°43′33″W / 38.28111°N 85.72583°W / 38.28111; -85.72583Coordinates: 38°16′52″N 85°43′33″W / 38.28111°N 85.72583°W / 38.28111; -85.72583
Area1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Built1890 (1890)
Architect
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.73000031[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 5, 1973

The Howard Steamboat Museum, or the Howard National Steamboat Museum,[2] is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. House in the Howard Family mansion, it features items related to steamboat history and specifically, the Howard Shipyards of Jeffersonville, IN. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Origin[]

The home was built in 1890 by Edmonds J. Howard, who inherited the family shipyard from his father James Howard. James founded the Howard Ship Yards, both in what was then Port Fulton, Indiana. It cost $100,000 to build the 22-room, 15,000 square foot, 3-floor Richardsonian Romanesque style red brick structure. Still within the museum are gasoliers that operate on electricity and natural gas, carvings, arches and a grand staircase that reflect the wealth Edmonds Howard had. The house features 15 different types of wood and themed rooms, such as a Moorish music parlor and a library. The museum features 90% original furnishings, many of which were purchased at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. As the Howards prided themselves on their hulls, a large collection of the half-breadths is displayed on the property.[3]:2–3 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as the Howard Home.[1]

The New York firm of designed the house, while a local man, Arthur Loomis supervised the project. They chose the bulky Richardson Romanesque style, while including exterior features such as red brick cladding and stained-glass windows. Keeping with the theme of the Howard family business, they installed a stairway fully copied from the stairway of the steamboat J. M. White.[4]

Over the course of ownership of the Howard Shipyards, 3,000 ships were launched in what to its day is the largest inland shipyard in the United States. The Howard Shipyard was eventually made into Jeffboat.

Museum[]

On March 17, 1971, a fire broke out in the museum; the museum reopened the next year.[3]:2 In 2016, the museum renovated the Carriage House, a home where the Howards lived while building their mansion, turning it into a rental venue[5]

Gallery[]

  • Moorish music parlor

  • The museum circa 1909

  • Stairway fashioned after the J.M. White steamboat

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Images from Clark County". Indiana Historical Society. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2015-08-01. Note: This includes Thomas M. Slade (September 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Howard Home" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-01. and Accompanying photographs.
  4. ^ "Howard Steamboat Museum, the Howard Home". National Register of Historical Places-Nomination Form. 5 July 1973. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Carriage House Makeover Fulfills Longtime Dream". 12 December 2016.

External links[]



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