Just minutes from Interstate 65 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is a hidden treasure many miss when visiting southern Indiana. The Howard Steamboat Museum is a 22-room Romanesque Revival mansion completed in 1894 for Edmond Howard. Edmond’s father, James Howard, had come to Jeffersonville, Indiana, at 19 years old and started his shipyard. In its lifetime, it produced over 3000 watercraft, many considered the finest steamboats ever made. It was the most significant inland shipbuilder in the United States and was operated by three generations of Howards.
The mansion was built right before the Ohio River and the shipyard. This mansion is interesting because Edmond had the same craftsmen who built his fancy riverboats walk across the street and build the mansion itself.
For the wealthy Howard family, it was part home and part showplace. If there was a new novel invention, you can bet they were the first to have it. The luxury begins the moment you step into the mansion. Beautiful wood and appointments are everywhere.
This is my favorite room. You can see elements of every room boat interior.
You can see faces from the past in this room, in the holiday spittoon. Excellent craftsmanship was complemented by Edmond’s wise purchase of oriental rugs, chandeliers, furniture, and brass beds from Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair. These items were sent from Chicago to Jeffersonville on a train and are on display today.
Something tells me not everything was Mrs. Howard’s idea.
Going upstairs, you’ll notice a grand stairway. This was a replica of one built in a steamboat.
The Howard Mansion was one of the first places in southern Indiana to have indoor plumbing. Before that, no matter how rich you were, you had to go outside to an outhouse or use a pot to sit under your bed. There was no shortage of modern conveniences here at the Howard Mansion. They even had a fireplace in the bathroom, and the bathroom sinks were fancy and hand-painted.
This brass bed was purchased for $418 in 1893. That’s the equivalent of $11,000 in today’s money. Mrs. Howard bought four of them. There are many models and other artifacts to admire at the Howard Steamboat Museum.
Outside is a beautiful carriage house that can be rented for special occasions. There’s also a pilothouse like the ones you’d see on the top of all steamboats.
The Bell has a fascinating history. It was made in 1874 and spent the first part of its life at a monastery. It was then moved to the Mississippi Queen steamboats. Then, in 2008, it was placed here at the Howard shipyard as a memorial to where the Mississippi Queen was built. The most significant artifact here is the original paddlewheel of the Delta Queen.
If you love mansions, steamboats, and history, you should make plans to visit the Howard Steamboat Museum.
