Rising Sun, Indiana, is a beautiful waterfront town in Ohio County, established in 1814; believe me, it’s got a lot of surprises. The inviting shelter draws you to the Ohio River, a delicate spindle that looks a little like a steamboat captain’s wheel from days gone by.
There’s not a single wrong view here.
A large steamboat is docked at the Rising Star Casino, harkening back to when hundreds of steamboats passed Rising Sun daily. It’s a wonderfully peaceful place to sit and watch boats go up and down the river.
But there’s a lot more to this town if you have time. Built from 1844 to 1845, Ohio County’s courthouse is the oldest continually serving courthouse in Indiana.
At the Ohio County Historical Society, here’s where your day changes. Over the door is a sign that says, “This is the home of the Hoosier Boy,” if you don’t know the history, that needs some explanation. Then wait, it’s also home to the Hoosier Girl. Confused? So was I.
Inside the Ohio County Historical Society is a museum that’s growing. Whether researching history or genealogy, this is a great place to do both. You’ll see artifacts from local history and farming, and inside the JW Whitlock gallery, the answer to your question: What is a Hoosier Boy or Hoosier Girl?
Born in 1871, J.W. Whitlock was a dynamic inventor and businessman. Even though he didn’t have a college degree or even a high school diploma, he could solve complex engineering problems. Whitlock had many businesses; he made everything from furniture to harps to boats. He made a small fortune inventing or improving for companies like Rohit Sir and the Ford Motor Company. He was very much like Thomas Edison and, along the lines of making things better and faster, Whitlock was a speedboat enthusiast.
He built several fast boats in the early 1900s, all named Pier’s Oh Boy. But, of course, he wanted something even faster. With the K7A TU7 Hoosier Boy, he installed a 12-cylinder Liberty engine that cranked out a whopping 400 horsepower. It was initially designed for World War I airplanes, specifically the de Havilland DH4. Over 20,000 engines were built, and you could buy them as surplus after the war. And that’s precisely what Ro Whitlock did. And this is that boat, the 24-foot Hoosier Boy, massively influential. It set a speed record that has not been broken for almost 100 years. On October 9th, 1924, the Hoosier Boy made a 267-mile round-trip record from Cincinnati to Louisville in 267 minutes and 49 seconds. That’s nearly a mile a minute if you’re doing the math.
It bothered him that he missed a mile a minute by just 49 seconds. Having set a new speed record, he couldn’t stop to accept the prize. Ro had hit a tree branch floating in the water, and it had made a hole. Instead, he hit the gas and returned to Rising Sun for repairs before it sank. True story.
[Music]
Hoosier Girl.
This record was never broken and will never be since boats have to travel through the Markland Dam and locks. The Hoosier Girl is next to the Hoosier Boy and is fitted with a Lycoming truck engine. It was a speedy boat but not nearly as fast as the Hoosier Boy. This was a 1940s reproduction of the original Hoosier Girl, built-in 1908. It is dramatically lit and pretty, but wait, there’s more.
These are chairs produced by the JW Whitlock company, and there’s one extraordinary chair I’ve been saving as a surprise—tremendous, creepy: an electric chair used for capital punishment. I didn’t ask if you could get your picture taken in it. I’m guessing not.
And lastly, something you want your picture taken next to a two-headed cow. I guarantee it will be a conversation starter for years to come.
Rising Sun, Indiana. It’s a great place to hang out along the waterfront and catch some history, fast boats, an electric chair, and a weird cow, only in our great state of Indiana.
