Lincoln Ferry Park

Troy, Indiana

 

Land Purchased.

Land at Maxville has been purchased and deed recorded in Spencer County for a small tract of land near the bridge that spans Anderson River on the Maxville side. The land was transferred to a committee headed by Mike Bettinger of Tell City. There is to be a marker erected in honor of Abraham Lincoln who operated a ferry at that place at one time. It is said that the ground will finally go to the state and be maintained as a park. (Oct. 22, 1926 Cannelton Telephone)

 

Lincoln Ferry Park, just west of Troy, on Highway 66 next to the Anderson River is the spot where the Lincoln family arrived by ferry from Kentucky in 1816.

 

It is also the spot where Abraham Lincoln operated a ferryboat business for James Taylor, on the Anderson River, circa 1825.

 

“Beginning at age seventeen, Abraham Lincoln obtained jobs working on the Ohio and Anderson Rivers. His first job, with Dennis Hanks, and Squire Hall, was cutting wood for passing steamboats. He received twenty-five cents per cord. Later that year James Taylor offered Abraham a job of running the Anderson Ferry, earning six dollars a month.

 

“The ferry landing became an interesting place to gather. Abraham, with a wealth of stories, attracted listeners to hear his stories and recitations. While working at the ferry landing, during his spare time, Abraham built a small row boat.

“’As he stood at the landing, a steamer approached, coming down the river. At the same time two passengers came to the river’s bank that wished to be taken out to the packet with their luggage. Looking among the boats at the landing, they singled out Abraham’s, and asked him to transfer them to the steamer. This he did, and after seeing them and their trunks on board, he had the pleasure of receiving upon the bottom of his boat, before he shoved off, a silver half dollar from each of his passengers.’ In his 1866 Lincoln biography, J.G. Holland relates the story Abraham Lincoln told Secretary of State William Steward.”

 

At this site, also, a young Abraham Lincoln would ferry goods and peoples to boats/steamers waiting in the middle of the Ohio River. This angered the cross-river ferry boat operators. They went to court in an attempt to stop Abraham from operating his rowboat/ferry. Abraham educated himself about the law and its meanings; he defended himself in court. The judge ruled in Abraham’s favor. This thirst for knowledge and fairness began Lincoln’s love of the law.

 

One can imagine a time when families were crossing the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indiana, and from Indiana to Kentucky, to discover new adventures and to eek out a living from the harsh, forested landscape.

Currently, the park is a quiet, shaded setting with a picnic shelter available. Views east and west along the Ohio River are available. As well, the Anderson River, which is not that significant anymore, is still present. The Ohio River has also slightly altered course, width, and depth. Barge traffic can be watched traveling the Ohio similar to large flatboats in Lincoln’s day.