Local Historical Figure - John Fulton - Relative of Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, John, his son Samuel and their families moved here from Lancaster Co., PA. They first traveled to Pittsburgh by two-horse wagons then by flatboats to Rising Sun settling in 1798. Sponsored by the City of Rising Sun.
Local Historical Figure - Col. Benjamin Chambers - While commissioned under the John Adams administration in 1799 to survey lands west of the Great Miami River, he was drawn to Rising Sun. In 1803, he built a cabin here where he lived with his family under 1809. Sponsored by Aurora Lumber Company, Inc.
Local Historical Figure - Ethan Allen Brown - Obtained several thousand acres near Rising Sun in 1803 then left in 1804 for Cincinnati to practice law. Brown became Ohio's 7th governor in 1818, retired to Rising Sun in 1836, then was an Indiana State Representative from 1841-43. Sponsored by Ewbank & Kramer.
Local Historical Figure - John James - Arrived in 1814 and purchased 776 acres of land from Col. Benjamin Chambers. John, with sons Pinkney and Henry, surveyed the land and platted Rising Sun. While he wasn't the first settler, James is known as the city's founder. Sponsored by Rising Sun Municipal Utilities.
Local Historical Figure - Pinkney James - Son of city founder John James, he helped his father with Rising Sun's original survey and plat. Pinkney built steamboats and had many other business ventures in town including two cotton and woolen mills employing more than 50 people. Sponsored by OMI Industries, Inc.
Local Historical Figure - Henry James - Son of city founder John James, he also assisted his father with the original survey and platting of Rising Sun. During his lifetime, Henry built 24 houses and three mills in Rising Sun. Sponsored by The City of Rising Sun.
The first sermon in Rising Sun was held at the end of Main Street in the summer of 1815. Methodist minister John Stranger preached from the trunk of a fallen tree. Pews were branches of trees cut down to build cabins. C.A. Craft's barroom later became the first Methodist Church. Sponsored by American Structurepoint, Inc.
Rising Sun Churches: 1815 Methodist Episcopal, 1816 Presbyterian, 1832 Church of Christ, 1840 Universalist, 1863 Rising Sun Baptist, 1867 Shiloh Baptist, 1869 First United Church of Christ, 1878 Macedonia Methodist, 1946 Church of the Nazarene, 1983 Bethel Unity Baptist. Sponsored by Rising Sun Municipal Utilities.
Local Historical Figure - Caleb Craft - Moved here from New Rochelle, NY and was the first person to acquire property from John James purchasing two lots on Front and Fifth Streets. Craft became the first postmaster, first merchant and father of the first native-born citizen. Sponsored by Century Link.
Local Historical Figure - Shadrach Hathaway - Married a daughter of Prince Athearn and built a log home at Front & Fourth Streets. It was also the town's first shoe shop. He became very successful in dry goods and built the large brick block on Main St. where he kept assorted merchandise. Sponsored by the Friendship State Bank.
Local Historical Figure - Capt. Prince Athearn - A shipbuilder from New Bedford, MA, arrived in Rising Sun in 1815. He was one of the master builders for the USS Constitution and built steamship hulls in Rising Sun for Pinkney James. Sponsored by American Structurepoint, Inc.
Local Historical Figure - Col. Abel Pepper - Arrived in Rising Sun in 1815 serving as an Indian Agent, US Marshall for Indiana and a judge. From 1817 to 1843, Pepper succeeded in helping create Ohio County, with Rising Sun as its county seat, by separating it from Dearborn County. Sponsored by Rising Sun Municipal Utilities.
Officially chartered on Sept. 14, 1818, Rising Sun Lodge No. 6 is one of the oldest, most honored Masonic Lodges in Indiana. It has produced three Grand Master Masons: Abel Pepper, Johnson Watts and Alexander Downey. Its first known hall was in the Empire Hotel. Sponsored by Rising Sun Medical Center.
Local Historical Figure - Samuel Best - Born in England in 1776, he moved to Cincinnati in 1802 and then to Rising Sun in 1819. Best worked as a silversmith, watchmaker and clockmaker. Pieces of his silver are highly collectable. He is buried in Rising Sun. Sponsored by Tim Caudill, The Hickory House.
The earliest ferry between Rising Sun and Rabbit Hash, KY was a hand operated flatboat in the late 1830s. At 50-feet long by 10-feet wide, it was dubbed a "superior ferry flat." Kentucky require the boat be kept on its side of the river. The ferry was owned by a Kentucky franchise. Sponsored by Rising Star Casino Resort.
Local Historical Figure - William Clore - Originally from Boone Co., KY, he moved to Rising Sun and founded Clore Plow, a manufacturer of farm equipment. It was a key company in our young nation. Up to 400 flatboats left Rising Sun daily each spring with goods going to southern ports. Sponsored by Rising Sun Fire Department.
Ohio County was officially formed on January 4, 1844 when the Governor of Indiana approved an act passed by the state's House and Senate. At 87 square miles, Ohio County is the state's smallest county in size. It is also the smallest in population at 6,128 (2010 Census). Sponsored by Ohio County Community Foundation.
Local Historical Figure - Judge Alexander C. Downey - Moved to Rising Sun from Ohio in 1844. Downey was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1862 and the Indiana State Supreme Court in 1870. He also was a Brigadier-General in the Indiana Legion. Sponsored by Legisgroup Public Affairs, LLC.
The Ohio County Courthouse was built in 1845 entirely on donations including the land which was donated by Col. Abel C. Pepper and his wife. It is the oldest courthouse in continuous operation in the State of Indiana. Sponsored by Rising Sun Municipal Utilities.
Local Historical Figure - John Downey Works - Born near Rising Sun in 1847 and served in the Civil War at age 16. In 1879, Works served one term in the Indiana Legislature. He later became a California Supreme Court Justice and, in 1911, a U.S. Senator. Sponsored by American Legion Post 59.
Local Historical Figure - J.W. Talbott - The great-grandfather of U.S. Senator Bob Dole. Talbott purchased a mill on the Rising Sun riverfront in 1847 built by Moses Turner in 1827. The mill burnt in 1889. Senator Dole visited the site of the former mill in 1998. Sponsored by Fox Farms and Turner Farms.
A horse ferry began operation between Rising Sun and Rabbit Hash, KY around 1850. A second ferry followed at the lane by Dam 38. A team of horses on a treadmill proprelled the ferries. Blind horses were preferred because they had no fear and were easier to manage. Sponsored by Dr. Don Beckett, Veterinarian.
On Sept. 17, 1866, eight brick buildings and two frame structures on Main Street were destroyed by a major fire. An even larger fire on July 17, 1885 started on Poplar and Main Streets destroying 20 buildings and most of the early records for the town and county. Sponsored by Rising Sun Main Street.
Local Historical Figure - Joseph Arthur - An American playwright, whose real name is Arthur Hill Smith, lived in Rising Sun before moving to New York. He wrote popular melodramatic plays including Blue Jeans (1890) set in Rising Sun. The play was made into a silent movie. Sponsored by Valentine Realty, Donita Valentine.
The Laughery Club was founded in 1900 on what became Camp Shore in 1969. The club was on 22 acres with a luxurious 32-room clubhouse. A full-sized baseball field was added in 1919 and used by the Cincinnati Reds for spring training. In the 1940s-60s, it was a Jewish youth center. Sponsored by The City of Rising Sun.
Local Historical Figure - J.W. Whitlock - An important inventor and manufacturer who crafted furniture, boats and musical instruments. He invented the first coin-operated music machine and game machine plus built forerunners to several modern marvels. Sponsored by Indiana Municipal Power Agency.
In 1914, Rising Sun celebrated 100 years for its Centennial Birthday. Population was 1513. Costs in 1914: bread $.06/lb., milk $.09/qt., beef $.16 to $.26/lb., eggs $.35/doz., gas $.12/gal., average car $550 and average home $6000. the average annual wage was $575. Sponsored by Rising Sun Regional Foundation.
In 1918, a steam powered crane used to unload coal from barges near Arnold's Creek was destroyed by ice. A new coal yard complex at the end of Main Street soon followed. The crane, cable system, tracks, dump cars and pit serviced barge traffic and locals until the early 1960s. Sponsored by OMI Industries, Inc.
Established in 1919, the American Legion is a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness and committed to justice, freedom, democracy and loyalty. The Rising Sun Post has a proud tradition of servicing God, country, community, veterans and their families. Sponsored by American Legion Post 59.
The Hoosier Boy hydroplane was built by J.W. Whitlock. In 1924, Whitlock raced the watercraft roundtrip from Cincinnati to Louisville. The 267-minute, 49-second record for the 267-mile course still stands. The boat and many Whitlock inventions are displayed in the Ohio County Museum. Sponsored by The Waters of Rising Sun.
The first Rising Sun Regatta was held on July 4, 1925. A huge crowd of about 20,000 people lined the bank. On race day, the road from Aurora to Rising Sun was closed for improvement. Most fans from Cincinnati came down on the Kentucky side then crossed by ferry. Sponsored by Aurora Lumber Company, Inc.
The worst flood in Rising Sun's history peaked on Jan. 26, 1937. Official river readings upstream in Cincinnati gauged the crest at 80.0 feet. Downstream at Markland, the recorded high-water mark was 76.1 feet. Damage was extensive along the entire Ohio River Valley. Sponsored by Markland Funeral Home.
In early April 1940, work began on the Cass-Union Consolidated School. It opened on September 15, 1941 (later dedicated Jan. 1943) welcoming students from one-room schools in Cass and Union Townships plus Halls Mills in Randolph. The initial student body was 140 pupils. Sponsored by the Friendship State Bank.
The Rising Sun Airport was open from 1943 to 1975 on 15 acres off Fifth Street. It had seven hangars housing nine planes. Lights from cars and tractors were used to land planes at night. Governor Harold Handley used the runway in 1960. There were two air shows held in the late 1960s. Sponsored by Ewbank & Kramer.
A tornado struck Rising Sun in 1948 and did significant damage. It destroyed the third floor of the high school and the school bell fell from the bell tower into a second floor classroom. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Sponsored by Dearborn County Hospital.
An Aeronca L16 airplane, owned by the Rising Sun Civil Air Patrol, took off with no pilot in January 1959. After cranking the propeller, the plane took flight on its own. It traveled more than 100 miles and crashed near Chillicothe, OH. The event received national media coverage. Sponsored by Rising Sun Municipal Utilities.
Rising Sun Ohio County Consolidated High School was dedicated Oct. 4, 1959. The facility featured 16 classrooms, library, science lab, music department, art room, gym/auditorium, photography dark room, clinic, bookstore, visual aid room, offices, teachers' lounge and reception room. Sponsored by Rising Sun Regional Foundation.
The City of Rising Sun celebrated its Sesquicentennial Birthday, 150 years, July 5-11, 1964. Festivities included 4-H activities, king/queen contest, fireworks, pet parade, talent show, various music acts, ice cream social, beard judging, teen hop, square dance and parade. Sponsored by Rising Sun Fire Department.
Ohio County Elementary Middle School opened in 1972 with new students from Cass-Union and eighth graders from the high school. 35 rooms expanded to 41 in 1998 along with a remodeled cafeteria and new gym (formerly one unit). A new library & office space were added in 2007. Sponsored by Century Link.
On April 3, 1974, an F4 tornado touched down northeast of Madison and caused local damage from Bear Branch to Milton. An F5 twister (with windws over 261 mph) touched down two miles north of Rising Sun and later caused three deaths plus 210 injuries in western Cincinnati. Sponsored by Tim Caudill, Rockies Bar and Grill.
Key civic leaders and Rising Sun First, a community action group, worked in concert to pas the November 1993 Riverboat Gaming Referendum and successfully lobbied the Indiana Gaming Commission to approve a casino gaming development on June 30, 1995. Sponsored by The City of Rising Sun.
In July 1996, the City of Rising Sun implemented a revenue sharing plan where other local municipalities and counties benefited quarterly from gaming revenue received. The plan, a first of its kind in Indiana, is used as a model throughout the country. Sponsored by The City of Rising Sun.
Grand Victoria Casino & Resort opened Oct. 1996 for gaming. The entertainment pavilion opened July 1997. A golf course was added in July 1998. The property was renamed Rising Star Casino Resort in March 2011. Its local economic impact has been immeasurable and unparalleled. Sponsored by Full House Resorts, Inc.
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Above:a chronological history of Rising Sun told through 43 engraved stones which you can see at Rising Sun’s Riverfront Park on Front Street.
Below: a historical narrative of Rising Sun.
The area encompassing Ohio County originally was a hunting ground for many Indian tribes. Its elevation above the river made it particularly disease free and wildlife flourished. The assets which appealed to the Indians also attracted European settlers.
Settlers prior to 1798 are difficult to document because of the “Indian menace.” Until the Northwest Ordinance was official, there were no troops to protect settlers in the area. The first documented settlers were members of the family of Samuel Fulton, an uncle to steamboat inventor Robert Fulton.
The earliest settlers spent daylight hours only on the Indiana side of the river. They posted lookouts on the hillsides to watch for Indians while they cleared fields and built homes, then ferried across the river to Kentucky for the night.
In 1814, John James of Fredericksburg, Maryland, journeyed to the area and purchased a large tract of land from Col. Benjamin Chambers, who had acquired it while conducting the original survey for the Northwest Ordinance. James and his son, Pinckney, surveyed the land and platted what was to be Rising Sun. In 1816, he registered the town of Rising Sun.
Several legends attempt to explain James’ choice of name for his small town. Some say it was taken from an early ferry on the riverfront. Others say James chose it because he was so struck by a view of the sun rising over the Kentucky hills.
Descendants of Robert Huston, who arrived with the Fultons in 1798, claim family records show Huston named the town. His party was headed downriver, apparently without a destination, and a pregnant woman was among them. For her comfort, they anchored along the bank for the night. Daybreak was so beautiful, the site was named Rising Sun and the group decided to make the place its home.
The small town grew rapidly. By 1816, there were about 700 settlers. A large German community formed, and until the outbreak of World War I, had its own schools in its native language. Others came too, looking for new homes and opportunities.
Among these were the Haines brothers, one a doctor and the other a baker. They would later purchase enough land to plat the town’s first subdivision. These were needed and settled by the 1830s. During the 1830s and 1840s, trade and commerce flourished.
Pinckney James and Shadrach Hathaway built steamboats in Rising Sun during the 1830s and 1840s. The wife of one of these men was a cousin to Mary Todd Lincoln.
Farm machinery manufacturer Clore Plow, a key company in the economic development of our young nation, was in Rising Sun. Each day, 300 to 400 flatboats left Rising Sun in the spring, loaded with locally produced goods. It is said both stevedores and slaves in Shreveport and other southern ports were certain Rising Sun was among the great cities in the north because of the large amount of goods they unladed from the city.
This period was probably the most active in history of Rising Sun. The population reached about 2,500, business thrived, and prominent citizens such as Col. Abel C. Pepper worked to split away from Dearborn County, of which the town was the southernmost part.
In 1844, and partially due to a “clerical error,” Pepper was successful in separating the new Ohio County from Dearborn County. In 1845, the present Ohio County Courthouse was built entirely by donation. It is the oldest courthouse in continuous operation in the state.
About this time, another invention changed the way of life along the Ohio River. The “iron horse” took goods inland and was not dependent on seasonal changes and the depth of the river. During the 1860s and 1870s, rumors of rail expansion to Rising Sun kept alive the many small businesses and industries still dependent on dwindling river traffic to ship their goods. When this did not materialize, many closed or relocated. Clore Plow remained until 1910, in what is now the Ohio County Historical Building, when the business was relocated to Washington, Indiana.
What was hailed as the most promising young city along the Ohio River as late as 1880s, settled into sleepy existence; never quite blooming, never quite declining. Among the businesses that stayed were the enterprises of the Whitlock family, which built fine furniture and operated a lumberyard, among other endeavors.
Not only did J.W. “Row” Whitlock invent the first coin-operated music player and game machine, plus the forerunners to several modern marvels, he built and raced the Hoosier Boy series of hydroplanes. In 1924, he raced the Hoosier Boy between Cincinnati and Louisville. The 267-minute, 49-second record for the 267-mile course stands today. The boat and several Whitlock inventions are on display in the Ohio County Historical Museum.
An 1890s melodrama, set in Rising Sun, played nationally with many repertory companies. Native sons of the river town are spread across the country. For instance, Sen. Robert Dole’s grandparents were from Rising Sun.
