History | New Albany from downtown to uptown

Given the tight real estate housing market in some historic neighborhoods in Louisville, ranging from the Highlands to Clifton, historian and author Greg Sekula has a suggestion: look north.

Across the river, New Albany has a wealth of restored, historic homes from mansions to shotguns, he said, and these days New Albany is becoming more connected to Louisville than ever.

In fact, he thinks of it as Louisville's "northern neighborhood."

Sekula and David C. Barksdale, both New Albany residents, are the authors of the new book, "Historic Homes of New Albany Indiana," ($21.99) published by History Press in Charlestown, S.C.

History

New Albany was founded in 1813 - three years before Indiana became a state - at the Falls of the Ohio, across the Ohio River from what was then the town of Portland. New Albany was the leading city in Indiana both in population and wealth beginning in the 1840s and continuing through the late 1860s-early 1870s, Barksdale said.

Its founders were New York natives and brothers Joel, Abner and Nathaniel Scribner, and it was named in honor of the New York state capital.

The shipbuilding industry developed, along with related lumber, iron work and glass ones, and goods were shipped all over the country from New Albany, which benefited later from the advent of railroads. The population today hovers around 40,000, though it wasn't that large when it was the most populous city in the state, Barksdale said.

He said his and Sekula's aim is to educate "the community about how important our history is." Both say one reason that New Albany still has so many historic homes - including  the 105 still-extant ones discussed in the book - is that urban renewal didn't take much of a toll.

"New Albany has not seen a lot of demolition over the years,"  Sekula said.

New Albany neighborhoods also are diverse architecturally: "It's not uncommon to find a 3,000-square-foot Victorian next to an 1,100-square-foot shotgun," he said.

Victor Pepin House

One of the grandest houses in New Albany is the Victor Pepin House, 1003 E. Main St., which is discussed in the "Mansion Row" chapter of the book. Constructed in 1854, it and the neighboring Kent Ford-Ford House at 1015 E. Main are the two finest examples in the city of the "towered" Italiante Villa architectural style, the book says.

The signature feature of the Pepin house's interior is a winding staircase with a walnut handrail and a post surmounted by a gilded statue of a classically draped woman holding a light, resembling a torch.

Pepin was the cashier of the New Albany Branch of the State Bank of Indiana, at Bank and E. Main downtown. The Pepins lived in the house for only four years, before selling it and an additional lot for $25,000.  Later in 1887, it was purchased for $10,000 by August Barth, proprietor of a tannery at E. 10th and Water St., and the Barth family lived there for nearly 65 years.

It also has been the Turley Nursing Home, a combined antique shop-restaurant-residence and currently is the Pepin Mansion Historic Bed & Breakfast.

Ideal Crest

Sekula lives in another home discussed in the book, "Ideal Crest," also known as the Herman and Johanna Rockenbach House on Ekin Avenue. Built in 1883 for the Rockenbachs and their three children, the story-and-a-half brick house is situated on a spacious hilltop lot in the Uptown neighborhood.

Herman Rockenbach, owner of Eagle Tannery on the north side of Oak Street, also was an avid gardener who had expansive planting beds in the front lawn that included tropical banana plants. Their daughter, Etelka, taught Latin at New Albany High School and later German at Indiana University Southeast, plus Latin at Providence High School in retirement. She also was assistant principal at New Albany High.

A rooftop porch that likely was removed in 1960s was reconstructed in 2003 by Sekula and his wife, Robyn, based on historic photographs. Charcoal portraits of the Rockenbachs by artist Gus Lehr, dated 1877, still hang in their original gilded frames in the house's front parlor.

Culbertson Mansion 

Among the places the book is sold is the William S. Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site and museum, 914 E. Main St., once home to one of the richest men in the state, which also is discussed in the book.  A book signing was held early in November at Destinations Booksellers, 604 E. Spring St., and it also has been available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers sites in Louisville, including 801 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy.  It can be ordered through Carmichael's Bookstores.

It's also sold at Ben Franklin Crafts, 420 New Albany Plaza; Floyd Memorial Hospital gift shop,1850 State St.; and Ace Hardware,1905 Charlestown Road, and and may be available soon at other downtown New Albany shops.  It also can be ordered at www.historypress.net.

About the authors

Barksdale is a New Albany native and state-appointed Floyd County Historian and president of the Floyd County Historical Society. He was a public school teacher for 36 years who also has written or co-written histories of several hundred houses and buildings. He also helped initiate, along with Sekula and others, the annual New Albany Historic Home Tour, held for the 10th year in September.

Sekula is director of the Southern Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks, a state-wide, nonprofit historic preservation organization with an office in Jeffersonville where he works near the Big Four Bridge. He holds a degree in historic preservation from Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., and is a past fellow of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Sekula previously served as Preservation Planner for St. Joseph, Mo., and City Planner for New Bern, N.C.

A Chicago native, he moved to New Albany from Missouri in 2002. Both Sekula and Barksdale are active with the decade-old HistoricNewAlbany.com, where information is listed about historic homes for sale, a project of Indiana Landmarks and Develop New Albany. All book proceeds will go to Develop New Albany's historic preservation fund.

Reporter Martha Elson can be reached at (502) 582-7061 and melson@courier-journal.com.  Follow her on Twitter at @MarthaElson_cj.