Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist
Sending Christmas cards has been a long-standing tradition in our community. Here are a few personalized examples from the Griffin Center’s collections:
A 1906 Christmas postcard from Sallie Kintner Jones. The Kintner family operated a prominent inn in downtown Corydon. Sallie inherited the inn following her father’s death in 1880. In 1881, she married prominent local attorney Major William T. Jones. Within a year, William died unexpectedly. Sallie never remarried, but continued to live in and manage the Kintner Inn. She shared management of the hotel with her brother William W. Kintner until his death in 1896, after which, Miss Sallie, as she was known, became the sole innkeeper. She continued to live at the inn, but contracted individuals to manage the business. She closed the hotel in 1920 and died two years later. In the 1980s, the Kintner hotel building was restored to its original appearance and use. In December 1986, the Kintner House reopened as a bed and breakfast and continues as such today.
This image is part of our “People We Know” collection, which has more than 400 images of individuals from Harrison County’s past.
This image of the Sprauge steamboat served as the 1947 Christmas card of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse P. Hughes. Captain Jesse Paul Hughes (ca. 1877-1973) was a pilot on the Ohio River for nearly 70 years and worked primarily for the Greene Line of Cincinnati, Ohio at the helm of the Delta Queen. Hughes was also an accomplished artist and painted numerous images of early steamboats.
The Sprauge was built in Dubuque, Iowa in 1901 by Peter Sprauge for the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company and was the world’s largest steam powered sternwheeler towboat. Nicknamed “Big Mama,” the Sprauge had the capability to push 56 barges at once, and in 1907, the ship set a world’s all time record for towing 60 barges of coal weighing over 67,300 tons. The Sprague was decommissioned for towing in 1948, became a museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and burned in 1974.
This image is part of our “Transportation” collection, which features a wide variety of steamboats, locomotives, and automobiles as well as early roads and bridges.
A 1951 Christmas card from the Griffin family. Frederick Porter Griffin (1915-2008).
This image is part of the “Griffin Family Photos” collection on our digital archives.
Happy Holidays to all from the Harrison County Public Library and Frederick Porter Griffin Center staff!
Visit HCPL’s digital archives for these and more wintery scenes.