New Mill Street Tobacco Warehouse

Business enterprises; Tobacco; Warehouses

Madison had suffered several setbacks economically. It was once a great pork packing center but that industry waned as the big packing plants in the large cities gained magnitude. The woolen mills had begun to slow or close down and it was the same with the big flour mills and starch factories. The old town, rich in pride and history was at its industrial low tide in the fall of 1909 when W. H. Snook of Shelbyville, Kentucky looked Madisonj over as a prospective tobacco market. He felt Madison would draw from all over Indiana and Kentucky and even further. He purchased an old skating rink and sent out word that he would accept any grower's tobacco and serve as their commissioner. He announced he would hold auctions on the warehouse floor thus ensuring them the best price for their product. The reception he received for his endeavors surprised even the optimistic Mr. Snook. The ferry between Milton and Madison began to discharge wagon loads of burley at the Madison Wharf. Wagons climbed the levee and meandered down from the hills and stopped at the old skating rink site. Suddenly, Madison realized a new future presented itself. King Tobacco had come to reclaim it as a "live wire" business center. That was in 1909 and by 1913 there were four large tobacco warehouses in Madison. The New Mill Street Tobacco Warehouse opened in the mid 1930's and closed about 1965. The site was used as a junk yard for several years but is now an empty lot.

Harry Lemen, photographer

Madison Courier; City Directories; Historical Files

Picture taken 1948

Madison-Jefferson County Public Library

Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main Street Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744

Photograph taken with Eastman-Kodak Brownie Camera No. 2C model A, using No. 130 film. Resulting negative (2.875in x 4.875in) scanned at 1200 DPI using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL. Online jpeg image file saved at 72 DPI 800 to 1000 pixels on long edge.

Still image

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