The History of West Harrison, Indiana

www.HistoryInYourOwnBackyard.com
[e-mail]
812-623-5727
In this video we interview Mrs. Teri Becker with the Harrison, Historical Society. West Harrison was platted in 1813 and incorporated in 1836. It currently has a population of less than 300 people. By 1875 the town consisted on one furniture factory, one distillery, three flour mills, four hotels, five grocery stores and six dry good stores. West Harrison once had a train depot and a "roundhouse" where the trains could be turned around and headed back into Cincinnati. The first house built in West Harrison was a log cabin built at the corner of Main & Broadway.
In 1932 an illegal dog racing facility opened just outside of West Harrison where at times Monkeys were dressed in jockey outfits and rode the dogs around the track! Rumor has it that traffic would backup to Miamitown on the nights the monkeys would ride. The quarter mile track was closed in 1939.
GPS Location: 39°15'43.4"N 84°49'11.8"W

[@Mrs_Guac_and_Glock]

I lived in Harrison (Ohio) until I was 29. I went to school with one of the Yaeger boys, I didn't know his family had been in the area that long. My great-grandma's family were founding members of the First Baptist Church of Harrison, my parents still go there. I moved to West Harrison (Indiana) about 4 years ago. I love it here (with the exception of the winter weather), I'll probably never leave.

[@ralphdole3922]

Born and raised in that area. Ate many sandwiches and had several soda's in the West Side! Born in Harrison in 1945 in my grandmothers home on Dair Avenue!

[@keithstudly6071]

Seemed a bit light on facts. What about the fact that it is near the confluence of the White Water River and the Great Miami River and was an important point on the White Water Canal where the canal joined with the Cincinnati and White Water Canal connecting Lawrenceburg, IN and the White Water Valley with Cincinnati. During the Civil War a railroad replaced the canal and was built as far as Hagerstown, Indiana 76 miles to the north west. The town survived several disastrous floods. Etc.

[@sonyafox3271]

The thing is there only doing a small portion on these videos, there not 2 and 3 hrs long, it’s like a brief summary, you need to look up Cleves and Miami Town, which they combined them both and it will tell you a little bit about the White Water Canal there cause, I’ve watched it.