EVANSVILLE, a city of America, capital of Vanderburg
county, Indiana, is situated on a high bank of the Ohio
river, 200 miles below Louisville, Kentucky—measuring
by the windings of the river, which double the direct
distance. On account of the peculiar bend of the river at
this point, Evansville is built somewhat in the shape of a
crescent, and is sometimes called the “Crescent City.” It
has railway communication in various directions; and the
Wabush and Erie Canal, completed in 1853, extends from
it to Toledo, Ohio, a distance of 400 miles. Evansville
is a busy commercial and manufacturing town, and is
rapidly increasing. It is the principal shipping port for
the grain and pork of south-western Indiana; and among
its other articles of export are lime, cotton, dried fruit, and
tobacco. It has flour mills, breweries, iron founderies, tanneries, machine shops, and woollen and cotton factories. Coal and iron ore are found in the vicinity. The principal buildings are the court-house, the city hall, the high school, the marine hospital, and a new building in which
are included the post-office, the United States courts, and
the custom-house. The population, which in 1860 was
11,484, had increased in 1870 to 21,830.