New Albany was founded in July 1813 when three brothers from New York. Joel, Abner, and Nathaniel Scribner arrived at the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation AreaFalls of the Ohio and named the site after Albany, New YorkAlbany, the capital of New York state. The Scribner House still stands. The site was originally part of George Rogers Clark's grant from the Virginia legislature. In 1819, three years after Indiana was admitted as a state, New Albany became the seat of government for Floyd County. The steamboat industry was the engine of the city's economy during the mid-19th century. At least a half-dozen shipbuilders were in operation, and turned out a multitude of steamboats, including the Robert E. Lee. Shipbuilding was accompanied by a wide range of ancillary business, including machine shops, foundries, cabinet and furniture factories, and silversmith shops. Its second largest business was the American Plate Glass Works. By 1850, New Albany was the largest city in Indiana. Before the American Civil WarCivil War, New Albany was a stop in the Underground Railroad. In the early 20th century, New Albany became a center of plywood and veneer, and its largest employer was the New Albany Veneering Company. By 1920, New Albany was the largest producer of plywood and veneer in the world. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Albany%2C_Indiana