Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State side by side at portside landing near the base of a stone pier for the railroad bridge over Kanawha River, just above Enterprise Drydock, Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia. Viewed about 100 feet upstream. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07588
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State viewed from mid-river, upstream about 100 feet from boats on Kanawha River. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenvarth Floating Theater and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show," which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company," complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07589
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at starboard landing, Temple of Amusement being pushed backward, Mt. Vesuvius sign on roof. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07590
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at starboard landing near pile of boards in right foreground. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07591
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at portside landing with a steep embankment. Mount Vesuvius sign on roof. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07592
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at a rocky portside landing. The river is wide and surrounding land is quite level with prominent trees or other features. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07593
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at starboard landing, a few feet beyond water line, Mount Vesuvius sign on roof. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07594
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at portside landing by a high rock bank, Mount Vesuvius sign on roof. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07595
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Temple of Amusement and Mountain State at starboard landing by high grassy bank. Full view from 10 yards back of stern. The Mountain State was a towboat that often traveled with the E.E. Eisenbarth Floating Theatre and Temple of Amusement. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show" which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company" complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died on November 30, 1906, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. E. E. Eisenbarth died on July 17, 1925 and was buried next to his first wife in Williams Cemetery in New Martinsville, West Virginia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07596
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Boats
Places: Kanawha River (West Virginia)
 

Description: Photograph of an engraved lead plate discovered at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers near Gallipolis, Ohio, and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The plates were buried by French explorer Joseph Pierre Celoron de Bienville and his scouting party in 1749. The plate's inscription is in French and claims Louis XV of France the ruler of the Ohio Valley region. This plate was part of a group of plates placed near strategic tributaries of the Ohio River by Celoron and his party. The expedition and the ceremonies conducted when the plates were buried was intended as a show of force and an attempt to reclaim land for France on which British settlers were encroaching. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04493
Subjects: Gallia County (Ohio); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Gallia County (Ohio)