Iceland Landing

Iceland Landing is most notably associated with Daviess County’s part in the anti-slavery movement. It was a point on the Ohio River slaves would most likely utilize to cross onto free soil. Before the Civil War, many slaves were able to cross due to low waters during the dry season. Slave advertisements in the 1850's have been found referring to Iceland Landing as an area where slaves managed to escape. Some slaves were even aided by anti-slavery activists from the Rockport area and others from Daviess County. Iceland was an old Native American trail that led to the Hartford area in Ohio County. Many Native American artifacts have been found in the vicinity of Iceland Landing such as knives, axes, and pipes. It was also a well-known port on the Ohio River used by many who lived in Daviess County, and especially those from the Yelvington neighborhood.

When the river would freeze, ice would hit the banks of Rockport and travel downriver to the Daviess County side, subsequently cutting into the bank creating a natural port where boats could land so they could load and unload goods. Therefore the name Iceland Landing was rightfully bestowed upon the landing. The landing was first owned by Richard Hawes, the founder of Hawesville, and then changed hands into the Taylor family. Hawes wished to develop the port into a chief site of commerce along the river. In Yelvington, a warehouse was built by George Birk, to store the goods brought to the landing. It was also where Nathan Allgood, a lumber merchant, built his logs into rafts and floated them down river to Evansville saw mills. Iceland Landing is located off highway 60 on the Ohio River near Maceo on the Iceland Road.