Many fascinating characters have been associated with the Ohio
River in the Louisville, Kentucky area. One such character was
Francis "Frank" McHarry.
High on a hill in Harrison County, Indiana, overlooking the Ohio
River is the original burial place of Frank McHarry. The tomb
measures 40 feet in length and is 20 feet high. It was built by
McHarry prior to his death. McHarry was a man of many talents, he
was a fine stonemason. He built his sepulcher eight miles below
Portland, Kentucky on a high bluff overlooking the river. He had a
porthole placed over the entrance. It is claimed that McHarry
requested that his body be placed erect in the tomb, where he might
look out the porthole and curse at passing riverboats and crews.
Before he died in 1857 he vowed that he would forever haunt the
rivermen who passed beneath his final resting place.
Numerous accounts have been given to explain his animosity
toward steamboats. One has it that the large steamboats rocked his
ferry's with their wake and frightened his passengers and animals
he carried. Another account has him resigning as the first
superintendent of the Portland Canal (what is now the McAlpine
Locks and Dam) over a dispute related to working conditions. This
dispute let to great bitterness that became anger toward anything
related to the river, especially steamboats. Still another account
relates to a fight that broke out on deck of his boat, Music, in
1857, where McHarry was stabbed several times. The wounds forced
him to leave the riverboats he knew so well. It was these wounds
that eventually caused his death. Whatever account one accepts for
his anger, it is known for certain that Frank McHarry was a
two-fisted, hell-raising riverman who did vow to haunt the
riverboats and crews who passed beneath his final resting
place.
He would not have eternal rest within his sepulcher as his wife,
the former Emily Beeler of New Albany, Indiana, ordered that her
husband's body be removed from the tomb and buried with her in
Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. Her wishes were carried out
several years later upon her death in 1888. McHarry would find his
final resting place in the beautiful mausoleum of James E. Irvin
(1812-1883), his son-in-law. James had made his fortune as a
steamboat captain and married Florence McHarry. The body of Frank
McHarry is now quite horizontal. The removal of his body from the
bluff did not quell the talk about McHarry's curse. It is still a
favorite ghost story among river enthusiasts, and, from time to
time, folks still venture to the top of the bluff to see the now
empty sepulcher. The tomb is built of large limestone blocks that
came from the Cannelton Quarry - the same quarry that provided
stone for the construction of the walls on the Portland Canal in
Louisville.
Captain McHarry, as he was known, was a prominent businessman in
Louisville in the first half of the 19th century. He owned several
steamboats, one of which carried his name. He operated a ferry boat
across the Ohio to connect New Albany with Shippingport. He also
owned the well known Tarascon Mill that was the main industry in
Shippingport, Kentucky. He was the master stonemason in the
building of the Louisville & Portland Canal and operated the
quarry where the stone for the canal originated.
The mausoleum of McHarry now rests on a high bluff above and
facing the Ohio River. It has been victim of considerable vandalism
but remains structurally sound. The porthole can be seen just above
the door. Steamer cruise directors in the 1920's and 30's traveling
the Ohio, took pleasure in relating and often " the tale of captain
francis mcharry and his cursed tomb.
It has already been noted that our Captain McHarry had his body
removed from his first resting place overlooking the Ohio River.
You can visit Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Ky to view the
final resting place of Captain McHarry N 38°14.630 W
085°43.164. The site is that of the mausoleum for James F.
Irvin, his son-in-law. The mausoleum was designed by noted
architect Henry Whitestone and is well worth a visit. Not only will
you come close to McHarry, but the site is close to the resting
place of George Rogers Clark and within striking distance of other
notables. Cave Hill Cemetery with its marvelous monuments of famous
and not so famous people, and manicured grounds with rolling hills,
ponds, trees, shrubs and flowers is well worth a visit in
itself.
Pictured below is Captain McHarry's final resting place at Cave
Hill Cemetery.
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Captain Mc Harry’s Vault is constructed of Mansfield
Sandstone from Cannelton, Perry county. Mansfield sandstone was
used in construction of many buildings during the late 1700s to
present. Some of the oldest sandstone quarries in Indiana are those
near Cannelton. Sandstone is exposed in the Ohio River bluffs in
many places in Perry county, and has been quarried at and below
Cannelton, but the most valuable stone, and that which has been
quarried most extensively, occurs on the bluff two to four miles
east of Cannelton.
The mansfield sandstone and conglomerate occurs at the base of
the bluff at Rock Island, but is not quarried, except in small
quantities. The dimension stone is all taken from the overlying
Coal Measures. Part of the Mansfield formation is coarse
conglomerate composed of pebbles a quarter to half inch in
diameter, in places the pebbles forming a closely compact mass,
with little sand, in other places loosely scattered through the
sandstone, and occasionally occuring in layers, following the false
bedding of the stone.
The Mansfield rests unconformably, with as much as 150 feet of
local relief, on Mississippian rocks that are generally
progressively older northward. Progressive northward overlap is
also suggested by the 50 to 300 foot range in thickness of the
exposed Mansfield. The lowermost part of the Mansfield commonly
consists of sandstone, generally cross bedded and containing a
quartz-pebble and chert conglomerates in places, but it also
includes dark carbonaceous shale in many places. The quartz-pebble
conglomerate is also found in higher parts of the formation.
In the Shoals area of southwestern Indiana, the Mansfield has
two broad, more or less distinct, vertically separate divisions the
lower consists mostly of sandstone, and the upper consists
dominantly of shale and mudstone The Cannelton Lithofacies, nearest
the Ohio River, consists dominantly of siltstone and mudstone the
Shoals Lithofacies, well exposed near Shoals, Martin County, has
many cross-stratified sandstones and the Bloomfield Lithofacies, is
characterized by an abundance of gray shales.
When visiting this site, be respectful of the area. DO NOT LOG
AS A FIND UNTIL YOU HAVE A PICTURE READY TO POST AND DO NOT WAIT
FOR REPLY FROM ME TO LOG THE FIND.
How you walk to the site is up to you. I parked at the bottom
and walked straight up the hill. There is private land about a half
mile south of the vault, do not enter on that land, its private
property.
NOTE: DO NOT park in front of the Hy Pointe property. Instead
leave your car at the nearby junction of 111 and 211 and walk back
to the following coordinates: N 38°08.244 W 085°54.764 It
would also probably be wise NOT to set foot on the property to try
and take the back way up the hill. 
To get credit for this EC, post a photo of you, just like the
happy EarthCachers above, (I do not accept pictures of just a hand)
with GPS in hand at the posted coordinates with Captain
McHarry’s Vault in the background and answer the following
questions.
1. What is the texture of the sandstone when touched? (is it
smooth or gritty)
2. On the left outside corner of the vault (as you face the
vault) behind the second cornerstone from the top is a long flat
Mansfield sandstone block that makes up part of the wall. How thick
is the stone?
3. Can you see any small white pebbles in any of the sandstone
blocks?
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Logs with no photo of the actual EarthCacher/Geocacher (face
must be included) logging the find or failure to answer questions
will result in a log deletion. Exceptions will be considered if you
contact me first (I realize sometimes we forget our cameras or the
batteries die). Logs with no photos will be deleted without notice.
I have used sources available to me by using google search to get
information for this earth cache. I am by no means a geologist. I
use books, internet, and asking questions about geology just like
99.9 percent of the geocachers who create these great Earth Caches.
I enjoy Earth Caches and want people to get out and see what I see
everytime I go and explore this great place we live in.