Historically, Evansville had more than ten wards, and the 11th Ward was generally located in the central–southwest portion of the city near the Ohio River, including areas around downtown and older working-class and immigrant neighborhoods that developed during the city’s industrial growth along the river and rail corridors.
Evansville’s location as a major Ohio River port and industrial city meant there was regular river traffic and a population of river workers who lived close to the water.
Protected areas like Pigeon Creek near the riverfront became informal harbors for shantyboats. Shantyboat communities were socially diverse, including immigrant families, working-class residents, and people who simply preferred a self-sufficient river lifestyle.
These boats served as permanent homes for families who worked on or near the river. A typical shantyboat was about 30 feet long and 10–12 feet wide, often containing only one or two small rooms. Families sometimes kept chickens, grew small gardens along the riverbank, and fished the river for food and income.
These floating neighborhoods functioned like small communities and represented a form of working-class river life—self-built housing, mutual aid, and deep connection to the water. Their history is still remembered in regional writing, art, and river folklore
In March 1957, the Evansville Redevelopment Commission served condemnation notices and evacuation orders to residents of the shantyboat settlement along Pigeon Creek.
By May 1957, after residents were forced to vacate, city firefighters burned the abandoned shacks and houseboats, effectively erasing the physical settlement. The informal neighborhood that had existed for decades was removed, and the unconventional Creekside community became a memory in Evansville’s history.
Laborers, Luddites and Lumpen | The Anarchist Library
Mariechen Al-An (Original name: Marie Schnautz) Evansville, INhttps://piecesfromapuzzlinglife.com/2022/03/07/mariechen-al-an-part-i/