Port Fulton was a town located two miles up the river from Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, within present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana

Jeffersonville, Indiana

Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...

. At its height it stretched from the Ohio River to modern-day 10th Street, and from Crestview to Jefferson/Main Streets.

Port Fulton was laid out in 1835 by Victor Neff, and named for Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...

, the inventor of steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

s. Its original boundaries were present day Jackson Street (east), Division Street (west), and between Court and Charlestown Streets to the north. It became a magnet for those in the maritime business. Henry French

Henry French House

The Henry French House, also known as the Salmon-French House, is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, within the Port Fulton area. It was next door to the Civil War Hospital in Port Fulton/Jeffersonville. It was built in Federal/Colonial Revival, and was added in 1989 to the National Register of...

, a steamboat builder, already had a home there. The Howard Family

Howard Steamboat Museum

The Howard Steamboat Museum is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. Based in the old Howard home, it features items related to steamboat history....

 resided there. The shipyards of both French and Howard became Jeffboat

Jeffboat

Jeffboat is the largest inland shipbuilder in the United States, located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is the second-largest builder of barges...

.

In April 1853 the city of Jeffersonville attempted to annex Port Fulton, only to be stymied by its residents.

The third-largest Civil War hospital, Jefferson General Hospital

Jefferson General Hospital

Jefferson General Hospital was the third-largest hospital during the American Civil War, located at Port Fulton, Indiana and was active between February 21, 1864 and December 1866. The land was owned by U.S Senator from Indiana Jesse D. Bright. Bright was sympathetic to the Confederates, and was...

, was operated there, formed from the Brighton estate owned by Jesse Bright that was confiscated by Union authorities.

In 1880 the population was 907; in 1900, it was 1,104. However, Port Fulton's population declined to 971 in the 1920 census. This allowed Jeffersonville to finally annex Port Fulton in 1926.