Floyd County was named for Gen. John Floyd of Virginia, an officer in the War of 1812. Floyd was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1819. Floyd County and the surrounding region acted as a magnet for slaves attempting to run away from bondage. Because of its position along the border of a slave state and its geographical closeness to Louisville, Floyd County was often painted as a “southern community.” The southern attitudes of New Albany were strengthened by the fact that during the antebellum years its major industry, that of ship building, had business ties to the South.
Click the link below to read a treatise on the Underground Railroad in New Albany and Floyd County by Pam Peters.