Indiana Port Commission History

In 1961, Gov. Matthew Welsh and the Indiana General Assembly created the Indiana Port Commission - Indiana's first bipartisan governing entity charged with overseeing the establishment, progress and upkeep of any water ports within the borders of the state. The creation of the Indiana Port Commission on March 2, 1961, was the next logical step after the establishment of the Indiana Board of Public Harbors and Terminals (IBPHT) in 1939.

The IBPHT had been given limited powers to negotiate with the federal government, purchase land and ultimately build a public port. The five members of the IBPHT were paid $10 a day (plus expenses) for each day of actual board duties. The board, however, was a victim of its time, and due to the rising threat of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, the state and the world turned their attention and energy to the more pressing matters of the day.

It was not until 1947 that the IBPHT began functioning to its full capacity again, and with the industrial capabilities of the nation greatly strengthened after the war, it became evident that an Indiana port on the steel-dominated Lake Michigan shore was of incredible value to the state's economy. During its relatively short life, the IBPHT accomplished a surprising amount, such as acquiring a multitude of information about the Burns Ditch area (where a port was most likely to be located), and petitioning Porter County to change the name of Burns Ditch to the more desirable and appealing Burns Waterway. Additionally, the board successfully set up a number of forums and meetings during the 1950s regarding the controversial development of the Indiana Dunes area, an issue that later threatened to destroy any prospect of a lake port.

By 1961, the port issue had grown into quite a prominent and hotly debated topic, and it became obvious that a governing body with greater power and authority than the IBPHT was needed to steer it from the drawing board to reality. The quasi-governmental Indiana Port Commission - endowed with all powers of the IBPHT, the power of eminent domain and the power to issue revenue bonds to finance its projects - did exactly this.

Upon its creation, the Commission was to have five members, all chosen by the governor; however, as the number of ports expanded in later years, this number was increased to seven. Of these seven members, four were to be affiliated with the governor's political party, with the other three from opposing parties. In 1961, Gov. Welsh made the following selections for his newly established Commission: publisher James R. Fleming, farmer/banker Robert M. Schram, businessman Albert L. Yaeger, industrialist William Shumaker, and longtime port proponent George A. Nelson.

While many bipartisan entities tend to be embroiled in conflict and bickering, the exact opposite has been true of the Indiana Port Commission. "Throughout my twenty years of service to the state of Indiana," said former commissioner Norman E. "Ned" Pfau, Jr. (1975-1995), "I was impressed with the non-partisanship of the Port Commission and our ability to operate as one business without the political maneuvering and bureaucratic interference sometimes imposed by government."

The entire decade of the 1960s was devoted primarily to the establishment, construction, and development of a port at Burns Waterway, and by 1970 the Commission was able to boast success with the dedication of Indiana's International Port.

In 1969, the power and scope of the Commission was extended to include the entire state, and by 1973 construction began at Mount Vernon for Southwind Maritime Center, the first of two Ohio River ports. The Port Commission steamed ahead, and just under a decade later, construction began at Jeffersonville of a second Ohio River port called Clark Maritime Center.

In 1984, with three ports under its guidance, the Indiana Port Commission made the decision to move its central offices from the International Port in Portage to a truly central location - across the street from the statehouse in downtown Indianapolis. From its new Indianapolis offices, the Commission could easily consult officials at the statehouse whenever the need arose, allowing business to progress more rapidly and smoothly.

Always an expansion-minded entity, during the summer of 1985 the Commission briefly toyed with the idea of establishing a fourth port along the Great Miami River near Cincinnati. Such a plan, however, was soon ruled unproductive and unfeasible.

The 1990s brought several more changes to the Port Commission as it settled into its first full decade of operation with all three ports fully functioning. Throughout the decade, millions of dollars in improvements and additions were made to the three ports, permitting them to fully handle the waterborne commerce demands of the 21st century.

The state's three public ports now contribute nearly $1.5 billion in annual economic impact and 10,500 jobs to Indiana's economy. As the Port Commission enters the new century, it continues to move forward with progress and change.

In 2002, the Port Commission launched a new strategic plan to guide the Ports of Indiana into the future and further increase its economic contributions to the state of Indiana.