The Early Holcombe Mission

The Early Holcombe Mission (1881 - 1900)

Steve Holcombe (1835 – early 1900s) began The Holcombe Mission in 1881.  Holcombe was raised on Shippingport, Kentucky (before it was made into an island by the building of the Portland Canal, just west of downtown Louisville).

Holcombe, as a child, was what we would call today a juvenile delinquent.  He grew up to be a riverboat gambler, rambler, gold miner and murderer.  His life was a wreck and he was relatively infamous in Louisville and the southeast for his crude exploits.

Holcombe’s life was changed by the love of a dedicated wife and the power of a very patient God.  When Holcombe “got saved,” he made a big turnaround, from gambling ne’er-do-well to devoted husband and father and faithful Christian.

When Holcombe became a Christian, he was determined to do penance for his evil former life by reaching out to what he called the “wretched and the outcast” that were much like him.  And so he began a mission to the city’s derelicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, and homeless in Louisville’s east downtown, not far from Jeff Street’s current location.

Holcombe, with ecumenical support from many local churches and city residents, made quite an impression with his work.  He even had a book written about him. Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler: His Life and Work, was written by Reverend Gross Alexander and published in 1888 by the Press of the Courier-Journal Job Printing Company and is a very compelling read.

The book says that the Holcombe Mission was so successful that it was even a bit of a tourist attraction, drawing Christians who were visiting Louisville to our mean streets to see the work being done by this reformed riverboat gambler and murderer!  Holcombe managed the Mission (which soon became the Union Gospel Mission, thanks to support from many local churches) off and on from 1881 to 1906.

After Holcombe (~1900 - 1941)

After Rev. Holcombe resigned from the Union Gospel Mission, a woman by the name of Elizabeth Cardwell took his place.  She served as director for 24 years and then passed the torch to another woman named Maude Abner, who served for seven years (their stories can be found in the book, The Story of the Union Gospel Mission 1886-1944; Mayes Printing Company, 1944).