In the early 1800s, the Ohio River was the font of Midwestern settlement, and easy river travel helped spur colonization. German-speaking Swiss people were among the many ethnic groups who migrated to America seeking economic opportunity and freedom from European oppression. German-speaking Swiss people and others already living in Cincinnati, Ohio, formed the Swiss Colonization Society in 1856 and created a committee to find a new home along a river in a free state. Indiana was chosen for its border on the Ohio River and its beautiful hills resembling sections of their Swiss homeland. Their new city was named Tell City for William Tell, the legendary hero forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head as punishment by feudal lords for his disobedience. Settlers were given land and materials on the condition that they build houses and repay the cost of materials to the society within 3 years. Loans were made for new businesses, and growth was phenomenal: the initial settlement in April 1858 numbered 300, and within a month it had doubled. In 1859 the Swiss Colonization Society moved its headquarters to Tell City, and after completing its mission it disbanded in 1879. Tell City continued to prosper, and by 1885 it had 26 furniture factories, an industry well known even today. The Swiss Germans also produced beer and wine, and the town had many beer gardens and saloons. Music and festivity have always been and still are part of life in Tell City. Another Swiss settlement occurred at Vevay, Indiana, also on the Ohio River Scenic Byway upriver of Tell City, where French-speaking Swiss took advantage of fertile soil and ideal conditions for wine-making, among other pursuits. The original name proposed for Tell City was Helvetia, a Latin name for Switzerland.