reference

Home

Shopping

Articles

Local

News

Vincennes, Indiana

History

Vincennes has been a part of the French colony of Louisiana, the British colony of Canada, and the Illinois Country of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. It was then part of Knox County in the Northwest Territory, later the Indiana Territory. Vincennes served as capital of the Indiana Territory from 1800 until 1813, when it was moved to Corydon.

New France

The first trading post on the Wabash River was established by the Sieur Juchereau, Lieutenant General of Montréal. He, with thirty-four Canadiens, founded the company post 28 October 1702 for the purpose of trading Buffalo hides. The exact location of Juchereau's trading post is not known, but because of the crossing of the Buffalo Trace across the Wabash at Vincennes, it is thought by some to have been at or near the modern city of Vincennes. The post was evidently a success; in the first two years, they collected over 13,000 buffalo hides. When Juchereau died, the post was abandoned, and the settlers left what they considered hostile territory for Mobile, the capital of Louisiana.

The oldest European town in Indiana, Vincennes was officially established in 1732 as a French fur trading post. The Compagnie des Indes commissioned a Canadian officer, François-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, to build a post along the Wabash River to discourage local nations from trading with the British. de Vincennes founded the new trading post near the meeting points of the Wabash River, White River, and the overland Buffalo Trace. de Vincennes, who had lived with his father among the Miami tribe, was able to convince the Piankeshaw to establish a village at his trading post. He also encouraged French settlers to move there, and took it upon himself to start a family and increase the village population. Because the Wabash post was so remote, however, de Vincennes had a hard time getting the supplies he needed from Louisiana to trade with the native nations, who were being courted by British traders.

In 1736, during the French war with the Chickasaw nation, de Vincennes was captured and burned at the stake in the modern state of Arkansas. His settlement on the Wabash was renamed Poste Vincennes in his honor.

Louisiana Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville next appointed Louis de Bellerive de St. Ange to command Poste Vincennes. With little help from the colonial government, St. Ange was able to build up the small village and attract new tribes to trade. In 1742, he received a grant from the Piankeshaw for to the north and east of Poste Vincennes. The opportunity for land attracted many new French settlers, and the growing village was sometimes called St. Ange.

As the French colonials pushed north from Louisiana and south from Canada, however, the British colonists to the east continued to push west, and British traders lured away many of Indians who had traded with the French. This competition escalated in the Ohio Country until the eruption of the French and Indian War.

British Empire

thumb|300 px|right|Diorama of Fort SackvilleOn February 10, 1763, when New France was ceded to the British Empire at the conclusion of the French and Indian War, Vincennes fell under the dominion of Great Britain. British Lt. John Ramsey came to Vincennes in 1766. He took a census of the settlement, built up the fort, and renamed it Fort Sackville. The population grew quickly in the years that followed, resulting in a unique culture of interdependent Native Americans and French and British colonials and traders.

Vincennes was far from centers of colonial power, and in 1770 and 1772 General Thomas Gage, the commander in chief of Britain's North American forces, received warnings that the residents of Vincennes were not remaining loyal, and were inciting native tribes along the river trade routes against the British. The British Colonial Secretary, the Earl of Hillsborough, ordered the residents be removed from Vincennes. Gage delayed while the residents responded to the charges against them, claiming to be "peaceful settlers, cultivating the land which His Most Christian Majesty granted us." The issue was resolved by Hillsborough's successor, Lord Dartmouth, who insisted to Gage that the residents were not lawless vagabonds, but English subjects whose rights were protected by the King.

In 1778, residents at Poste Vincennes received word of the French alliance with the American Second Continental Congress from Father Pierre Gibault and Dr. Jean Laffont. They revolted in support of the Americans, as did the local Piankeshaw Chief Young Tobacco.
Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant Governor of the British Fort Detroit, thought Poste Vincennes "a refuge for debtors and Vagabonds from Canada," and led an expedition to reclaim the post. Upon his success he built up the fort and prepared for a spring invasion of Illinois Territory. Before he could try, however, George Rogers Clark recaptured Fort Sackville in the February 23, 1779 Battle of Vincennes without losing a single soldier or shot being fired, thanks to an Italian soldier and fur trader, Captain Francis Vigo, who offered his financial assistance and services, even working as a secret agent. The episode was featured in the 1901 novel Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson. Also, the USS Vincennes AEGIS cruiser would be named in honor of this battle.

United States

thumb|300 px|right|George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Although the Americans would remain in control of Vincennes, it would take years to establish peace. In 1786, Captain John Hardin led a mounted Kentucky militia across the Ohio River and destroyed a friendly Piankeshaw town near Vincennes. This led to a series of attacks and counter-attacks between Wabash Indians and American settlers. Finally, on 15 July 1786, forty-seven war canoes landed at Vincennes to drive the Americans back to Kentucky. The Indians warned the French in advance of their attack and assured them that they would not be harmed, but the French warned the Americans, who quickly supplied Fort Patrick Henry and waited out the siege. One American was killed and four wounded, and the war party left after destroying the Americans' farms.

In response to the attack, Virginia Governor Patrick Henry authorized George Rogers Clark to raise the Kentucky militia and mount an expedition against the warring tribes. General Clark gathered a force of 1,000 militia and departed Clarksville 9 September 1786, along the Buffalo Trace. The army spent ten days in Vincennes before marching north along the Wabash, but men deserted by the hundreds, and Clark was soon forced to return to Vincennes without any action taken. Clark left 150 men to help defend Vincennes, but this force soon turned into a mob, and the citizens of Vincennes petitioned Congress for help. Secretary of War Henry Knox sent Colonel Josiah Harmar and the First American Regiment to restore order. The Kentucky militia fled Vincennes at the approach of U.S. Regulars.

Colonel Harmar left 100 regulars under Major Jean François Hamtramck and directed them to build a fort, Fort Knox. Vincennes remained an isolated town which was difficult to supply due to its position, deep within Indian territory. Secure transport to and from Vincennes meant travelling with a large, armed party, whether over land or via the Wabash River. On 30 September 1790, Major Hamtramck led 350 men from Vincennes as far north as the Vermillion River, looking to engage some of the Indian villages which had been at war with Vincennes. The Kickapoo tracked the party, however, and evacuated every village along the way before the Americans arrived. Hamtramck was able to destroy some abandoned villages, but was unable to engage any war parties. Faced with desertions from Kentucky militia (as Clark had been in 1786), Hamtramck returned to Vincennes. The expedition had done no serious harm to the enemies of Vincennes, but it was able to distract some of the Wabash villages while Josiah Harmar, now a General, led a much larger expedition up through Ohio country towards Kekionga.

Vincennes was not safe until the conclusion of the Northwest Indian War in 1795. By 1798, the population had reached 2,500, and Vincennes was no longer considered a trading outpost, but a thriving city.

Flag of Vincennes, Indiana

This Flag for the city of Vincennes, Indiana albeit somewhat unofficial, is used by several areas around the city of Vincennes. It features the signature V, four fleurs-de-lis, symbolizing the city's French heritage and its existence across four centuries, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, and the city's establishment in 1732. Similar in appearance to Indianapolis' flag, Vincennes' flag is more squared in appearance than Indianapolis' and has a diamond center rather than a circle center which represents the layout of Vincennes in a diamond-like formation. The white stripes emitting from the diamond represent Vincennes' part in the settlement of the frontier, being at the crossroads of many of the great pioneer trails.

Geography

Vincennes is located at (38.678329, -87.516067).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.6 km²), of which 7.1 square miles (18.5 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) (0.97%) is water.

Education

Public Schools

Elementary Schools

Tecumseh - Harrison Elementary

Franklin Elementary

Vigo Elementary

Riley Elementary

Washington Elementary

Middle School

Clark Middle School

High School

Lincoln High School

South Knox High School

Parochial Schools

Elementary School

Flaget Elementary (K-5)

High School

Vincennes Rivet High School (6-12)

Other Private Schools

Wabash Valley Christian Academy (K-1)

Southwestern Indiana Youth Village (4-12)

Higher Education

Vincennes University was established in 1801 as Jefferson Academy. It is the oldest college of higher learning in the US north of the Ohio River and west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Demographics

thumb|300 px|right|Knox County CourthouseAs of the census of 2000, there were 18,701 people, 7,614 households, and 4,332 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,620.3 people per square mile (1,011.3/km²). There were 8,574 housing units at an average density of 1,201.4/sq mi (463.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.34% White, 3.28% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population.

There were 7,614 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,289, and the median income for a family was $35,424. Males had a median income of $27,029 versus $20,254 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,993. About 15.0% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city government consists of a seven member city council. Five of whom are elected from districts the other two are elected at large. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote.

Time Zone Controversy

On November 4, 2007, Knox County joined Daviess, Martin, Pike, and Dubois counties in returning to Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5). Controversy concerning time in Indiana has caused a change in the time zone of Vincennes on three different occasions since The Standard Time Act of 1918.