Vincennes, Indiana

We visited three sites in Vincennes, Indiana on August 19th. Vincennes is located about an hour from Evansville, Indiana and was very important to our nation’s expansion. It served as the seat of government for the Indiana Territory.

Our first stop was The Red Skelton Museum on the campus of Vincennes University. The museum opened five years ago, so it is still fairly new. Through 1971, Red Skelton was must see television in our home. “Freddie The Freeloader” and “Clem Kadiddlehopper” were brought to life by this Vincennes native each week on CBS. Red’s characters were simple folk with generous spirits and a lot of common sense. In this regard, they reflected their creator who dropped out of school, but would later earn a GED. Red, a 33rd Degree Mason and a “Shriner Clown”, lent his talents to many philanthropic endeavors.

Red, a patriotic WWII veteran, headlined several USO shows throughout the rest of his life. In addition, this entertainer of international acclaim performed for Queen Elizabeth in the 1980’s.

The museum has many items from his long history in show business, along with some fascinating photographs of his family and original oil paintings that he created. In visiting the museum, we discovered that Red did not have an easy, idyllic life. He suffered tragic losses before his birth and as an adult, too. Long after his TV show was cancelled, he was still performing to sold out audiences around the country and the world.

If you get the opportunity to visit Red’s Museum, you won’t be disappointed. It will bring you a smile and some laughter for certain.

 "Grouseland", William Henry Harrison's Home
Vincennes, Indiana

Our second stop was Grouseland, the mansion built by William Henry Harrison. Most of us recall from high school history that he was elected president and ran on the slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”. Our two docents shared many interesting facts about the first “Whig” to be elected president and his time as the first governor of the Indiana Territory.

John Adams appointed him to be governor when he was only twenty-five years old. Harrison had wanted to become a doctor, but because he was not the eldest son, he would not inherit family money and he felt he could not become financially successful in that profession.

Therefore, he decided to become a soldier. He was dating a young woman that he wished to marry, however, her father did not approve of his daughter dating a soldier and would not give his permission for a marriage. On an occasion when her father was out of town, Anna Tuthill Symmes’ mother gave her blessing to the marriage and they eloped. Their union produced ten children. One of those children was the father of Benjamin Harrison who would also become president.

Harrison’s years at Grouseland were productive and his negotiations with Native Americans increased the area of the United States substantially. His victory over Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 would help propel him to the White House in the 1840 election.

As you enter the front hall of Grouseland, two paintings are positioned on opposite walls and facing one another. One is an oil painting of William Henry Harrison, made to look several years younger than when he posed for it. And the other is of Anna, dressed in mourning after his death in 1841. The portrait of Anna is a copy and the artist did not make her appear younger. When Harrison was inaugurated, Anna was ill and remained in Indiana. He died after a month in office, so she never got to serve as first lady. A future first lady bought the original oil painting and had it placed in the First Ladies Portrait Gallery at the White House, thus allowing her to finally be in the White House. Grouseland is a fascinating window into our country’s early history and the family that lived there. We enjoyed visiting Grouseland and believe you would as well.

George Rogers Clark Memorial
Vincennes, Indiana

The third place we visited in Vincennes was the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park located on the banks of the Wabash River. The memorial is built on the site of Fort Sackville, the British fort George Rogers Clark captured in 1779. This victory was a significant step in the Americans’ campaign of winning the Old Northwest. A marker on the site states this conquest resulted in the United States gaining Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The memorial was begun in 1931 and construction concluded in May of 1933. President Roosevelt dedicated it on June 14, 1936. Congress made the building and grounds part of the National Park Service in 1966 and President Johnson signed the measure on July 23, 1966.

The Clark Memorial is over 80 feet high and 180 feet across the base. Inside the rotunda are seven murals, each created on a single piece of Belgium linen 16 feet wide by 28 feet tall. The artist, Ezra Winter, painted them over a two and a half year period. Prominent in the center of the rotunda is a bronze statue of Clark. Around its base is inscribed a quotation of Clark’s: “If a country is not worth protecting it is not worth claiming.”

By the entry doors are four flags: the United States flag; the red-and-green flag used by the Americans during Clark’s campaign; the red-white-and-blue British flag; and the yellow-and-white French fleur-de-lis flag. This memorial is not only a tribute to our history, it is also a beautiful piece of art.

Although not a part of the Memorial, the nearby Lincoln Memorial Bridge was built around the same time and was designed to compliment it. We did not cross the Wabash River into Illinois on the bridge, so we did not see the magnificent stone carvings of Native American Chiefs on the Indiana side. The bridge crosses the Wabash River where Abraham Lincoln was said to have first crossed into Illinois from Indiana by flatboat.

We had a great time in Vincennes and recommend it. Just remember Vincennes is in the Eastern Time Zone!