Podcast Script
The Knox County Public Library invites you to experience the history and architecture of Vincennes, Indiana’s first continuously inhabited European settlement. When you tour the streets of Vincennes look for sites related to the town’s eighteenth century roots, its role as Indiana’s territorial capital in the early nineteenth century, and its expansion at the turn of the twentieth century built on rail commerce.
Early Vincennes:
In 1732, France controlled this part of North America and a young French lieutenant, Francois-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes built a fort on the Wabash River. Piankashaw Indians lived along the Wabash in this area. Sieur de Vincennes convinced them to live near the fort. Around the fort grew a mixed society of French and Indians engaged in the fur trade. In 1736, Sieur de Vincennes was captured and burned by the Chickasaw Indians but the town he founded keeps his name and honors his memory.
The community of Vincennes grew out of this French and Indian society. Trade and agriculture sustained residents throughout the 1700s. When the French and Indian War began in 1754, Vincennes was far from the conflict, but when France lost the war in 1763, Vincennes became part of British-controlled Illinois Country. The British were slow to take control. Vincennes prospered in spite of, or perhaps because of, this neglect.
Stop No. 1: George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, the Americans and British began to pay attention to the allegiance of western residents. In 1778, George Rogers Clark, a colonel in theKentucky County, Virginia Militia, captured British posts on the Mississippi River and sent Father PierreGibault to the residents of Vincennes to persuade them to transfer their allegiance. On July 20, 1778 the residents of Vincennes swore an oath of allegiance to the United States.
When British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton at Detroit learned of this he led an army down the Wabash and recaptured Vincennes in December 1778. Clark, stationed on the Mississippi in Illinois, quickly journeyed with a small militia over flooded lands to Vincennes. He attacked the British and won the fort on February 25, 1779. This strategic win allowed the fledgling American government to claim the territory northwest of the Ohio River.
On the bank of the Wabash River is the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. The visitor’s center is located on 2nd Street. If your time allows, tour the George Rogers Clark Memorial and view the interpretive video.
In the 1920s, local supporters led efforts to create a memorial to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Revolution. Designed by New York architect, Frederick C. Hirons, the Memorial, constructed of Vermont granite, was completed in 1933. Centered inside the Memorial is a bronze statue of Clark, created by Hermon A. MacNeil. Ezra Winter painted the murals inside to represent significant events to the opening of the Northwest Territory. You will also see several inspirational quotes from Clark inscribed inside, including:
“Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted.”
Stop No. 2: Lincoln Memorial Bridge
Located in front of the George Rogers Clark Memorial is the Lincoln Memorial Bridge. The bridge was built to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the end of the American Revolutionary War. Designed by William E. Parsons in 1933, the bridge features decorative pylons sculpted by Raoul Jossett. The bridge spans the Wabash River, roughly following the route of the historical Buffalo Trace, the route early settlers and traders followed from the Falls of Ohio in southeastern Indiana through Illinois to the Mississippi River. Born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, Abraham Lincoln crossed here in 1830 with his family to reside in Illinois.
Stop No. 3: St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church is the oldest religious congregation in Indiana, and dates to 1734 when Jesuit missionaries began visiting Vincennes. The first church, a log building of upright logs, was built about 1748 when the first resident pastor, Fr. Sebastien Louis Meurin, a Jesuit, arrived. The parish suffered after 1763 when French officials expelled all but one elderly Jesuit from the ‘Illinois Country.” Thus the church was without a resident priest for several years. Vincennes residents, distraught about not having an official to perform marriage and baptismal ceremonies and death rites, petitioned the Bishop of Quebec to send a missionary. Father Pierre Gibault was eventually sent and he began making frequent visits beginning in 1769. Gibault became the resident priest in 1784. You can find a 1936 statue of Father Gibault on the church grounds.
A successor of Father Gibault, Father John Francis Rivet, is credited with founding the forerunner of Vincennes University. Rivet arrived in Vincennes in 1795. William Henry Harrison, appointed governor of the Indiana Territory, settled in Vincennes in 1801. He asked Rivet to tutor his young son. Harrison proposed beginning a school with Rivet as headmaster. Known as the Jefferson Academy, the school offered instruction in French, English, the Classics, and mathematics. This academy eventually became Vincennes University.
The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church campus today consists of several historical buildings. The current church building was constructed in 1826 and became the center of the Diocese of Vincennes in 1834. The bell tower was added in 1841. Inside the church you will find several murals of saints, including St. Francis Xavier, and the Madonna, completed by German painter Wilhelm Lamprecht. The church also contains a crypt, the resting place for the first four Bishops of Vincennes. In 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated the status of the church to Minor Basilica, in recognition of its historical significance.
Next to the church is the old St. Francis Xavier Library built in 1841. Bishop Simon Brute (who served in Vincennes from 1834 to 1839), had a personal library of over 5,000 books. These books and records became the foundation for the church’s library. A new library building was built in 1968 and is located behind the church. Next to the library is the church’s rectory, constructed in 1841 in the Greek Revival style.
To the south of the church campus is the St.Francis Xavier School, built in 1884. D. A.Bohlen, an Indianapolis architect, designed the school in the Italianate style with an ornate cupola. It is a part of Rivet High School today.
To learn more about the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and its other buildings, please visit their museum, which is open during the week and does provide access to their historic library.
At the corner of 2nd and Main continue your walk on the side of Main Street closest to the George Rogers Clark Memorial so that you can have full view of the buildings across the street as they are described.
Introduction to Vincennes’ Main Street:
Stepping onto Main Street you will now see commercial growth from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. After the American Revolution, Vincennes became part of the Northwest Territory.In 1800itbecame the territorial capital of Indiana. William Henry Harrison, future President of the United States, was the governor of the Territory and moved to Vincennes. His home, Grouseland is not on this tour, but is a short distance northeast of here and is open to the public.
In the early 1800s, new arrivals, largely from Kentucky and Virginia, mixed with Vincennes’existing French and Indian residents. The town was sustained by a lush agricultural countryside. Residents cultivated corn, tobacco, and wheat. The town’s residents were also well-entertained with several taverns, a pool hall, and frequent dances. Residents, beginning in 1804, could also pick up a copy of the first newspaper published in Indiana, theIndiana Gazette.
After more than a decade, Vincennes lost its role as territorial capital. With the separation of the Illinois and Indiana territories in 1809, Vincennes was thought too far west to serve as the Indiana capital any longer. In 1813 the territorial capital moved to Corydon, Indiana, a more centrally located town. Corydon would also serve as the first state capital when Indiana was granted statehood in 1816.
With the loss of its important political role, Vincennes’ growth stagnated. The oldest remaining buildings from this period can be seen in the 100 block of Main Street. On the corner of Main and 1st streets is the Burtch & Hannah Building, a Federal style building dating from 1829. It was originally a general store.
Vincennes was bypassed by the Wabash and Erie Canal in the 1830s, but, in the 1850s two railroads, the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad and OhioMississippi Railroad, crossed Knox County, thusrestarting the town’s economy. The railroad with lines running north and south, east and west, opened up new commercial opportunities for Vincennes merchants and its surrounding farmers. By the turn of the twentieth century, Vincennes had gained many new businesses and manufacturing enterprises. From 1850 to 1860 the population doubled and a city government was adopted.
Stop No 4: Second National Bank
By 1900 the population of Vincennes had reached 10,000. In 1912, local architects Thomas Campbell and Louis Osterhage designed the commercial building at 2 North 2nd Street. The building housed their offices on the third floor. This Neoclassical-style building is characterized by its heavy use of classical or Greekinspired elements, such as its repeated use of square stone pilasters topped with Ionic capitals. Most intriguing about the building though are the number of different window designs and window hoods created by Campbell and Osterhage. As architects, they wanted to put their talents on display for their clients. How many different patterns can you find?
As you move on you will see the Gimbel Store at the corner of Second and Main streets. In 1842, Adam Gimbel, a Bavarian Jewish merchant, came to Vincennes. By 1857 Gimbel built the brick store, which eventually consisted of five buildings and extended up Main Street. The first three buildings were originally Italianate in style, but Louis Osterhage designed new facades in 1916. The fourth building is an architectural gem, designed by noted Chicago architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke, in 1878. On its pediment is inscribed “A. Gimbel & Sons, Clothing Hall, 1842-1879.” The fifth building was built in 1879.
Stop No. 5: J. T. Oliphant Building
J. T. Oliphant built this Neoclassical-style commercial building at 214 Main Street in 1916. Oliphant was a wealthy entrepreneur, who was president of the Oliphant Johnson Coal Company and founder of the Vincennes Bridge Works. Numerous coal companies sprang up in and around Knox County at the turn of the twentieth century, and the coal industry is still prevalent today. The Vincennes Bridge Works was established in 1899 and built metal and iron bridges. Examples of these bridges remain throughout the region and bridge parts continue to be made in Knox County.
The Oliphant Building was the tallest building in Vincennes at the time it was built with six stories. Metal framing became popular in the late nineteenth century and it allowed buildings to grow vertically, as the structure could bear more weight than previous wood frame or masonry systems. The Oliphant Building is part of this technological change in building construction.
Stop No. 6: American National Bank
John W. Gaddis designed the American National Bank at 302 Main Street in the Neoclassical style. Built in 1917, the American National Bank was constructed from stone and brick. The first story storefront is adorned with formal pilasters,some ornate and some more simple, which are repeated in the upper stories.
Stop No. 7: Heberd Building
The 1873 Heberd Building at 320 Main Street is a superb example of Italianate architecture. The defining characteristics of this building is its paired bracketed cornice along the roofline and rounded arch window openings with stone hoods above. The Italianate style was commonly used in late nineteenth-century commercial architecture. The style was incredibly popular at the time when most Midwestern towns and cities were booming with the expansion of the railroads. Therefore most Midwestern Main Streets have many examples of Italianate commercial architecture.
Continue down to the corner of 5th and Main streets and you will find a fantastic historic theatre.
Stop No. 8: Pantheon Theatre
John B. Bayard designed the Pantheon Theatre in 1921. This building features the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a style influenced by Italian architecture and made popular when American soldiers returned home from Europe after WWI. The building features an extensive decorative use of terra cotta around its rounded arch windows and in its name block adorned with dramatic faces—obviously fitting for a theatre. The Pantheon had a stage and dressing rooms for local and traveling plays, musical reviews, and vaudeville shows. It had a big theatre organ and orchestra pit for musical accompaniment of silent movies. In 1929 the first “talkie” movie in Vincennes was shown here.
Turn the corner to your left and walk down Fifth Street to Busseron Street.
Stop No. 9: Vincennes Post Office
Completed in 1907, the Vincennes Post Office is an ornate Neoclassical-style building. James Knox Taylor designed the original building, which was later expanded by John B. Bayard in 1936. A 1907 newspaper column detailed the new post office’s two entrances and also its “mysterious passages” available only to government inspectors who could watch the sorting and processing of mail incognito.
The building currently houses the Vincennes Police Department.
Stop No. 10: First Presbyterian Church
Vincennes retains several excellent late-nineteenth century churches. This is the First Presbyterian Church, located at 101 North 5th Street. The first congregation of Presbyterians formed in Vincennes as early as 1806. An example of the Romanesque Revival style, the 1884 portion of the building was designed by John H. Stem. The 1899 portion of the church includes the impressive three story corner tower and façade facing 5th Street. John Gaddis designed this later addition. The church retains exceptional stained glass.
As you approach the corner of Fifth and Broadway streets, note Indiana’s first Masonic Lodge and the historical marker commemorating its history.
Stop No. 11: First Baptist Church
Efforts to form a congregation of Baptists in Vincennes began in 1860. The congregation’s first church, built in 1864, was replaced in 1915 by the structure you see here. The First Baptist Church at 632 Broadwaywas designed by Louis Osterhage in the Neoclassical style. The church features a prominent pediment-front held up by four stone Doric columns and a central dome. The original flight of steps on the front entry were removed for easier access to the building.
In 1996 the Old Town Players bought the church and converted it into a theatre.
Turn right on Buntin Street and proceed to Sixth Street. Travel north on Sixth Street.
Stop No. 12 George Rogers Clark Junior High School
John W. Gaddis designed the impressive George Rogers Clark Junior High School in 1916. In the early twentieth century most towns and cities were constructing larger schools in response to a wave of school consolidation. Vincennes was growing rapidly during the early 1900s and needed larger schools to house its students. The school originally housed grade school classes and a new concept—the junior high. The building had an auditorium, theatre and a pool plus a variety of trade school “shop” classes. Note the intricate diaper brickworkwith diamond patterns using different colored bricksand the classical terra cotta entryway with a heavy scroll brackets, dentils, and a center crest with the date of the school’s construction on it.
Stop No. 13: St. James Episcopal Church
The St. James Episcopal Church is constructed ofroughOolitic limestone blocks in the Gothic Revivalstyle. It features excellent Tiffany-inspiredstained glass windows and a corner square tower with a crenellated parapet—which means it looks like a tower from a medieval castle. Local architect, Thomas Campbell designed the church. It was built in 1907. The church congregation was established in 1839 and its first years of service were held at the Town Hall. The current church replaced an 1843 building.
Stop No. 14: Fortnightly Club
Lester W. Routt designed this elegant Italian Renaissance Revival style building at 421 N. 6th Street. The Fortnightly Club was a women’s club formed in 1891. Its original focus was the study of literature and its members met in each other’s homes. Women’s clubs were popular forms of education and socialization for middle and upper class women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Theyoften involved themselves with social crusades, and the Fortnightly Club quickly worked to establish a public library in Vincennes. The club built their own meeting place in 1928 after several years of fundraising. The ladies now had a clubhouse of their own to hold lectures, plays, banquets and events. The club is still in existence today and the Knox County Public Library is now the steward of this building.