The city of Vincennes is located in the southwestern part of Indiana on the Wabash river. Originally established as a French pelt-trading post, Vincennes is the oldest town in the state. It is also the site of Indiana’s first Catholic church, first newspaper, first Presbyterian church and first bank, and features a couple of tourist attractions.
Visitors to Vincennes are offered several sights such as the imposing Old Cathedral, the comprehensive Old Cathedral Library & Museum, the unique Indiana Military Museum, Lincoln Memorial Bridge, Grouseland, and Fort Knox II. Further points of interest are Fort Sackville, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park and the picturesque Farmers Market of historic Vincennes.
The city boasts Vincennes University which is older than the state itself and belongs to the nation’s top 10 most-wired 2-year colleges according to Yahoo Internet Life’s ranking. Wine lovers can tease their taste buds at the new Windy Knoll Winery & Vineyard where a full body wine is produced from grapes that are grown here in Knox county.
Highlights
Old Cathedral: built in 1826, the church contains a crypt where four bishops are buried, while more than 4,000 early citizens of Vincennes lie in the adjacent graveyard.
Old Cathedral Library & Museum: Indiana’s oldest library houses 10,000 rare historic and church artifacts and books dating back to 1319.
Indiana Military Museum: contains one of the country’s best collections of military memorabilia from the Civil War to Desert Storm.
Lincoln Memorial Bridge: this is the site where Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln’s family used to cross the Wabash river into Illinois in 1830.
Grouseland: William Henry Harrison, the ninth US president, and his family lived in this magnificent mansion, which houses the Council Room where Harrison got together with different Indian tribes and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh.