A ll 16, residents of Vincennes, Indiana, seemed to be asleep when I arrived on a Sunday morning. Everything was closed. The streets were quiet, save for a passing car or two. Even the campus of Vincennes University was deserted. Vincennes has seen a shrinking population since , when it peaked at just under 20, But that was okay for me. I was here on little day trip out of Indianapolis, and I felt like I had the entire city to myself.
These are my favorites. After parking at the nearly empty visitor center, I sat down to watch the orientation film, a rather fascinating exploration of how, in , Lieutenant Colonel Clark led the capture of Fort Sackville and British Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton as part of the celebrated and top-secret Illinois Campaign, which lasted from to After the film, I had to fetch one of the rangers to escort me to the centerpiece of the park, the George Rogers Clark Memorial, that honors this pivotal figure whom I had previously known nothing about.
Completed in less than two years by and dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in , the memorial is approached by a broad staircase of 30 steps. Francis Xavier has been standing proudly since , although the parish itself is much older, dating back to about , making it the oldest Catholic parish in Indiana. I approached it from the rear, through the adjacent cemetery in which more than 4, early citizens of Vincennes rest in peace, noting the dome over the apse, and the circular and lunette windows.
The simple front of the brick Greek Revivalβstyle basilica features three entrances at the top of the wide staircase, each with a statue above it in an arched niche: St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Inside, be sure to check out the 14 oil paintings of the Stations of the Cross , added in from France; the stained-glass windows depicting the Four Evangelists; and the large Doric columns made of yellow poplar, encased in plaster and painted to resemble marble.
Occupying a corner lot in downtown Vincennes, Second National Bank began with a bangβquite literally. It was preceded on the same location by the Vincennes National Bank, organized in On July 5, , the then bank president Wilson M.
