George Rogers Clark National Historical Park

07/05/2025

We want to thank members of the Vincennes Rotary Club and Boy Scout Troop 210 for help cleaning up after last nights celebration. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend.

06/15/2025

Join us this Saturday June 21 for Three Forts Day 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Living History volunteers will demonstrate what life was like in Vincennes in the 18th century!

05/24/2025

Join us Today and Tomorrow Saturday May 24 and Sunday 25 2025 for the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous. George Rogers Clark will be hosting living historians onsite in a grand encampment.

Free Events on Clark Memorial Grounds:
Colors Ceremonies in front of the Clark Memorial:
Saturday 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

SAR Ceremony: Saturday 11:00 a.m.

Tours of the Grand Encampment,
meet at the cannon in front of the Visitor Center:
Saturday 12:00 p.m.
Sunday 2:00 p.m.

Ranger Talk, meet at the cannon in front of the Visitor Center:
Saturday 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Photography contest slideshow and awards,
In the Visitor Center theater: Sunday 4:00 p.m.

Image: NPS Photo/April Case
Image Description: A group of people dressed as American revolutionary war era Highland soldiers, wearing red coats, kilts, knee high red and white checked socks, and tall furred hats, near the Clark Memorial rotunda.

05/23/2025

The parking lot will be closed Saturday May 24th and Sunday May 25th for the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous.
Visitors can use street parking or the public lot on Vigo St.
The Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous also has parking available from Perdue Road off Sixth Street beyond the Military Museum.
Come out and see our Living Historians and learn about the world of George Rogers Clark.

Image courtesy of Spirit of Vincennes, Credit: Steve LaRoche.
Image description: Revolutionary war era tents on a green lawn in front of the George Rogers Clark Memorial rotunda. In the foreground a small group of people dressed in colonial style clothing stand around a fire.

05/19/2025

Join us this weekend May 24 and 25 2025 for the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous. George Rogers Clark will be hosting living historians onsite in a grand encampment.

Free Events on Clark Memorial Grounds:
Colors Ceremonies in front of the Clark Memorial:
Saturday 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

SAR Ceremony: Saturday 11:00 a.m.

Tours of the Grand Encampment, meet at the cannon in front of the Visitor Center:
Saturday 12:00 p.m.
Sunday 2:00 p.m.

Ranger Talk, meet at the cannon in front of the Visitor Center:
Saturday 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Photography contest slideshow and awards,
In the Visitor Center theater: Sunday 4:00 p.m.

Image: NPS Photo/April Case
Image Description: A group of people dressed as American revolutionary war era Highland soldiers, wearing red coats, kilts, knee high red and white checked socks, and tall furred hats, near the Clark Memorial rotunda.

05/14/2025

We're hoping to hire a seasonal visitor services assistant. If you live within a reasonable commute to the park please apply here and choose Vincennes, IN:

Serve as representatives to answer questions and offer guidance. Monitor sites and maintain relations with park partners and concessions on roving patrols throughout National Parks. Likely Entry On Duty: June-July 2025. Open to the first 75 applicants. ....

05/14/2025

A common misconception is that all colonial towns were built in the English style with isolated farmsteads and large dense villages. However, colonial America had many influences including a multitude of indigenous cultures in addition to French, Spanish and English.
In the Illinois Country (today's Midwestern states) most European settlements followed the French style with farmers living in villages with small food gardens around their homes instead of spread out on their individual lands. The houses were typically clustered around a church and village common. Nearby was a large field or "common" where all the domestic animals grazed under the care of someone tasked with the chore.
This set aside area is still persevered in Vincennes, not far from where George Rogers Clark and his Frontiersmen sieged and took Fort Sackville. The ‘French Common’ today does not host much livestock, but concerts and festivals and stands as a symbol of the area's different influences than those in the Eastern part of the country. What shaped your town and made it distinct from other towns?

This Drawing by Richard Day depicts historic Vincennes with the fort along the river flanked by the common field and surrounded by the church and many homes with small gardens or orchards.

05/09/2025

Ren·dez·vous /ˈrändəˌvo͞o,ˈrändāˌvo͞o/ -- a meeting at an agreed time and place. or a place where a particular group of people often go or meet, by arrangement or habit. Or from Old French: "rendre" (to return) + "vous" (to oneself).

One of the most popular events George Rogers Clark National Historical Park participates in is the Rendezvous which takes place every Memorial Day Weekend in Vincennes, Indiana. The event celebrates the French colonial spirit of Vincennes with military reenactments, food and drink, period appropriate clothing and vendors and special events all held on the area’s French commons with parades and encampments on the park grounds.

However, a true Rendezvous was the annual coming-together of European fur trappers and hunters, Native Americans, and fur company traders who met in the wilderness where a major transfer of furs and other goods could occur. Additionally, new business deals and transactions could be forged along with shooting competitions, and much drinking and revelry for many who'd had very little company for many months in the sparsely settled areas of the country.
The Rendezvous Festival keeps alive the spirit of those historical wilderness meetings for future generations.

NPS Photos by Frank Doughman and Joe Herron

Photo 1 (by Frank Doughman): A man and woman dressed as colonial era civilians inside a canvas tent filled with colonial style metal tableware and drinking vessels.
Photo 2 (by Joe Herron): a man dressed as a colonial civilian showing his fiber goods to visitors dressed modern clothing.

05/03/2025

Products, like spice, silk and fur, can drive extreme changes in societies through new interactions, exploration, and invention. The Silk trade brought East and West together through what is commonly known as the Silk Road, driving the exchange of inventions and ideas. The Spice trade drove European nations to colonize both the African and Indian continents and pushed sailors to find quicker or safer routes to trade partners. The fur trade brought conflict as France and the Britain tried to monopolize access to pelts in North America.
Fur was a very strong source of profit for the European powers and because of the wealth at stake, both European and Colonial governments competed with each other in an attempt to ally with various native Nations for control of the fur trade. The political benefits of the fur trade were often more important than the economic aspects. Trade was a way to forge alliances and maintain good relations between different cultures. However, the Native Americans' lifestyles were altered by trade. Loss of resources, increasing conflict and introduced diseases caused some indigenous nations to incur debts to European traders and companies and others to become dependent on European trade goods. in response they often resorted to selling land to the European, and later, American settlers. Resentment of these forced sales was an important factor that contributed to future wars.

Image by George Agnew Reid, Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1990-329-1

A color painting of Indigenous American and European people holding a blanket in front of a large wooden fort around which crowds are gathered.

03/22/2025

Is the wind getting you down? Go fly a kite!

On March 29, Rangers and volunteers of the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park welcomes everyone to "Soar into the Sky" with your kites!
Inspired by Washington, DC's annual Blossom Kite Festival for which visitors from all over the country travel to the National Mall and fill the air with these wonders of the sky.
Help us bring some fun and beauty to the windy bank of the Wabash River. Kite enthusiasts are invited to the grounds of the Clark Memorial for an afternoon of kite flying (or whatever family friendly outdoor activity you choose to bring along).
This event is open to kite fliers of all ages and abilities. Participants are encouraged to bring their own kites to fly or show off. Don’t have a kite? A number of kite-making kits will be available for kids to build and decorate kites.
❤️✌️✨

02/06/2025

In February 1779 George Rogers Clark’s forces marched across the Illinois country and flooded Wabash River to Vincennes to challenge Henry Hamilton and the British Army at Fort Sackville. Clark’s success is often regarded as a key event in American movement West to the Mississippi River and South to the Ohio River. An area 1/3 the size of the original 13 colonies known as the Old Northwest Territory became part of the United States at the end of the American Revolution.

On February 22, the National Park Service will commemorate Clark’s March with a guided walk covering the last five miles of his journey while discussing events that took place along the way into Vincennes. Those wishing to walk will check in at the park Visitor Center by 9:30 am (Eastern Time) and the bus will leave at 9:45 am. Comfortable shoes and seasonally appropriate attire are recommended for those walking in the event. Many participants will wear clothing in the style of the 18th century Virginia Militia, but it is certainly not required.

Please register for the walk before 5 pm on February 20th, 2025 by calling 812-882-1776 ext. 1210. This is necessary for the park to ensure the bus which will drop-off walkers has seats for everyone. For further details, contact Chief Ranger Joe Herron at 812-882-1776 ext. 1204.

01/17/2025

As a reminder George Rogers Clark National Historical Park has upcoming closures. During these closures the park grounds will remain open, but the park Visitor Center and Clark Memorial building will be closed.

· January 20, 2025 – Martin Luther King Day (and Inauguration Day)

· February 17, 2025 – Washington’s Birthday (President's Day)

Additional closures due to inclement weather or unforeseen issues will be communicated on the park website www.nps.gov/gero and social media when park staff are able to access them. If you are planning at visit to George Rogers Clark NHP, always feel free to call the park at 812-882-1776 to check on current conditions.

Photo: The Clark memorial, lit by the morning sun. In the foreground, snow dominates the ground and frost coats the branches of the crabapple trees lining the Barnett sidewalk. NPS/photo credit A. Case