Vincennes reliving its days
as a Indiana’s premier trading post
By Claude St. Pierre, THG Features
Until five years ago, Vincennes, a town of approximately 20,000 in the sleepy,
isolated southwest corner of Indiana, had primarily been known for its
nationally ranked junior college basketball team and an economy that has seen
better days.
What most citizens outside the area didn’t know is that Vincennes is rich in
history. It is the oldest town in the state, founded in 1702 by the French, who
once controlled this portion of the country. Britain took control of Vincennes
in 1763, and the town was a key target for American forces during the
Revolutionary War, when George Rogers Clark captured Fort Sackville in 1779. The
town was also the capital of Indiana Territory from 1800 to 1813 and was one of
the most important trading posts for fur trappers until the area was trapped
out.
After 1816, Vincennes’ importance and prosperity began to wane. Corydon was
picked to be the first state capital in 1816 due to its more convenient location
on the Ohio River. The town went on an economic slide that lasted nearly two
centuries.
That is, until recently. civic leaders, longing a return to Vincennes’ storied
past, decided to take action. In 1999, the city decided to take a gamble and use
modern technology to turn their fortunes around. Local business leaders pooled
together what little resources they could muster and developed the website
www.ShopVincennes.com, an online merchant directory that has phone
numbers, web links, and coupons for just about every industry in the area.
The gamble has paid off—Vincennes is once again the trading Mecca it was in the
early 1800s, and local business owners and townspeople couldn’t be happier with
the results.
“It is unbelievable what Shop Vincennes has done for this community,” said local
auto repairman Dwight Neafus, “This town has become one that all of us can be
proud to live and work in. Heck, I am just happy to have finally found work!”
Mayor Terry Mooney agrees. “Looking out on the Wabash (River) and seeing all the
barge and tanker traffic heading to our city brings a tear to my eye. To think
how long this city suffered and how that suffering is over is the perfect
Cinderella story.”
And the future only looks brighter for Vincennes. “Once I-69 runs through
southern Indiana, Vincennes will become one of the America’s largest seaports.
Imagine goods coming up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash Rivers to Vincennes,
which will be connected to the interstate. That will put us right up there with
Houston and the New Orleans,” said Mooney. “I just hope I live long enough to
see it.”
The same can be said for all the residents of Vincennes.
