Hey there Adventurers! If you just read my Puerto Vallarta post you may have noticed I mentioned it was my last trip of 2024. That’s true, it was. However, I forgot this brief visit in Indiana earlier in November!
George Rogers Clark NHP is probably the very first NPS unit I ever visited. I grew up in Indiana only 45 minutes from this park, and everyone took a field trip there in elementary school! I already have this in my NPS unit count which is why there is no new count at the top. That being the case the last time I was here the internet did not exist, nor did cell phones, digital cameras, or any such sorcery! I found myself in Indiana in the early part of November and took a quick couple hour trip up from Evansville to Vincennes, IN.
There is a lot of history here. I will give a brief account, and you can fill in the rest. This area was settled before the Revolutionary War (our native bothers and sisters, of course, where here before then). Once the war broke out G.R. Clark was in charge of the Virginia Militia in Kentucky. He was instrumental in the US forces taking Vincennes from the British during the war. This entire area was know as the Old Northwest and part of British Quebec. This weakened the British positions and they ceded all the land to the US in the Treaty of Paris. Essentially, G.R. Clark was the reason we gained the land that would lead to the modern day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota.
The monument here was built nearly 100 years ago and honors the man. The site of the fort is the approximate location of a fort called Sackville, but that exact location is unknown. At the end of his life he was broke and had a tarnished reputation for being a drunkard. The entire site in Vincennes is quite nice and pays homage to his history despite the rough end to his life. This is not a site you would go out of your way to visit. There is no Bark Ranger program here either, but if you DO catch yourself in southwest Indiana, this is a worthy couple hours detour for sure!
The Parks Adventurer 