What Is George Rogers Clark National Historical Park?
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park commemorates the capture of the British-held Fort Sackville in 1779 with a huge, domed monument!
What Makes It Historical?
George Rogers Clark grew up in Virginia and learned to be a surveyor from his grandpa. In 1772, defying British rules about exploring west of the Allegheny Mountains, Mr. Clark set off to explore western Virginia and Kentucky and became a guide for others, a trait his younger brother, William, would share when he joined Meriwether Lewis on a grand expedition of their own!
The might of the British Empire was strongest on the East Coast, but it was weaker in the west. That’s why Mr. Clark’s first commission of the American Revolution was to attack the fort at Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River in Illinois! On June 26, 1778, he led 175 soldiers over the falls on the Ohio River under a total solar eclipse and took the fort on July 4th without a shot being fired! His next target was Fort Sackville at Vincennes, and his strategy for that battle was to negotiate neutrality terms with local tribes, then attack in the heart of winter! After marching 240 miles through flooded country, they took Fort Sackville and effectively crippled British control over the western territories! That meant that, after the Revolution, the new boundaries of the USA stretched along the Mississippi River all the way to Detroit!
To commemorate the victory at Fort Sackville, the George Rogers Clark Sesquicentennial Commission tasked the W.R. Heath Company to construct a memorial building on the site. Construction on this 80 foot-tall granite building lasted from 1931 to 1933, and it was signed into the National Park Service by Lyndon Johnson on July 23, 1966!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Volunteer at George Rogers Clark National Historical Park!
- Donate to the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
401 S. 2nd Street
Vincennes, IN 47591
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The visitor center is open daily (except on major holidays) from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, though the memorial building closes at 4:45!
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