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Foundation Document Overview, George Rogers Clark National Description NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located surround and complement the memorial building. Spanning within the city limits of Vincennes, Indiana, adjacent to the the Wabash River, the Lincoln Memorial Bridge was also Wabash River. The 26.17-acre site contains the George Rogers designed as an integral element of the memorial, providing a Clark Memorial that commemorates the achievements of grand approach to the site from the north. President Franklin Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark and his frontiersmen D. Roosevelt formally dedicated the memorial on June 14, Foundation Document Overview during the American Revolution. Following Clark’s capture 1936. In 1966 the site was designated by Congress as George George Rogers Clark National Historical Park of British posts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia (in the Illinois Rogers Clark National Historical Park and placed under the country along the Mississippi River) in 1778, he led his small operation of the National Park Service. Indiana contingent of men in a daunting mid-winter march of 157 Today, visitors to the national historical park have miles that culminated in the surrender of the British garrison opportunities to learn about George Rogers Clark and at Fort Sackville on February 25, 1779. Clark’s daring surprise his accomplishments as well as regional and U.S. military capture of the fort is considered one of the greatest feats and political history. Many also come to appreciate the of the American Revolution. The event effectively checked monumental architecture of the memorial, the memorial British control of the region and was instrumental in the landscape, and the scenic location of the historic site. subsequent establishment of the Northwest Territory and The visitor center includes interpretive exhibits and a American expansion west of the Appalachians. There are no documentary film. The park is open year round except for surviving visible features of Fort Sackville, although the site of major national holidays. the fort (and potential archeological evidence) is believed to be in the immediate vicinity of the memorial building. Important historic sites in Vincennes associated with the park include Grouseland (the home of Territorial Governor Completed in 1933, the memorial building was designed in the and later U.S. President William Henry Harrison) which is a Neoclassical Beaux Arts style, and is considered among the national historic landmark. Other state historic site buildings last major classical style structures built in the United States, dating from the area’s territorial period are also associated and one of the largest and finest examples of such a memorial with the memorial. outside of Washington, D.C. Formally designed grounds George Rogers Clark National Historical Park and Related Heritage Sites in Vincennes, Indiana S O I Lincoln Memorial Bridge I N R I L L V E R I Chestnut Street S H Site of B A VINCENNES Buffalo Trace A W t Short Str eet Ford UNIVERSITY GEORGE ROGERS CLARK ee r t Grouseland S NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK t A 4 Home of William Henry Harrison N ot A evard c I Boul S Parke Stre et Francis Vigo Statue N D rtson I Culbe Elihu Stout Print Shop Indiana Territory Capitol 5 Vincennes State t Memorial e e Historic Sites e Building North 1st Street nu e Str v et ue A n Parking 3 Old French House tre s eh ve s S li A Cemetery m n po o e a 2 Old State Bank cu Visitor Center s g e n ri T e a State Historic Site i ar d H Coll In 7 t To South 2nd Street e e Fort Knox II State Historic Site eet r Father Pierre Gibault Statue 1 North 3rd Street tr and 8 Ouabache (Wabash) Trails Park Old Cathedral Complex S St Ma (turn left on Niblack, then right on Oliphant, w t r S Pe then left on Fort Knox Road) i B e n B Bus untin min illo rr r Ha o N Du Barnett Street Church Street Vig S y W adway S s i c a treet er North 4t b h Street h r St o y oi o o St r n las Street et S s e Str Contact Information e t re et r re S Stre To 41 south e tr et reet To 6 t e t e reet e St t t S et et Sugar Loaf Prehistoric For more information about the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Foundation Document, t by t et o North 5th Stre Indian Mound Sc Shel (turn left on Washington Avenue, contact: [email protected] or 812-882-1776 or write to: then right on Wabash Avenue) North 0 0.1 0.2 Kilometer To 41 To 50 and 41 north Superintendent, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 0 0.1 0.2 Mile VINCENNES 401 S. 2nd St., Vincennes, IN 47591-1001 Purpose Significance Fundamental Resources and Values Interpretive Themes Significance statements express why George Rogers Clark Fundamental resources and values are those features, Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories National Historical Park resources and values are important systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting enough to merit national park unit designation. Statements smells, or other attributes determined to merit primary a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts of significance describe why an area is important within a consideration during planning and management processes communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes global, national, regional, and systemwide context. These because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the are derived from—and should reflect—park purpose, statements are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and park and maintaining its significance. significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive are supported by data, research, and consensus. Significance themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary statements describe the distinctive nature of the park and The Memorial Building for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving The memorial building was completed in 1933 to and relate to all of the park significances and fundamental and protecting the most important resources and values of the resources and values. Located on the site of Fort Sackville, commemorate George Rogers Clark’s Revolutionary War park unit. accomplishments and the expansion of the United States into George Rogers Clark National the Northwest Territory. Topic: Campaign and Consequences • The military campaign led by George Rogers Clark in 1778 Historical Park commemorates the Clark’s campaign and the capture of Fort Sackville not only and 1779—culminating in the capture of Fort Sackville along accomplishments of George Rogers Designed Memorial Landscape affected the outcome of the American Revolution but also the Wabash River in Vincennes—was the most significant Clark and his associates during The formally designed cultural landscape of George influenced the aftermath of the war and territorial expansion. accomplishment of the American Revolution west of the the American Revolution and the Rogers Clark National Historical Park was developed in Appalachian Mountains. The campaign advanced the cause conjunction with the memorial building as part of the overall Topic: Character and Success expansion of the United States into the of the American Revolution by effectively interrupting commemorative concept for the site. Commemoration and interpretation of the campaign led by Northwest Territory, while cooperating British war plans in the western theater. George Rogers Clark invites exploration of the personal traits with partners in the preservation, Lincoln Memorial Bridge Approach • Clark’s victory at Vincennes, and control of the western that contribute to success. renewal, and interpretation of the sites frontier by American forces throughout the remainder of The Lincoln Memorial Bridge, completed in 1932, was Topic: Context for the Clark Campaign and structures in Vincennes associated the American Revolution, was critical to the acquisition designed as an important commemorative element with this story. of the Northwest Territory. Congressional approval of contributing to the overall memorial landscape. The Clark Campaign is one milestone in the broad sweep of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a unifying westward expansion, one of the most significant migrations in Site of Fort Sackville and enduring national strategy for the settlement and U.S. history, and contributes to our understanding of the 18th- administration of new territories, profoundly influencing the Strategically located along the Wabash River in the frontier and early 19th-century struggles for control of North America. patterns of westward expansion. settlement of Vincennes, Fort Sackville was one of several Revolutionary War forts west of the Appalachian Mountains. Topic: Clark Memorialization • The George Rogers Clark Memorial, located on the As with many other national parks, the development of George site of Fort Sackville, is the largest memorial on any Murals Rogers Clark National Historical Park sheds light on what American battlefield. The entire composition—including Inside the memorial building rotunda are seven large-scale America values and how the nation chooses to commemorate its landscaped grounds, statues, and the Lincoln murals depicting the Clark expedition, the capture of Fort the past. Memorial Bridge approach—is an outstanding example Sackville, and related historic events. of commemoration from the early to mid-20th century in America..
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