Grouseland, the

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

Mansion and Museum, is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

important for its Federal-style architecture and role in American history. The two-story, red

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

was built between 1802 and 1804 in

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in, and the county seat of, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. It was founded in 1732 by F ...

, for

(1773–1841) during his tenure from 1801 to 1812 as the first

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the United States, organized incor ...

. The residence was completed in 1804, and Harrison reportedly named it Grouseland due to the abundance of

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

in the area. and

History

Construction

In 1800,

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

appointed twenty-seven-year-old

the first

of the

. Soon after his arrival in

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

in 1801, Harrison began planning the construction of a home on of land he purchased adjacent to the town. When Harrison was certain of remaining for a second term as territorial governor, construction began on his Federal-style mansion, which was built between 1802 and 1804. See also: Grouseland was home to William Henry and Anna Tuthill (Symmes) Harrison and their children until 1812. At least three of the Harrisons' ten children were born at Grouseland, including John Scott Harrison, the father of

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

(the 23rd president of the United States). The Harrisons left Grouseland in 1812 and moved to

North Bend, Ohio North Bend is a village in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. It is a part of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 835 at the 2020 census. History North Bend was founded in 1789. It was pl ...

. Harrison served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and later as a member of the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...

, the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, and the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

before his election in 1840 as the 9th president of the United States. Grouseland was designed by the architect William Lindsay and constructed in the Federal style, reminiscent of the aristocratic homes where Harrison spent his boyhood in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Grouseland was a marked contrast to the log cabins of the Indiana Territory's other residents. In the early 19th century, the territory was on the edge of the American frontier with few established roads, and Vincennes, the territorial capital, had an American and French population estimated at only 700. Grouseland was built at great personal expense to Governor Harrison; it is believed to have cost an estimated US$20,000 at the time of its construction. Grouseland's builder used skilled labor and local bricks manufactured not far from Vincennes. It is believed to have been the first brick building in Vincennes as well as the Indiana Territory. Limestone blocks for the home's foundation were obtained from nearby quarries. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. Grouseland was decorated in grand style with items imported from Europe. At least one biographer surmises that Harrison's motives in constructing such an elaborate home in the wilderness included establishing the respect due to him as governor, despite his relative youth at the time. Grouseland reflected Harrison's position and marked his place in American aristocracy. (William Henry Harrison was the youngest son of Benjamin Harrison, V, a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

Governor's home

During Harrison's governorship of the

, Grouseland was the focal point of the social and official life of the territory. Visiting legislators were frequently entertained and overnight guests at the governor's home. (When it was the capital of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

, more territory was governed from Vincennes than any city outside

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

) Governor Harrison also met with Indian leaders that included

Little Turtle Little Turtle () (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader then in the Northwes ...

Buckongahelas Buckongahelas ( – May 1805) together with Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, achieved the greatest victory won by Native Americans, killing 600. He was a regionally and nationally renowned Lenape chief, councilor and warrior. He was acti ...

, and other representatives from various American Indian tribes to negotiate a number of important land cession treaties. (Harrison's eleven treaties with Native American leaders between 1803 and 1809 resulted in cession of American Indian lands in the southern third of present-day

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and most of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, comprising millions of acres of land for future settlement.) Five of the land-ceding treaties that Harrison negotiated with Native American leaders were signed at Grouseland, including the Treaty of Grouseland (1805), which was signed in the mansion's council chamber (main floor parlor).Boomhower, ''Destination Indiana'', pp. 45–46. Harrison also had two confrontations with the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

leader

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

at Grouseland. On August 12, 1810, Harrison met with Tecumseh, who was accompanied by 100 to 400 braves (sources report different numbers), on the lawn in front of Grouseland. The meeting lasted for eight days but ended without a treaty. Their differences were later settled in battle as part of

Tecumseh's War Tecumseh's War or Tecumseh's Rebellion was a conflict between the United States and Tecumseh's confederacy, led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh in the Indiana Territory. Although the war is often considered to have climaxed with William Henry Ha ...

. Harrison defeated

Tenskwatawa Tenskwatawa (; also called Tenskatawa, Tenskwatawah, Tensquatawa or Lalawethika) (January 1775 – November 1836) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as the P ...

(the Prophet), who was Tecumseh's brother, at the

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between United States Armed Forces, American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and tribal forces associated with Sh ...

in 1811, and defeated Tecumseh at

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, ...

in 1813.

Other uses

After Harrison's departure from Grouseland in 1812, its next resident was Judge Benjamin Parke. In 1821, Grouseland was deeded to Harrison's son, John Cleves Symmes Harrison, who lived in the home with his wife, Clarissa, and their six children for about ten years. Harrison family heirs retained their home until 1850. Afterwards, Grouseland served several purposes, including a grain warehouse, library, hotel, and a private residence.

Preservation

In 1909 the Vincennes Water Company acquired the property and planned to demolish the historic home and use the site for other purposes. However, the Francis Vigo Chapter of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

raised funds to purchase the home and save it from demolition. By 1916 the local DAR chapter had raised US$2,000 from the community and were given a limited deed to property. The DAR restored the home to the period when William Henry Harrison lived there, including furnishing it with a few Harrison family possessions. It opened as a historical museum in 1911. The City of Vincennes acquired the water company in 1935 and gave the local DAR chapter a

quitclaim deed Generally, a quitclaim is a formal renunciation of a legal claim against some other person, or of a right to land. A person who quitclaims renounces or relinquishes a claim to some legal right, or transfers a legal interest in land. Originally a c ...

to Grouseland.

House museum

Grouseland was designated a

in 1960 and listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1966. Situated at the northwest corner of Park and Scott streets, within the present-day Vincennes Historic District, it is owned by the local chapter of the

, the organization that saved the building from destruction. The property is maintained by the Grouseland Foundation, a volunteer board of directors composed of DAR and non-DAR members that manages the structure and programs. The Grouseland Rifle is owned by the Foundation and exhibited at Grouseland; dating from the early 19th century, it has been designated the state firearm of Indiana. The main campus of

Vincennes University Vincennes University (VU) is a public college with its main campus in Vincennes, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. VU was chartered in 1806 as the In ...

is adjacent to the property. Other state historic sites in Vincennes include the Territorial Capitol building.

Description

Grouseland's present-day site on a half-city block about from the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

was part of Harrison's estate in Vincennes. The two-story, redbrick home in the Federal style has a high roof and dormer windows with an attic. The structure rests on a basement with a limestone foundation. The main house and rear dependency are joined by a covered passage. The first floor of the main house has a parlor (council chamber) to the left and a dining room to the right of an entry and hallway leading to a library at the rear. The second floor has six bedrooms and a passageway connecting to the rear dependency.

References

External links

Official website

" National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior {{Authority control William Henry Harrison Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Houses completed in 1804 Historic house museums in Indiana National Historic Landmarks in Indiana Native American history of Indiana Museums in Knox County, Indiana Vincennes, Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution museums National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Indiana Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Indiana Presidential homes in the United States