George Rogers Clark Memorial Building - Vincennes, IN
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 38° 40.753 W 087° 32.113
16S E 453445 N 4281315
A monument dedicated to the efforts of George Rogers Clark to repel the British Army from the American frontier during the Revolutionary War.
Waymark Code: WMBX1B
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2011
Views: 8
2. The GEORGE ROGERS CLARK MEMORIAL BUILDING (open 8-5 daily), W. end of Barnett St., stands in the center of the Clark Memorial Grounds. It was erected on the site of Fort Sackville in 1931-3 by the Federal Government at a cost of $1,500,000 and dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, June 14, 1936. The memorial grounds were purchased jointly by the State of Indiana, Knox County, and the city of Vincennes, at an additional cost of $900,000.
The Memorial Building proper is a round room encircled by a colonnade of 16 massive Greek Doric columns. It rests at the top of a series of three circular stepped granite terraces surrounded by a wide pebbled terrace at the top of an octagonal wall. At the bottom of this wall is a broad base formed into a square by a curb wall. Thirty-three steps lead from terrace to terrace up to the Memorial Room, which contains a bronze statue of Clark, by Hermon MacNeil.
Pilasters divide the circular wall of the Memorial Room into eight sections – the entrance and seven historical murals by Ezra Winter depicting episodes in Clark’s conquest and the opening of the West. Cut in stone above the murals are the words from Clark’s letter to Governor Patrick Henry: ‘Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted – our cause is just – our country will be grateful.’ A carving above the entrance door shows Clark before Governor Patrick Henry, receiving his commission as lieutenant colonel, January 2, 1778. Also depicted are George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison, and an unnamed clerk. The wainscot and seat around the wall below the murals are of French marble; the circular black marble step in from of the seat is from Italy, in honor of Italian-born Vigo.
Indiana: A Guide to the Hoosier State (1941) - Page 276 - Vincennes
In addition to the memorial itself, the National Park Service also has a Visitor's Center on site which contains exhibits and a 30 minute movie to help visitors understand the history involved on this site.
Book: Indiana
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 276
Year Originally Published: 1941
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