Vincennes

Sister cities

• Wasserburg am Inn
• Vincennes

History

The vicinity of Vincennes was inhabited for thousands of years by different cultures of indigenous peoples. During the Late Woodland period, some of these peoples used local loess hills as burial sites; some of the more prominent examples are the Sugar Loaf Mound and the Pyramid Mound. In historic times, prominent local Indian groups who drove these people out were the Shawnee, Wabash, and the Miami tribe. The first European settlers were French, when Vincennes was founded as part of the French colony of Pays des Illinois, New France. Later on, it would be transferred to the colony of Louisiana. Several years later, France lost the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years' War), and as a result ceded territory east of the Mississippi River, including Vincennes, to the victorious British. Once the area was under British control, it was associated with the Province of Quebec until after the Revolutionary War. It then became part of the Illinois County of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. Next it became part of Knox County in the Northwest Territory, and it was later included in the Indiana Territory. Vincennes served as capital of the Indiana Territory from 1800 until 1813, when the government was moved to Corydon. The first trading post on the Wabash River was established by Sieur Juchereau, Lieutenant General of Montréal. With thirty-four French Canadians, he founded the company post on October 28, 1702, to trade for Buffalo hides with American Indians. The exact location of Juchereau's trading post is not known, but because the Buffalo Trace crosses the Wabash at Vincennes, many believe it was here. The post was a success; in the first two years, the traders collected over 13,000 buffalo hides. When Juchereau died, the post was abandoned. The French…

Geography

Vincennes is located on the banks of the Wabash River at the western edge of Knox County. This is also the western edge of the state of Indiana, and Illinois is across the river to the west. The city lies about southwest of Indianapolis. U.S. Route 41 passes through the city from north to south, and U.S. Route 50 passes just to the north of the city from east to west. According to the 2010 census, Vincennes has a total area of , of which (or 99.09%) is land and (or 0.91%) is water. Vincennes has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters with heavy rainfall at times throughout much of the year. There are an average of 53.1 days with highs of or higher and an average of 101.5 days with lows of or lower. Average January temperatures are a high of and a low of . Average July temperatures are a high of and a low of . The record high temperature was on June 26, 1988. The record low temperature was on January 19, 1994. Average annual precipitation is . Measurable precipitation occurs on an average of 105.6 days each year. The wettest year was 1990 with and the dryest year was 1988 with . The most precipitation in one month was in November 1985. The most precipitation in 24 hours was . Average annual snowfall is . Measurable snowfall occurs on only 2.6 days. The snowiest season was 1989–90 when fell. The most snow in one month was in December 1990. The most snow in 24 hours was on March 24, 1990.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  996
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  780
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  672
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  650
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  621
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  610
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  604
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  589

Most recent

• M 3.51 — 2026-06-29
  6 km NE of West Salem, Illinois
• M 2.58 — 2025-08-09
  2 km ESE of Cynthiana, Indiana
• M 2.73 — 2023-09-10
  9 km E of Parkersburg, Illinois
• M 2.54 — 2022-06-16
  4 km ESE of Parkersburg, Illinois
• M 2.57 — 2022-04-13
  3 km SE of Springerton, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2017-10-18
  8 km SE of Lynnville, Indiana