So belive it or not, but Indiana has a New France town, its called Vincenns.

I went there last week but I forgot my camera so I gathered these pics from the interenet.

Vincenns was a french town in the 18th century and they have this little area of old french cabins, and there downtown buildings are like from the really early 19th century like 1801-30. From what someone told me, the city spoke french untill Americans started setteling in the state.

 

there were alot of graves like this one.

 

 

 

My friend who lives near Vincennes says this house was built in 1803, before much of the midwest as very settled.

 

the courthouse.

 

my friend told me that this house was built in 1806 by a large french family.

 

This is there french cathedral, my friend told me that Abraham Lincoln passed by it on his move to Illinois when it was under construction, she also said the bodies of the french bishops are under the floors...

 

The monument for the capture of Vincennes.

 

 

the inside, the paintings depict the capture.

 

 

So yah, my friend said that the french settled all along the Wabesh river in Lafayete, Terre Huate, La-port, and along Northern Indiana. Who knew?

 

 

 

 

Interesting.  Anymore photos?

Downtown has a nice cluster of buildings, but not much activity. Most of the upper floors are boarded up, and the businesses that are on the ground floors are lawyers and investment services, as I recall.

 

The old territorial capital buildings were once on land owned by Vincennes University, and were somewhat randomly placed. They've been relocated to a sort of village grouping near the William Henry Harrison home, Grouseland. The restorations are pretty decent, and the docents know their history.

 

The tour of Grouseland costs $5, and it's worth it. It's quite a grand home for the frontier in the early 19th century.

 

The Cathedral, cemetery and George Rogers Clark Memorial are part of a beautiful park complex right by the Wabash River. It's a very pleasant place to visit and stroll around and just soak up the history, with lawns and big trees.

Are there any projects on restoring downtown?

I think the town should put up some new france flags on its street lamps that would be cool.

I agree w. Rob about Grouseland.  It was indeed pretty substantial for that date, based on the pix.

 

This house is interesting, as even though it was built during the US era, there is still the French style, with the change in slope on the roof, and the inset porches.

 

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...I wonder how long the French presence lasted there, in terms of culture and language, before being assimilated into the American settlement.

 

Many of the French posts in the Midwest where just forts or trading posts, with minimal permanent settlement.  Vincennes did have a small farming settlement, though, with some ribbon farm development along the Wabash.

 

 

Its spelled Vincennes, it has few(if any) buildings from the 18th century, but it has a large number of buildings from the begining of the 19th century(unlike alot of midwestern cities).

Vincennes was a trading post, and towards the end of the 18th century had fifty or so cabins made of logs painted with whitewash alot usually with native american/french mixed families.

When the English took over Vincennes they put fences up agianst trade with the natives and that displeased the French greatly who had been living with the natives. I am not sure how long the french culture lasted, but it still exsist(to some extant) in names and farm layouts in the area, like Burenette or Busseron streets, or St.Louis street, all main roads during the French era.

Many of the settlers dident have to work as much as the colonials on the East coast becuase of the trade, a trader mentioned them as "lazy" saying "the women do not weave or sew, and the men do not farm or chop." Since the land along the wabash is so fertile it only needs tended once a year. The french made their living off of fur trade. The first bishop came down from Quebec and helped construct a new chapel,(which helped the settlement be more community like as a town center.) the Old Cathedral stands on the same place as the previouse wooden one. The town wasent like Quebec or Montreal' or anything, but it was a pretty large french town(for an indiana settlement.) The Colonials(when under British control) were not allowed to go to the Newly captured French section of the Americas, so the French culture continued to develope there, it wasent untill poineers from the coast came that the french culture started blending. Today the county is about 9.7% french decent(which is a large amount for Indiana aswell.)

I agree w. Rob about Grouseland. It was indeed pretty substantial for that date, based on the pix.

 

This house is interesting, as even though it was built during the US era, there is still the French style, with the change in slope on the roof, and the inset porches.

 

.

 

...I wonder how long the French presence lasted there, in terms of culture and language, before being assimilated into the American settlement.

 

Many of the French posts in the Midwest where just forts or trading posts, with minimal permanent settlement. Vincennes did have a small farming settlement, though, with some ribbon farm development along the Wabash.

 

 

 

I wonder if there are any more houses lyk this one.

I really lykz it, its really modest yet really beutiful: they should lyk build more houses around the french sectoin like that. I never knew that out of all places in America, Indiana would have a newfranc town. Do they speak any french lyk at all? Or like Cajan down there?

Could you like maybe like spell like right?

dude i spellz fyne.

itz called chatz speak.

Websites like this usually have evolved past chatspeak. And I like what you did with your signature, I think I am gonna do the same.  :-D