Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Geography Lesson


I am already adding to this post. I forgot to tell you that Jodi over at Bloomingwriter has started this Geography Lesson for us to all learn about where everyone is located.


The little city I live in is Vincennes. It is situated in SW Indiana right on the Wabash
River. It is French inspired because it was first a French Fur Traders place. You can see just where it is here. As you can see by looking at this map it is surrounded by fields. We are an agricultural community. As you can imagine many Purdue University grads live and work here. There is little industry. Which is good in some ways. You do feel like you are in the country when you drive outside of the city limits.



This little community is steeped in the early history of Indiana. It was the Capitol of the Territory before Indiana was established. There is a lot of old buildings here. The Historical Socitey in conjunction with Vincennnes University has moved some of the buildings near Grouseland which is the home of William Henry Harrison who was our ninth president.



The little red building is the Capitol building. It is difficult to believe that important government business was conducted in this little building.



William Henry Harrisons house, Grouseland, is a beautifully kept house and has tours.


Fort Sackville was captured from the British by Lt Col George Rodgers CLark here. There were a lot of firsts for Indiana here in Vincennes. The first Catholic Church which is still being used. As a matter of fact it just got a $1million renovation. The first Presbeterian Church, first Masonic Lodge, first bank and first medical society. I am sure I have left out something. If you want a little more history about Vincennes you can read it here.



I wrote a blog previously with a picture or two of some of the monuments that are here. They are something of a tourist attraction. You can read more about these and other Attractions.


We have Vincennes University which is a very small school. The student population makes our little city swell noticeably when school is in session.




Red Skelton was originally from here. His wife, Lothian, has donated some memorabelia and lots of money to Vincennes University. The University was able to build a beautiful auditorium here. They have community concerts and plays etc.




My garden is located on the eastern side of Vincennes. It is in Gardening Zone 6b. Some winters dip down here and make us a zone 5 but the past several years we haven't had this happen. My soil is sandy fill soil the builders put around the house to raise it above the creek that used to run through here. I still get some creek action during heavy rainfall. I have to put lots of compost into the soil to come up with a decent loamy soil. It is the dark soil that you find in this part of the state.


Whew, I hope I pass the test.

20 comments:

  1. Lovely post--and I appreciate that you added the historical context. I adore historic houses and gardens. There is so much to learn from how people lived and what they put into their gardens.

    Robin at Bumblebee

    ReplyDelete
  2. I should have told you about the historic garden that a friend of mine keeps at the site where all the buildings are kept. She has as authentic French garden that can be made. It is small but very nice. Maybe I will take pictures this summer and give it a good narration with her help.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH MY GOSH Lisa!! My brother lives in Loogootee!!! I KNOW where Vincennes is. What a small small world.

    Great job on your history lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Indeed, you passed the test, and aced it even. I too appreciate the historical aspect of your post--so many people don't take the time to learn about our own history, and as my father would say, you gotta know where you came from to see where you're going. (okay, it seemed to make sense at the time.)

    Glad you played, Lisa, it's always a treat to read Greenbow!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Teri, It is indeed a small world. As I said, if you are ever in Indiana just give me a call. I would love to have you visit. We could sketch around the garden.

    Thank you Jodi. It was fun. I really should know more about it. It is one of those things that I learn and then forget 5 minutes later. I am not originally from here. I lived about 60 mi. south of here before I married my DB.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very interesting post I wonder what the french fur traders grew in their gardens. I was surprised to read that your zone is 6b, what keeps you so warm mountain or lake effects? Katy

    ReplyDelete
  7. kt, I have no idea why it is so warm here. No mountains around here. No sizable lakes. The lakes we have around here a mere ponds for the most part. Maybe it is the Wabash River Valley we live in that has us snug as a bug in a rug.

    Where are you located Kt??

    ReplyDelete
  8. I always think of your area as where they grow all those wonderful cantelopes. Yum! Can't find any better anywhere. If I ever get down that way, I'm going to let you know!

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens
    (Hey, I know where Loogootee is, too!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lisa, loved your "lesson". I have always liked visiting Vincennes. It does have a rich history that is easily accessible.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Carol you are so right about the cantalopes. I should have mentioned this. We have that sandy loam that is great for melons. Watermelon is also grown here in abundance. Just north of town is a HUGE asparagus farm. I always make a hog choking amount of asparagus for my family at Easter dinner. It is so good. You can buy it right out of the field. Gosh, I am making myself hungry.

    If you are ever down this way please stop in. I would love to give you a tour of Greenbow.

    Hi Beckie, see you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Asparagus right out of the field! That sounds so delicious, but I guess anything right out of the field would be as well. Loved learning about your town, the historic garden sounds interesting to me, I love to see those types of places, like in colonial Williamsburg. But I thought it is cold where you are, but you are only a half step colder than our 7a.
    Frances at Faire Garden

    ReplyDelete
  12. Frances this little garden is nothing like Williamsburg. You would be greatly disappointed if you thought that and then saw what we have. There is little to no funding. Yet the lady that tends it is a jewel and does the best she can.

    ReplyDelete
  13. How nice to have some context. Usually all we show each other in our garden blogs are pictures of our gardens.
    It's such a delight to see how gardens differ based on their geography, and even more fun to see some of the surrounding territory.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've been to your little city...it's a quaint little town. I really like the southwest part of the state. Many of our relatives are from those parts and north east a tad.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lisa, I've never been to that part of the state. It sounds wonderful to me since I prefer smaller towns. Thanks for participating and allowing me to learn about your neck of the woods.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Lisa,
    I enjoyed reading about your town.
    The French influence is very interesting.
    It is nice to know where our friends live and the growing conditions in their gardens.
    Thank you.
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a lovely community you live in - I enjoyed learning about its history.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lisa - I was just sitting here trying to guess where you were since you'd mentioned you were 3 hrs south of my DH's family in Arcadia - and wow - there was your geography post! Thanks for the great historical tour - it looks like a lovely place and my husband says indeed it is and that the melons grow so well because of the riverbed soils. Makes sense for the asparagus too! Thanks for the lesson - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Asparagus, asparagus,asparagus, just writing the name makes me jealous. I took it for granted when I lived in California, now I see it in the supermarket and it's not only expensive but looking a too sad to buy at any price. What a lovely post. I will return!
    regards,
    Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lisa, I have really enjoyed these geography posts. They help me to understand where you come from (literally and figuratively.) You are rural (like me) live in a land of firsts (like me) and in zone 6 (not like me, thank goodness.) Zone 7 is all I can handle.~~Dee

    ReplyDelete

New Blogger, Old Blogger

     All I can say it is difficult to deal with change. This new Blogger format is not as user friendly in my opinion. I guess I will get us...