Grouseland- William Henry Harrison House in Vincennes Indiana

I have been on a Presidential history kick for some time now.  What is VERY cool about visiting Presidential sites is that they are literally everywhere.  Most people know of the main ones- The White House, Mt. Rushmore, various birth and death sites- but there are so many great, lesser known ones.

I would put Grouseland in that lesser known category.  Harrison is one of those Presidents that I think people forget about, and this was a home of his well before his stay at THE White House.

The first Harrison in the White House (his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, would become the 23rd President) lived here from 1804, when it was built, until 1812.  He was the Governor of the Indiana Territory at that time (a very large area back then).

We had an excellent tour guide (I unfortunately did not get his name) who knew everything.  He let us know that Harrison was very concerned about his home being attacked, and he had the home built like a fortress.  It was built sturdy enough, in fact, to withstand the New Madrid earthquakes shortly after going up.  The house does have some cracks made by the quakes!

We were told during our tour of the treaties negotiated here by Harrison, acquiring much land from the Native Americans.  Tecumseh met with Harrison on the property, but refused to enter the house.  Our guide did not sugar coat those events or try to spin the history. 

I was most impressed with the main dining area.  Here, Harrison would invite locals, including Native Americans to dinner nightly.  Obviously, our guide explained, he was hoping to get information from his guests.  His guests were surely impressed by his layout and alcohol (he made his own).  AND, Harrison would be living and politicking 24 hours a day at this home/office.

I was very impressed with the amazing collection of Harrison owned items on display throughout the home.  Many furnishings were owned by the family while in Ohio and acquired later by Grouseland.  All of the more famous original paintings were on display too.  I enjoyed looking at these originals, and thinking about Harrison posing for them.

I found out that Ms. Harrison never actually went to the White House, due in part to her husbands short term (he died 1 month after becoming President number nine).

The site does not allow photography inside, but they do sell a nice book on the home (for a reasonable $3) and there are postcards of pretty much every room for pocket change.  If you are a Pez collector, the museum is the ONLY place where you can buy an individually carded William Henry Harrison dispenser!

This is a great site, and I look forward to another visit in the near future.  I would love to hear from others who know of other less famous Presidential sites.


http://www.grouselandfoundation.org/