This is part of my history and guide to my adopted home - Terre Haute, Indiana.
More postcards from my collection...
A Little History
In 1811, General William Henry Harrison chose the site for fort Harrison on the east bank of the Wabash river, north of the future location of Terre Haute, as a base for his campaign against Tecumseh's Indian confederacy at Prophet's Town, near present Lafayette. Built on a bend in the Wabash River, the fort commanded an unobstructed view of more than 1 mile in both directions. After construction, its complement consisted of more than 1,000 men. It was about 150 feet square; at each corner were 2-story, 20-foot blockhouses, built of logs. Barracks stood between the blockhouses.
A large gate, protected by bastions and palisades and a trench about 4 feet deep, gave access to the fort. In the fall of 1811 the troops at the fort marched to northern Indiana, fought the Battle of Tippecanoe, and returned to the fort. Harrison then assigned a small permanent garrison under the command of Capt. Zachary Taylor. Both Harrison and Taylor went on to become US presidents. The fort was deactivated in 1818, but continued as a trading post. The Terre Haute Elks Country Club is now located on the site of the old fort.
A Wea village called Weautano (also known as "Rising Sun" and "Old Orchard Town") already existed near the fort. The fort was defended from a British inspired attack by an estimated 600 Native Americans during the Battle of Fort Harrison on September 4, 1812 by Captain Zachary Taylor. The orchards and meadows kept by the local Wea populations became the site of present-day Terre Haute, a few miles south of Fort Harrison. Before 1830, the few remaining Wea had departed under pressure from white settlement.
For more see Fort Harrison (Wikipedia), Battle of Tippecanoe (Wikipedia), and the book "Fort Harrison on the Banks of the Wabash 1812-1912" which is available online courtesy of Indiana University and Indiana Memory.
Site of Fort Harrison, Terre Haute, Ind
This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on January 27th, 1910, has the text...
No. D3936
Published by The Indiana News Company, Indianapolis, Ind
Dresden - Leipzig - Berlin
Made in Germany
ANC NY
Litho-Chrome
Leipzig - Berlin - Dresden
Trade Mark
Unco Registered Trade Mark
I have another copy of this postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on August 14th, 1910 that has the same text as the postcard above, but does not have the Unco trade mark logo.
Fort Harrison Monument, Terre Haute, Ind.
This postcard stamped in Terre Haute on November 5th, 1913, also contains the text...
A-38708
C. T. Photochrom
W
Fort Harrison, Terre Haute, Ind.
This unusually sized postcard, 6.5" x 2.25" rather than the more usual 5.25" x 3.25", was stamped in Brazil, Indiana but with an unreadable date, also contains the text...
6555
The Art Mfg. Co., Zanesville, O.
1 cent if this space contains no writing or only written name and address.
Letter postage if this space contains written communications.
Entrance to Grounds of Fort Harrison, Terre Haute, Ind.
This postcard, posted in Terre Haute but with an unreadable date, contains the text...
13567
W
Acmegraph, Chicago trademark logo
The hand-written message on this card is interesting...
Dear Laura,
It is so terribly hot here. I am glad that there are only four more weeks to be in this dirty place. We are having tests this week. We are going to the Tippecanoe Co. picnic Friday evening after school.
Sarah
Entrance to Grounds of Fort Harrison, near Terre Haute, Ind.
This unused postcard contains the text...
A-16069
Published Expressly for S. H. Knox & Co.
Made in U. S. A.
I have another copy of this postcard stamped in Terre Haute on April 4th, 1912.
Pavilion, River Entrance to Fort Harrison, Terre Haute, Ind.
This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on May 31st, 1911, just has the text A-16068
Pavilion Entrance, Fort Harrison, Terre Haute, Ind.
This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on December 5th, 1916, has the text...
13568
The Valentine-Souvenir Co., New York
Printed in U.S.A.
General William Henry Harrison
This unused postcard has the printed text...
Portrait of William Henry Harrison, 1773 - 1841, Governor of Indiana Territory, hero of Tippecanoe, and ninth President of the United States, painted by Rembrant Peale 1814 in uniform of General. It hangs in Grouseland, his home in Vincennes, Indiana. Owned by Francis Vigo Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
55778-C
69
Photography & Pub. by C. L. Bence, 12 Noyes Court, Mattoon, Ill, 61938
Made by Dexter Press, Inc.,
Weat Nyack, New York
Fort Harrison Sesquicentennial First Day Cover, Terre Haute, Ind.
Not a postcard but a First Day Cover celebrating Fort Harrison's Sesquicentennial.
Fort Harrison
Erected in 1811, 2 miles north of Terre Haute, Ind. Restored fort is now located in Deming Park. Captain Zachary Taylor held off an attack by Indians in 1812. Both men became presidents of the United States.
This unused postcard also contains the text...
127127
Photo by Mitchell
Pub. by Floyd Mitchell, Bridgeton, Ind. 47836
K
I have another copy of this postcard that does not have the "K" mark
In September 2015, I received an email from John Lunsford who did not like this reconstruction of the fort at all:
That pile of lumber was a horrible representation of the original fort and was slapped together in the 1950’s for god know what reason. And has been thankfully discarded. The original fort was never rebuilt and the only remains that I know of were a few timbers that were displayed on a wall of the Elks club which later occupied the property.