Grouseland
A Presidential Home
Near downtown Vincennes is stately Grouseland, the home of William Henry Harrison, who lived there from 1803 to 1812.
Harrison, maybe best remembered for the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” when he ran and won the presidency in 1841, was a governor of the Indiana Territories when he had this home built.
The mansion, opulent and filled with furniture from that time period, was designed to resemble the Harrison ancestral home in Virginia. When William moved out he gave the home to his son and it remained in the family until 1850.
The house, the first brick home in the territory, with its vividly painted walls and intricate wallpapers, has a bright and lively feel to it. Local woods including cypress, walnut, poplar, chestnut and pine were used in the construction of the house.
Two of the fireplace mantels are believed to have come from London and the glass for windows probably came from Boston. It’s easy to see why Grouseland was called the White House of the West.
The walls are filled with family portraits. There’s a free standing curving staircase that leads to the upstairs.
Here are several beautifully decorated bedrooms including the master room with its specially made blue wallpaper featuring grouses.
In Harrison’s time the house stood on 300 acres that stretched down to the Wabash River. The land was used for farming and raising livestock. Now, also located on the site, is Vincennes State Historic Sites.