Little-Known Treasures from Lewis Historical Library...

From the Vault...

By Jill Larson, Archivist

Did you know that our secured archival treasure chest contains amazing pieces of history that will simply astound you? It is difficult to pick the most interesting archives to share with you, so I will let readers judge for themselves!

First of all, there is an 1804 book entitled Volney’s View of the United States with a detailed map on the inside cover. (Most interestingly, Abraham Lincoln’s signature is located on the top of the map!) C.F. Volney’s book is a view of the soil and climate of the United States of America accompanied by various maps and plates.

Another unique book is The Life of Bonaparte, Emperor of the French: From His Birth Until His Departure to the Island of St. Helena, c. 1818. This is definitely for the intellectual, historically-minded reader, but what a challenge!

If you can read French, there is an old French Grammar book donated by the late Mrs. Rose Schultheis of Vincennes, who was a great friend and supporter of Lewis Library. Additionally, the famous Badollet Papers, much of them written in French, are also located within our treasure chest. John Badollet, a Swiss immigrant, came to the United States in 1780. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Land Registrar of Vincennes in 1804. He served as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention. In 1816, he was a charter member of the VU Board of Trustees and founder of the Vincennes Library Company. The Badollet family was prominent in early Vincennes history and contributed so much to this area. Interesting correspondence and documents are in this vast collection.

To help you with your reading and vocabulary, we have available a very old, leather-bound English Dictionary which once belonged to one Truman Gibbs. It was given to him by his father in 1791! The dictionary was later given to Byron R. Lewis, founder of our library, who subsequently donated it to Lewis Library.



Finally, we must not forget to honor, George Rogers Clark, who saved us from the British! Just think, if not for Clark we could all still be under British rule and would have to speak proper English like the Brits! Our last treasure today centers on a first impression of the 1929 George Rogers Clark postage stamp made from the master dies. This document contains the signature of Harry S. New, Postmaster General who presented this to the Vincennes Historical Society on February 25, 1929.

I hope this assorted collection of treasures will awaken your interest in history and prod you to come investigate Lewis Historical Library. We would enjoy your company.

SPOTTED ON THE WEB

Sanborn Insurance Maps Now Digitized, Freely Available Online, at Indiana University: http://www.indiana.edu/~gisdata/sanborn.html

Excellent for historical research such as tracking how a town has grown or buildings have changed, a large collection of Sanborn Insurance Maps (including Vincennes maps) has been digitized by Indiana University is now freely available online as .pdf and .tiff files. Founded in 1867, the Sanborn Map and Publishing Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. The Fire Insurance Maps aided insurance agents in estimating fire insurance liabilities in urban areas. The maps provide a detailed account of urban development and change in communities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sanborn maps are large scale (1:600) and depict street layouts, building footprints, building materials, utility lines, street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.

Sometimes different aspects of property can be quite detailed, as porches, outbuildings, and stairways are indicated, plus the uses of the property are explained (for instance, livery stables, pool halls, general stores are noted). Sanborn Insurance Maps show how the town of Vincennes grew and changed. Sanborn Maps for Vincennes are available in this new public domain resource for the years 1887-1916. Lewis Library contains printed Sanborn Maps from 1902, 1916, 1927 and microfilm maps for the years 1887, 1892, 1897, 1902, 1909, 1916, 1927, 1927-38, 1927-50, 1965.

Directions: Visit the web site (above), then click on Single File Interface, then your county on the map, then Zoom to...Vincennes and click on the Indiana Historic Sanborn Maps choice. Select Public Domain, then .PDF (or .TIFF), and your specific file of interest.

View of First Street Between Main and Busseron streets, Vincennes (from 1887 Sanborn Map of Vincennes):