The Old Cathedral Basilica, Vincennes
Vincennes, Knox County, Indiana
Marker Inscription
The Old Cathedral, center of growth of the Catholic faith and scene of the great events of early American history in the old Northwest Territory. This historic and stately cathedral was raised to the rank of a Basilica by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, March 14, 1970.
The Story
The Old Cathedral at Vincennes was a center for the growth of the Catholic faith in the old Northwest Territory and a witness to the region's founding events of early American history. In 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated the historic church to the rank of a minor Basilica.
Why it matters
As one of the mother churches of Catholicism in the American interior, the Old Cathedral links the French colonial roots of the Northwest Territory to the nation that grew from it.
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Related people
- · Pope Paul VI
Related events
- · Elevation to Basilica, 1970
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Cathedral — National Register Listing
Vincennes, IN
This plaque records the 1976 placement of Vincennes' Old Cathedral and its complex on the National Register of Historic Places, done by the U.S. Department of the Interior with Indiana's Division of Historic Preservation. The designation recognizes one of the oldest and most storied Catholic sites in the old Northwest.
Old Cathedral 'French and Indian' Cemetery
Vincennes, IN
This cemetery holds the mostly unmarked graves of some 4,000 early residents of Vincennes, among them Revolutionary soldiers who aided George Rogers Clark. On its ground stood the log church where townspeople swore allegiance to Virginia and the United States in 1778, and where in February 1779 Clark and British commander Henry Hamilton negotiated the surrender of nearby Fort Sackville.
Red Banks Trace
Vincennes, IN · est. 1966
The Red Banks Trace was an early Indian and pioneer trail running from Anthony's Ferry on the Ohio River — at present-day Henderson, Kentucky — north to Vincennes. There it tied into the road toward Nashville and the Natchez Trace, and fed the trails leading north and west across Illinois.
Peter Britton Cabin
Petersburg, IN
This marks the original cabin of Peter Britton, the settler whose name the surrounding town of Petersburg carries. In the early 1800s, as Indiana passed from territory to statehood, a single pioneer homestead could anchor a whole community, giving a county seat both its first buildings and its name.