 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Land purchase |
| Signed | August 21, 1805 |
| Location | Grouseland estate atVincennes,Indiana Territory |
| Condition | Transfer of money and goods to natives |
| Signatories |
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| Parties | |
| Language | English |
TheTreaty of Grouseland was an agreement negotiated by GovernorWilliam Henry Harrison of theIndiana Territory on behalf of the government of the United States of America with Native American leaders, includingLittle Turtle andBuckongahelas, for lands inSouthern Indiana, northeast Indiana, and northwesternOhio. The treaty was negotiated and signed on Aug 21, 1805, at Harrison's home inVincennes, Indiana, calledGrouseland. Negotiated a year after the secondTreaty of Vincennes, it was the second major land purchase in Indiana since the close of theNorthwest Indian War and the signing of the 1795Treaty of Greenville.
TheMiami Tribe, led by Little Turtle, held the principle claim to all the land that was purchased, but many other tribes inhabited the area. Before the signing of the treaty legal settlement in Indiana was limited to a tract of land around Vincennes,Clark's Grant, andFort Wayne. Many settlers were moving outside of those areas and onto Native land. The result was rising tensions with the tribes, who considered the settlers trespassers. Harrison entered the negotiations in hope of appeasing the tribes and reimbursing them for their lands and address issues left outstanding following the 1804Treaty of Vincennes, while guaranteeing the rights of the settlers to move into the region.[1]
The treaty established a line running from the northeast corner of the Vincennes tract, called Freeman's Corner, and moved on a north-easterly route (N 57 00' 00" E) about 68 miles until it intersected with theGreenville Treaty line near Brookville.[2] This line was called the Grouseland Line. All land north of theOhio River, east of theWabash River, and south of that line, was purchased for the United States. A second line was established running from the northwest corner of Fort Wayne on a southeasterly route towardBrookville, where it intersected with the Greenville Treaty line. All land due east of that line, including a small part ofOhio, was purchased as part of the treaty.[1]
Shortly after the approval of the treaty, numerous settlements sprung up in the opened land, including Madison. In 1995 theIndiana Historical Bureau erected a monument where the Grouseland and Greenville lines intersect, commemorating Indiana's early pioneers.[3][2]
