Frank Doughman, interim superintendent of the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, is warning officials at other historic sites that the park’s reduced hours could have a negative impact on them all.
Doughman sent out an e-mail Friday, the day federal sequestration took effect, to representatives from the Vincennes State Historic Sites and Grouseland as well as the Vincennes/Knox Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Knox County Chamber of Commerce about plans for the park to be closed at least one day a week as a result of a 5-percent cut to its budget.
Right now, Doughman said he is going to have just one employee on Sundays, but within the next couple of weeks the park will likely close on Sundays altogether. It’s also possible, he warned, that the park will have to close on Mondays as well if funding isn’t somehow restored.
Those at the other sites are somewhat divided, however, on how they think the park’s being closed will affect attendance and tourism in general.
“I know the Grouseland board will talk a lot about this, but I believe people on vacation will still come here and visit our historic sites whether the park is open or not,” said Shirley Rose, one of the co-administrators for Grouseland and president of the city council. “And I don’t think we would close just because they’re closed. We have to be here for when tourists come through.”
The State Historic Sites is already closed on Sundays. Grouseland is open seven days a week except during January and February when it closes on Mondays.
Jim Corridan, president of Grouseland’s board of directors, said he thought the park’s closing, at least for the time-being, could actually benefit the historic mansion’s visitation.
But the longer the closure goes on, the more he would worry.
“I think if the park is closed, for a short period of time, it would likely have a positive impact on Grouseland,” he said. “Perhaps people will go to Grouseland when they learn the park is closed.
“But if it closes one or two days a week for a long period of time, I worry that will have a negative impact on everybody. It could mean fewer tour groups coming to Vincennes.”
Shyla Beam, executive director of the CVB, had similar concerns. Should the park only be closed on Sundays, she believes people will adjust their vacations accordingly.
But being closed during the work week, she fears, could potentially mean fewer tour groups.
Many of them, however, are scheduled midweek or on the weekends, so if they see any negative effects, she figures they will be few.
“The memorial is one of our anchor sites,” she said. “So if they close down, our only hope is that people will plan their trips on the other six days they are open and providing that quality experience.
“But I fear we will lose some pass-through traffic.”
Beam did, however, point out that just because the visitor’s center is closed doesn’t mean visitors are denied the tour altogether. Signs are posted at all the historic sites alerting tourists to a number they can call from their cell phones to listen to the historic interpretation for that particular site.
“It won’t be like having the ranger right there,” she said. “But they at least will be able to get an interpretation.”
David Weaver, manager at the State Historic Sites, said he believes it a bit too early to determine how the GRC park’s reduced hours would affect the rest of them — or if it will at all.
“I think it could potentially affect our attendance on those days,” he said. “But I just hope if people are planning a trip to Vincennes and the memorial is one of their destinations, maybe they’ll rethink or replan the trip. It’s just difficult to say.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be a positive thing to have one of the sites here in town closed,” he said. “But we all must adapt and move forward.”
Rose, who also chairs the council’s Tourism and Promotion of the City Committee, said she worries about the park’s potential closing one or two days a week having a negative affect on local commerce. Just recently, the National Park Service, issued a report that said the GRC park had a $7.7 million impact on the local economy in 2011.
That spending, by more than 145,000 park visitors, supported 118 jobs as well.
So chamber president Marc McNeece shared in that worry.
“It absolutely could have a local effect,” he said. “Not all people are able to travel during the week, and as recent reports have indicated, the national park and its visitation contributes significantly to our economy. Any reduction in the time they are open means we could potentially miss out on the other opportunities that come with that.
“That park is a lot of the reason people come to Vincennes.”
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