Vincennes & Knox county: Indiana's oldest city and county.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT SOUTHWEST

A NEW WABASH RIVER walk, revitalized downtown, education partnerships and expanding industries reflect the eye-on-tomorrow focus in southwest Indiana's Knox County

Steeped in history--Knox was a county 25 years before Indiana was a state and Vincennes is Indiana's oldest city--the community enjoys a long tradition of working together that's fueling today's new thrusts.

"We've got hard-working, giving people," says Vincennes mayor Terry Mooney "We're second in the nation for Relay for Life per capita, and our fire and police forces raised over $100,000 after 9/11. That gives you some idea of the people here."

"Tremendous community involvement is part of the DNA of this county," says Gary Gentry, president of Knox County Development Corp. "The volunteerism and support here is truly unique. Everyone says that about their community, but here involvement is the fiber of the community People realize they have to do a lot for themselves."

The economic-development group, for example, has 185 paying members, a 51-member board and eight standing committees. "They do the work of the corporation. They own the development corporation. It's truly a model for the way local economic-development activity should take place," Gentry says.

As evidence of team effort, Mooney points to the river walk, an ambitious project that will extend the entire length of Vincennes and eventually connect all city parks. "It's a good quality-of-life thing. We'll hold the groundbreaking this year," he says.

That's just one example. A $30 million wastewater upgrade is complete. The Vincennes urban enterprise zone is expanding its boundaries "to help people who live and work in the zone." Downtown is robust with restaurants; the 1,200-seat Pantheon vaudeville theater is being restored. And studies on relocating rail traffic are well under way and soon to reach the design stage.

Education is another major community focus, Gentry says. Knox County is home to Vincennes University--"a tremendous economic growth partner and such an asset to our community," he says, citing the university's partnership with the economic-development group in Pathways, skills assessment testing (everything from math to eye-hand coordination) and a database for employers.

Another recent development is the Knox County Partnership, a collaboration of industry leaders, secondary education representatives, WorkOne and the development corporation, which received funding assistance from Lilly Endowment. Its...