Colonel William Jones House
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Col. William Jones House
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South facade
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| Location | Boone Street, Gentryville, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 38°6′50.9″N 87°2′34.7″W / 38.114139°N 87.042972°WCoordinates: 38°6′50.9″N 87°2′34.7″W / 38.114139°N 87.042972°W |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1834 |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP Reference # | 75000050 |
| Added to NRHP | May 12, 1975 |
Colonel William Jones House, also known as William Jones State Historic Site, is a historic house in Gentryville and the Lincoln State Park in Jackson Township, Spencer County, Indiana. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1975. William Jones (1803-1864) was a farmer, merchant, soldier, and politician.
He lived, farmed and operated a store in the Little Pigeon Creek Community, living in an area that is currently in the town of Gentryville, Indiana. Abraham Lincoln, who lived nearby, worked in the store. During the Civil War, Jones served as a lieutenant colonel and died during the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864 and was made colonel as of that date.
William Jones, the son of Peter and Sarah Keller Jones, was born on January 5, 1803 in Vincennes, Indiana. William Jones was exposed to important people and events in his childhood and received a good education. He apprenticed for a wholesale dry goods firm in Louisville, Kentucky.
He married Fanny Payne and had two young children that died in their childhood. He left Kentucky and opened a successful store in Jonesboro, Spencer County, Indiana in 1827 and lived in a nearby log cabin. In 1830, he married Rachel Oskins and they had five sons.
Jones sold and bartered merchandise and shipped farmer's grain, tobacco, hides, pork, venison, and beef to New Orleans on flatboats. He also became a postmaster. Jones employed Abraham Lincoln, who lived a few miles from Jones in the Little Pigeon Creek Community, to butcher and process meat and unpack boxes in 1829. Lincoln read all of Jones' books and Jones remarked that "Lincoln would make a great man one of these days."
Jones was elected in 1838 to the Indiana General Assembly, where he supported internal improvements and economic development and served until 1841. Jones was a supporter of Whig Henry Clay and was "incapacitated" for several days when Clay lost the presidential election. Lincoln, who was then an Illinois elector became a Whig, had heard Jones political views and campaigned. Lincoln made speeches for Clay in 1844 and stayed at the Jones House at that time. Jones and Lincoln both became Republicans when the Whig party was terminated.
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