The Vincennes Civitan Club learned more about Vincennes’ history this week when David Ruckman of Draw Survey and Map stopped by to teach them about the Buffalo Trace. Draw Survey and Map is a land surveying company based out of New Albany.
Ruckman is part of a volunteer committee that is tracing and researching the buffalo trace from Clarksville to Vincennes. The buffalo were said to have made the trails in Vincennes in the late 1400s. The whole Vincennes area was settled off the buffalo trace itself.
The group is looking to be finished surveying in December. Ruckman says he would like to see the GPS coordinates of the trail be turned into a Google Earth 3-D flyover video for educational purposes.
To track the coordinates of where the buffalo roamed, Ruckman says they look at history and old deeds. The committee researches old notes from the early 1800s that recorded where the buffalo went and then plots them on modern maps.