The Swiss Colony on the Ohio River at Vevay, in what is now Switzerland County, Indiana, was founded by French-speaking Swiss citizens from the commune of Chateland, district of Vevay, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, in the early 1800s. The founder of the settlement was John James Dufour who had first come to America in 1796 in search of lands for vineyards. He first purchased lands near Lexington, Kentucky, and subsequently in Indiana. The Kentucky settlement failed after a few years, but the Indiana vineyard flourished and became a major factor in the development of Switzerland County. This volume contains a history of this interesting chapter in American history as written by Perret Dufour. He was born in 1807 at the Kentucky vineyard, the son of John Francis Dufour who was the brother of John James Dufour, founder of these settlements. Perret removed to the Indiana community with his family at the age of two and remained there until his death in 1884. Perret's history is of special value because he was an eye-witness and /or participant to much of what he records. This volume is not limited to the Swiss families, but contains extensive mentions of other settlers, and provides a substantial history of the entire county.
The book is presented as graphic images, so the user sees the work just as it was originally published. It is intended to look and function very much like a "real" book. There is no electronic index, and there is no electronic text to search. However, numerous electronic bookmarks have been added which make it easy to move through the book. Image numbers will match the page numbers for all of the main text, as well as the index. Any unnumbered portraits and illustrations are at the back of the actual file, to keep page numbering consistent.
Perret Dufour
(1925), 2004, CD-ROM, Graphic Images, Adobe Acrobat, PC or Mac, 476 pp.
ISBN: 9780788432354
101-CD3235
