Nestled in the rolling hills of southeastern Indiana, Versailles is a quaint little town located at the junction of two major highways, US421 which runs north and south and US50 which in turn runs east and west. Both highways  span the country from shore to shore and played a vital role in the formation of the United states.


Versailles has a long history and many interesting tidbits of history from times long gone abound. The famous hanging tree in the local cemetery is one of many.  Five local desperados were terrorizing, robbing, and pilfering the community.Thus a group of vigilantes met in the town of Napoleon about 8 miles away and decided to take action. Thus the gang was dragged from the jail, beaten, and hung from a tree in the local cemetery, end of story.
Ripley County Courthouse
On Sunday July 13th 1863 General Morgan of the confederate Army entered Ripley County from Jennings County , and after raiding a general store in Rexville, marched into Versailles, seized the guns of the militia ,then  they looted the treasury and burned the town. In the process the local masonic lodge was destroyed and the jewels of the lodge stolen.

The next morning, upon discovering the theft, General Morgan, himself a mason, ordered the return of the jewels. As a result , the jewels are still proudly displayed in the lodge entry way.

One of the more prominent citizens to come forth from this tiny hamlet, James Henry Tyson,(1856-1941), rose through the ranks of Walgreens Drug Store to become a high ranking executive, and on his death donated 18,000 shares of stock to a community fund. To this day this fund has and still does create a revenue stream for such organizations as , the Methodist Church, Masonic Lodge, schools and library.

A small village where nothing much changes in the day to day life of it's citizens, it maintains a charm from days gone by, a place to chill out and enjoy life at a slower pace than one would find in larger communities, the nearby location of Versailles State park, one of the finest parks in Indiana make this a certain stop on your travels through the heart land of our country.

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